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Before she became the founder of Dayo Women, a loungewear brand rooted in softness and self-love, Yolanda White built a career in corporate America that spanned decades and multiple industries. A marketer by training with an accounting background, White graduated from Tuskegee University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, followed by an MBA in marketing from Clark Atlanta University in 1998.
Her career took her from General Motors to Coca-Cola, where she rose to global group director. But in 2018, after nearly 20 years shaping some of the most recognized brands in the world, she pivoted toward something far more personal.
“I really first wanted to turn my eye to helping women,” White said. “Women go through transitions in their lives. They do not feel as seen, they do not feel as heard, and so I wanted to make sure I could fill in that gap.”
Fashion became the unexpected vehicle for that mission. A conversation with a friend opened her eyes to how women often “show up beautiful for strangers every single day” yet “fall apart” when they come home, she said. That moment sparked the idea for a line of elevated, body-conscious loungewear that women could feel confident in both emotionally and physically.
“It was not fashion first and then the clothes. It was insight, and then it went into a category, into fashion,” she said.
A Brand Built Around Real Women
From the beginning, White wanted Dayo to reflect the fluidity and complexity of women’s lives.
“We create the softest, inviting, figure-flattering clothes that help a woman feel engulfed in softness,” she said. “Our brief is really versatile, functional, and moves with the woman.”
Her approach to design is rooted in understanding the human body. “A woman’s body changes, not just with age, but it changes through the day. It changes through the month,” she said, explaining that Dayo pieces are intentionally flexible. Straps can shift, silhouettes can adjust, and coverage can be personalized. “Dayo was made for real women. We are not faking it.”
White, who says she can often identify a woman’s size the moment she walks in a room, has infused Dayo with an ethos of comfort, confidence, and self-acceptance. The company’s tagline, lounge in love, reflects that focus.“If a woman walks in this room, I know her size, I know her height, her waist size, like I know what I’m looking at,” she said.
Scaling a Vision and Learning a New Industry
Despite her corporate experience, White entered fashion with no background in product development. She hired a New York agency, ACME, so she could “understand the industry” and learn fabric procurement, pattern development, production, and marketing from the ground up.
Since 2018, Dayo has launched more than seven collections and secured partnerships with notable brands such as Reebok, Diageo, BET, and NARS, among others. The brand expanded manufacturing to Italy, produces natural fiber garments, and has appeared in Saks Off Fifth, in boutiques, and through a partnership with Amazon.
Community Impact and Holiday Expansion
Dayo’s work extends beyond clothing. This fall, White collaborated with Bank of Montreal, Amazon, and the Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Project to host Made by Women, a gifting suite at the Four Seasons for women entrepreneurs. Attendees selected complimentary Dayo items and participated in an event that celebrated their impact. “It was our moment to give back to them,” she said.
This holiday season, Dayo is introducing its first Winter Edit Collection, adding heavier knits, dusters, and sweater dresses through a collaboration with an outside designer.
“This is something completely different for us,” White said. “We brought in new fabrics, which are more of a sweater, heavier fabric, and we brought in new silhouettes. It has been going exceptional.”
As shoppers navigate economic uncertainty, White hopes consumers embrace more thoughtful holiday choices. “This giving season is all about being intentional,” she said. “Supporting small businesses, supporting women-owned businesses, puts more intention behind the purchase.”
A Name Rooted in Identity and Joy
Dayo carries both personal and cultural meaning. The name is formed from the first two and last two letters of Yolanda in reverse, and is also an African name meaning happiness has come or joy has arrived.
“This is my signature on the brand without giving my entire name away,” she said.
A Continuing Mission
At the core of Dayo, White said, is a mission that goes far beyond clothing. The brand’s purpose is rooted in emotional connection and in giving women a sense of affirmation in the spaces where they are most themselves. “I would describe my business as a business that is focused on letting women be seen, be heard, and feel beautiful through fashion, and specifically through loungewear when they are at home,” she said.
To shop this holiday season visit https://dayowomen.com/
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Noah Washington
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