Old Lee jeans, work jackets, overalls, Union-Alls, and Western clothing. Dust Em Vintage buys vintage and antique clothing from people across the country.
Lee’s story reaches from an 1889 Kansas mercantile business to railroad workwear, Cowboy Pants, and Riders. This overview introduces the names and garments you may come across.
Have an old Lee piece? You do not need to know its model, year, or value before showing us a few photos.
Lee did not begin as a jeans factory. Clothing became the best known part of a much wider business.
Henry David Lee established the H.D. Lee Mercantile Company in Salina, Kansas, in 1889. It supplied groceries and general goods to stores. The Lee name belonged to a wholesale business before it became familiar on denim.
That distinction matters to the brand’s history. Its move into clothing came through the everyday needs of workers and the stores that supplied them, rather than the fashion market Lee would later reach.
During the early 1910s, Lee began making its own workwear in Salina. Bib overalls and work jackets formed the foundation of this clothing business. Railroad crews, mechanics, farmers, and industrial workers needed garments they could move and work in.
Lee’s history extends well beyond five pocket jeans. An old pair of bib overalls, a work coat, or a one piece work suit belongs in the conversation too.
Introduced in 1913, Union-Alls combined an upper garment and trousers into a single protective work suit. The idea answered a practical problem: keeping the clothing underneath covered while doing dirty work.
Their popularity helped Lee expand its manufacturing during the 1910s. They remain an important part of the company’s early workwear story, alongside the separate overalls and jackets that continued to carry its name.
We’re interested in older Lee workwear, including Union-Alls. Please leave old repairs, markings, and labels as you found them.
Ranch work and riding helped shape another side of Lee’s clothing. These garments eventually reached far beyond the people they were first made for.
Lee Japan’s history dates Cowboy Pants to 1924, followed by the 101 style number in 1925. Developed for working cowboys, the line became central to Lee’s denim identity.
This was clothing made for use around horses and on ranches. The Cowboy name is part of that background, rather than a description of every Western garment bearing a Lee label.
Lee marked the 101’s centennial in 2025. Over that history, 101 became associated with its cowboy jeans and with familiar jacket models, including the 101-J and lined 101-LJ.
Lee also adopted zipper fastenings during the 1920s, with the 101-Z forming part of that development. The company’s experiments with fabric, fit, and practical construction helped distinguish its products.
The 101 name continues on modern Lee clothing and archival reproductions. It connects several parts of Lee’s history, but the name alone does not establish when a garment was made.
In 1946, Lee’s Cowboy line moved into the Riders name. It became one of the brand’s most familiar identities, used on jeans and jackets as Western work clothing found a broader everyday audience.
Lady Lee Riders followed in 1947, extending the line to women. Through the postwar years, Lee denim became part of casual dress and popular culture as well as working life.
Older Lee jeans and Riders pieces are among the clothing we want to see. You can send the garment you have without deciding which part of that history it belongs to.
The 91-J, 101-J, and Storm Rider represent different parts of Lee’s workwear and Western history. Each developed over time.
The 91-J belongs to Lee’s railroad and general workwear tradition. Often called the Loco jacket, it is a fuller work coat rather than the short riding jacket associated with Riders.
Lee’s archives include a 1947 version under the name Overall Jacket 91-J. It is a useful reminder that the brand’s jacket history includes work coats worn with overalls, not only familiar waist length denim jackets.
Lee traces its cowboy jackets to the 1930s. The familiar postwar Rider design was being advertised in 1948, with a fitted, waist length shape intended for cowboys and rodeo riders.
The 101-J became a lasting part of Lee’s clothing range. Its relationship to riding and movement explains the shape and purpose of the jacket; the changes between individual versions are covered in the Lee jacket dating guide.
The 101-LJ brought a warmer lined version to Lee’s riding jackets. The Storm Rider is especially associated with blanket lining and a corduroy collar, carrying the denim jacket into colder weather.
Lined Lee jackets existed before the Storm Rider name became established in the 1950s. The earlier jacket’s development and the later name are different points in the story, which is why published histories do not always give the same starting year.
We buy older Lee jackets, including work coats, Riders, and Storm Riders. Fading, wear, and old repairs do not automatically rule a piece out.
Introduced in 1921, Buddy Lee was an advertising doll dressed in miniature Lee clothing. He helped promote the brand in store windows and at public events.
Small overalls and other Lee outfits brought the clothing to life in a display a customer could recognize. Buddy Lee became part of the company’s advertising history, alongside printed promotions for its workwear and Western lines.
That history helps explain why the Lee name appears on more than full size garments. Here, Buddy Lee provides background to the brand and the way it presented its clothing.
A pair of jeans, a work jacket, overalls, or clothing from a family collection can be enough to start. Send a few ordinary photos and your general location. An asking price is optional.
You do not need to identify a model or read every label first. Please do not clean, repair, or price anything before contacting us. Worn and repaired pieces are welcome, along with clothing in other conditions.
We review the items and discuss a price if they fit our interests. Any additional purchase verification photos come after agreement on the items and price. For shipped purchases, payment is sent after verification and before shipping.
Local purchases and larger collections can be arranged individually.
How selling to Dust Em Vintage worksBackground comes from Lee’s published histories and archives. Dates can refer to a garment’s development, a revised model, or a later name. Dust Em Vintage is an independent buyer and is not affiliated with Lee.
Single garments, inherited clothing, and whole collections are welcome.
This page covers the brand’s history. The jacket dating guide is available below. A separate pants and jeans guide is planned.
Planned guide
A separate guide to identifying and dating Lee pants and jeans, with label changes and construction details. It is not available yet.
Compare labels, construction, buttons, and linings from the 1930s through the 1980s. Covers Cowboy, 91-J, 101-J, Storm Rider, Westerner, and 220-J jackets.