New Orleans shopping guide
Where to shop for lingerie in New Orleans.
A short local guide to the shops worth a visit before a boudoir session, and what to look for once you are in the fitting room.
Shop local first
The city is unusually good at this.
New Orleans has a long relationship with costume, burlesque, and dressing up, and the shops reflect it. Between the French Quarter, Magazine Street, and Mid-City you can find corsetry, true vintage, and simple well-cut basics in an afternoon — all within a short drive of the studio at 1216 N Galvez Street.
Trying pieces on in person matters more than the label. Fit is the single biggest factor in how lingerie photographs, and a local fitting room solves in ten minutes what online ordering can take three weeks to sort out.
Shops worth a visit
Trashy Diva Lingerie
French Quarter and Magazine Street
The best known lingerie house in the city. Vintage-inspired silhouettes, corsetry, robes, and structured pieces cut to flatter a curve rather than hide it. Their shapes photograph exceptionally well because the seams do the work of drawing lines on camera.
Century Girl Vintage
Magazine Street, Uptown
A curated vintage room with slips, silk robes, gloves, and jewelry from decades past. One true vintage slip can carry an entire set of images, especially in natural light.
Funky Monkey
Magazine Street
Consignment, costume, and eclectic finds. Ideal for the unexpected piece — a jacket, boots, a hat — that makes a series of photographs look like you rather than a catalog.
Fifi Mahony's
French Quarter, Royal Street
Wigs, bold cosmetics, and glamour of the theatrical kind. Worth a stop if you want one dramatic look mixed into the session.
Department stores and major retailers
Canal Place, Lakeside, and Metairie
Reliable for fit and returns: bodysuits, bralettes, high-waisted sets, and seamless basics. Buy a size range, try everything on at home, and return what does not sit right.
What to look for in the fitting room
Buy for the body you have on the day of the session, not a goal size. A well-fitted piece at any price photographs better than expensive lingerie that gaps, digs, or rides up.
Move in it. Sit, kneel, reach overhead, lie down. Most of a boudoir session happens in those positions, and a piece that only works standing still will disappoint on camera.
Favor structure, texture, and clean lines: sheer panels, lace, silk, mesh, straps, and high-cut legs all read well under studio light. Small busy prints tend to distract from the person wearing them.
Then plan the looks.
The wardrobe guide covers colors, fit, packing, and grooming for the day of the session.
Ready when you are.
Tell Marc what you have in mind and he’ll walk you through dates, packages, and wardrobe.
Plan your session