Fashion Foreword featuring Kim Fields & Ceci

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Erica, did you have any outfits on the show that you now regret?
00:00:03
Speaker 2: Well, you know, I didn't dress myself. I didn't dress Max. So no, no regrets. I was just serving what the wardrobe gods gave me. Thank you, Ceci. She was our god.
00:00:14
Speaker 1: Our gods. I actually have no regrets either. I had a melange of fashion. I had hats and florals and polka dots and a vest with moon on it for no particular reason. I had all this whimsical realness, boho foolishness and all the hats. And I had a lot of hair that wasn't my hair, a lot of extra hair added onto my head that I had to put the hat on top of the hair. And it was a lot. And I would sometimes get a headache, but who's complaining?
00:00:38
Speaker 2: Hey, we all suffered too. And because, you know, I had the nipples of life, Kim. I remember. Yeah, I know. And the wardrobe tried to hide them with band-aids and padding and prayer and all these things because they didn't want nipples, apparently, on primetime TV. But they were like, no, we're here. We're proud. Too black, too strong. And they just kept coming out.
00:00:56
Speaker 3: All right.
00:00:58
Speaker 2: Off the chain.
00:00:59
Speaker 1: I don't know how we're going to transition, but we've got to transition off your nipples right quick.
00:01:02
Speaker 4: Let's just pivot.
00:01:03
Speaker 2: Wouldn't be the first time.
00:01:06
Speaker 1: I say that we call in a professional because we're talking about fashion. We're talking about the queen of costumes. The character who did the most, wore the most, and even played a costume designer on a show within the show, Palo Alto is our fashionista, our diva, our.
00:01:21
Speaker 2: Girl, Kim Victoria Fields.
00:01:24
Speaker 1: Back with us again.
00:01:25
Speaker 2: Come on.
00:01:25
Speaker 1: Come on now. Welcome back to Reliving Single, the.
00:01:53
Speaker 5: Official, unofficial Living Single Rewatch Podcast.
00:01:58
Speaker 6: Yay!
00:01:59
Speaker 1: Our special guest is falling right in line. We have the one and only Kim Fields here with us today. Again, smooches. Well, here's what we want you to take over right now. We're going to talk about fashion, the fashion of this show, the fashion of that era. And I just want to call out that you and I are both wearing kimonos.
00:02:19
Speaker 3: Yes, we are.
00:02:20
Speaker 6: And you and I are both wearing orange.
00:02:21
Speaker 2: I'm wearing tangerine.
00:02:22
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:02:23
Speaker 6: No phone calls before the moment.
00:02:25
Speaker 7: No, not at all.
00:02:26
Speaker 6: What's worse is we actually texted each other last night and I said, hey guys, is it dressy or what? And you were like, Oh, it's casual dressy if that's a thing.
00:02:34
Speaker 4: If that's a thing.
00:02:35
Speaker 6: And no one still discussed like what we were doing and here we are.
00:02:38
Speaker 2: And here we are.
00:02:39
Speaker 4: Here we are.
00:02:40
Speaker 2: So that's osmosis. It's synergy and chemistry.
00:02:43
Speaker 1: So we're not going to talk about a specific episode, just the fashion in general, right? All fashion, all the time.
00:02:48
Speaker 2: Nice. We had a lot of fashion going on. We were trendsetters. There were characters that were doing their own thing. Kim, Regine carried the whole fashion sort of, you know. Narrative. Narrative, yeah. And good you did because you didn't mind it. I didn't want to be changing all those clothes.
00:03:03
Speaker 6: It's not that I didn't mind it. I just understood the assignment, like they say. I understood that that was part of, it was part for the course, for the character.
00:03:12
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:03:12
Speaker 6: I couldn't, I don't like buying clothes. I don't like changing clothes. I don't like shopping. Again, just a lot of non-Kim stuff that Regine was, you know, the embodiment of.
00:03:24
Speaker 2: That's amazing. You don't like shopping. Oh, no. You never did, did you? Oh, no. You know, it's funny, you know? Yeah.
00:03:31
Speaker 6: So it's wonderful, though, that you guys are doing this episode because people do talk so much about the fashion of living single for the men and the women.
00:03:41
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:03:41
Speaker 6: I mean, even when Overton would get dressed up, you know, in his, like, casual vibes. But, I mean, TC, remember when he introduced Michoud?
00:03:50
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:03:50
Speaker 6: The Brooklyn designer. Yeah, absolutely.
00:03:55
Speaker 2: That was out of Brooklyn. All those Chicago designers.
00:03:58
Speaker 4: Aclea.
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Speaker 2: Aclea Jewelry.
00:04:00
Speaker 6: Yes, yes, yes.
00:04:01
Speaker 1: The Negro League.
00:04:02
Speaker 4: Come on.
00:04:02
Speaker 2: Yes. All of the- All the league stuff and the jerseys.
00:04:06
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:04:06
Speaker 2: And John rocking with the hats and all that.
00:04:09
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:04:10
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:04:10
Speaker 6: That was kind of the- I can't remember that line.
00:04:12
Speaker 2: The hip hop sort of aesthetic. Right, yeah.
00:04:15
Speaker 1: These were personal fashion pieces that we- wore on the show and then requested that they be on the show more and more and more. Right? Meshude and all those.
00:04:23
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:04:24
Speaker 6: Wow.
00:04:24
Speaker 1: I wish I still had some of those pieces. What did I do with that stuff?
00:04:27
Speaker 6: Yeah, me too.
00:04:28
Speaker 1: It's in storage somewhere.
00:04:29
Speaker 2: Max had a ton of great suits.
00:04:31
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:04:31
Speaker 2: And great dresses.
00:04:32
Speaker 6: And you had the greatest frame, not had, you have and had for those looks. The greatest frame. I mean, you were built like you were, you know, like someone from the 1940s. Yeah. Because you had those great suits, those pencil skirts.
00:04:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, the pencil skirts. Oh my goodness.
00:04:48
Speaker 4: What?
00:04:48
Speaker 2: The power suits, all of that stuff. And then when she wanted to use it as a weapon, an ammunition, they would put in the sexy dresses.
00:04:56
Speaker 6: That one when you were, what was it, the tango in that white?
00:04:59
Speaker 2: Oh, come on.
00:05:00
Speaker 6: Girl, I wanted to stab you in that quick change booth.
00:05:06
Speaker 2: In the quick change booth.
00:05:07
Speaker 6: In the quick change booth.
00:05:08
Speaker 2: You see this? Yeah, we've turned into a whole murder mystery.
00:05:10
Speaker 1: Let's talk about quick change booth.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, let's do it.
00:05:12
Speaker 1: What's a quick change booth?
00:05:14
Speaker 6: So instead of going to your dressing room or your trailers away from the soundstage and going to change your clothes while we were actually filming, they had these little like booths set up, you know, and that's where you would go in. And it was on the curtains and drapes and things.
00:05:31
Speaker 1: And nothing on the head.
00:05:34
Speaker 6: Including people. And so you would go in there and they would have your outfits in there for you to change into so that they could keep the pacing going of filming. So that's a quick change booth.
00:05:46
Speaker 1: And sometimes it was quick and sometimes it wasn't because some of us had a little sofa in our room and, An ashtray.
00:05:53
Speaker 2: You and Latifah.
00:05:53
Speaker 1: Latifah and I would sit and smoke cigarettes.
00:05:55
Speaker 2: Y'all made it like a lounge.
00:05:56
Speaker 1: We made it a lounge. Because it was.
