In Fashion & Sisterhood: The Women Behind Double D Ranchwear

Story by Lizz Daniels, Photos Courtesy Double D Ranchwear

Having a sister can be one of life’s greatest blessings.

They often become a first best friend, a confidante, and partner in crime. But for some siblings, this childhood bond becomes so strong that it carries into adulthood, allowing the magic of sisterhood to develop into life-changing careers.

That’s what happened for the three sisters behind Double D Ranchwear. The company’s website describes itself as a ‘premier lifestyle brand.’ It’s western yet modern, pulling inspiration not only from Texas but the culture of the West. And while the brand may be well-known locally, they are also one of the hottest western fashion brands in the business, with country music artists and other celebrities seeking the brand out.

Audrey Franz co-founded the company with her sisters Cheryl McMullen and Hedy Carter nearly three decades ago.

“We didn’t intend to be in this business,” Audrey said. “It just kind of happened, and at that time, it was the late 80s, early 90s, and that was the thing –– western was really strong then, and it just took off. Cheryl, my sister, does a ton of research to make sure that things are historically correct. We work with museums and different Native American artisans and western artists to get it right in how it would have been done. And we make our own buttons, it just kind of the way we do it.” 13

Anyone with siblings knows, however, that it’s not always sunshine and rainbows. Siblings can fight like no other, and a certain competitive and critical nature often arises between sisters. Starting a business comes with many obstacles, but the Double D sisters faced these issues early on.

“I think early on, there were obviously struggles just with being sisters,” she said. “You have that tug and pull, right? But we learned fairly quickly each of us have different strengths and weaknesses, so we could pick at each other’s weaknesses all day long if we wanted but is it really getting anything done? No, it doesn’t. So we know what Cheryl is good at, we know what Hedy is good at, we know what my strong things are so we rely on each other to bring that out in each other. We work very hard. We work 7 days a week, pretty much, and all day and all night. It’s like working with your best friend. It works for us.”

Growing up in and around the Seguin area, the sisters’ family took trips in the summer to New Mexico, where peaks climb high into the sky, and summer temperatures remain cool and fall-like. Compared to the Texas heat, the mountains –– where the brand was inspired –– are otherworldly.

“We had gone on a family vacation snow skiing in New Mexico, and so the oldest sister, who is actually the designer, had gotten mountain fever and so she had to go down into the mountain,” Audrey said. “She came across a gentleman in a shop that was taking old vintage Pendleton blankets and he was making coats and jackets and things out of them, so she purchased one.”

They gave little thought to the Pendleton jacket in Cheryl’s possession until the trio traveled to Dallas for a gift show. At the time, Cheryl was in the interior design business, and while that was the purpose of their trip, the jacket from New Mexico was what got people talking.

“She wore her coat that she got made,” Audrey said. “People were stopping us, ‘where’d you get the coat?’ And so, finally, we ended up having to check the coat (put it away) so we could get our work done. So when we came home and we were telling our parents about this experience, our dad, who’s very much an entrepreneur, said, ‘well ya’ll need to make those and sell them.’ So we were like, ‘okay great, we’ll make some and sell some and go back snow skiing next year.’ We’ll make a little extra money, whatever. Because we were in the interior design business, we knew sewing. We knew fabrics and that sort of thing, so we got some samples together and went back to Dallas that March and opened a little booth during the apparel show and literally had people standing in line to get into the showroom to order these coats.”

From there, the sisters founded their business, Double D Ranchwear, located out of Yoakum, about an hour from Seguin. Locally, their clothing is available at D&D and boutiques in New Braunfels and Gruene. A few years ago, they created custom embroidered Matador shirts for the Seguin Sports Boosters when Audrey’s sons attended SHS. They were a huge local success.

Part of their goal was to provide parents with something of quality –– something that would last more than just one season. This same level of craftsmanship goes into all of Double D’s clothing and is central to their identity, which shines through in this year’s fall collection. Audrey attributes this to the inspiration behind the seasonal looks.

“So the fall collection is called ‘Scrapbooks,’ and there are four collections within it,” she said. “It’s kind of a look back on where we came from. Each one of the collections is named after one of our ancestors. The first one was our maternal grandmother, who grew up in the New Braunfels area, so we took some memories from that and turned that into a collection.

Double D has a small shop located in Yoakum but, up until recently, has been primarily wholesale. Their flagship store opening this month at the Stockyards in Fort Worth is a massive step toward their goals.

“The collection that we are on now is called ‘Walker,’ which was our paternal great-great-grandfather who road the Chisolm trail,” she said. “So it’s very much about ranching and cattle drives, and that’s perfect for us starting the store in the Stockyards. I think we’re excited about opening the store in Fort Worth. If that goes well, I think we have a few other store locations in mind. You know, we enjoy working, our kids are all grown and either in college or out of school, and you know we’ve been doing this forever so we can’t really think of anything else we’d rather do –– I guess retire, but that doesn’t sound like much fun. We’d probably go crazy in a week.”

With two more collections in their Fall release titled ‘Chilly’ and ‘Little Mary,’ the Double D sisters have plenty to keep them busy as they head into the cooler months. Audrey, Cheryl, and Hedy may not have expected to be in the fashion business, but now that they are, they’re here to stay. And what began with a single coat crafted in the mountains of New Mexico is now a Texas fashion staple and a business showcasing the power of sisterhood. •