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The Tommy Hilfiger brand for women, men, children and home projects a spirit of the American dream, with a youthful, carefree twist.  All Tommy Hilfiger products bear the company’s undeniably American red white and blue logo.

The company’s namesake started his first clothing business by selling used blue jeans from his parents’ basement in upstate New York.  Over time, Hilfiger built up this business to seven outlets of People’s Place which sold jeans, clothing, incense and posters. 

After People’s Place went bankrupt because of poor management, Hilfiger moved to Manhattan to try to make it as a fashion designer. He soon landed a spot as a designer for Jordache jeans.  In 1984, Murjani, the manufacturer of Gloria Vanderbilt designer jeans, invited Hilfiger to design a younger preppy look, along the lines of Ralph Lauren, which would have mass appeal. Murjani spent a lot on a brash marketing campaign, securing Hilfiger’s brand name on par with Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Perry Ellis. The clever advertising turned Tommy Hilfiger from an unknown into a top American designer of casual, youthful preppy-inspired clothing. 

In the 1990s, Hilfiger became a Wall Street darling with increased earnings and capital to expand operations into retail stores and women’s and children’s lines.  Also during the 90s, the Hilfiger look gained street cred with hip hop stars and urban youth giving the preppy look a new twist in large sizes and eclectic color and pattern mixes.  Tommy Hilfiger continues to experiment and expand the brand and its marketing to sustain its mass-market appeal.