- Walking around with no underwear on.
It's cause you could see my underwear,
so I took it off.
♪ Vagina ♪
(upbeat music)
- So we went to New Orleans and we thought
it was gonna be one video
and then we got back to the office
and we realized that we had 750 hours of footage.
Devin, where are we going this morning?
- [Devin] Well, I'll tell you when we get there.
- The trick hasn't worked so far.
So I don't know why it would work now.
So on the Tuesday of our New Orleans trip,
we went to a vintage clothing store.
- Good morning, everyone.
- Good morning. - Good morrow.
- So I am so excited today
because we are playing the Solange Knowles challenge.
- I love Solange.
- Solange on her Instagram, she like had these
awesome fashion photos,
but they really kinda focused
on also sort of the architecture
and like the environment of New Orleans.
Amazing look, amazing background, sort of a synergy.
- Solange Knowles brought a lot of attention to New Orleans
for taking beautiful Instagrams around the city.
And I thought that we could recreate that
by pairing up with Century Girl Vintage
and going around town taking some pics.
- Yes! (girls gasping)
Yes! - Love pics!
So when Devin told me that we were going
to a vintage clothing store to wear clothes and take photos,
I actually was very worried.
Vintage clothes are much different than modern clothes.
People's bodies were different,
there is not a lot of elastic in vintage clothes.
If something doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.
I definitely thought I'm gonna have to like wear just a hat
or like here's an earring, and I didn't want that.
'Cause like no one ever wants to feel like
they don't fit in with their friends.
I kept my expectations in the root cellar.
So we get to Century Girl and first of all,
it's like Candy Land.
I walked in and I was like,
is this what it was like when Dorothy
finally got to the part of the movie that was in color?
I am in heaven.
- I'm envisioning so many different looks.
- [Kristin] What?
- But we have to leave like at one o'clock-ish.
- [Kristin] I can do it!
- I'm so excited.
- I like to say that New Orleans is like a mix
between Beyonce and Blanche DuBois.
Like, we always have a party, we wear our sequins.
- I guess the biggest word for me
that comes to mind is eclectic.
You can go out of the house on a Monday
and wear pasties if you want.
You can go out, you know, on a Friday
and wear a formal dress.
What is really inspiring about the city
is that most people take garments and remake them.
- Today we're gonna be styling the girls
for the Solange Knowles challenge.
We're gonna be picking some fabulous pieces
and playing dress up,
which we never grow out of today.
- I was looking at all this stuff and I was like,
that's a two, that's a four, that doesn't have a size
but it's this wide.
Luckily, Leah and her associates at Century Girl
had the situation covered
and I really appreciated that.
- Kristin, I know you like more feminine styles,
vintage style, glamorous,
so I have picked a few pieces over here
that I think you would love.
We're big on wearing lingerie out and about
here in New Orleans,
so this is a fabulous cape by Lucy Ann--
- Yes! - Circa 1960.
- I love the tent silhouette!
- And then I have this amazing yellow--
- Ooh! - Sequined wiggle dress.
This was the designer that Marilyn Monroe
was really into.
Made for a woman with curves, and it's very sexy.
- This is the stretchiest thing in the store.
Clothes really didn't used to have elastic in them,
did they? - No, no, they didn't.
They were fitted to your body.
This amazing cape, this came from the estate
of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.
(Kristin laughing)
20 pounds of metallic tulle.
- I have to get a photo in this or I will die.
There was so much that I could try on
that I almost didn't have time
to dwell on the things that I couldn't wear.
- We're gonna be working with Freddie,
she's someone who has a little bit of an edgier style.
The first thing that we pulled,
we're really gonna glam her up.
This would be gorgeous on her.
- I love this. - This color.
And then we're also going to pair it
with this head wrap that has a little bit
of a bird cage veil to it.
The more drama the better. - Yes.
This is so Mardi Gras. - So Mardi Gras.
- I love it. - She was drawn
to this very Gucci vibe.
This head wrap, which has a wire in the base,
along with these fabulous, vintage,
rhinestone encrusted glasses.
