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Back to Basics
Bill Thomas on how he got to be the king of khakis
by Vivian Ducat
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 According to Bill Thomas, founder of a high-priced line of khaki trousers as well as other evergreen fashion, everyone is either a "jeans person" or a "khakis person." Much to his own surprise, Thomas, a former copywriter for the Chicago-based Leo Burnett Agency, discovered that he possessed a particular knack for spotting those potential khaki people and offering to them what GQ has dubbed the "Pants of the Gods." The experience he gained from working on big accounts like Oldsmobile and Marlboro helped him build a brand: one that he associates with images of quality, integrity… and Dad.
Thomas made the climb from rags to riches-in-rags by working a series of part-time jobs while living at home with his mom. She co-signed the loan for the initial $5,000 that got him started. Now she helps him run the $2.6 million-dollar business based in their hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania, in which he employs other friends and family. Ever conscious of his roots, he's even incorporated the Pennsylvania state symbol, the Keystone, into his logo.
Once he sold pants from the back of his car. Now Thomas uses his website, catalogue, over 400 leading boutiques and department stores, New Yorker ads and word of mouth to market the millions of khakis he moves each year. It's said that Thomas' catalogue gave The Gap the idea for their massive khaki campaign that has the country preferring them to jeans.
Thomas hasn't forgotten how he got where he is and is eager to share the values that his pants represent and that, he says, underlie his success.
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Meet the King of Khakis, Bill Thomas in this video clip!
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Bill Thomas
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