Jadelynn Brooke Clothing: Inspiring Story of 3 Sisters

Sisters, Lexi Lynn, Brooke and Jade (who will begin university soon) went from being students at the University of Texas at Austin to owning a successful and growing clothing company, Jadelynn Brooke.

The fairly new company, which began just last year and is based in Texas, started when the sisters realized there was something missing in all the clothing companies out there.

 "I knew that there was something missing in the market place for it," Lynn says of the oversized t–shirts the brand specializes in.

History

While at the University of Austin, the two older sisters, Brooke and Lexi Lynn, were members of the sorority Tri Delta. The sororities’ shirts were oversized almost mens–wear–like shirts. Their younger sister, Jade, now 18 and about to begin University, began wearing the shirts too. It soon caught on with her friends in high school.

"She wanted the look the college girls were wearing," Lynn says of her little sister.

At this time, men’s oversized t–shirts were a big trend in college, but still not traditionally made for women.

Lynn said she and her sisters began to ask themselves, "If that’s what the girls are wearing, then why not make it cute, fun and empowering?"

From the first idea to the beginnings of the company, the girls moved fast to start work on their product. Lynn says there was about a two–and–a–half–month window from when the brand was first conceptualized to when they named it, created a logo, labels and sizing. The name comes from a combination of the womens’ first names, Jade, Brooke and Lexi who goes by Lexi Lynn.

Lynn worked for her mother’s clothing company, ATX Mafia, so she felt she had enough experience and knowledge behind what it takes to run your own clothing brand.

 "We felt pretty confident that we were on to something," Lynn said of the brands’ preppy and happy vibe.

Lynn explains that most southern brands, or "preppy" southern brands, typically have a mascot. The women wanted a mascot that represented a little bit of where they grew up: a small town outside of Austin called Dripping Springs where there are a lot of deer.

So, the women cam came up with their mascot: a Buck named Happy, who wears a bow tie, "because what’s more preppy than a bow tie," quips Lynn.

The girls who are, 25, 21 and 18 first had the idea for the company in February of 2014. By June 10th, 2014, the women sold their first products. The first market they attended was in Atlanta where they signed 50 new accounts and had a packed booth. Lynn explains that their focus is on their wholesale accounts, which sell to retailers.

The markets they attend are wholesale markets; Lynn thinks they have attended about 20 markets since their first back in 2014.

"We knew we had something different and something special," Lynn says of their first market. She says the booth was packed and retailers reported back to selling out of their merchandise quickly.

Each girl has 1/3 of the responsibility and Lynn says they try to magnify the strengths of each girl. Lynn is in charge of design and concepts, Brooke is in charge of the sales and Jade does the social media.

Lynn says, "Jade is our target customer to a T," and the 18 year old is the brands’ social media guru. "We contribute a huge part of our success to that."

The headquarters for Jadelynn Brooke are on their parents’ farm in Dripping Springs, Texas. They have three warehouses that they keep growing out of and about 12 people who work for them. One of the warehouses is considered their office and there is one major warehouse where most of the production is done on two screen printers.

How do three sisters all under the age of 30 create a successful clothing line?

"Our drive and motivation comes from our upbringing. They put a fire in our bellies to make a difference in the world," Lynn said. "The sky is the limit as long as you put your blood, sweat and tears into it."

Lynn states that their parents, who are both entrepreneurs, are a lot of help to them, as they are able to lean on them whenever anything gets hard.

"The hardest part for us is staying fresh and current. You are only as good as your last best seller," Lynn says. "We come out with a new design either once a week or every other week."

Lynn says that knowing which products are going to be the most popular and re–ordering them based on what they think the demand will be is also a challenging aspect of their work.

The women knew that they wanted a positive and happy brand, one that reflected the positive and happy way they live their lives.

"Everything we do has a positive image and that inspires people to be happy," Lynn said. "We believe that happiness is a choice. If you choose it, you can have a great life."

One person that inspires the women in their constant pursuit of happiness and positivity is their grandfather, who Lynn describes as "the most genuine happy person I know." The Buck, Happy, is named after their grandfather.

"We take our work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously," Lynn says.

The quotes on their shirts also help the women embody the idea of happiness and positivity in their clothing.

The brand focuses on creating a better self–image for the girls who buy their clothes, "It’s about positive reinforcement."

Other pillars the brand focuses on are "sisterhood, happiness and patriotism. We love America. A whole collection of the brand is devoted to America," says Lynn.

To embody the idea of sisterhood, the women try to take time for each of their customers. What is sisterhood?

"Girls being proud of who we are and having confidence," explained Lynn.

Lynn relays the most exciting and emotional outcome of their clothing brand are the letters the women receive from their customers. The letters talk about how not only have the customers become better Southerners by buying their product, but how they have become better sisters, by seeing how the sisters interact with each other in social media.   

"I get choked up because this is not what we started the brand to do. Of course it is a huge awesome part of it…but I had no idea that would come with it," Lynn expresses. "We make t–shirts, but we are obviously having a bigger halo effect around it, which is has been very powerful and rewarding and exciting."

This also begs the question, how does one become a better Southerner?

"A lot of our shirts express the Southern mentality of hospitality," which Lynn explains is "to be overly kind to people, embrace your roots, be proud of where you come from and who you are."

What’s next for the three motivated sisters?

"We have a very big vision for Jadelynn Brooke. We want to be a full lifestyle brand," says Lynn.

The women also have a Youtube channel in the works and want to start making "anything from dresses to shorts."

"Exciting things are in the works. We are on a roller coaster and we do not want to stop," says Lynn.

For more information on Jadelynn Brooke, visit www.jadelynnbrooke.com