Entry No. 79 — the New Orleans file — filed under: vintage-clothing
Century Girl Vintage
Century Girl deals in the top end of the vintage market — the shop's own line is 'the most beautiful vintage and designer clothing in New Orleans,' and the racks back it up with vintage Chanel and Vivienne Westwood alongside 1960s caftans and 1990s runway pieces. Beyond clothing it carries fine jewelry, lingerie, accessories and a serious bridal selection, which is why brides fly in for it rather than ordering something new. The staging is closer to a costume collection than a boutique, and the shop's 54,000-follower Instagram functions as a rolling catalog of what just landed. Prices reflect the curation; this is a look-and-try-on visit as much as a buying one.
→ Three more vintage, record & maker shops in New Orleans — never the same twice
The story
Leah Blake learned the trade at estate sales in Alabama, trailing her grandmother through other people's closets. She moved to New Orleans, worked in boutiques, and sold vintage online for a while before opening her first storefront in 2014. In 2016 she moved the shop to 2023 Magazine Street in the Lower Garden District and built the room after the Parisian boutiques and salons she had in mind, which is why it reads more like a private collection than a resale floor.
What she stocks is narrow on purpose: fine fabric, real construction, condition that survives inspection. The labels rotate through Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Miu Miu, Vivienne Westwood, Adolfo and Joseff of Hollywood costume jewelry, alongside unlabeled pieces that simply happen to be beautifully made. Blake buys at auction internationally and also works with local women designers and artisans, so a 1960s caftan can hang a few feet from something finished this year. Clothing is only part of it: there are jewelry cases, accessories, lingerie, and a bridal selection kept apart from the everyday racks.
The engine underneath all of it is consignment. Customers bring in vintage and designer clothing, shoes, handbags and jewelry, wedding dresses excepted; the shop prices most of it at roughly a quarter of original retail, holds it up to six months, and splits the sale fifty-fifty. Blake will make house calls for a large collection. That intake is why the floor turns over week to week and why the Instagram functions as the real catalog. It also explains the register rules: all sales are final, layaway runs 50% down and 30 days, and pieces leave on rental only for photo shoots, at 25% of retail with a card on file.
What it's like
You walk in off Magazine with no appointment and no buzzer, into a single room closer to a wardrobe department than a store, and someone will ask what you are after inside a minute. Name a decade or an occasion and things start coming off the rack for you; the jewelry lives in cases and gets brought out rather than pawed. Trying on is expected, including pieces you have no intention of buying, and you handle the fragile ones the way you are shown. Decide in the room, though: all sales are final, so there is no taking it home to think about, only layaway at 50% down if the number is the obstacle. Bridal is a separate visit, a one-hour private appointment you request ahead. Doors close at 5:30 and they mean it.
The move: Get there by 4:30 on a weekday, before the 5:30 close, and each pull one piece from a decade you'd never wear — hers Edwardian, his '70s, whatever — and try them on properly, jewelry included. Then walk down Magazine into the Lower Garden District for a drink still slightly overdressed.
📍 Before you go Open Monday–Saturday 11am–5:30pm and Sunday noon–5:30pm — it closes early, so this is a daylight or late-afternoon stop, not an evening one. Phone (504) 875-3105. It's an early-2000-block Magazine address in the Lower Garden District, walkable from the Warehouse District and about two miles downriver from the Uptown Magazine vintage cluster. Bring a real budget or treat it as a fitting-room afternoon; the designer pieces are priced as collectibles, and delicate garments come with handling rules.
- 📍 New Orleans
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 2023 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Miss Claudia's Vintage Clothing & Costumes — Two miles uptown on the same street, Miss Claudia's runs the other end of the philosophy, from fine vintage straight through to wigs and costume wear, so do the disciplined racks first and the chaos second.
- Meyer the Hatter — Ten minutes toward the CBD, Meyer the Hatter has been measuring heads on the first block of St. Charles since 1894 and closes at 5:45, which makes it the natural finish to anything you tried on at Century Girl.
- Escape My Room — Four blocks up Camp Street in a former funeral home, Escape My Room is set-dressed with real antiques rather than padlocked plywood, and its online-only ticketing gives you somewhere to be after the shop's 5:30 lockup.
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Good to know
Do I need an appointment, or can I just walk in?
Walk in during shop hours: Monday through Saturday 11am to 5:30pm, Sunday noon to 5:30pm. The one thing that is booked rather than walked into is bridal, a one-hour private appointment you request through the shop's booking page or by calling (504) 875-3105.
If something doesn't work out, can I return it?
No. The stated policy is that all sales are final, with no returns or exchanges. Vintage pieces are inspected and priced on condition, and flaws are documented in the listing rather than discovered later. If the price is the problem, there is limited layaway: 50% down, 30 days to pay the balance, deposit non-refundable if you don't finish, and layaway purchases are also final.
Can I sell them things, and what do I get?
Yes, and it's how the racks stay full. Call (504) 875-3105 or email [email protected] with photos and details; drop-offs are by appointment. They take vintage and designer clothing, shoes, handbags, costume and fine jewelry, and accessories, but not wedding dresses. Consigned pieces are held up to six months, and you receive 50% of the sale by Venmo, PayPal, check pickup, or store credit. For a large collection they'll come to your house.
Can I rent a piece for a wedding or a party?
Not for events. Rentals are handled case by case and only for photo shoots, priced at 25% of retail cost with a credit card kept on file against damage. If you want to wear it to an actual party, you buy it.
Where is it, and how does it fit into a day?
2023 Magazine Street, in the Lower Garden District, walkable from the Warehouse District and about two miles downriver from the Uptown Magazine Street vintage cluster. Because it shuts at 5:30 seven days a week, it's a daylight or late-afternoon stop; anything you plan for the evening has to happen after you leave.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Instagram
last checked: 2026-08-26