So Freddie wants to steal this.
We can throw on a black bralette
with some high-waisted shorts, or high-wasted jeans,
some heels, and go out with a little bit more edge.
- So Chantel, I know you are like the group's Posh Spice.
Very drawn to designer and beautiful things.
- I'm drawn more to just beauty and luxury,
and then it always happens to be the most expensive thing.
- You could wear this with this
Valentino little lace top over jeans.
- Oh! - Or you could wear together,
they're both kind of their own looks.
Like this is a look that I think
you need to let your inner goddess come out and shine.
- This is so fun. - Would you wear
something like this?
- Yeah, I would for sure try this on.
Boas on your wrists. - Boas on your wrists.
- Why not?
- This reminds me a lot of where I grew up in Atlanta.
And I love Tennessee Williams.
So I just wanna lean in and go super feminine, breezy,
be a Southern belle.
- That's great, I have some
Southern belle pieces for you right here.
Nothing says Blanche DuBois more
like this beautiful floral gown from the '40s
with these big, poof, butterfly sleeves.
- I just need a couple mojitos,
and the gentleman suitors will come calling.
- This is 1910's.
Here in New Orleans we're not afraid to wear like
our grandmother's clothes mixed with something modern.
- This is just like totally leaning
in to like the ingenue vibes.
- We got a feather boa here,
and of course our flapper dress.
- If I'm gonna have this haircut
and, you know, no tits,
I might as well just go full 1920's.
- Do you wanna tell me a little bit
about what your style is?
- Yeah.
- I think Jen was also a little bit hesitant
because it is a very feminine store
and obviously, like, Jen's aesthetic is different than that.
- My style's a little bit more masculine
than I think the other women on my team.
I like, like, button downs,
I like T-shirts, I like leather,
I don't really do that many super bright colors.
Although, like, I am open to it
because I love a good floral.
And also, like, I don't know that much
about vintage anyway.
So, I like just someone to defer to you,
really just wanna absorb everything,
kinda like a sponge.
- So we pulled a couple of beautiful pieces
here for you. - Cool!
- This is a vintage Dolce and Gabbana.
We have another vintage Hermes over-sized blouse here.
A little bit more of kind of a contemporary silhouette.
- Well, yeah, I really like that.
And then, finally, we have a very fun, feathered T-shirt.
- That's very cool.
- You can kind of be a little bit more comfortable
in your style.
- That's great, this is all so cool.
- Literally they just let us like
have the run of the store.
- I'm gonna just direct with this hat on.
- Oh my god, it's so heavy.
- [Leah] The neck is really small.
I'm almost there.
I'm almost there we're gonna bring it up.
- Having a little trouble breathing!
(laughing) No big deal!
- Wow. - Oh my god.
- [Devin] Kristin you're a queen!
- This is incredible!
Okay, well that's one down.
(jazz music)
(upbeat music) - [Mike] Yes!
Yes, yes, yes.
- Literally, it was like fashion show.
It was like the best thing ever.
We're just gonna play dress up,
and we're gonna take photos.
We were there for three or four hours,
but I could've been there the whole day.
And then come back the next day.
- [Kelsey] There's a wire in here.
Do you want some of your bangs out?
- Yes.
- [Kelsey] This is like very '70s.
Yes, Gucci.
- I love it.
- We think we need a lip though, don't you think?
- I don't know, I kinda like it.
- [Freddie] I have like a nude lipstick.
- Why don't we do that? - Okay.
(upbeat music)
- Wanna get in and then I can zip you?
- Okay.
They're pinning these sleeves 'cause they fall.
I just have really tiny shoulders.
Things just slip off.
- Oh, no.
(upbeat music)
- I quite like it.
I got a little, little pin.
It's me.
Your boy.
It's a little tight.
But I like it.
- [Freddie] Hey, yes.
- These are so good! - Yes.
- People were skinny in 1910.
- We could pin it to the base of the top if you want.
- I kind of like just the top.
Can we style the top with something?
(jazz music)
- [Kelsey] I'm wondering if I should tuck your hair back.
- All the way in?
