When Monkee's of Fair Oaks Ranch opens its doors on August 20, it will bring a curated selection of national contemporary designers to the Texas Hill Country, a feat made possible by the collective buying power of the Monkee's franchise network. Owner Kelli Hull, a local resident, identified a gap in the market: contemporary designer clothing without a 45-minute drive into San Antonio. Filling that gap, she says, would only be possible through a franchise with real purchasing scale behind it.
"Because we're a franchise, the buying power that the collective franchisees have is fairly significant," Hull said. "It's amazing that someone like myself - my store's not even open yet - was able to walk into the Farm Rio showroom in Manhattan and buy for 2027. Without that buying power, none of this would be possible."
Hull recently returned from New York City, where she sat down with some of the largest contemporary brands in the country to build the store's opening and forward assortments. The Monkee's franchise - a North Carolina-based collective of locally owned women's boutiques - gives even a brand-new, single-location owner a seat at showrooms that would otherwise be out of reach for a 1,200-square-foot shop. Monkee's of Fair Oaks Ranch is store #8 in Texas and #70 nationwide, placing Hull early in a growing brand while giving her access to the group's full designer roster from day one.
The store is built so there is "something for everybody," Hull said - and the brand list reflects it. Paige denim, a "cult classic," and FRAME anchor the contemporary denim and ready-to-wear offering. Aviator Nation, the brightly colored Malibu, California sweat-and-swimwear label, has high-school-age shoppers "over the moon," Hull said. Dresses and elevated pieces from names like Milly, Shoshanna and Marie Oliver round out an assortment designed to take customers "from day to night." Krewe, Oncept, perfectwhitetee and Pistola provide a mix of accessories and apparel, joined by the artisanal craftsmanship of Texas jeweler Christina Greene.
"If you want to wear a basic top, a pair of denim and sneakers during the day, but then you have an event in the evening and you need to put on a cocktail dress, we're your one-stop shop to do all of that," Hull said. Just as important to Hull is what shoppers haven't heard of yet. Alongside the recognizable labels, Monkee's of Fair Oaks Ranch will carry emerging designers at a wide range of price points - the brands customers discover after they walk in for a familiar name.
"You're probably going to come in for Paige, which is kind of a cult classic," Hull said. "But I have a feeling you're going to discover other brands as well that you've never heard of - and I think you're going to love them just as much." That curation is hands-on. One recent morning, a sales rep drove down from Dallas and rolled racks of clothing right into Hull's home to preview merchandise arriving for late-fall holiday and into January 2027.
"In fashion, we get emotional about it - I have this feeling, and it's so beautiful, and I love it, and maybe the data doesn't support that," Hull said. "To have a buyer say, 'That's good - let's tiptoe into the water on this brand, make some safe bets, and if everybody loves it, we can get more,' has been phenomenal. Otherwise we'd all have a tendency to go a little hog wild, because it's very hard to say no to a piece you love." The result, she says, is an assortment that is broad enough to serve women of all ages yet curated enough to feel personal - the difference between Monkee's and the limited contemporary options that exist in the area today.
Monkee's of Fair Oaks Ranch will hold its grand opening at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, 2026, in the Lemon Creek Ranch development near Fair Oaks Ranch and Boerne. The store's website, monkeesoffairoaks.com, launches about 30 days ahead of opening, with online shopping planned for 2027.
