The Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, or commonly referred to now as the brand Dickies, is an original American based company from Fort Worth in Texas. They are known for manufacturing and selling work-related and workwear inspired clothing and accessories.
Dickies originally started life as a U.S Overall Company, started by C.N Williamson and E.E ‘Colonel’ Dickie alongside a few friends. In 1922, Williamson joined his father and cousin to buy 100% of the overall company and renamed it to ‘William-Dickie Manufacturing Company’.
From its early years, Williamson-Dickie enjoyed steady growth which was only slowed by the Great Depression, and during World War II, the company produced millions of uniforms for the nation’s armed forces, enabling them to grow in popularity again.
After the war, Williamson decided to produce civilian clothing that was modelled on the hard wearing clothing designed previously for the military. In the late 1950s, Williamson-Dickie became an international company by expanding into the European market and the Middle Eastern market – where Texas oilmen introduced the Dickies brand to Middle Eastern oil fields.
In the early 1990’s Dickies became fashionable with American youth. The rugged styling and performance of Dickies clothing started to attract the interest of teenage skateboarders, resulting in Dickies becoming a cult fashion brand. This unexpected but welcome trend spread to Europe, where the popularity of the brand among young people continues today.
Dickies is still designed and made with their historical background in mind, producing items that have been tried and tested for years and years and also combining old school silhouettes with materials and styling.