Who Is That and What Did She Do To Terrell?

When I started Terrell Dominick in 2016, it wasn’t even meant to be a brand. It was simply a love letter to New Orleans.

At the time, I was living in Jersey City.....a relocation that happened because of Hurricane Katrina. I was on baby number three, and my life looked completely different than when I first landed on the East Coast. I was missing home. One day, I posted a DIY “Made in New Orleans” bag on Instagram.

I’ve been blessed to always have people around me who support what I do (with the exception of one friend- needless to say, she’s no longer around 👀). My best friend since the first grade reposted the bag and told people I was selling them. I wasn’t lol but when a few people inquired, I didn’t have a good reason to say no. So, I made some bags by hand. They weren’t the best, but shoutout to everyone who purchased anyway. Love y’all down!

That little moment was the birth of TD. For five years, it was just me and my lil’ bags. That business drove me crazy..money lost, lessons learned, plenty of “Lord, why me?” moments.

From Bags to Rompers

In 2021, after the bags slowed down, I started showing up as myself and started styling vintage clothes. People loved it. Then came the Everywhere Romper, and y’all ate it up. That piece, plus my styling, became the TD you know today.

At first, I did everything myself the makeup, the hair, the pictures. It was giving one-woman production team. Then came a makeup artist, a photographer, a marketing manager, customer service, and this year, a dedicated social media/content manager. But even with help, I realized I was still the face, still the one modeling everything, still holding so much of the vision that I didn’t have the time to actually execute it all.

Passing the Mic

The truth is, building a brand is never one-and-done. When we’re not growing, we’re trying to grow (and sometimes we’re just trying not to lose our minds in the process 😅). For TD to keep moving forward, I need to focus on the things that make the biggest difference and that is designing better, buying and merchandising smarter, elevating the customer experience, and as the experts say  "working on the business and not in the business."

My customer is evolving. She’s diverse in size, style, and lifestyle. She has places to go, things to do, and outfits to wear and I want TD to be there with her through all of it. To make that happen, I need to be less in front of the camera so I can spend more time behind the scenes pushing the brand forward.

What’s Next

We’re just keeping things fresh and opening the door a little wider. You’ll start to see more diversity in our imagery. Think different sizes, different heights, and different vibes because that’s what our community really looks like.

I’ll still be doing styling videos and content (don’t worry, the signature pose and bowl cut isn’t retired yet… though I am trying to grow it out 😂). But now, there’ll be other faces bringing their energy into the brand too.

Which brings me to the pictures below… meet Aaliyah, our new model. She’s petite, she’s stunning, and when my friend said she reminded her of a 90’s naturally pretty video model… whew, what a compliment because those women shaped so much of my style.

So when you see the new girls on your feed, show them some love. 💕 Because this is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to grow with you.

And me? Well, I’ll finally be able to be ugly in peace and do my thing behind the scenes (as you can clearly see in some of these pictures 😂).