Jean's was founded by Jean Gallman. It all started when she began showing western pleasure horses back in the late 1970's and needed comfortable, well-fitting chaps. Since finding chaps cool enough for summer shows was virtually impossible, Jean, decided to make her own. Hers were some of the first polysuede chaps anyone in her show circuit had ever seen. Her friends saw her designs, and envious of her cooler, lighter chaps began asking her to make chaps for them. At the time, Jean was working a regular full-time job and made her custom chaps in her spare time. Eventually however, she was sewing early mornings before heading to work; late into the night after work and every weekend leaving little time even for showing her own horses. By 1984, the time had come where she had to decide whether to give her business a real chance or stop altogether. With the support of her family, she decided to quit her job and devote herself to building her business. It took a lot of dedication and sacrifice. Working in such a specialized niche means a lot of traveling because you have to take the clothes where the customers are...and that means working the show circuit. So that's exactly what she did. She acquired her business license and began hauling her custom designs to shows in the back of her Ford Bronco -- setting up with long time friends Ralph and Mabelline Harris of Harris leather. As her business began to flourish, Jean acquired a larger truck...and eventually a trailer that served as a travelling store and was setting up in her own space at AQHA shows up and down the east coast. By this time she was making jackets, pants, shirts, vests in addition to making chaps from all types of leather and of course her original ultrasuede. By 1989 the orders were coming faster and faster. At the same time, the traveling became more gruelling as demand for her creations pushed her to extend her travels further from home. It became obvious that something had to give. Either she was going to have to cut back and start saying no to some very loyal customers, or Jean had to find some help. Once again, the support of family came into play and in April of 1989 Jean's daugher-in-law, Bonnie Gallman came to work for the business. Bonnie had already been sewing for a number of years so she had diverse and extensive experience. She was looking for something new and Jean needed some reliable help. Everything just fell into place and one of those unique family / working relationships was formed. Fourteen years later, they are still going strong. From time to time, they've hired additional help but for the most part it's the two of them, staying on top of the leading fashion trends and turning out quality show apparel year after year. They have a long list of satisfied customers, and have often been the choice of royalty, designing and creating custom fashions for the North Carolina, New Jersey, Georgia, Alabama and Virginia AQHA queens. For one queens outfit, Jean matched her custom design to a pair of custom made boots that the queen wanted to wear. So, whatever your fashion needs...whatever personal statement you may wish to make, contact Jean's and let the experts help you create a look that's uniquely your own.