The Old Master Says: The Luden's Project, A Lowcountry Icon

Let's go back, way back to 1867, when Charleston's Harbor was buzzing with windjammers and seafarers, J. J. W. Luden ran a small operation selling groceries, medicine, supplies, and clothes to yachts and cargo ships out of a small boat. Eventually his little vessel transformed itself into Charleston's first brick and mortar retailer. It would eventually hold a handful of individual locations over its 142 years in business, but the Alexander Street location (its final resting place), was the one I was familiar with. As a young man in middle school and high school, Luden's was the place to go for not only boating supplies, but outdoor gear, along with locally made khakis (these were primarily seconds or factory slip ups), belts, button ups, tote bags, docksides (Sebago, not Sperry), along with a ton nautical themed odds and ends. It was an institution. Sadly, Luden's shut their doors in 2009, and it left an enormous hole in the Charleston Community. Our little secret and retail safe haven (from the now booming tourism) was gone.

Jump to 2021, I'm chatting with Chip Ervin, owner of Grady Ervin & Co. (a menswear store here in Historic Downtown Charleston), picking his brain about menswear, retail, and his tenure with Ralph Lauren in the 1980s and 1990s (Peak Ralph Lauren in my opinion). The conversation steers towards shuttered retailer’s here in town, and eventually we land on Luden's. We bonded over it's overwhelming nostalgia for the both of us when he mentions (somewhat casually) he'd love to license the name and bring back a few of the classic products at which I whole heartedly responded, "If that ever happens, you let me know." - Having brought it up in conversation here and there over the course of that year, Chip and The Butler Family (who purchased Luden's back in the 1960s, and still hold claim to the name) set up a meeting with me to discuss potentially bringing the brand back (albeit in the form of a small capsule), but there was a catch... Every design would have to be recreated, and there was no paperwork what-so-ever of any of the original suppliers or artists for the products they wanted to bring back.

Luckily, between all of us, along with former Luden's employee's, we were able to slowly start piecing things together. The Butler's had a small number of high quality photographs of some of the original logos and graphics, but all of them would have to be redrawn. I personally began scouring the internet and local thrift stores (a lot of trips to Goodwill), in hopes of coming across an old worn out piece of Luden's merchandise I could work off of. After a few weeks I decided to make a post on a "Charleston Locals" Facebook Group asking if anyone had anything in their closet or attic they could let me borrow for the project. Sure enough, Charlestonian's came out of the woodwork with belts, tote bags, pants, t-shirts, pretty much everything we were in the process of recreating. At one point my home office was filled with so much random Luden's products and flyers from the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s it was a bit overwhelming.

Tote bags and ribbon belts I was already familiar with as we were offering them here at Morris & King (inspired by Luden's of course), but I was still in the process of dialing them in at the time (I believe at one point I had over 50 tote bag samples, that I ended up donating to a local produce delivery service). You would think a tote bag would be easy enough to figure out, but the original Luden’s tote bag was made from extremely heavy canvas, so thick and sturdy the shoulder straps would stand straight up with ease. Finding someone that could stitch something that tough isn't easy. The belts however would end up taking the longest to figure out, specifically the ribbon embroidery. Back in the day the ribbon was hand pulled through an embroidery machine that is no longer used, giving the logo a slight stretched look to it. After sampling the ribbon each one came out perfect. It sounds silly to say, but we didn’t want it perfect, we wanted it to look like the original, we wanted it to look (pardon my language), fucked up. The old belts were pulled and stretched, and the new machines stitched exactly what you fed it (perfectly), so for weeks I tweaked and manipulated the logo ever so slightly, sampling each little move until we finally nailed it. (I currently have a desk draw filled with these ribbons by the way.)

Once everything was in the works we decided to announce a release date during the South Eastern Wildlife Expo (which is fitting), and the project was picked up by the Post & Courier (Charleston's local paper) which gave us a huge local boost. At the launch I quietly stood by (watching friends, families, and so many of my fellow Charlestonian's who cherished this brand) as eyes lit up to see these products back after 15 years. I was able to chat with almost everyone who came in to pick something up. Listening to old stories about the store, and how much it meant to so many people who grew up here. Working on this project was an absolute honor, and I'm thrilled to have been a part of it. I can't thank Chip and The Butler Family enough for putting their trust in us. Luden's continues to be a huge inspiration for us, and has clearly made an impact on our overall nautical theme for Morris & King. There's a very small corner of the globe that even knows about Luden's, and I think that's what truly makes it so special. It was a Lowcountry Institution for over 142 years, and it's now a Lowcountry Icon.

You can pick up pieces from this collection at Grady Ervin on King St here in town.

An enormous thank you again to Chip Ervin, The Butler Family, and Stuart Courtney who temporarily donated an enormous amount of Luden's merch for us to recreate.