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Speaker 6: Quick change lounge.
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Speaker 2: You had to be comfortable. Quick change lounge.
00:06:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, I had little plants in there. We had a little smoke.
00:06:03
Speaker 4: We'll be right out.
00:06:04
Speaker 2: We'll be out shortly. Kim and I had like a folding chair in there. Exactly.
00:06:07
Speaker 6: And a towel on the floor.
00:06:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, a towel on the floor. And we got it done.
00:06:10
Speaker 1: We got it done.
00:06:11
Speaker 6: Yeah, exactly.
00:06:12
Speaker 2: So we know everybody was looking really good, but we were like dressing in hunger.
00:06:16
Speaker 1: You know?
00:06:18
Speaker 2: Truly.
00:06:19
Speaker 6: Didn't we do a beach party? Yes.
00:06:22
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:06:22
Speaker 6: I was so excited. My stomach was out in a good way because the quote unquote bathing suit look that I did, we just did little cutouts of the parts that were okay for public consumption.
00:06:36
Speaker 1: And it was cute and again, sexy without being sexual.
00:06:39
Speaker 4: It looked great.
00:06:39
Speaker 1: With your little belly, little piece of it.
00:06:41
Speaker 6: I was so excited. I had worked out for so long.
00:06:46
Speaker 1: I was so excited, y'all. They have just them little caps.
00:06:49
Speaker 2: No carbs.
00:06:50
Speaker 1: No carbs for three weeks.
00:06:52
Speaker 6: Freaking crunches and everything. So I was happy about that.
00:06:55
Speaker 2: I mean, we talk about fashion, but the thing that it's on, the body, were you feeling body conscious at all inside of this stuff or you felt really comfortable in the way they dressed you?
00:07:05
Speaker 6: I was self-conscious every time I was on camera.
00:07:08
Speaker 2: Really?
00:07:08
Speaker 6: Because that was so not Kim. I was so, Regine was so not me. So all the clothes and the wigs and the makeup and so it was, it was really great because again, as an actor, that's what I love doing is being and portraying someone else. But I was so self-conscious of, you know, being pulled up and sucked in and do this and do that. And I was just so in my head because I, you know, Towards the end of Facts of Life, it was a whole different journey. And I can only say, thank God I wasn't coming of age in this climate. Oh my goodness. Because that was enough. So I was always in my head about it. So I was never comfortable in Regine's skin.
00:07:58
Speaker 2: It's a shame. Do you look back now and say how beautiful you were? Because You know, when you're in your head and so you go, my God, why didn't I really enjoy it? Because you're such a little doll. Well, thank you.
00:08:09
Speaker 6: I look at it now and I was like, oh, bitch, you snatched. I'm like, okay.
00:08:13
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:08:14
Speaker 3: It's possible.
00:08:15
Speaker 2: Girl, for sure. That's a thing to young women out there to enjoy yourself right now. Because you're going to look back and wish you had. Yes. It's not as bad as you think. And in fact, you're like at the top. You're at the bloom of the rose. Mm-hmm. You're as beautiful as you're ever going to be in terms of what your body can sort of.
00:08:32
Speaker 1: Hold it together without even working hard for it.
00:08:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, because you grow more beautiful in different ways.
00:08:36
Speaker 1: Appreciate what you have.
00:08:37
Speaker 2: Appreciate what you have.
00:08:38
Speaker 1: It's time for The Rewind, where we watch and relive living single with you. Oh, that's amazing. Why don't we look at some of the fashion?
00:08:46
Speaker 4: Hey.
00:08:46
Speaker 5: Wow. Nice.
00:08:46
Speaker 2: So that's early Latifah.
00:08:49
Speaker 1: That's early Latifah and doing a shout out to the great Howard University.
00:08:53
Speaker 2: That's true. So Khadija is still in her sort of collegiate... thing, you know, the chill outs with the jeans and whatnot.
00:09:01
Speaker 1: Nice.
00:09:01
Speaker 2: Yeah. Very Dana.
00:09:03
Speaker 4: Very Dana.
00:09:04
Speaker 2: If you're looking at that with the Howard University stuff.
00:09:07
Speaker 6: Even if you didn't go to NHBCU, you know, the fashion of it. And like you said, that awareness, but the cool logos and the colors and things like that. So it was very popular trend.
00:09:19
Speaker 2: Absolutely. It made people want to go to college. Right.
00:09:21
Speaker 1: And celebrating, you know, we were celebrating our own in that way.
00:09:26
Speaker 6: Love that.
00:09:26
Speaker 4: Love that.
00:09:27
Speaker 2: Where does this fit in the ratings? I think like a three.
00:09:30
Speaker 6: I think it's since it's such a super casual look. I mean, you know, she's got the headpiece. She's got the jeans going. So I think in terms of if you're categorizing it in the genre of casual.
00:09:41
Speaker 4: Okay. Yeah.
00:09:41
Speaker 6: You know, hanging out and stuff like that.
00:09:44
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:09:44
Speaker 6: I think that's a strong four.
00:09:46
Speaker 2: Okay. Wow.
00:09:47
Speaker 6: I think it's a strong four.
00:09:48
Speaker 2: You know, I was thinking, you know, a tight three.
00:09:51
Speaker 6: And that's why I started. Because I knew what you were going to do. That's why I went first.
00:09:58
Speaker 1: And for the meaningfulness of it, I'll give it to you.
00:10:00
Speaker 3: It a 4.2.
00:10:00
Speaker 1: Okay.
00:10:01
Speaker 2: Okay, good. You know, don't get mad at me, Howard. It has nothing to do with Howard. I want the people to, you know, accosting me on the streets.
00:10:10
Speaker 6: I love Howard. I remember that.
00:10:16
Speaker 1: I remember that day.
00:10:16
Speaker 2: That's a good vibe day, right? All that denim.
00:10:20
Speaker 6: You know, the culture of that 90s vibe with the overalls and the shirt around the waist.
00:10:25
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:10:25
Speaker 4: It's beautiful. It's a beautiful picture.
00:10:27
Speaker 6: That's one of my favorite shoots for us as a cast. It's iconic.
00:10:32
Speaker 1: It really is.
00:10:33
Speaker 6: It's so clean and cultural. Our chemistry screams at you from this photo. I mean, it just jumps off of the page.
00:10:43
Speaker 1: It does.
00:10:44
Speaker 2: It does. We're leaning into each other. We're relaxed. there's a real beautiful thing about our skin tones too. Look at that.
00:10:50
Speaker 6: Yes. Yeah.
00:10:51
Speaker 5: Cool.
00:10:52
Speaker 2: You know, the caramels and to the, yeah.
00:10:54
Speaker 1: And you know, Latifah wearing her brother's motorcycle key chain there, which is a staple for her, you know.
00:11:00
Speaker 2: It's beautiful. So Winky died in a motorcycle accident and she put that key on a chain. And kept it there. And so there it is.
00:11:08
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:11:09
Speaker 2: Making his debut.
00:11:10
Speaker 1: I just, I love that. I rate this a five out of five out of five.
00:11:12
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's a five.
00:11:13
Speaker 2: That's a five in the cash.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: A hundred out of five.
00:11:16
Speaker 2: Definitely.
00:11:16
Speaker 1: And this has been recreated a thousand times.
00:11:19
Speaker 2: So what shoot is this? This was Essence. This is Essence.
00:11:22
Speaker 6: And it was a whole February celebrating.
00:11:25
Speaker 2: Love in African attire. And we were at a mausoleum too, right?
