The South has always had a way of turning everyday things into something worth remembering.
That sense of place is part of what makes Southern brands so appealing. They are not all built around the same look, and they certainly do not all come from the same city. What connects them is a shared ability to turn Southern ideas of hospitality, color, craftsmanship, leisure and tradition into products people actually want to bring home.
For locals, these are brands worth knowing. For visitors, they offer a way to take a little piece of the South with you.
Here are five Southern brands we love, and the storefronts worth adding to your next shopping day.
1. Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit: A Southern Tradition Worth Tasting
There are few foods more closely tied to Southern hospitality than the biscuit, and few brands have made the humble biscuit more recognizable than Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit.
Founded by Carrie Morey in 2005 using the handmade biscuit recipe passed down from her mother, Callie White, the company grew from a Charleston family tradition into a nationally recognized Southern food brand. Today, Callie’s ships its biscuits across the country while continuing to operate its grab and go eateries in Charleston.
What makes the brand special is that it has expanded without losing the feeling that made the biscuits memorable in the first place. The company still emphasizes handmade production, Southern ingredients and the idea that food is meant to be shared.
The menu has also grown beyond the classic biscuit. Shoppers can find pimento cheese, country ham, grits, jams, biscuit crackers and other Southern staples, making the brand an introduction to Lowcountry flavors for anyone in Charleston.
For visitors, a stop at Callie’s is more than a quick breakfast. It is a chance to experience a food tradition that has been part of Southern tables for generations.
Where to visit in Charleston: Callie’s has locations at 476 ½ King Street and 188 Meeting Street at City Market. The brand also offers an online storefront, where customers can order biscuits, Southern pantry staples and giftable products for nationwide delivery.
What to shop: Buttermilk biscuits, country ham biscuits, pimento cheese and biscuit crackers.
2. Sewing Down South: Southern Style for the Home
Southern design is often about the details. A patterned pillow on a porch. A colorful table set for friends. A room that feels comfortable without looking overly serious. That is where Sewing Down South comes in.
Founded in 2018 by Craig Conover and his business partners, Sewing Down South began with a love of sewing and grew into a lifestyle brand offering pillows, apparel, kitchen accessories and home goods inspired by Southern living. Conover’s journey was first witnessed by millions on Bravo’s Southern Charm, where viewers followed his interest in sewing as it developed into a business.
The brand’s flagship store opened on King Street in Charleston in May 2021. Designed as an experience inspired by Southern living, the store has become a destination for both shoppers and fans of the show.
The Charleston connection is especially important to the brand. Its patterns and collections draw from the coastal character of the city, mixing traditional Southern references with brighter colors, playful patterns and a distinctly relaxed point of view. Many of the brand’s pillows are printed and sewn in the Carolinas, further connecting the products to the region.
And yes, the Charleston storefront is also highly photogenic, making it an especially fun stop for anyone exploring King Street.
Where to visit: 493 King Street, Suite 101, Charleston, the brand’s flagship, with an online storefront available as well.
What to shop: Patterned pillows, kitchen accessories, candles, totes and Southern inspired home goods.
3. Old Whaling Company: A Little Piece of the Coast
If there is one thing the South does particularly well, it is making the everyday feel connected to the landscape around it.
Old Whaling Company does exactly that through bath and body products inspired by the sea.
The Charleston based, family owned brand was founded in 2012 after founder April Budney began looking for gentler products for her family. What began as a personal search eventually became a business creating handcrafted soaps, body butters, bath bombs, shower steamers and other self care products.
The company’s philosophy is simple, products should feel good, smell good and connect you to a sense of place. Its fragrances are inspired by Charleston, coastal destinations and memories of travel, while its products are handcrafted in Charleston by a women-led team.
There is also a surprisingly personal story behind the brand’s most recognizable symbol. Jernigan the Whale, the mascot featured on Old Whaling Company’s soap boxes, was named after Laura Jernigan, a member of a prominent whaling family from Martha’s Vineyard. April was inspired by the family’s story when developing the name and concept for Old Whaling Company. Laura traveled with her father and his crew as a young girl and kept a journal documenting her life at sea. The story became part of the inspiration behind the whale that now represents the brand.