I haven't looked in the mirror yet.
- [Kristin] Fred, you look so beautiful.
- Thank you. - You're gonna die
when you look in the mirror.
- Literally, when you were in that purple, sequined dress,
you look like a woman that we're like about to commemorate
on a postage stamp.
- On a postage stamp!
- You look like-- - I felt like one.
[Kristin] You look like an important, historical woman.
- [Freddie] Yes.
And a very important, historical woman
who has done very important things.
- Yes. - For women.
I loved it so much.
- I think I want my hair up in a wrap
or in like, you know, something
to get it away.
(jazz music)
- So I'm wearing this like fabulous, vintage dress
and I'm about to cross through lanes of traffic
to take a pic.
You gotta do it for the gram, though.
If you don't do it for the gram, what are you doing?
- I picked the worst day to wear black underwear.
Womp, womp.
The piece de resistance that I tried on
was this incredible, pink negligee set.
It looked like a red carpet look.
It was incredible.
- Oh, you look like I imagine you looked
on your wedding night.
- Is that gonna be my life?
Not to student loans!
I said to Leah, isn't it like a little weird
basically taking photos outside
and like pretending like this negligee is clothes?
And she was like, in New Orleans it's very hot
so we wear lingerie as clothes all the time.
(jazz music)
There was a wiggle dress that I wore.
There were things there,
like actually clothes were stretchier
than I thought they were.
Like Jen actually came back the next day
and then bought something on her own.
She bought one of the shirts that she wore.
She liked it that much,
which is gigantic.
So I'm back in the negligee again.
- Yeah, because you changed out of it,
took photos in other outfits,
and then put it back on.
Because if you don't wear it once an hour
you will perish.
- [Freddie] Look at these ensembles.
- Ensembles!
- [Chantel] That is a true ensemble.
- [Freddie] It really is a true ensemble.
- This old thing?
It's just a typical Tuesday.
- Honestly you look like a Disney villain,
and I mean that in the best possible way.
- I know, I feel like
I just need to walk around and be like.
- Like I'm putting a hex on you,
that's where I got my beauty from!
- [Freddie] Oh, hello lady.
- What?
Mike and I just took the most amazing photos together.
He's a genius.
He some how made it look like Vanity Fair.
Looking at this vlog it's like, okay,
what am I wearing?
But then looking at it in a photo,
you're like.
- This is the store of our dreams.
- I don't wanna go.
So here are some of the Instagrams we took.
Some of the many contenders
in our Solange Knowles challenge.
Which ones are your favorites?
- What would New Orleans be without
some sparkling rose?
Are we into it? - Yes.
- I don't know how to pop one of these.
- What a Century Girl!
(cork popping) (girls screaming)
(beeping)
(laughing) - Oh, Mike, I'm so sorry!
(beeping) - Thank you all so much
for coming to our city,
and being such-- - Thank you so much--
- Great fashionistas. - For having us.
- I really got a sense of New Orleans fashion.
I love that you said that you reuse,
you repurpose, it's really creative.
- I feel like I generally take risks,
but I wanna like take it a step further.
Like today, we really just like went all out.
- I definitely wanna play with patterns more.
All the shirts, they were just so fun.
They had a lot of color which I really liked.
- I wanna play with more hair accessories.
- I didn't even realize there was this beautiful world
of negligees that is just waiting for me to jump into.
- So thank you so much to Century Girl Vintage
and Marrow Creative for styling us today.
We still have the rest of the day to go, y'all.
We're gonna get some lunch
and then I'm gonna take the girls
to their next secret experience.
Which, hint, hint, hint has to do with fashion as well.
Alright gals, so today we learned
a little bit about street fashion in New Orleans.
And this evening we're gonna learn about Mardi Gras fashion.
(women cheering)
- Welcome to the Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture.
First I'd like to teach you a little bit
about the culture of Mardi Gras,
the history of Mardi Gras,
and then I think we'll take you into the costume closet
and let you play and dress up
in authentic Mardi Gras king and queen costumes.
See what it's like to be in a Mardi Gras parade.
- I was like yes!
