Bold, fearless, and vibrant…

In 1933 in the province of Haina, Dominican Republic, a baby girl was born to a beautiful melinated Haitian mother and Indian Dominican father. At the time, there was deep resentment in her country for people like her who were of Haitian descent. At 4, She and her family fled to Haiti after General Raphel Trujillo took dictatorship over the Dominican Republic in the 1930s.

Grun Zaide spent the bulk of her days in Haiti, where she gave birth to nine beautiful children. Growing up, my mother always told me how much of a hard worker, my grandmother was and the sacrifices she made to give her children a better life. She worked as a laborer in various gardens, cleaned houses, and sometimes sold merchandise to make sure she and her children had what they needed.

She always wore her long mane in beautifully braided tresses, and she owned one Victorian-style gown she had custom made with the most beautiful fabric Haiti had to offer in those days. She took pride in herself and in her family. She has always stood out as the head Matriarch of our family. This store and its collection of pieces are all inspired by my grandmother Zaide.

She was strong, independent, bold, beautiful, intelligent, colorful, sassy, confident, ratchet, funny, unapologetically black, and most importantly, she lived carefree. Zaide Dona is fashion for the undaunted! I hope you all enjoy my collection of pieces as much as I’ve enjoyed putting them together. Fashion has breathed life back into my grandmother’s name, and I am blessed to be able to share that with you all.

Asé

xoxo Katherine