Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to DL Pettigrew. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

DL, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

The team at Hidden PEARLS believes all Queens wear PEARLS and we want all women who put on a Hidden PEARLS design to look and feel like a Queen when she walks out on her runway if life. I design for unique women who want to mark their OWN trails!
After volunteering for 23 years at one of the largest battered women’s shelter’s , and seeing how so many women don’t ever realize how strong and beautiful they are. Since most women are beaten down and under value so many times it makes my heart ache.
I also believe when a woman wears a beautiful dress or skirt and blouse and a great looking coat they feel like they can do anything. There is value in dressing up and we have lost that.
First impressions are made in 60 seconds, and that is something we don’t seem to care about anymore. If you are in sales it can be night or day difference in how many sales you get. You have to dress the part to have people believe you are as good as you say you are. Would you trust a pilot that showed up to fly your plane in their PJ’s ? Would you trust a surgeon who showed up for your operation in a bathing suit. Let’s get real people clothing matters. We also are on a mission to be more sustainable in this industry so we use a lot of dead-stock fabrics so they don’t land up in the landfills. Images before & After are something we take seriously.

DL, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have always loved fashion and high end well made clothing. I even used to design my Barbie clothes and have fashion shows with Barbie and Ken. I started sewing early making all of my clothes , and didn’t own anything store bought until I started college and I bought my first pair of blue jeans.
I went to fashion college at Florida State University in Florida . I design children’s clothing first in my fashion career, and then I went into retail management for 12 years until I had my family and then I got side tracked into helping a batter women’s shelter for years and into a non-profit soccer program that I grew into a national event sending soccer gear to over 63 third world countries.
My daughter came to me 6 years ago and asked me to consider going back into the fashion world stating she couldn’t find dresses that she could wear to work that didn’t look like lingerie . So that is when I started Hidden PEARLS with the mind set to put a Hidden PEARL in every design to remind my customer how special and beautiful they really are.
So we do two collections a year, and I try to have a few dresses, coats, and blouses and skirts in a good size range from 0 to 20. I also have worked very hard on our fit for the curvy woman’s body. it is important for me to have our designs fit well. I don’t like a woman to be wrapped up in a lot of fabric like she is wearing a tent. Let’s show off the waist, the hips etc.
When your clothes fit it looks like you have lost weight, my mother says it was the best diet I ever put her own, going shopping for clothes that fit. Love who you see in the mirror , and please look at yourself before you step out.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When I started I didn’t know a lot about manufacturing, however I learned fast from many resources . Since we produce our own fashion brand I needed one or two factories. I started in India and China, and I even went to my factory in India. It was an amazing experience ,and for three years it worked well then covid hit and everything changed.

Our first business model was for us to connect with locally owned family owned boutiques across the USA, and sale wholesale directly to them, and also to do trunk shows twice a year. I loved this plan , and it worked well for me in so many ways.

Then after covid hit most of the boutiques shut down, or didn’t order anymore. So we adjusted our plan and decided to do an online store on Shopify, and I researched USA factories hoping to bring our production back to the U.S. After five U.S. factories failing us , we decided to hired our own master seamstress’s .

Anyway it is important for the Hidden PEARLS brand now to be manufactured in the USA, and that we try to use dead-stock fabric as much as possible. Also that we create classic, ageless and timeless pieces that can be worn for many years.

I also name every design after a very famous woman who is making a difference in our world or left behind a huge legacy that is changing live still today.

Just to give an example of how much I have had to endure just in the last 3 years since covid is following our USA factory search.
First I found a factory in Alabama called ON Point, and things were going well for us, then covid killed their lead investor, and they lost 77 designers out of the 100, and they went bankrupt . Then we moved to another factory also in Alabama called Dutcox , and it got hit by a tornado after we worked with them for 6 months and the building was contemned, yes this happen. Then we trucked everything up and moved to a factory in Arizona called Fashion Source , and we started out great, and then they issued a mask mandate and vaccine mandate, and over half of the sewers walked out including the 10 that made our designs, so then we moved to another factory in Arizona called BMC, but we weren’t a good fit so then we reach out to a factory in Chicago called Blue Tin, however they decided our designs were too difficult for them.

So we are still interested in finding a factory , however we continue to work our business model of Fashion On Demand with the master seamstress we have. It gives me more control on sizing and fit which I am committed to giving to our customers who become friends in the end.

Wearing a Hidden PEARLS design is something special , and yes you do feel like a Queen!

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Funding my business was a total shock to me since I thought at first I would just get a bank loan, however my wonderful husband said he had stock options he needed to sale, and that is what happen. I was so surprised since I thought he would think I was going once again down a rabbit hole, however he is my biggest supporter, and then I have had others family and friends who believe in this mission for uplifting women to be all they can be each and everyday. There are a lot of Queens in this world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shophiddenpearls.com
• Instagram: shophiddenpearls
• Facebook: Facebook.com/DLPEARLS/
• Linkedin: DL Pettigrew
• Other: www.pinterest.co/dlhiddenpearls

Image Credits
David Alderman Studio’s , Denver, Colorado