农业+生活方式
看起来很好，做得很好
发布于2021年2月24日12:00 AM
农民 丹尼尔Welliver 戴着南方正统的领带摆姿势 南方百丽农场.
When Emmie Howard co-founded clothing brand Southern Proper in 2005, 她并没有打算对乔治亚州的农业产生影响. 但16年后，随着前美国总统奥巴马等知名人士的加入.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall sporting her signature ties, what started as a home business has grown into a national brand.
“老实说, I was just putting together two things I’ve always loved: Southern men and fashion,霍华德说。.
和她大学里最好的朋友共同创立的, the pair started by creating neckties and bowties in Howard’s Atlanta-area dining room. 多年来, they added other product categories and the brand grew into a multi-million-dollar business. 领带仍然是该品牌的利基产品, as Howard believes ties can be a “window to a gentlemen’s personality,” and she wanted to use that window to showcase Southern icons and reflections of her upbringing in Ripley, 田纳西州.
“From the riverboats I watched float the Mississippi River to crops like corn and peanuts, 使用这些图标是一个很酷的方式来启动这个品牌, and we did it at a time when the culture for Southern food and fashion was coming up,霍华德说。, 谁家是第五代农民.
从花生，应有尽有, 小麦和棉花到玉兰花, 拖拉机和鸭子, Howard saw the ties as a way for Southern gentlemen to reflect their personalities and their interests, 还穿着他们最好的衣服.
“领带是我父亲, grandfather or brother could express themselves through wearing ties. And they are great conversation starters that reflect part of your lifeblood and personality,”她说。.
之后乔治亚州州长. Sonny Perdue was spotted at the State Capitol wearing a Southern Proper tie, 这个品牌成为了立法者的必备品, 尤其是那些有领带的人, 没有双关语, 对农业来说.
“I love Southern Proper because they bring together two of my favorite things: Georgia agriculture and spiffy neckties,珀杜说. “I’ve heard there was a running joke in the White House about which commodity tie I’m going to be wearing that day. 去年的一天，我走进白宫西翼, and the President’s aide looked at my tie and said to his coworker, 嘿，我赢了! 今天是他的拖拉机领带.’”
Jeffrey一. 哈维, director of the 公共政策 Department at 乔治亚州农场局, 太k note of the way Southern Proper’s ties advertised Georgia’s commodity-based agriculture industry, and sought a way to use them to gain more exposure for farmers.
“每年我们的团队都会选择一种突出的商品. 无论我们强调什么商品, we give out Southern Proper ties to Georgia House and Senate ag committee members and the agriculture commissioner,哈维说。. “现在, 在我走过州议会大厦的任何一天, 我知道我会看到三到四条我们送出的领带. It’s like we planted a lot of seeds over the years, and it’s so fun to watch them grow. When those legislators are out talking to people, it’s a reminder to everyone that ag is important.”
称它们为“好看的领带”,哈维说 he’s almost certain he has all of the ag-based ties Southern Proper has made.
“我喜欢传统的乔治亚州桃红色领带, 但我最喜欢的是那条红色棉质领带, 不过我有一条我很喜欢的浅蓝色肉牛领带, 太,他笑着说.
The brand’s most popular tie of all time, according to Howard, is the cotton boll tie. She was quick to add that the peanut tie is also a huge favorite, especially here in Georgia.
Southern Proper has gone a long way in building support for Georgia’s agriculture industries.
“Georgia business will always stand with our agriculture industry, 而Southern Proper说到做到,珀杜说.
通过它对南方文化的独特反映, 该品牌在南方绅士中建立了庞大的粉丝群.
“These ties are fashionable items that people want to purchase and wear, 从我们的角度来看, 这对农业是一个很大的促进,哈维说. “我们非常感激他们, and we value that they keep ag in the forefront of people’s minds in a way that’s nontraditional.”
As agriculture and fashion have evolved over the years, so has Southern Proper. In 2012, 霍华德最初的商业伙伴剥离了他的生意, 霍华德找到了一位投资者，并继续发展业务. In 2018, 企业家霍华德已经准备好迎接新事物, 所以她把Southern Proper卖给了阿拉巴马州的HomTex.
“当我卖掉的时候，我们把球队也带走了，”霍华德说. “我告诉HomTex，我承诺会在一年的时间里转变, and I’m so thankful for them and for how everything has worked out.”
Adding familiarity to the transition can be credited to Maury 里昂, HomTex的销售副总裁, 认识霍华德十年的人. In 2010, 里昂, 谁拥有State Traditions服装公司, 在州际关系方面与南方正统派合作.
“What HomTex ultimately bought was the great reputation and wonderful brand connection that Southern Proper had built with so many folks in the South,里昂说. “HomTex and our ownership were able to use the brand familiarity and add our resources, manufacturing expertise and leadership to help Southern Proper continue to thrive.”
HomTex计划根据最初的设想进行改造, creating something new without deviating from the brand’s appeal.
“我们正在考虑该品牌的其他发展方向, offering more of a male influence and hoping to reach a broader demographic. We plan to bring Southern Proper into its third decade of connections and resonance with folks in the South and expand our geographic footprint,里昂说.
现在, Howard is president of men’s Southern lifestyle brand Onward Reserve, which sells Southern Proper items in their 12 stores around the Southeast.
“One of the things that always made us different is that Southern Proper is more than just a brand. It’s a really cool subcategory of Southern culture and fashion, and I’m proud that we started that. 现在市面上有很多品牌, but no one did what we did with neckties and bowties for the well-dressed man — that’s in our name: Southern Proper,霍华德说.
As their website says, “Style isn’t a matter of money, but a matter of manners. 时尚意味着在世界上做好事，穿得最好. Inspired by the gentlemen who were hard working in the field but dressed in their Sunday best for fancy occasions, Southern Proper是经典的, 有礼貌, 干干净净，打得像打得很好的领结.”
Howard elaborated: “Being a Southern gentleman is more than just looking good, it’s about doing good. That’s why people like Sonny Perdue and organizations like 乔治亚州农场局 appreciate our brand – our values align.”
* 乔治亚州农场局要感谢 南方百丽农场 for hosting us and providing this picturesque peach orchard backdrop. 我们还要感谢 丹尼尔Welliver, who has worked at Southern Belle for over a decade and serves on 乔治亚州农场局's 青年农民和牧场主委员会他将南方的传统服饰发扬光大. 最后，谢谢你 蓝色的 黑色的拉布拉多犬对他的印象是狗 Southern Proper标志.