00:11:28
Speaker 1: We went somewhere in LA.
00:11:29
Speaker 6: Yeah, we were at this mausoleum near the Forum in LA. And we had these beautiful African looks, basically.
00:11:36
Speaker 2: I don't think any cast has ever looked that good. Oh, come on now. Stop playing.
00:11:40
Speaker 6: Sorry, I'm going to say it, but I'm sorry, not sorry. We weren't the cover. We never had the cover of Essence.
00:11:46
Speaker 2: We sure didn't.
00:11:46
Speaker 6: We never.
00:11:47
Speaker 2: We sure didn't.
00:11:48
Speaker 6: We never.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: We sure didn't.
00:11:50
Speaker 6: We never were on the cover of Essence.
00:11:54
Speaker 2: And that should have been on the cover of Essence.
00:11:56
Speaker 1: Look at it.
00:11:57
Speaker 2: Look at it. We were the number one show in America for black and Latino households.
00:12:02
Speaker 6: Created by a woman with four women of color and two strong male leads of color. Never.
00:12:12
Speaker 1: By the way, the creator's also black. Did you say that?
00:12:14
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
00:12:15
Speaker 6: Yeah, I got stuck on female, but yeah.
00:12:17
Speaker 2: That's an odd thing to think about.
00:12:18
Speaker 3: But let's go back to the beauty, shall we?
00:12:20
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, that's true.
00:12:21
Speaker 6: So stunning.
00:12:21
Speaker 2: Beautiful.
00:12:22
Speaker 1: Look at the colors.
00:12:23
Speaker 6: That's a five, yeah.
00:12:24
Speaker 2: Plus, you know what? I think it was the first time that, to me, I felt that the show was sort of giving a nod to the African diaspora.
00:12:33
Speaker 6: Yeah, very much so.
00:12:35
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:12:35
Speaker 6: Except for when I came in to work one day, rehearsal- And I had on a different non-photoshoot African outfit.
00:12:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're just casual.
00:12:45
Speaker 6: And just totally casual. With the daishiki.
00:12:48
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:12:49
Speaker 6: And I had on this beautiful African dress and a little head wrap. And I came into work and you guys started improv-ing this whole wonderful.
00:12:59
Speaker 2: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. And that was really your outfit.
00:13:11
Speaker 6: That was really my outfit. And I came, and then, there you guys go. Yes. And they put it in the show.
00:13:17
Speaker 2: That's the spirit of Shaka Zulu. There you go.
00:13:21
Speaker 4: You know what I mean?
00:13:22
Speaker 2: To impregnate me. And I lift my leg in honor.
00:13:26
Speaker 7: Right.
00:13:26
Speaker 6: There you go.
00:13:27
Speaker 2: I'm sure the spirit of Africa is still within me. And it grows every day more powerful.
00:13:32
Speaker 1: It was a beautiful day.
00:13:33
Speaker 6: Now, you know, that's not considered the fashion of living single. However... In that moment, we were for sure a hit. In that moment, we were for sure trailblazers and trendsetters. For sure.
00:13:49
Speaker 2: For sure.
00:13:50
Speaker 1: For sure.
00:13:50
Speaker 2: For sure. And we looked good.
00:13:52
Speaker 4: Gorgeous.
00:13:52
Speaker 7: Yes.
00:13:53
Speaker 2: Come on. My God.
00:13:55
Speaker 6: I just got chills.
00:13:56
Speaker 2: I wish we could have kept those clothes.
00:13:57
Speaker 4: Me too.
00:13:58
Speaker 2: You know?
00:13:59
Speaker 6: Wow. Well, good to say.
00:14:03
Speaker 2: You look cute, Kim. Adorable.
00:14:05
Speaker 3: Adorable.
00:14:06
Speaker 6: Yes. So Regine came in wearing, it's like a patent leather vest with all these buttons on it and a red t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, a long straight wig, and then a bandana. And big old earrings. Big old earrings.
00:14:20
Speaker 4: Yes.
00:14:21
Speaker 6: It's very rock.
00:14:23
Speaker 2: Yeah. It's a little Janet Jackson in there too. Very rock. That's the way love goes. Remember her with the vest?
00:14:27
Speaker 4: Okay.
00:14:27
Speaker 1: I can see that.
00:14:28
Speaker 6: Oh, yes, yes, yes.
00:14:29
Speaker 2: Yep.
00:14:29
Speaker 6: I can see that. Yep. And speaking of Janet, one of my favorite looks was when we did that flashback episode with how we all came together. And then they put me in the Rhythm Nation look.
00:14:43
Speaker 4: It was fabulous.
00:14:44
Speaker 3: And I mean, you know, we've.
00:14:46
Speaker 6: Always, I've always been told I favor her.
00:14:48
Speaker 2: You favor her.
00:14:48
Speaker 4: Yeah, you do.
00:14:50
Speaker 6: To be able to honor my friend. It was really cool to do that in the military jacket.
00:14:55
Speaker 1: Did it have epaulets and everything?
00:14:56
Speaker 2: It had epaulets.
00:14:57
Speaker 4: It had everything.
00:14:58
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
00:14:58
Speaker 1: It wasn't wearing you.
00:14:59
Speaker 4: You were wearing it.
00:15:01
Speaker 6: Very much so.
00:15:02
Speaker 2: You know what I love? How she just drops my friend.
00:15:04
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:15:05
Speaker 2: I like to drop that too about the Jacksons. My friend Janet, I'd like to honor my friend Janet.
00:15:11
Speaker 1: And her wonderful talents.
00:15:13
Speaker 2: I had such a crush on her. Really? If I ever was probably going to... Yeah, girl crush, you know, whatever. Definitely we would have, you know, had copulation. Wow.
00:15:25
Speaker 1: The revelations are coming out on the.
00:15:27
Speaker 4: It's true.
00:15:27
Speaker 6: Non-stop.
00:15:28
Speaker 2: It's either that or Michelle and Diggy Occello. Okay. Yeah, Feast of Famine.
00:15:32
Speaker 5: Okay.
00:15:34
Speaker 2: You know what I'm saying?
00:15:39
Speaker 6: So the guys, I mean, they always brought the thunder. You know, that was one thing we always would correct.
00:15:46
Speaker 2: Can we describe this thunder? Because I don't know. Are we rating them still?
00:15:50
Speaker 1: I think Overton wore colorful or, you know.
00:15:53
Speaker 3: The prints.
00:15:54
Speaker 1: The prints.
00:15:54
Speaker 2: That was ugly to me, though.
00:15:56
Speaker 4: In the 90s.
00:15:57
Speaker 6: Button up to the neck.
00:15:58
Speaker 2: Looked like Paula Deen lost her apron on, put it on his back. Is that a tomato on there?
00:16:04
Speaker 1: It is. It might be.
00:16:05
Speaker 4: Or sun or sunshine.
00:16:07
Speaker 2: Thank you. Some kind of beet and or cabbage. I mean, that's nuts. You know, along with the chakra.
00:16:13
Speaker 1: Let's go to TC.
00:16:14
Speaker 6: With the colorful vest. TC always wore a lot of textures as well. He really embraced the African fashion sense with accents and things. And he really brought back the fedora. You know, I love that TC did that. You know what?
00:16:30
Speaker 2: I didn't think about the only person on TV rocking that.
00:16:34
Speaker 6: Very much so.
00:16:34
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:16:35
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:16:36
Speaker 1: And I think he brought in some of his own pieces.
