Most of us may know Reginae Carter as the daughter of rapper Lil’ Wayne and author and reality star Toya Johnson, but she’s proven to be her own mega-brand. Developing a name for herself across various industries, Reginae Carter has been tapped as a Savage x FENTY ambassador, ruled the TikTok world with hilarious video content, and starred alongside bestie and fellow celebrity kid Zonnique Pullins in both Growing Up Hip-Hop: Atlanta and T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle. Now, the budding Atlanta-based actress is gearing up to launch a fashion line by the name of TomGirl with her aunt.
While speaking with Girls United editor D’Shonda Brown, Carter revealed how TomGirl came into fruition. While her aunt already had a clothing line, she and Carter had the idea of fusing their personal senses of style together. With Carter identifying as more “girly” and her aunt having a chic tomboy swag often marked by sneakers and sweats, the Growing Up Hip-Hop starlet told ESSENCE that the line would be “the best of both worlds.” According to her, “You can wear your outfit in some heels, or you can wear your outfit in some sneakers.”
Now that she’s wearing her entrepreneurial hat, Carter is allowing her business savvy senses to come to the forefront as opposed to serving as a model or influencer for the brand. The Friends & Family Hustle star cited ordering clothes, organization and fittings some of the most challenging parts of her new role behind the scenes. As a new co-founder and fashion designer, Carter learned that she is the type of boss woman that requires hands-on involvement in her own brand and one more key element to being a good leader.
“Patience. Oh my God, that’s something that I definitely gotta work on,” Carter said laughing — yet being totally serious. “You have to be patient in order for things to work out the way you really want it. With business, I just feel like you have to be patient and know what you want.”
From her own experiences ordering clothes online, Carter wants to ensure a great relationship between the consumer and the brand, while staying true to the expectations. “It’s very stressful but I want everything to be perfect for everybody else,” she added. “I know what people want so we’re trying to give the best quality, the best fitting, and everything. We want it to be perfect.”
When it comes to the name of the highly-anticipated brand, Carter let us know that anyone can be a TomGirl, and it’s not a limited, boxed-in definition. “A TomGirl is someone who sets their own tone,” Carter said proudly. Though she and her aunt went back and forth about the color palette of the line and debating about the incorporation of pinks and purples, the two came to the conclusion that the line would be versatile and for young women and girls who are confident in their style, no matter what the color choices. “Yes, I’ma wear this dress with these sneakers because I want to. Yes, I’ma wear this dress with these heels because I want to.”
For the full interview, check out Reginae’s full interview with ESSENCE above as she talked about her upcoming TomGirl fashion line, advice she’d give her baby sister Reign about going into the fashion business, and the most challenging aspects of being an entrepreneur!
