When it comes to deciding on what type of loungewear to purchase, there are a few facts you should consider. Style, price, and comfortability. For CEO, Yolonda White, she has created her brand Dayo with all of those factors in mind. “I’m bringing affordable luxury to the loungewear category,” said White. Only launching a year ago, Dayo has managed to keep up and compete with major competitors. Its price point lies between $25-$300 and features products like high-waist panties to full-length dresses. With neutral tones leading the collection, White is creating a new wave of luxury basics.
ESSENCE got a chance to chat with White about her new business, the loungewear market, and what’s next for Dayo. Read below.
ESSENCE: Why did you decide to create Dayo?
White: When we get home, we need to exhale. But, sometimes we do it at the expense of not really caring for ourselves. And so that was sort of the brainchild that helped me understand women want comfort, we need the functionality, and we need things that transition with us. To add a layer on top of that, when we lounge, it’s really not a passive state. We’re still working, we’re still busy, and we’re doing stuff at home. I basically designed, with that premise in mind, that we need stuff that holds our girlies in and doesn’t show our flaws. That makes us feel sexy, but if we need to run out of the house, we could do it and not feel like we have to completely change our outfit.
ESSENCE: Where do you produce your product?
White: I launched with the signature collection, which was the Premier Proposition. It was produced in New York. The fabrics were curated from Japan. The best of the best was put into the product. And I wanted to ensure that I could continue to make the line accessible and to do it in a way that could be more affordable, but I wasn’t sacrificing the quality. I started working with a design firm in a production house in Italy, so we could maintain all the same features but redesign slightly so we could actually deliver even more quality.
ESSENCE: What makes loungewear so special?
White: The fabric really is the number one thing that I think goes into it. But second to that, is really the fit and the style. And the fit is really achieved through the functionality within the pieces. It’s really about the details that are in the product that makes it so special and you feel so great. I like to talk about it as a level of innovation that’s going into it because it’s truly designed for the woman.
ESSENCE: With fast fashion being so popular, why did Dayo focus on quality fabrics?
White: I was really striving to achieve high levels of natural fiber fabrics. And for me, when people are relaxing at home, they need to have something that they feel comfortable in but also feels good against their skin because there are so many synthetic fabrics that are out there.
ESSENCE: Coming up on a year, what’s next for Dayo?
White: For Dayo we will continue to drive even more innovative styles for women. So we’ve already started working on the next collection. Just more functional, versatile pieces that will be able to move with women as they get into 2020 summer. Men are screaming that they want comfort style too. So we might have “Dayo Man” pop in sooner than we thought.
For more information, visit dayowomen.com