00:16:38
Speaker 6: From his own closet. Oh, he absolutely did. Especially like the jewelry and things. And that's, guys, when we're talking about A'Klea.
00:16:44
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:16:45
Speaker 6: And a lot of those beautiful things.
00:16:48
Speaker 4: Mud cloth things.
00:16:48
Speaker 1: And A'Klea would come to set and bring her wares. And I don't know about y'all. I've shopped so much of her stuff just.
00:16:53
Speaker 2: For bringing her necklaces to her.
00:16:55
Speaker 4: Of course.
00:16:56
Speaker 2: Me too.
00:16:56
Speaker 1: Absolutely.
00:16:57
Speaker 2: I rate John Hinton, unfortunately, sorry, brother, one. And the great T.C. Carson is a four for him.
00:17:04
Speaker 5: Okay.
00:17:05
Speaker 2: Does so well. Yeah. He can only go up.
00:17:07
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah.
00:17:08
Speaker 2: And I don't know exactly what he's wearing here anyway. By the way, we got to talk about his twists.
00:17:13
Speaker 6: Yes, the twist with the fade.
00:17:15
Speaker 3: With the fade.
00:17:16
Speaker 6: With the fade, a nice clean fade, yeah. I think for Overton on this, I'm going to have to at least go at two and a half.
00:17:25
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:17:25
Speaker 6: For effort, you know. His comfort zone was his work clothes, you know, as the handyman. So you get some points with me for coming at your comfort zone, Overton.
00:17:34
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:17:35
Speaker 2: And he looks like he's been hit by a Mardi Gras parade. You know, float. Oh, God. Oh, gosh.
00:17:43
Speaker 6: You're going to make it.
00:17:46
Speaker 2: After all.
00:17:49
Speaker 5: Wow.
00:17:50
Speaker 6: The hats. The hats. So 90s.
00:17:53
Speaker 1: And the hats, as the seasons went on, I lost some of, you know, the hats moved on.
00:17:59
Speaker 4: So what kind of hat is this?
00:18:00
Speaker 2: Because it's a witchy pool velvet hat.
00:18:02
Speaker 1: It's sort of a witchy pool velvet, you know, flip a Paddington bear.
00:18:06
Speaker 2: Paddington bear.
00:18:08
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:18:09
Speaker 2: You've got a ton of hair underneath this.
00:18:12
Speaker 4: Yes, yes.
00:18:12
Speaker 6: So the hat is black, but it's got that, where the flip up top, the front is, has that really pretty, like colorful, is that like a scarf or accent?
00:18:23
Speaker 3: I don't know.
00:18:23
Speaker 6: Look at that. Just some splashes of color up there.
00:18:26
Speaker 2: Is that a choir robe?
00:18:28
Speaker 1: I think it's like a fake shearling jacket is what I would say.
00:18:31
Speaker 2: Okay.
00:18:31
Speaker 1: Maybe I brought that from Minnesota where it's cold.
00:18:34
Speaker 2: For sure. That's right.
00:18:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.
00:18:36
Speaker 2: No, it just, all this frames her face. Yes, beautiful. But this is a one for me. Sorry. Sinclair didn't have the best stuff. It's not your fault, Claire.
00:18:46
Speaker 1: But her stuff was very Sinclair.
00:18:48
Speaker 2: Very Sinclair.
00:18:49
Speaker 1: It was very Sinclair, so I'm going to give it a five because it is Sinclair.
00:18:51
Speaker 2: You can't give it a five because it's Sinclair. I give it a five because it is. We're looking at fashion.
00:18:55
Speaker 1: It's undeniably Sinclair.
00:18:58
Speaker 2: You look like you're Eliza Doolittle in a Pygmalion story. You know what I'm saying? Oh, I'm Royce.
00:19:06
Speaker 1: How are you?
00:19:08
Speaker 2: Can you buy my flowers, please, sir? Arms for the pool. I mean, give me a break. That's not a five.
00:19:14
Speaker 4: It's the truth.
00:19:16
Speaker 2: Are you kidding? Let's be honest with ourselves.
00:19:18
Speaker 1: It's a five because I'm committed.
00:19:20
Speaker 6: I'm not way in.
00:19:21
Speaker 1: Okay, moving on.
00:19:22
Speaker 3: She know the truth.
00:19:23
Speaker 6: My snoring is my way in. Oh, that's just rude. Regine did Khadijah wrong picking this costume out. Look at how you looking. Halloween episode when Regine was in charge of getting the costumes and this is what she got for Khadijah. A little Bo Peep.
00:19:47
Speaker 4: A little Bo Peep.
00:19:48
Speaker 1: Bo Peep with song. many ruffles.
00:19:52
Speaker 2: Layered in the worst way.
00:19:55
Speaker 6: And a tight purple, a fitted purple bodice.
00:19:58
Speaker 2: Oh, and a chin strap. Right, around her gigantic breasts.
00:20:03
Speaker 1: And the hat, the floppy hat.
00:20:05
Speaker 6: The floppy hat.
00:20:06
Speaker 2: And the staff.
00:20:07
Speaker 6: The staff, yes.
00:20:09
Speaker 2: The staff of Moses.
00:20:10
Speaker 6: But here's what you all missed.
00:20:13
Speaker 1: If you watched, here's an ode to comedy. As Latifah descended the stairs, if you notice, she walked so that the flounces would flounce.
00:20:22
Speaker 6: Yes, she did.
00:20:23
Speaker 4: Yes, she did.
00:20:23
Speaker 1: So it really, like she understood the assignment there.
00:20:26
Speaker 6: Yes, yes, yes.
00:20:27
Speaker 1: And if you remember, she danced in this episode.
00:20:29
Speaker 2: Oh my God, she did. She danced.
00:20:30
Speaker 3: Her and Scooter, right?
00:20:32
Speaker 2: Her and Scooter.
00:20:33
Speaker 5: Ha, ha, ha. And she danced so that the flounces were hard.
00:20:38
Speaker 2: It was brilliant.
00:20:39
Speaker 1: She looked at what she was wearing and decided to work it.
00:20:42
Speaker 2: It was hilarious.
00:20:44
Speaker 6: She gets a five from me for the comedy.
00:20:46
Speaker 2: Yes, definitely a five.
00:20:47
Speaker 6: Because that takes a certain strength of character to just not give a good god darn about how you look because it's about the comedy. Right. And the truth of the matter is, she's kind of adorable in this. She is adorable. She is adorable in this.
00:21:02
Speaker 3: Oh, and let's not forget the curls.
00:21:04
Speaker 2: Oh, please.
00:21:04
Speaker 4: Oh, look at the curls.
00:21:06
Speaker 2: Look at Michael. You know, she looked like D'Artagnan from the Three Musketeers. Those kind of curls you can't come back from.
00:21:15
Speaker 6: My God.
00:21:16
Speaker 2: They did a good job with the costume together.
00:21:18
Speaker 4: By the way, she's the only.
00:21:19
Speaker 2: One in costume because Kim is in that golden outfit, Egyptian.
00:21:23
Speaker 1: Looking like Cleopatra.
00:21:24
Speaker 2: Cleopatra.
00:21:25
Speaker 6: Something.
00:21:26
Speaker 2: Just gorgeous. They were very kind. With the hair. So you've got the hair, you've got the, it's doing a different- That gold lame.
00:21:32
Speaker 3: Oh, and I got to be the bride of Frankenstein.
00:21:33
Speaker 6: The bride of Frankenstein, yes.