I am a princess!
- This type of costume is known as a wearable float.
A structure you attach to your body
and carry with you.
You're always looking for maximum spectacle at Mardi Gras.
- But there's also things that are not like over the top.
There was this amazing crew
that did all this great bead work,
and like used their bead work to represent
different, amazing parts of the city.
- Right now we are featuring the Dames of Perlage,
it's the art of bead work.
Each year, they chose a topic of New Orleans culture,
and then each member will interpret that topic
in bead work form.
A work of art that becomes a bodice.
- I think here like we have hobbies,
like do you wanna go hiking, okay.
And there it's like I'm gonna make
a beautiful work of art for my body.
- We are featuring for International Women's Day
2018 Miss Louisiana Universal, Havilah Malone.
She's an incredibly inspirational woman.
She has a collection of over 300 Barbie dolls.
This area is career women.
- Film director Barbie. - Film director Barbie!
- Film director Barbie.
- Okay, hello, thank you, hi.
This is mine now.
- Fred! Fred! - I know, you've been that.
- Oh, shoot! - Fred's look a like Barbie!
- Wow. - Oh my goodness.
- So Fred wore that outfit. - Yeah.
That's so crazy that she has this actual Barbie.
We couldn't find it.
- So this is the Treme Sidewalk Steppers
Social Aid and Pleasure Club.
They kick off our Super Bowl Sunday.
- No way! - Yeah.
These costumes cost about $12,000 a piece.
- That's like a reasonably priced car.
Helen was so great, and so knowledgeable,
and I think it's amazing that there's so much care
and attention paid towards preserving the history
of this city by the people who live in it.
- Let's go have fun in the costume closet.
- Yeah let's do it. - Enough history, ladies.
New Orleans is about fun, isn't it?
- I was jazzed.
I was like, give me glitter,
give me crowns, give me velvet, give me all of it.
I will wear all of it and I did.
- We have all of the stuff here.
This is all from our private collection.
These are all things that have been worn
in Mardi Gras before.
The big back pieces behind you,
the Medici collars, that is what royalty
would be wearing normally.
So these are actually stilt walker costumes
that we made for a parade.
If you can imagine a stilt walker wearing these,
these huge flamingos.
- I want us to pick out our Mardi Gras costume
and we're gonna do kind of like a cat walk soul train
up and down in the hallway.
Be our own little Mardi Gras parade right now.
- There's robes, there's crowns,
there's like crowns on crowns.
Literally there were some crowns
that were like also this is someone's summer home
on top of the crown.
(Jen laughing)
- How do I put this on?
Like this?
Ooh.
Love this.
- Look at your fruit hat.
- Oh, Jen.
- [Jen] Smoochy smoochy!
Who wants to kiss?
- This is a different kind of skill
trying to put this dress on.
Will someone zip me?
- [Mike] Look at this green on you.
- This is my look.
Feel very tropical. - Wizard of Oz.
- But, yeah, very drawn to the fruit.
- Kristin! - Holy crap.
- [Freddie] Whoa.
- I'm queen bitch of (bleeping) mountain.
(everyone laughing)
- [Devin] And you're peacocking right now pretty hard.
- Oh, sorry.
Oh wait I (laughs) I just apologized for hitting myself.
Turning around is hard now.
- [Devin] Should we slowly walk and do our soul train?
- [Kristin] So both New Orleans street fashion
and Mardi Gras fashion have a similar theme in common
which is that we go big or we go home.
There is a sense that like, going big is beautiful.
And it doesn't matter what that looks like
so much as you just shout it from the rooftops.
The great thing about New Orleans fashion in general
that you can see both from the Mardi Gras fashion
and from the street fashion,
is that you don't have to shout what you like,
you shout it with your body and your clothes.
- So, Helen, Chandra, thank you so much
for showing us around the Mardi Gras Museum.
I really feel like I'm ready to have a good time tonight.
Like this was so fun.
- It was such a pleasure for us to have you.
Ladies, let's take over, what do you say?
(everyone cheering)
- [Kristin] It's about time!
(jazzy music)