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| Industry | Consumer goods |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Founders | Herbert Chesebro, Robert Ehany, Lawerance Bentz |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Bob Chesebro (Chairman & CEO) |
| Products | Socks, hats, gloves |
| Website | www |
Wigwam Mills is a hosiery company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.
Wigwam Mills was founded in 1905 by Herbert Chesebro, Robert Ehany, and Lawerance Bentz in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a year after the Sheboygan Knitting Company burned to the ground. All three founders were employees of the company and purchased equipment and recruited employees from their former company. The new company was founded under the name "Hand Knit Hosiery Company." It made socks and headwear, primarily from wool, for the residents and lumbermen of the area. At the time the company was supplied by numerous nearby wool mills.
By 1922, Herbert Chesebro gained partial control of the company after purchasing Bentz's share. The company flourished under Chesebro. When the stock market crashed, the hosiery industry struggled in the difficult economy of the Great Depression. After Herbert's death, the company had bank loans totaling $100,000. With the help of J.W. Hansen of the Citizens Bank, the company stayed in business.
In 1936, Robert Chesebro, Sr. gained complete control of the company after working at the company for 12 years. The company devoted up to 75% of its capacity to knitting for the troops overseas. By 1945 the company had expanded its line to include baseball hosiery, anklets, hockey caps, mittens, and socks for all types of activities. The company prospered for the next 65 years knitting socks, headwear, and other knit products. On January 1, 1957, the company changed its name from Hand-Knit Hosiery to Wigwam Mills, based on the popularity of the brand. The company continued under the leadership of Robert Chesebro, Sr., and eventually the third generation of ownership, Robert Chesebro, Jr.
The 1980s saw growth in many areas for Wigwam. A new logo and more technical synthetic fibers were becoming more specialized. Wigwam developed the Poly-Wool line of performance socks as well as the overnight success—Moraine.
From the mid-1980s through the late 1990s the Wigwam 622 slouch socks became very popular. They were worn by kids, tweens, teens, college students and adults. Not only as athletic wear but everyday fashions too. Rolling one's jeans and khakis to show off the slouch socks, wearing the socks over skinny jeans, ankle length skirts and dresses, and ankle length cotton pants, both styles since they stopped at the ankle showed off the socks, were popular styles. Also two other very popular styles were one wearing the socks over leggings with Keds or boat shoes with oversized tees, oversized sweaters, an oversized sweater or oversized sweatshirt over a turtleneck. And two wearing the white color of the socks over opaque tights with a babydoll or skater dress and white Keds or in warmer weather with bike shorts showing from under the babydoll or skater dress with the white Keds.
In the 1990s, the company developed the Ultimax and INgenious brands. Each featured a patented sock technology. In 2007, both brands were brought under the Wigwam brand umbrella. Ultimax became Wigwam Pro and INgenious became Wigwam Fusion.
In 2020, Chris Chesebro and Margaret Newhard, siblings, took over the helm of the company from their father Robert Chesebro, Jr. [1] Later in 2021, Wigwam was awarded a patent for a custom fitting socks, more shaped to the true anatomical shape of a foot compared to other socks. [2] In 2022, Wigwam became the official sock of the US Ski and Snowboard Team. [3]
Stockings are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparency. Today, stockings are primarily worn for fashion and aesthetics, usually in association with mid-length or short skirts.
Knitting is the process of using two or more needles to pull and loop yarn into a series of interconnected loops in order to create a finished garment or some other type of fabric. The word is derived from knot, thought to originate from the Dutch verb knutten, which is similar to the Old English cnyttan, "to knot". Its origins lie in the basic human need for clothing for protection against the elements. More recently, hand knitting has become less a necessary skill and more of a hobby.
Leggings are several types of leg attire that have varied through the years. Modern usage from the 1960s onwards has come to refer to elastic close-fitting high-rise garments worn over the legs typically by women, such as leg warmers or tights. Usage from the 18th century refers to men's wear usually made of cloth or leather that is wrapped around the leg down to the ankle. In the 19th century, leggings usually referred to infants' leg clothing that were matched with a jacket, as well as leg-wrappings made of leather or wool and worn by soldiers and trappers. Leggings prominently returned to women's fashion in the 1960s, drawing from the form-fitting clothing of dancers. With the widespread adoption of the synthetic fibre Lycra and the rise in popularity of aerobics, leggings came to further prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, and eventually made their way into streetwear. Leggings are a part of the late 2010s into the 2020s athleisure fashion trend of wearing activewear outside sporting activities and in casual settings.
