Vanity Fair Brands

In 1899, in Reading, Pennsylvania, a group of eight men, including John Barbey, founded a company to manufacture silk gloves, calling it the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company. By 1911, Barbey had bought out his partners and, seeing a new opportunity, pivoted the company, then known as Schuylkill Silk Mills, into producing silk lingerie in 1914. A few years later, an internal contest awarded a $25 prize for a new brand name for the lingerie line: Vanity Fair. The name was so successful that the entire company was renamed Vanity Fair Mills, Inc. in 1919. The business went public in 1951, raising capital for further growth. The company’s journey took a significant turn in 1969. After acquiring the H.D. Lee Company, the parent corporation rebranded to VF Corporation to reflect its expanding portfolio, which would eventually include major brands like Wrangler, The North Face, and Timberland. The original lingerie brand that started it all became just one piece of a massive global apparel entity. In a strategic move to streamline its business, VF Corporation sold its founding intimate apparel division in 2007. The Vanity Fair lingerie brand was acquired by Fruit of the Loom, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, for $350 million, where it continues to operate as Vanity Fair Brands.