00:21:35
Speaker 2: So that's definitely a one in my book, and you look like a five for.
00:21:39
Speaker 6: Queen of Egypt.
00:21:40
Speaker 1: And I give her a five because- I give.
00:21:42
Speaker 6: Her a five for the comedy.
00:21:43
Speaker 1: Five for the comedy.
00:21:44
Speaker 2: But y'all judging everything but the outfit. It's supposed to be the outfit, and she gets a one.
00:21:49
Speaker 6: Well, it's a Little Bo Peep costume. So if we're going for that, then.
00:21:55
Speaker 3: I mean, that's a three. She is Little Bo Peep.
00:21:58
Speaker 2: She's got the bloomers.
00:22:00
Speaker 3: She's got the bloomers.
00:22:02
Speaker 1: I'm going to say a five because she pulled it off. She pulled it off.
00:22:06
Speaker 4: And the wig.
00:22:06
Speaker 6: And the wig and the bloomers.
00:22:08
Speaker 4: It was complete.
00:22:09
Speaker 2: It was complete.
00:22:09
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:22:10
Speaker 2: Okay. Now we have to describe this stuff. Oh, my God.
00:22:15
Speaker 6: Where's the fashion in this? With the Kente cloth. There's no fashion.
00:22:18
Speaker 4: Just the Kente cloth.
00:22:19
Speaker 2: Okay, so this is the setup of TC, Carson, Kyle, and Max's.
00:22:24
Speaker 6: Their first love.
00:22:25
Speaker 1: First tryst.
00:22:26
Speaker 2: Love tryst.
00:22:27
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:22:27
Speaker 2: And they've got to be a morning after.
00:22:29
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:22:30
Speaker 2: And it's the second season. Is it the second season, first show? I don't remember.
00:22:33
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe so.
00:22:34
Speaker 6: Second season, yes.
00:22:34
Speaker 7: It is.
00:22:34
Speaker 2: Second season, first show. And we are not wearing much of anything, but we are wearing this Kente cloth blanket. Do you hear me? I'm wearing it. Let's talk about it.
00:22:43
Speaker 6: And that beautiful, beautiful melanin.
00:22:45
Speaker 4: Melanin.
00:22:45
Speaker 6: Melanin popping.
00:22:47
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:22:47
Speaker 2: We had melanin for real. Like, look at TC. I could almost lick him. Right.
00:22:52
Speaker 1: You should.
00:22:52
Speaker 2: He's like a chocolate god.
00:22:54
Speaker 1: What were you wearing underneath, Erica?
00:22:55
Speaker 2: Oh, wouldn't you like to know? I was definitely wearing a panty liner and maybe some panties, but that's it. No brassiere? Nope.
00:23:06
Speaker 4: No top?
00:23:07
Speaker 2: I let him have it.
00:23:08
Speaker 1: I know he liked that.
00:23:10
Speaker 3: So the necklaces, that's a clear, right guys?
00:23:13
Speaker 4: That's a clear.
00:23:15
Speaker 2: That's a clear. Yeah.
00:23:16
Speaker 6: Yeah. That also reminds me of Keith. Could you turn up the heat?
00:23:20
Speaker 2: Oh, man. I love that.
00:23:23
Speaker 6: Erica loves being naked, y'all. Let me tell y'all.
00:23:26
Speaker 4: What was that from?
00:23:27
Speaker 6: That was when I was dating Khalil Cain, and he was the artist.
00:23:33
Speaker 2: I got to pose.
00:23:34
Speaker 6: And Matt got under my skin to pose for him.
00:23:37
Speaker 4: Nude.
00:23:38
Speaker 6: Nude, right. Because she was testing our relationship. And she had this pretend belly ring. And she says, Keith, could you turn up the heat?
00:23:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I put little nuggets all around.
00:23:52
Speaker 6: Yes, right.
00:23:54
Speaker 2: Let me tell you something. I rate this a five out of five if you get any more.
00:23:58
Speaker 1: You're not even wearing any clothing and you give yourself a five?
00:24:01
Speaker 2: Damn right, because that skin is perfect. Yeah, it is.
00:24:03
Speaker 4: It's glowing.
00:24:04
Speaker 2: It's divine.
00:24:05
Speaker 3: And the body is perfect.
00:24:06
Speaker 2: Body-ody-ody. Before there was Wakanda.
00:24:09
Speaker 3: Okay.
00:24:13
Speaker 6: The nails.
00:24:13
Speaker 1: So we're in our apartment. We are a married, loving married couple. And Sinclair wants to get into a theater group, but they have no more room to cast any women into this theater group. And so she decides to dress up as a man and name herself James Overton so that she can get into the theater group. And I am wearing, I think I look like Sinbad because of my sideburns. And so I'm James, I'm Jimmy.
00:24:41
Speaker 4: You can call me Jimmy.
00:24:44
Speaker 1: Hands down one of my favorite episodes to play. One of my favorites.
00:24:47
Speaker 2: You were excellent. And you look like Shirley Hemphill in light skin with a damn Fu Manchu. You dig what I'm saying?
00:24:55
Speaker 1: I had so much fun.
00:24:56
Speaker 2: A Fu Manchu with mutton chops.
00:24:58
Speaker 3: Mutton chops.
00:24:59
Speaker 1: I asked for the mutton chops. Yes, we know you did. Of course I did.
00:25:02
Speaker 6: Of course you did.
00:25:02
Speaker 1: They had to take me back and bind my breasts. I had to be bound.
00:25:07
Speaker 2: That's massive.
00:25:07
Speaker 1: But they kept popping up. So they had to take me out back and keep binding me down.
00:25:13
Speaker 2: Not out back. Out back.
00:25:14
Speaker 1: Out back. to the quick change booth.
00:25:17
Speaker 2: I love this.
00:25:18
Speaker 1: I love this episode.
00:25:19
Speaker 2: You did a great job.
00:25:20
Speaker 1: I had so much fun.
00:25:21
Speaker 2: And you look great as a dude. Is that a compliment?
00:25:24
Speaker 1: It's a handsome... I'm a handsome... A man, dude.
00:25:28
Speaker 2: Definitely a five.
00:25:30
Speaker 1: You're looking at me deep in my eyes. I don't want to hurt your feelings. I wouldn't date you, but I was a handsome man.
00:25:35
Speaker 6: You were a handsome man. I'm going to go.
00:25:37
Speaker 4: A five.
00:25:37
Speaker 2: A five for the outfit. Yep.
00:25:39
Speaker 6: Like you said with Dana, the commitment. You went there and you were committed for the comedy. I was grabbing my stuff a lot that episode.
00:25:46
Speaker 4: Okay.
00:25:46
Speaker 6: First of all, this episode was so great when they had to create Two different, two or three different looks for us. One or two was the casual looks in the 60s vibe. And then our performance looks.
00:26:00
Speaker 2: Listen, this is now a clip of us when we debut and we're just getting to see the group for the first time. And so we're in our characters. And what Maxie is, I look like a damn red hot chicken. I looked nuts. I looked like a crackhead. My lips are pink.
00:26:20
Speaker 1: Frosted lipstick.
00:26:22
Speaker 2: Frosted lipstick.
00:26:22
Speaker 3: That was the order of the day. You're like, I'm with it.
00:26:25
Speaker 1: I'm with it. The way you pranced in this episode.
00:26:28
Speaker 2: Oh, my gosh.
00:26:29
Speaker 1: It was your episode. And look at the white boots.
00:26:31
Speaker 6: It was like watching Billie Holiday and Nino Brown.
