Fashion Saves Local Mom’s Life

Image provided by Jente’ Carter

There are so many ways to manipulate fashion, to give it some of self and borrow from it a sense of esteem. For Jente’ Carter, the mere touch of denim eased her anxieties and paved a new and promising path to success.

The 32-year old Dallas area native is a mother of three.

In 2017 Carter decided to start her own clothing line. Just like many entrepreneurs, she used social media, Facebook specifically as a storefront. 

Denim by Jente’ was birthed that October.

Where anxiety is concerned, Carter has endured what many people could never fathom. The same young woman who sewed her own prom dress just based on a vision, would turn away from her desires as a seamstress for over a decade because life was often times just too much to bare.

Carter was married in 2010 to the man she thought was meant to be her true love. The fairytale quickly turned into a nightmare full of domestic violence. He would beat her, hold a gun to her head more than a few times and he even stabbed her in the hand. The man she loved cheated throughout the entire marriage, fathering three children by other women.

“It was the most dreadful experience of my life,” says Carter. “He convinced me that I would never amount to anything.”

When Carter became pregnant herself, her then husband was enraged. The beatings didn’t stop. They became worse when his mother passed away. In 2013 she lost her baby – a girl.

“I was seven months pregnant,” recalls Carter. “I gave birth to her and she lived for about 45 minutes.”

Carter believes that the stress from her marriage and the physical trauma caused her pregnancy to end so tragically. Upon delivering the baby, she even bled out. For at least 30 minutes afterwards, she was unresponsive. And then Carter says she saw a white light and heard a voice tell her that he wasn’t ready for her yet.

In that moment, Carter promised God that she would live every single day for the rest of her life. She realized how precious life was and vowed to do everything she could to preserve her sanity and to protect the well being of her other children.

The plus-size diva has an affinity for plus-sized women and the fashionable designs they deserve. Denim by Jente’ has given her new purpose, new goals and a better sense of self.

In essence, fashion saved her life.

The business has taken her far and in such a short amount of time. She’s met lots of people. Her passion for creating confidence in women is unparalleled. She will never forget how it felt to be mocked, put down and ridiculed about everything – so she puts all of these thoughts into making her designs bold and original. Carter loves to make people feel good and enjoys bringing out their confidence.

“We go through a lot as women,” she says. “Some women never feel pretty enough and I want to change that.” 

Denim by Jente’ offers customized items. Jeans become shirts. Dresses are made from carefully selected pieces of denim. Carter’s fringe jeans are very popular. Some items include denim tassels on the side. Her fitted denim dress is very popular and sales out frequently. Carter is well known for her denim jackets.

Every piece of fabric that she buys has spandex because a lot of plus size models are curvy. Carter wants to make sure that her designs fit to conform. Most items have a turnaround time of about three to four days. The jackets can take up to a week for completion.

To meet Carter on social media, you’d never guess that she’s incredibly shy and soft-spoken. She keeps a small circle of friends and spends most of her time with her mother and her three children (two girls and one boy, ages 12, 8 and 6).

When I first started, I thought to myself “these are just jeans, so let me throw something special on them.”

That something special has opened Carter’s eyes to a whole new world of opportunity. The artist did a scene for RAW Dallas at Gas Monkey Live in June of 2018. In that moment she knew this was what she wanted to do for a living. Her talents have earned her invitations to fashion shows in Atlanta, Arkansas and Shreveport. Before 2019 ends, she will travel to Charlotte, New York and Los Angeles for more fashion shows.

While she prefers to stay behind the scene and allow her work to speak for itself, Carter often has to make appearances during her shows because people want to meet the designer.

“Designing is an outlet for me,” reminds Carter. “I came back to my sewing machine to help with my anxiety and depression – I never thought that it would become so big and popular.”

Carter will design for anyone, but most of her clients are plus size women. She always wanted to give larger women more fashionable options.

In recent years, Carter has shared pieces of her story on social media. Her mom didn’t even know all of what she experienced. She tried to commit suicide three times.

“I was in such a dark place,” says Carter. “That day I got the courage to walk away from my marriage was so stimulating. Anything could have happened had I stayed. I needed to get my children away from that environment. I’m glad I got my oldest daughter away from him before his strange looks turned into something more.”  

Fashion saved her life. Her children saved her life.

Although Denim by Jente’ is in high demand, Carter still works a full-time job overnight at the Post Office. She takes naps in the middle of the day while her children are at school. Her coworkers are puzzled by how she can manage it all.

Her process of design is perhaps the most amazing dynamic of her story. Carter doesn’t know how to measure and she’s never used patterns. At shows, she looks at models and says: “I know you can wear this” and then adjusts accordingly. She has visions of customized pieces and her raw skill makes these items come to fruition.

“I just cut, sew and make it happen,” laughs Carter. 

On any given day, the busy mom and full-time worker can be found cutting out pieces on her bedroom floor and then transitioning to her kitchen table where her sewing machine is. She admits that she has outgrown her apartment. Most seamstress’ go by measurements, but she’s a true visionary. Clients will send her a picture of themselves and she simply asks God to guide her hands. She doesn’t know how to draw at all, so there is no sketchbook. Carter writes her ideas down in her journal and then makes them come to life moments and days later.

At one point she wanted to go to school for design, but the cost was intimidating. She elected to teach herself by doing.

When it comes to support, her fan base is growing. People are curious about this plus-size mom with even bigger visions for denim. Her mother and children are very supportive, so she chooses to relish in that unrelenting support than to worry over the family members and friends who wouldn’t show up.

“I had to learn that it was okay not to have everyone’s support,” says Carter. “My mom doesn’t miss anything. My kids walk in my fashion shows. They love for me to make them customized items.”

Carter’s youngest, a six year old always wants her mom to make custom shirts and skirts with glitter and sequins. Of course, Carter obliges. Her oldest daughter is more of an assistant. She recently took her to Atlanta for a fashion show. Not only was it the 12 year old’s first time on an airplane, but she was also able to use her passion for makeup by doing her mom’s makeup for the show.

In the very near future, Carter hopes to have a storefront. She would love to see her designs offered in various stores.

“My message to everyone is to just go for it,” says Carter. “Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do.”