VF is the largest American apparel company and a leader in offering high-quality, high-value branded apparel. VF's brands include jeanswear, intimate apparel, outdoor, and specialty apparel. Established as the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company in Pennsylvania in 1899 by John Barbey and a group of investors, it began manufacturing undergarments in 1919 and changed its name to Vanity Fair Mills. The company went public in 1951 and, in 1969, after acquiring the H. D. Lee Company, the company changed its name to the VF Corporation. Once Blue Bell Inc. was acquired, VF Corp. became the largest publicly held apparel company with annual revenues of $6 billion in 2004. Its principal brands include Britannia, Gitano, JanSport, Kipling, Lee, Lily of France, Nautica, The North Face, Riders, Tommy Hilfiger Intimates, Vanity Fair, Vans, John Varvatos, Vassarette, and Wrangler.
Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry. Francesca Sterlacci and Joanne Arbuckle.