Ribbon Cutting - Southern Tide

Southern tide is an American Apparel company founded in 2006 in Greenville South Carolina by Alan Stephenson. The brand is owned by Atlanta based Oxford industries. According to Stephenson, the inspiration for southern tide came about during college, while studying abroad in Italy. During his senior year at the University of South Carolina he presented his concept for Southern Tide for a speech class. Following his presentation, Stephenson remembers his professor encouraging him to pursue his idea and he immediately left college. After dropping out, he researched the construction of polo shirts. The finished product became the Southern Tide Skipjack Polo. Southern Tide now operates 38 stores in 14 states (with Scottsdale being the latest), inspiring the coastal lifestyle one wave at a time.