00:26:35
Speaker 4: Oh, you're a role for that. You are wrong. No, because of how you were strutting across.
00:26:41
Speaker 2: It's the truth, though.
00:26:42
Speaker 6: When Wesley Snipes was walking through Harlem in that crack building.
00:26:46
Speaker 2: Oh, I thought you were talking about when he was doing the queen of whatever down in Australia.
00:26:50
Speaker 5: Oh, no.
00:26:51
Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, no. I did look like him.
00:26:53
Speaker 1: To Wong Fu.
00:26:54
Speaker 2: To Wong Fu.
00:26:54
Speaker 1: Yeah, to Wong Fu.
00:26:55
Speaker 6: You came with your.
00:26:57
Speaker 4: Afrocentric.
00:26:58
Speaker 6: Afrocentric.
00:26:58
Speaker 2: And you were looking all sweet like butter wouldn't melt in your mouth.
00:27:01
Speaker 1: I just want to put some plants in the oven.
00:27:04
Speaker 2: Well, let me tell you something. This was the week from hell.
00:27:07
Speaker 6: Yes, it was.
00:27:08
Speaker 2: It was the week from hell.
00:27:09
Speaker 6: The choreography, the singing.
00:27:10
Speaker 1: The PMS.
00:27:12
Speaker 4: That's for me.
00:27:13
Speaker 2: Kim Fields, you would get the choreography on- Immediately. Like she was- Like one, two, three, four, up and down.
00:27:20
Speaker 1: Okay, I got it.
00:27:20
Speaker 2: She got it. And then she would sit down and read. And read.
00:27:24
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:27:25
Speaker 2: And then Kim calls like, so you don't need it again, Kim? You don't need it?
00:27:28
Speaker 1: Because I needed you to need it again so that we could run it, so we all could run it because I needed it again.
00:27:33
Speaker 4: You're like, no, I got it.
00:27:34
Speaker 2: I got it.
00:27:35
Speaker 1: Like one, two, three, up and down.
00:27:36
Speaker 2: She didn't even answer you. She didn't even bother answering you. She was like, whatever.
00:27:40
Speaker 1: Because I was PMSing that week and I couldn't remember the steps.
00:27:43
Speaker 2: You were miserable.
00:27:44
Speaker 1: I was two left feet.
00:27:45
Speaker 2: That movie, Misery, was made off of you. I literally was like, I wish if I could beam myself up, Scotty. And then Dana wasn't there because she was filming.
00:27:55
Speaker 4: Remember?
00:27:56
Speaker 7: Yeah.
00:27:56
Speaker 2: She was filming. So we were, yeah, we were all trying to get through it. And we went to the studio recording. We did all of these dances.
00:28:04
Speaker 6: That's right.
00:28:05
Speaker 4: We had to go sing.
00:28:05
Speaker 2: We had to go sing. Lay down the tracks. And we had to do it in three days. Meanwhile, look at this. This is brilliant.
00:28:11
Speaker 4: Look at this, Kim.
00:28:12
Speaker 2: Dressed like a freedom fighter.
00:28:13
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:28:14
Speaker 1: My favorite thing is he takes off my glasses and I decided to cross my eyes when he took off the glasses.
00:28:20
Speaker 4: And I.
00:28:20
Speaker 1: John was trying not to laugh. And I was like, oh, I cracked him up.
00:28:24
Speaker 4: It was a good thing.
00:28:24
Speaker 2: It was brilliant.
00:28:25
Speaker 1: It was so good. So they really did a good job of recreating the fashion of that time. But then all these 60s outfits and then the performance outfits and then our alter ego, they just did an incredible job.
00:28:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, they really did.
00:28:39
Speaker 6: And we had three days.
00:28:40
Speaker 2: Remember, tape day is Thursday. Okay.
00:28:46
Speaker 1: Also, this is an episode where we had the great Tom Joyner who opened the door and said, all right, two minutes, ladies, two minutes. So he got to come and do a special on our show, which was beautiful.
00:28:56
Speaker 2: And so they've transformed from the neighborhood group to these flavorettes because John Hinton, character as a manager, is taking them from, you know... you know, small time to big time, but the outfits they have us on, we'd make us look like Bozo the Clown. We've got all sorts of sequins on and feathers all around our head and feathers around our hands.
00:29:16
Speaker 6: But that was the order of the day.
00:29:18
Speaker 2: Really?
00:29:18
Speaker 6: Yes, absolutely.
00:29:19
Speaker 2: I felt like we looked like chickens.
00:29:20
Speaker 6: No, not at all. Absolutely crazy. If you go back and look at a lot of the performances and photo shoots from like the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, all of the girl groups, which this episode was based on.
00:29:32
Speaker 4: Looked at.
00:29:33
Speaker 1: Looked like chickens.
00:29:34
Speaker 6: The rise.
00:29:34
Speaker 1: They all look like that.
00:29:35
Speaker 2: Why do I try?
00:29:36
Speaker 1: Why do I try?
00:29:37
Speaker 6: We look great though. Is this time for me to leave?
00:29:39
Speaker 2: No, no, no.
00:29:39
Speaker 6: Because y'all told me half this damn episode.
00:29:41
Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, no.
00:29:44
Speaker 1: I think we look like beautiful chickens.
00:29:46
Speaker 6: Kim. No, I'm not cosigning that. I'm giving this whole episode fives for all of the 60s fashion.
00:29:53
Speaker 2: Fives all around.
00:29:54
Speaker 1: Oh, I'm giving it five.
00:29:55
Speaker 4: Definitely five.
00:29:56
Speaker 6: Absolutely.
00:29:56
Speaker 1: Absolutely five.
00:29:57
Speaker 6: Because they also were true to the period that they had to capture. And not just in the performances. The casual looks and all of the atmosphere. That's a lot of looks to create and be true to it. And we definitely embodied that whole atmosphere of the come up of the 60s girl group.
00:30:17
Speaker 4: That's true.
00:30:18
Speaker 2: And it was one of the hardest ones to film for all the sort of logistic things. But it is the fan favorite.
00:30:24
Speaker 1: Oh, and it should be.
00:30:25
Speaker 2: It's one of up there like with the fan favorites.
00:30:28
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:30:28
Speaker 2: So we should be proud of ourselves and say thank you to Wardrobe Sessy. Yes. And hair, costume.
00:30:36
Speaker 1: And Demita Jo Freeman, who was the original Soul Train dancer who came and choreographed that.
00:30:41
Speaker 2: Wow.
00:30:41
Speaker 1: All the dancers.
00:30:42
Speaker 2: And Clay Vaughn, the writer who wrote that episode.
00:30:44
Speaker 1: It was so, so good.
00:30:45
Speaker 6: Is that in your notes? How do you know that?
00:30:47
Speaker 2: Because I saw her in Philadelphia not too long ago when they honored me with the street naming. And we played this episode and Clay Vaughn came because she's from Philly.
00:30:58
Speaker 4: Ah, okay.
00:30:58
Speaker 2: Yeah, we talked about this episode. Kim, thanks for being our fashionista. I mean, you led the way with fashion in the show. You continue to be a trendsetter and an icon and an influencer in the best way. And of course, you do it unconsciously. And so we appreciate that. And we love talking to you about all of this because you had so much to do with it.
00:31:20
Speaker 6: Yeah, thank you. It was a lot of fun.
