Dearborn Denim and Apparel marks 8 years on the West Side [Video]

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — This week’s Made in Chicago highlights Dearborn Denim and Apparel, a West Side business that’s making cool clothes at comfortable prices.

It was 2016 when Robert McMillan founded Dearborn Denim and Apparel, which still produces its clothing in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood at a facility near Arthington Street and Cicero Avenue.

“The name is Dearborn Denim, but we also manufacture button-down shirts [and] sweatshirts — not only for our brand but also for other brands throughout the United States,” he said. “We have, currently, about 65 operators now, 70 employees.”

McMillan walked WBBM Newsradio through the process of manufacturing jeans, which he said begins with cutting.

“Right now, we’re looking at the cutting table,” he said. “You start with big, old rolls of denim. They’ll range between 100 pounds to 500 pounds. Raise them up with the chain hoists [and] put them on the fabric spreaders.”

In about three hours, those …