CHARLESTON, S.C. — Full disclosure: Even though I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, my parents were from Mississippi and Alabama. My accent as a child was thick Chicago, but mom and dad had a sweet, almost gentile southern twang.
My great grandfather, W.O. Wood, was a true southern gentleman, involved in the community and local school board and his Baptist church. He also dressed the part, with white shirts, ties and seersucker suits and pants.
My, how times have changed.
The new southern gentleman has a different look — a look that is colorful, fashion-forward and distinctly southern. Charleston is a center for dressing the southern man. Several men's stores are on legendary King Street, from the historic Ben Silver store to establishments like M. Dumas and Sons, a staple in this well-dressed city since 1917.
Clark Hickerson has been selling clothes at M. Dumas for years to customers who want to maintain their southern look.
"You know, there are a few staples that every southern gentleman likes to have — Navy blazer, a seersucker suit," Hickerson said. "I would say the biggest thing that has stayed constant is the South loves color. They want a colorful sport coat."
Some of Clark's customers have second homes in Charleston or vacation here. They may be, for instance, in Ohio, but they contact Clark to send them pictures of new southern-style clothes and they order them over the phone.
How do you stay well-dressed but still adapt to Charleston's notorious summer heat?
"You know, the wool, silk and linens are able to breathe a lot better. It is not as heavy as it is typically perceived," Hickerson said. "Let's say you are a gentleman who has been buying his clothes here for years. He gets the same thing. It's a delicate situation. Instead of a Navy blazer, you know, a blue coat that is maybe a shade brighter."
M. Dumas and Sons
Hickerson had me try on several jackets, and believe me, they were NOT standard navy blue blazers with gold buttons. There were seersucker jackets, but they were different. These were light gray, not the standard blue and white.
The two jackets I liked best were very un-Indiana-like and very much in line with the idea of the South and color. A pink windowpane Canali jacket brought a great response.
"When we go to New York and Chicago for buying purposes, you know we are always looking for a Dumas coat that is wild, with a lot of color," Hickerson said. "I remember when we saw this suit, we knew we were going to book it. Overall, it is a statement coat. Overall, we are about 90% sport coats."
I loved the jackets, especially, a bright blue and white sport coat that you will see on our Chuck's Big Adventure video stories. M. Dumas and Sons had us looking unique. I probably would not wear the jackets on the streets of Indy but felt quite at home in Charleston with the attention-getting patterns.
Did I mention it gets hot in Charleston?
Southern Ruetz is a fairly new store downtown that brings the hat game to an all-new level. Here, you pick the type of hat you like, add embellishments and walk out looking like you can handle the hottest of days in style.
There are four different styles of hats, with a price point starting at $165. My hat was delicately burned on the sides and had a feather, stick pin and even a card stuck in the side.
Southern Ruetz
Laura Voth, owner of Southern Ruetz, said the building they are in once hosted a law firm but now hosts hat artists.
"We do see a lot more people coming in and wanting that modern, southern gentleman style. We definitely can achieve that in all of our colors that we offer. We can reshape some of these styles as well," Voth said.
My hat was definitely a fedora but with a more modern look. I worked with her to make sure the hat fit perfectly, and I enjoyed the experience. The store also has a women’s line, popular with tourists and cruise line passengers taking an excursion from the nearby Port of Charleston.
To cap everything off, we added a bow tie — but not your standard bow ties.
Brackish is a company known around the world. The ties, seen on red carpets in Hollywood and on the streets of Charleston, are unique because they are made of bird feathers.
Jeff Plotner and college buddy Ben Ross co-founded the company in 2012 and have found tremendous success.
"A lot of blood, sweat and tears. We hustled a lot of contacts getting out there, speaking to anybody that we could," Plotner said. "We had a lot of great celebrity placements. Bill Murray wore one of our bow ties at the Oscars early on, and that that helped elevate our brand a good bit. They are works of art, but they are also functional. We get them from all over the place, mostly sustainably-sourced farms and making sure that no birds were harmed for their feathers is important to us."
Brackish
These bow ties aren't a novelty — they are a luxury item with customers around the world. Brackish has retail outlets but also sells online.
"I think with everything that you see on a Brackish piece, you are going to see attention to detail, you are going to see quality, but then, you really want it to be personal to you. What really speaks to you? What feathers speak to you? What colors speak to you?" Plotner said.
Plotner and I picked a beautiful tie to go with my pink blazer from M. Dumas and Sons and my hat from Southern Reutz.
Brackish has about 500 retailers and, of course, online. They wanted to keep the company in Charleston to retain the family-feel, and that is certainly the case. Visiting the production area felt like a lot of friends creating art and having fun.
Shopping for men’s fashion in this great city was fun, but it was also important because Charleston wants to continue to lead the way in so many areas in the South.
More of Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston:
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Old South Carriage Company
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: The Plantation Singers
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Lowcountry Oyster Co. & cooking with Chef Kevin Mitchell
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: South Carolina Aquarium
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Magnolia Plantation
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Fort Sumter
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: Coastal Expeditions
- Chuck's Big Adventure in Charleston: The Gullah Experience