That makes Old Whaling Company particularly appealing as a Charleston souvenir. Unlike a decorative item that sits on a shelf, a bar of soap or small body butter can bring the feeling of the coast into everyday life.
Where to visit: The brand has a King Street shop at 409 King Street and a location inside the City Market Great Hall at 188 Meeting Street, as well as an online storefront.
What to shop: Sea inspired soaps, body butters, bath bombs, shower steamers and gift sets.
4. Draper James: A Modern Take on Southern Style
Southern style has a reputation for being polished, feminine and a little bit playful. Draper James brings those qualities into a modern lifestyle brand.
Founded by Reese Witherspoon in 2015 and inspired by her Southern upbringing, Draper James offers clothing, accessories and home goods that reinterpret familiar Southern staples. The name itself is a tribute to Witherspoon’s grandparents, Dorothea Draper and William James Witherspoon, who were among her greatest influences and helped shape her appreciation for Southern hospitality, style and tradition.
Gingham, florals, stripes and classic silhouettes give the collections a recognizable Southern character without feeling overly traditional. The brand’s Nashville roots are also central to its identity, with its first store opening in Witherspoon’s hometown in 2015.
For anyone shopping the South, Draper James offers an easy way to bring that aesthetic home, whether through a dress, gingham accessory, tote or home accent.
Where to visit: Draper James has its roots in Nashville, while Charleston area shoppers can find the brand at Belk at Mount Pleasant Towne Centre, 1200 Belk Drive, Mount Pleasant, with an online storefront available as well.
What to shop: Dresses, accessories, totes, home accents and signature gingham pieces.
5. Kenny Flowers: A Vacation State of Mind
Not every Southern brand begins with a traditional Southern recipe, pattern or material. Some simply capture the way the South likes to live.
Kenny Flowers is a Charleston based lifestyle brand with global roots, built around color, travel and a relaxed approach to dressing. Its story began in 2015, when founder Kenny Haisfield moved from New York City to Bali and began making Hawaiian style shirts for friends.
The brand eventually grew into a resortwear collection spanning men’s and women’s clothing, swimwear, children’s apparel, golf, tennis and accessories. Christina Haisfield, Kenny’s best friend, first customer and now wife, helped expand the brand into women’s resort and swimwear.
That global background gives Kenny Flowers its distinctive point of view. Its prints are bold, its silhouettes are relaxed and its pieces are designed for everything from a beach getaway to a dinner closer to home.
The Charleston flagship brings that aesthetic to King Street, giving the brand a natural home in a city known for warm weather, coastal living and a social calendar that often moves between the water, dinner and weekends away.
There is a sense of fun behind the brand that feels especially fitting for Charleston. The clothes are made to be worn on vacation, but they also bring a little of that feeling into everyday life.
Where to visit: 345 King Street, Charleston, with an online storefront available as well.
What to shop: Printed button downs, swimwear, resortwear, golf and tennis apparel and accessories.
Why We Love Southern Brands
What these five brands have in common is not a single aesthetic. They represent five different sides of Southern life, from hospitality and food to home, craftsmanship, coastal living, fashion and travel.
Together, they show that Southern style is not one thing. It can be traditional or playful, coastal or polished, handmade or fashion forward. It can look like a warm biscuit on a breakfast table, a patterned pillow on a porch, a thoughtfully designed home, or a colorful shirt worn to dinner after a day on the water.
That is what makes exploring Southern brands so much more interesting than simply buying a souvenir. The best brands offer a way to experience the character of a place through the things people make, wear, eat and bring into their homes. They take familiar parts of Southern life and reinterpret them in ways that feel personal and current, while still keeping a connection to the traditions and landscapes that inspired them.
And that feeling is something worth exploring, sharing and taking home.
