Page 18 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2020

COAST NOTES
MOSES’
locally owned since 1920
mens wear
CELEBRATES
100 Years
At just 16 years old, a young Anneas Moses immigrated from Lebannon to live with his uncle Frank in America, where he hoped to create a new life for himself. Once in the States, Anneas joined his uncle in
his new venture, Moses’ Mens Wear, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The business opened its doors in 1920 and has been in the same building off of Highway 49 in Gulfport since 1925.
Moses’ Mens Wear is now owned and operated by Anneas’ grandchildren, cousins Chase and David Moses, who share their grandfather’s passion for apparel. While they did once sell women’s and children’s clothing,
today they specialize exclusively in men’s apparel, including Chaps, Guy Harvey, Hook and Tackle, and Rock Revival. Notably, they have become the largest Levi’s dealer in the area.
“My grandfather was the one who originally got into Levi,” Chase said. “That was the fashion in the 1950s – James Dean. We also did a lot of work wear at that time. We kept cultivating
that, and now it’s huge.”
Chase and David have surely made
their grandfather proud by carrying on his vision for the store. While things haven’t always been easy, the family has weathered every storm together. From
a devastating fire in 1973
to hurricanes Camille and Katrina, every obstacle has become an opportunity to rebuild better than before.
Throughout
WWII and
the Great
Depression, the
Moses family kept afloat by selling what would today be considered a common item: pantyhose. But during those days, pantyhose were in high demand, even sparking a series of disturbances among American stores called the Nylon Riots.
“Our grandfather had a friend and fellow retailer in New Orleans
named Mr. Katz who owned K&B Drugs,” Chase recalled. “It was that relationship that kept us in business when everyone else went under.”
Now, 100 years later, the store is
celebrating a century of being in business.
The Moses cousins
credit their loyal
customers
and the local
community for their support. “Celebrating 100 years is a fun
thing, especially in this business,” Chase said. “It’s extremely difficult for stores to be around that long. We are very lucky that people have continued to shop with us.”
Moses’ Mens Wear
1612 25th Ave., Gulfport 228.863.6814 | Find us on Facebook
story by Lisa Toye Kaufman and Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos courtesy of Moses’ Mens Wear
18 | January 2020
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
A lot has changed in the past 100 years. The Roaring Twenties were a time of dramatic social and political change that brought about economic growth following
the end of WWI. Many Americans owned cars and telephones for the first time, and the first radio station made its debut, bringing the world closer to home.
Rose, Anneas and son in the late ‘40s.
Frank and Anneas Moses
Moses’ Mens Wear prior to the re in 1973.
Anneas Moses