Our Story

How it all started...

Growing up in rural Fayetteville, North Carolina, I understood that I was just a t-shirt and boots kinda guy from early on. 

While attending Cape Fear High School I felt that many of the southern lifestyle brands didn't truly represent our way of life. Growing up I had an idea to create a clothing line that my friends could wear and know it showed our true roots of growing up in the south and on the Cape Fear River. In 2010 I started a brand called River Boys and River Girls to represent life on the river...shortly after our launch I realized we needed a brand that represented much more than just that.

Fast forward to 2013, one day while visiting my grandpa while home from college, where I attended school in the "big city" of Raleigh, North Carolina, the idea of Old South Apparel was born and has now grown from my college apartment bedroom to an 18,000+sq ft warehouse with employees and over 600 retailers across the southeast.

Now, after 10 years, it's time to take that same passion I've had to create millions of pieces of clothing into taking your project and bringing it to life. 

Named after my grandfathers, James LeRoyal Lucas (JL)  and Leon Franklin Hair, JL Franklins was born. They had a huge influence in my personal and professional life, so I knew there was no better way than to continue taking the lessons learned from them and use it to continue my journey in this industry.