A stocking frame was a mechanical knitting machine used in the textiles industry. It was invented by William Lee of Calverton near Nottingham in 1589. Its use, known traditionally as framework knitting, was the first major stage in the mechanisation of the textile industry, and played an important part in the early history of the Industrial Revolution. It was adapted to knit cotton and to do ribbing, and by 1800 had been adapted as a lace making machine.
The Merrow Sewing Machine Company, best known for inventing the overlock sewing machine, is a manufacturer of sewing machines. After the explosion of his gunpowder mill in 1837, in 1838 J.M. Merrow built a knitting mill on the same site. The company developed crocheting machines for its own use and by 1887 evolved to design, build and market sewing machines exclusively. During its early decades it was organized as a partnership under various names: established in 1838 as Joseph M. Merrow & Sons by J. Makens Merrow, then Pitkin, Merrow, & Co., renamed Merrow Manufacturing Co. in 1857, then Merrow and Millard in 1863, J.B. Merrow and Sons in 1870, and incorporated as The Merrow Manufacturing Company in 1893. Originally all of its manufacturing was done at facilities in Merrow, Connecticut, and then in Hartford, Connecticut, after 1894. The company is currently based in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
Ultimax may refer to:
Knitted fabric is a textile that results from knitting, the process of inter-looping of yarns or inter-meshing of loops. Its properties are distinct from woven fabric in that it is more flexible and can be more readily constructed into smaller pieces, making it ideal for socks and hats.
A cheerleading uniform is a standardized outfit worn by cheerleaders during games and other events. These uniforms typically include the official colors and mascots of the school or team and are designed to make the wearer appear physically attractive.
This is a list of existing articles related to fashion and clothing. For individual designers, see List of fashion designers
Jantzen is a brand of swimwear that was established in 1916 and first appeared in the city of Portland, Oregon, United States. The brand name later replaced the name of the parent company that manufactured the branded products. The brand featured a logo image of a young woman, dressed in a red one-piece swimsuit and bathing hat, assuming a diving posture with outstretched arms and an arched back. Known as the Jantzen "Diving Girl", the image in various forms became famous throughout the world during the early twentieth century.
Gold Toe Brands, Inc., is the third-largest United States based producer of socks.
Cowichan knitting is a form of knitting characteristic of the Cowichan people of southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The distinctively patterned, heavy-knit Cowichan sweaters, popular among British Columbians and tourists, are produced using this method. Cowichan knitting is an acculturated art form, a combination of European textile techniques and Salish spinning and weaving methods. From this union, new tools, techniques and designs developed over the years.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
Slouch socks, slouchy socks or loose socks are a type of sock featuring a heavy non-elastic upper that may be pushed down into heavy folds around the ankles or pulled up to the knee. In Japan, the loose sock style has been popular with high-school girls. In the US, slouch socks have trended in and out of fashion since the 1980s.
Stirrup pants or stirrup leggings are a type of close-fitting women's pants that taper at the ankle, similar to leggings, except that the material extends to a band, or strap, that is worn under the arch of the foot to hold the pant leg in place. The band of material is often elasticized to prevent the material around the foot from tearing. Stirrup pants were originally sportswear for women, and remain sportswear for horse riding and skiing. However, they have come in and out of fashion during the 20th and early 21st centuries, peaking in popularity as street fashion during the 1980s to the mid 1990s.
Aran knitting patterns are heavily textured knitting patterns which are named after the Aran Islands, which are located off the west coast of Ireland from County Galway and County Clare. The patterns are knitted into socks, hats, vests, scarves, mittens, afghans, pillow covers, and, most commonly, sweaters.
The Railroad Sock, Inc. is an American sock manufacturer, established in 1901. Its logo depicts an illustration of a locomotive. As of 2022, the socks continue to be manufactured in the United States.
