A few weeks back, we were invited to a hometown tour of one of our favorite American heritage brands, Dockers. The reigning cool kids of khakis hosted us in the San Francisco Bay area, home of the Levi & Strauss Co. headquarters, for a look back — and forward — at the brand behind the khakis resurgence. Herewith, in pictures, some highlights.

• The great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 destroyed everything the company owned — including all product that dated back to the company's birth in 1853. Because of that, historians had to get creative to restock the Levi's archives, including spending upwards of $46,000 on eBay for a pair of Levi's. This pair of khakis, under the Levi's name, is from around 1919 or 1920 and is referred to as "the cave chino" — they were discovered by miners in a cave, after all.

• Levi's/Dockers historian Lynn Downey walked us through some of her favorite khaki vintage finds in The Vault, from Tab Twills straight out of the 1950s, to the first-generation K1 Dockers from 1999.

• Other heritage labels (literally) under the Levi's brand include: Sunset, Casuals, Denim Family, Lighter Blues — all denoting a different time and focus in the company's history.

• Above at middle, a familiar in-store advertisement from the 1950s. Other advertisements of that era focused on family values, the prep movement, the company's western heritage.

• In 1972, Levis launched the Panthella line, the company's first-ever dressier, polyester products. Some of the first styles included flares and — gasp! — bell bottoms.

• True story: Dockers got it's name from the Docker Pant, made by Levi Strauss Japan in 1985 and shown here, as an ode to the English dock workers. By 1986, the Dockers line entered the American marketplace.

• For spring 2013, meanwhile, the Dockers design team was inspired by all facets of California culture — including surf, west-coast architecture and organic farming. Product highlights include: bleached-out cottons, the versatile, "worry-free" Wear-Ever series, and updated details like patch pockets, art-inspired prints, and nods to retro prep. Nice.

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