By Hannah Barricks
Photography by Crystal Wise
Darbie Brown and Brett Oliver don’t care if you hate their signature bubble skirt.
“Apparently, it’s very divisive,” Brown says laughing. “I seriously think we’ve heard it all.”
The women settle into a booth at Fort Worth’s Hudson House. The seats are upholstered blue, forming a half-circle around a polished, honey-colored table. Brown co-founded the athletic apparel line Bubble Lifestyle in July 2018. She’s wearing a vibrant magenta Hatton sweater, and Oliver, the other half of the business, looks effortlessly cool in a periwinkle geometric-printed Poncho Lefty jacket.
While waiting for lunch, the women weave through conversations as only old girlfriends can. Their working relationship seems easy, thoughtfully developed by two business partners who agreed they were friends first, and sometimes tennis partners or opponents when time allowed.
Brown says tennis is known for having the best apparel, including the women’s favorite piece, a discontinued bubble skirt that fell out of favor after the company changed ownership. During a plant tour in 2017 in Vancouver, Brown and Oliver hoped to persuade the company to reinvest in the skirt’s design.
“They basically laughed us out of the facility,” Brown says, laughing too. “And that’s what we expected. The new owner preferred dark colors and straight lines. Maybe I’m uncool, but I need feminine designs.”
Brown went home feeling unresolved after the experience. She called Oliver to ask, “Should we make it ourselves? Can we do that?”
The bubble skirt became their test, and although grueling, they felt encouragement from unexpected places that helped push the project through.
“We recognize how the favor of God keeps coming into our lives,” Oliver says. “He’s a big part of our story and why we never gave up.”
Their persistence garnered followers, notably LPGA Pro Jill McGill, or “Jilly McGilly,” to her fans. It’s a name too fabulous for coincidence and undoubtedly intended for the hero of this story. “McGilly” doesn’t disappoint; she won the 2022 US Senior Women’s Open while wearing the Bubble’s ruffle skirt in a shade of electric pink so eye-catching it nearly sold itself — a marketing scenario most brands dream of.
“We didn’t even sponsor her,” says a still incredulous Oliver. “I couldn’t believe it. She won the championship in one of our skirts, and it was the pinkest one ever!”
A photograph of the moment still hangs in the Broadmoor Golf Club, commemorating the day Brown says the Bubble finally set its sights on golf apparel.
“I never thought we’d be in golf,” she says. “Growing up playing, khakis were the only option. It was terrible. I was really excited for an opportunity to make our mark here and establish ourselves.”
The Bubble Lifestyle went to the 2025 PGA Fashion Show in January as the still unproven new kid, competing against major brands in the industry for notoriety, buyers and a few coveted awards, including the overall Best Dressed from the men’s and women’s lines.
The Bubble submitted five looks for consideration, with Brown and Oliver picking an influencer to model one.
“She was taller than we anticipated and needed a medium,” Brown says. “That’s my size, and I packed a great outfit. I took it out of my bag and put it on her. She went straight to the runway to close the show and looked perfect.”
Their quick thinking turned a potential disaster into anopportunity.
“It pushed us over the edge,” Oliver says. “We won!”
The Best Dressed award generated the buzz Bubble needed to legitimize its golf brand. Brown and Oliver know it’s another sign to keep going.
“‘Bubble’ represents many things to us,” Oliver says. “Of course, we began with the bubble skirt, and the circles and the bubble from our logo came from wanting to take customers full circle throughout their day.”
The brand came full circle, too, following each opportunity to know itself. What new heights will it reach after the exposure of the fashion show? So far, the forecast predicts clear skies, and everyone knows it never rains on the golf course.
