Local Clothing Company is Thriving
It’s always great to see a local Valley company doing well, especially in this economy. It’s tough for local clothing and retail companies to thrive these days because of Amazon, Wal-Mart, and other large corporations. But, the Valley Dungaree Company (VDC) is doing great right now, and the future looks even brighter.
VDC was founded 2 years ago by Valleyan, Levi “Blue” Denham. Denham had worked in retail most of his life, and he’d most recently worked as a manager at Factory Connection. He had gotten burnt out working long hours, and he had been wanting to start his own clothing company for a while. He comes from a family of Valley farmers. His dad is a farmer, his grandfather was a farmer, and his older brother is also a farmer. Denham had always seen his dad and grandpa wearing overalls, and he always wore overalls when he helped out on the farm.
Denham decided a couple years ago that he was going to start a clothing company that sells overalls only. But, his company was going to be different. Denham said, “I wanted to market my overalls to the masses, not just men and farmers. Also, as someone that cares about the planet and sustainability, I wanted to source my materials from sustainable plants/materials. After doing some research, I decided that I was going to use bamboo to make my overalls. Luckily, I didn’t have to go far. I was able to find a farmer in the Valley who owns many acres of land covered by bamboo, and he allowed me to harvest free of charge.”
VDC has really taken off in the past 6 months. His storefront on Main St. in Valley City is doing great, and he also sells a ton of product online. Denham uses Tiktok and Instagram to promote his overalls, and he has thousands of followers. He has also used a couple well known influencers to peddle his overalls, and that has helped too. He is now shipping overalls to shoppers all across the world. There a couple features that set Denham’s overalls apart from other brands.
Denham said, “First, my overalls are super soft and lightweight. They’re not rough and heavy like a lot of jeans and overalls. It’s almost like you’re not wearing anything at all. Also, we offer our overalls in different fits including regular, tapered, and slim. This has helped us appeal to many different types of people including teens, hipsters, farmers, and more. We also offer shorts overalls, and the ladies love them. We’ll remain flexible and adapt as styles change, so we’ll probably offer more in the future.”
I talked to a couple proud VDC shoppers. One young hipster male said, “I love my VDCs! They are so soft. I have 3 different pairs, and I love the skinny fit. Plus, I feel good about wearing them because they’re made from sustainable bamboo.” One Valley farmer told me, “I’m done with my Liberty overalls. They ain’t got nothing on Blue’s VDCs. They are so soft, and they’re also very durable. I’m hoping he’ll ask me to be a model for him, but I ain’t gonna hold my breath on that. Haha!”
We’ll see if Denham can make overalls mainstream. He’s off to a good start. Come on down to Main St. in Valley City and try on a pair of Blue’s VDCs.