Founded in 1885, Bates has grown and flourished as a result of our advancements in footwear technologies and our unwavering commitment to those who depend on our products. What was founded as a small dress footwear business has become a leading footwear manufacturer for uniformed personnel today.
 
The choice to focus on military dress shoes for the United States Navy in the 1960s came on the heels of decades of prosperity and was influenced by both the need to produce a better product for those who served and our sense of duty to do so. The overwhelming popularity of our original Bates Navy Uniform Oxford quickly led to the development of military styles for all branches of the armed services. Soon, the demand for our high performance military shoes and boots lead to a bold step of our own: Bates would dedicate 100% of its resources to making uniform footwear. Before too long, we were producing footwear for the civilian uniformed services, as well.