Beyond the Strong Black Woman: How Our Black Owned Clothing Brand Celebrates Femininity
It was an ordinary Thursday afternoon, but I saw something on Instagram that stopped me in my tracks.
And confirmed everything I had been trying to say for years.
It was a classy black influencer going live with her followers to explain how she had always wanted to be more feminine.
Growing up, she had always felt like a tomboy, masculine or the “unkept friend.”
This went far beyond her appearance because she even felt like she played the “male” role in her relationships.
And really just wanted to feel like a woman.
And that’s when she found the answer. It was in her clothes.
Instead of trying to “feel” more feminine on the inside FIRST…
This woman decided to DRESS more feminine, allowing her appearance to affect how she FELT.
And it Changed 👏🏾 Her 👏🏾 Life 👏🏾
Her new found confidence encouraged her to dream bigger, find love, to start a business, and she’s become one of the leaders in her industry.
There was a problem, though…
I saw woman after woman in the comments begging for help.
Because the influencer on the screen was decked out in the luxurious, high-end brand name fashion.
And most of her followers simply can’t afford to wear clothes like that to help them change how they feel.
Beyond the Strong Black Woman: How Our Black Owned Clothing Brand Celebrates Femininity
One of the points the influencers made was the same reason why we started this brand. There’s an expectation that as black women, we are supposed to behave a certain way.
We’ve all heard it, stereotypes like
“Strong Black Women”, “Queen”, “Miss Independent”, “Superwomen”... are just some but there are so many others…
These stereotypes created an image of a woman so resilient, independent and strong that she didn’t need anyone to help her.
And these stereotypes tended to perpetuate a lie that in the black community that being delicate, vulnerable and soft women were seen as weaknesses that could be exploited.
And that it was the woman’s job to "man up".
This was also perpetuated by movies and music and tv shows.
It almost feels black women are often viewed as resilient, independent, masculine women. If they are viewed as emotional, it’s often an extreme version of such, “angry black woman who makes a scene”
And that’s why our brand was born to challenge these stereotypes.
Because representation matters here.
My sister and I grew up feeling disconnected from the stereotypes that surrounded us.
We loved feminine, girly fashion, grew up on the classics and wanted more for ourselves and for women like us—women who value their femininity, who cherish their softness, and who see beauty in traditional values.
Our clothing isn’t just about fashion—it’s about reclaiming the right to be seen as gentle, traditional, soft, and feminine.
It’s about challenging the stereotypes and showing that black women can be both strong and soft, capable and delicate, independent, dependent and desired.
But what sets Tiana Bay apart is our approach
While many brands flood the market with thousands of styles following any trend, we take a different approach.
We focus on building curated capsule collections that are timeless, high-quality, and effortlessly stylish. Our clothes are designed to last, removing the guesswork and ensuring that every piece in your wardrobe fits perfectly and complements your natural beauty.
We don’t believe in overwhelming you with choices. Instead, we offer a carefully selected and vetted range of feminine styles—styles that are easy to wear, easy to love, and impossible to forget.
Next Steps
We invite you to explore our featured collection, where each piece is chosen with care and intention, crafted to help you express your softness, delicacy, and beauty. Join our newsletter and join us in celebrating a version of femininity that challenges the stereotypes and embraces us as God had created us to be fearfully and wonderfully made and beautifully feminine.
Shop our featured collection and join us in redefining what it means to be a black woman today—one that’s as soft, gentle, and desirable as you are.