A Letter from the Founder

People see a clothing brand.

I see a promise I made to my younger self.

Growing up, I was always the skinny girl. Family members would make comments here and there, but I brushed them off. Then one day, everything changed.

I was sitting in Home Economics class when my teacher told us we were going to watch a film about our bodies. Part of it talked about anorexia and bulimia. As the movie played, I noticed my teacher staring directly at me. I didn’t understand why. I had never struggled with an eating disorder, so I was simply watching and feeling sorry for the people in the film.

When it ended, she looked right at me and told the class that there were resources available for people dealing with anorexia.

In that moment, I felt every eye in the room turn toward me.

I was embarrassed. I was confused. I was hurt.

I walked into that classroom one way and walked out questioning how other people saw me. Was I so skinny that everyone assumed something was wrong with me? Was this what people thought whenever they looked at me?

That moment planted insecurities that stayed with me for years.

Then, when I was sixteen, something unexpected happened.

I was walking through Concord Mall, feeling confident in a pair of jeans and a tank top, when a modeling scout stopped me. For the first time, a stranger saw beauty and potential in me. I was excited. Maybe I wasn’t seeing myself clearly after all.

But that dream ended before it ever began.

We never pursued the opportunity, and once again I found myself questioning my worth instead of believing in it.

Years passed.

I became a mother and raised four children.

Then something incredible happened.

People began telling me they couldn’t believe I had four kids. They thought I was in my twenties. The very body I had spent years criticizing was now the same body people admired.

That’s when I realized something I wish I had known all along.

So many of us spend years fighting ourselves because of words someone else spoke over us.

Those words don’t have to become our truth.

I created ThemNI for every woman who has ever looked in the mirror and questioned whether she was enough.

For every woman who has felt overlooked, judged, underestimated, or uncomfortable in her own skin.

For the young Black woman who rarely sees herself celebrated the way she deserves to be.

For the woman learning that confidence isn’t something other people give you. It’s something you choose for yourself.

When you wear ThemNI, I don’t just want you to feel comfortable in your clothes.

I want you to feel comfortable in your skin.

Our message, You vs. The Universe, isn’t about proving yourself to everyone else.

It’s about overcoming every lie, every insecurity, every criticism, and every voice that ever made you believe you weren’t enough.

Because the greatest battle isn’t against the world.

It’s against believing the world gets to decide your worth.

And around here…

We don’t let it.

— Toni Towson
Founder, ThemNI