00:31:22
Speaker 1: I'm excited to talk to Ceci, who was our costume designer for most of our episodes, about this. She, in my opinion, is the queen of dressing the characters right. So that the minute you walk in the room, you know exactly who they are, even if you've never watched the show before. And distinct. Not one of us looked like any one of us.
00:31:40
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:31:41
Speaker 1: Any other one of us.
00:31:42
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:31:42
Speaker 1: I think she's the best at that. So I'm excited to talk to her.
00:31:45
Speaker 6: Give her my love.
00:31:46
Speaker 2: Oh, we will.
00:31:46
Speaker 6: This has been so much fun, guys. Thank you.
00:31:55
Speaker 1: This is The Reverb. Our time to reflect on the episode's themes and how they still echo throughout the culture.
00:32:02
Speaker 2: Kim, this whole episode has been about the fashion and the costumes and just the look of the show. But here we have to speak to us is the woman herself, Ceci. Ceci is the costume designer and the genius behind all those looks. And she was doing it at a time when there were very few people who looked like her at all. And so she is not only a trailblazer and a trendsetter, She is a legion. A legion. How would you say it? A legion. Yes, yes.
00:32:33
Speaker 6: Here she is.
00:32:34
Speaker 4: Oh, stop. Tell me more.
00:32:36
Speaker 2: She's a costume designer for Living Single and other shows like Sister Sister and A Different World, Half and Half, Mixed-ish, Wonder Years, The Reboot, A Black Lady Sketch Show. Here she is, our friend and our love, our sister, Ceci. We love you. Hey, I love you too.
00:32:51
Speaker 3: We love you too, Kim.
00:32:53
Speaker 4: You taught me everything I know.
00:32:54
Speaker 1: Thank you for inviting me.
00:32:55
Speaker 2: We'll talk about that.
00:32:56
Speaker 4: Oh, for sure. For sure.
00:32:59
Speaker 5: Let's begin with your love of fashion. Where did this come from? I've always had a love of fashion. I grew up in a family where my father was very dapper and charismatic and handsome and fly. My mother was always elegant and well put together. We didn't have a lot of money, but they did a lot with what they had. And I, out of necessity, learned how to sew. I learned how to sew at the age of four.
00:33:26
Speaker 2: Wow. What was I doing at four? You know, picking boogers. I love it.
00:33:32
Speaker 5: And my grandmother taught me how to knit and crochet and embroider. And I even made my first day of school, first grade outfit, some turquoise wraparound culottes with white polka dots.
00:33:43
Speaker 4: And all throughout middle school and high school, I made my clothes.
00:33:47
Speaker 5: I did my homework and then went to our sewing room. My father fashioned a sewing room, floor to ceiling fabric, shelves of fabric. And I would make something new every day for school. And, you know, I just, being the youngest of five and not having a lot of money, you know, wanting to be creative and wanting to stand out. And my father said that, ooh, being an individual is so important. You don't want to follow the leader. I think he said that because he couldn't afford to give us what everybody believes.
00:34:16
Speaker 2: That's what dads do.
00:34:17
Speaker 3: They make it work.
00:34:18
Speaker 4: But you're a Panamanian.
00:34:19
Speaker 2: Exactly. So you're coming from a whole, you know, we're talking about American TV shows, but you have a very... worldly sort of, you know, palette.
00:34:29
Speaker 5: Well, yes, culturally, yes, in my household, for sure, you know, we definitely, you know, ate the food, the culinary experience was certainly different. And I think that, you know, Panama itself is, you know, a conglomeration of African culture, Spanish culture, indigenous culture, Caribbean culture. So all of that, you know, kind of informed me, seeing it on the walls in a mola, or seeing the color choices that my mother would buy, because she made our.
00:34:57
Speaker 4: Clothes also for us. So all of that just.
00:34:59
Speaker 5: Kind of- Informs who you are. It bakes in and informs who you are and your perspective. I mean, I didn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about it per se, but all of that becomes embedded in your style DNA, your vision, your point of view.
00:35:12
Speaker 2: And you speak Spanish.
00:35:13
Speaker 4: Claro que si. Era mi primera lengua.
00:35:15
Speaker 2: Well, fantastic. Because people need to know that there's an Afro-Latina- And in the helm, making this type of history. But also, we were the number one show for African-Americans and Latinos.
00:35:26
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: Latinos. Thank you.
00:35:27
Speaker 1: I want to say for the record, it's really fun to hang out with you when we're out and about, and someone says something in Spanish, and you will let me know. And you know I speak un poco, and so.
00:35:36
Speaker 4: You know. More than un poco. Un poco.
00:35:39
Speaker 1: Un poco.
00:35:39
Speaker 5: Let's see if I can get that.
00:35:44
Speaker 1: So it's really fun to watch the turn, like, oh, she speaks Spanish. Pull it up.
00:35:47
Speaker 5: Don't say nothing you're not supposed to be saying. So thank you for translating.
00:35:51
Speaker 1: All the time. What I think you do beautifully, and listen, Erica, you and I have both been dressed by many a costume designer.
00:35:57
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
00:35:58
Speaker 1: And some of them translate beautifully, but you do masterfully. And I learned from you. the art of translating the character to the garments that they wear. Everything is infused, and nobody does that better than you.
00:36:12
Speaker 4: I think so. I would have to agree.
00:36:14
Speaker 1: I think I learned from you that when the character walks in the room, you'll know exactly who they are, not only by the words that are on the page that they've memorized, but by the way that they look. So you can just talk about how you infuse that.
00:36:25
Speaker 4: No lies detected there.
00:36:26
Speaker 2: I know, that's right. This is an easy interview.
00:36:28
Speaker 4: It's an easy interview.
00:36:29
Speaker 5: It's my understanding that actors, for the most part, will find themselves in that role, right?
00:36:34
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:36:35
Speaker 5: You can like, okay, this is the character of Sinclair, and this is what she's about. Well, as a costume designer, I do the same thing. So I find myself in each of your characters, even the male characters.
00:36:49
Speaker 4: And I have to do that because, like describe your character.
00:36:52
Speaker 2: Maxine Shaw, lawyer, power broker, feminist, says what's on her mind.
00:36:58
Speaker 4: Bam.
00:36:59
Speaker 5: So when I go shopping- I shop with an eye of power broker, feminist, says what's on her mind.
00:37:05
Speaker 4: And that quickly filters out all the other stuff.
00:37:09
Speaker 6: Got it.
00:37:09
Speaker 5: And it carves out your lane. It carves out, this is your lane. And so that when I do that for each character, there's not going to.
00:37:16
Speaker 4: Be a lot of cross-pollination. You know, even if it's denim.
00:37:19
Speaker 5: Even if it's a pair of jeans, like yours is going to be more sophisticated, sleek, you know, on point.
00:37:25
Speaker 1: Maybe tailored.
00:37:26
Speaker 4: Maybe tailored.
00:37:27
Speaker 5: Whereas Regine's is going to have some diamonds and pearl studs on it. They're the same jeans, but hers is going to have some chains and it's going to be, you know, out there.
00:37:34
Speaker 4: Yours might be some boyfriend, some bell-bottom jeans.
00:37:37
Speaker 2: With a troll on it.
00:37:38
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:37:39
Speaker 5: So everybody has their own lane, but I shop with adjectives in mind. So however, you know, they're described in the script or however, in a collaboration, because we always talk, you know, before, what do you think about this scene? And so I'm already equipped with the marching orders, as it were.
00:37:57
Speaker 2: But let's talk about what you're wearing right now. Let's describe this. This is off the chain.
00:38:02
Speaker 1: She's giving us a jaunty hat.
