“My language is thread and sewing has shown me how we’re all connected,” says Robin Brown.

Brown has been designing apparel most of her life but it wasn’t until 2001 that she decided to open her own boutique. Magnolia Pearl has become a hidden gem amongst the hills and wildlife covering Fredericksburg, Texas. 

The fashion designer infused gratitude and resilience in building her company with clothing and accessories made from linens, vintage laces, velvets and silks. Her pieces are now carried by over 200 retailers worldwide. The Texas designer comes from a long line of fashion creators going back to her great-grandparents. Brown developed her own handmade pieces for her mother’s vintage store in San Antonio, and the creativity never stopped.

Brown admits she finds inspiration everywhere from fairy tales to barn architecture and the various Texas towns she had lived, including, Bandera, San Antonio and Austin. Today, she calls Fredericksburg home as she finds herself surrounded by a community of artists who have supported Magnolia Pearl from the beginning. For the nature lover, the small, quaint town provides wide open spaces and room to breathe where she is filled with inspiration. 

The couturier has learned to find beautiful elements in everything from a poem to a spiderweb. Her vintage apparel is influenced by Americana workwear, vintage French circus costumes and Italian clown shoes. Brown believes what you put on your body communicates individuality. Wearing a piece from her collection screams to the world freedom, comfort and authenticity.

The story of Magnolia Pearl through Brown’s perspective is beautifully captured in her recent book, “And the Stars Go With You”, a professionally-photographed fashion and design book set around the landscapes and countryside of Fredericksburg. It is part memoir, part fairy tale and all inspiration. “We’re really blessed to get to hold and be surrounded by all these pieces that are just whispering their stories into our ears at the shop,” the creative Brown says.

As an ethical and sustainable women-run clothing company, Magnolia Pearl has a loyal following of industry leaders and icons in the world of fashion, design, arts and music. If you find yourself passing through, take time to visit Magnolia Pearl if for no other reason than to admire the beauty Brown intentionally brings to every piece of fabric in her boutique.

Cover photo courtesy Robin Brown/Magnolia Pearl

Lisa Davis lives in Austin and is the Editorial Assistant for Texas Lifestyle Magazine and an honors graduate of Concordia University Texas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Public Relations.