The story of llbean.com is a classic tale of American grit that began with a pair of soggy socks in the Maine woods. In 1911, Leon Leonwood ("L.L.") Bean, an avid hunter, returned from a trip frustrated by his cold, wet feet. To fix this, he combined the waterproof rubber bottoms of galoshes with comfortable leather uppers, creating the first . The $400 Gamble The Magic of L.L. Bean—