00:38:03
Speaker 2: Yes, a felt, you know, ivory fedora with a snake print band around it. Just a very thin shape of print. And then these earrings, these white Sort of, what are they like?
00:38:15
Speaker 1: Almost like rattan or something, right?
00:38:17
Speaker 4: But you know what?
00:38:18
Speaker 5: It goes back to how I grew up. Youngest of five. I look at pictures and I was like, girl, you had on a plaid skirt. in a whole different colorway with a striped blouse and a bandana and a floral.
00:38:29
Speaker 4: I was like, what were you doing?
00:38:30
Speaker 5: But that's how, you know, we put on things that we had.
00:38:33
Speaker 1: Was it like hand-me-downs and you were mixing the hand-me-downs plus what you were making for yourself? 100%.
00:38:38
Speaker 2: Your idea of somebody's hand-me-down was her come up.
00:38:40
Speaker 1: Right, right.
00:38:41
Speaker 2: Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. In the right hands, though, that means you had a gift. And you saw it early.
00:38:45
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:38:46
Speaker 5: And I would make different styles out of it. I remember our kids, if my foot got bigger and my toe poked out the front, I'd cut the front of it and make a sandal and cut out the sides.
00:38:57
Speaker 4: And then that would be a little cut out. It would be a whole sandal.
00:39:01
Speaker 5: I'd take it from a sneaker to a sandal and let my big toe just have some freedom.
00:39:04
Speaker 2: Yeah, drag it on the concrete. Exactly.
00:39:07
Speaker 5: But that's the kind of creativity that has held me in good stead because- budgetarily, they don't do black shows like they do white shows, even though I'm living single.
00:39:18
Speaker 4: I was a gas when I found.
00:39:20
Speaker 5: Out that Friends had multiples and multiples of thousands of dollars more than we had.
00:39:26
Speaker 4: I was like, say what now? It was insane.
00:39:30
Speaker 5: And it hasn't really changed much. It hasn't really changed much, unfortunately.
00:39:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, talking about what hasn't changed much, what hasn't changed much that really is something that has been an obstacle that you wish could be, you know?
00:39:42
Speaker 5: It's my deepest desire that those who are in power, Black people who are in power, that people of color who were in power, begin to focus more on what we're called below the line or behind the scenes. I think that there is a lot of celebration about having in front of the camera roles that are given to black actors, but the same is not being considered behind the camera. So you'll have a black show, a black movie, And then you go, you know, on location and it's white, white, white, white, white.
00:40:21
Speaker 4: Whitey white, white, white, white, white, white. Why? I'm like, how white? Are you rapping now? White, white, white, white, white, white, white. It's really egregious to me.
00:40:32
Speaker 5: And I don't understand why it's not top of mind to more people.
00:40:38
Speaker 2: Because you're saying, there's something you're saying about diversity that's sort of maybe not as obvious. The diversity of how you think is also what you're hiring when they get you, as opposed to somebody who might be Eurocentric and has to research us.
00:40:51
Speaker 1: You bring all your cultural knowledge and beingness.
00:40:55
Speaker 2: Coalition in your mind that you've had to pay attention to your whole life.
00:40:58
Speaker 5: Or even the standards of beauty. I mean, look at living single. Everybody was a different body size and shape before. I never once said, oh my God, look at this person. How am I going to dress that person?
00:41:09
Speaker 4: It's because... that's not even part of.
00:41:13
Speaker 5: The thought process or the visual process because, you know, we grow up in a culture of all different shapes and sizes and I don't have a Eurocentric idea of what beauty is.
00:41:22
Speaker 2: Right.
00:41:23
Speaker 5: And so I can celebrate everyone's size and maximize everybody's size and make them look the best they can possibly be.
00:41:31
Speaker 1: I want to say that's one of my favorite things about you is I have never felt that I was too this or not enough this in order to be dressed well, right? And that you are, and you know, we've done personal things together. Like let's, what do you want to wear? What do you want to look like? Let's go find that in your size for your proportion. I've never once felt like, ooh, do I need to fit into that? You know, we'll find the one that fits for you and the color, the size, the proportion and the way it makes you feel. I credit you as setting the bar for me in that, not only in the way I want to wear my own clothing personally, but I judge every other costume designer by that. Like, oh, you just have a rack of clothes for me. You didn't even think about this. You don't know that my bosom should be, you don't know that I want to hide, I want to accentuate. You don't even know. You're not sexy. In my head, like, oh, good luck.
00:42:22
Speaker 6: Oh, just throw on those shoes?
00:42:23
Speaker 1: Really? Oh, because it color matches?
00:42:25
Speaker 2: Really? Really?
00:42:27
Speaker 5: Thank you so much, Kim. And even what's more is not just what looks good on you, but what works in the scene. Because sometimes people really don't understand the depth of what a costume designer... And so not only do I have to look at what's happening from the beginning of the episode.
00:42:45
Speaker 4: Through the middle, through the end, where are you traveling? What are you doing? Are you sitting?
00:42:49
Speaker 2: Are you standing?
00:42:50
Speaker 3: Are you laying down?
00:42:50
Speaker 4: Is this going to be comfortable if you got to kick the box in the alleyway?
00:42:53
Speaker 3: I mean, is that.
00:42:55
Speaker 4: Dress going to sit too short?
00:42:56
Speaker 5: Is it too tight?
00:42:57
Speaker 4: Can you lift your legs?
00:42:58
Speaker 5: Is it going to look crazy when you lay down and want to watch the magazine? Is this going to rumble right here because you crushed up? I mean, there's so many things that you have to think about.
00:43:06
Speaker 1: Wow.
00:43:06
Speaker 5: But that's what I mean in terms of becoming the characters. I'm listening to what Erica Alexander likes, what Kim Coles likes, what Sinclair likes, and what Max likes. What the studio likes, what the writers like, what the directors like, and then finally, maybe what Ceci likes. So I have nothing to do with that.
00:43:27
Speaker 6: Exactly.
00:43:27
Speaker 5: It's a big soup of voices in my head because that's what happens. Literally, I look at something, I'm like, okay, is that First of all, does it match the adjectives of that character, first and foremost? Okay, now let me look at it. Is it the right style? Is it the right size? Is it right for that scene? Is it going to do what it needs to do in that scene? Is it going to convey that message? Because wardrobe is not just wardrobe by itself. It's also supporting the story.
00:43:53
Speaker 2: That's right.
00:43:54
Speaker 4: So it has to make sense.
00:43:55
Speaker 2: Speaking of which, the studio, did they ever have a mandate for you? Did they ever talk to you?
00:44:01
Speaker 5: I do remember there was a big to-do meeting. Do you remember that episode when Dana was dating? Who was in the basketball play?
00:44:09
Speaker 4: Who was it?
00:44:10
Speaker 2: She was dating so many basketball players.
00:44:11
Speaker 6: It was Grant Hill.
00:44:12
Speaker 4: It was Grant Hill.
00:44:13
Speaker 5: And she was going to the basketball, through the gymnasium, and it was a red dress. Oh my gosh, there was so much back and forth. It was a sleeveless red dress, Donna Karan, I remember.
00:44:25
Speaker 4: It looked great on her. It was beautiful.
00:44:26
Speaker 5: And the whole conversation, well, can she have a shawl? But what about her arms? But what about her breasts? There was always a thing with trying to minimize her. And I used to go to bat for Dana and like, what's wrong with how she looks like right now? Well, can you just, you know, maybe just a little something, something so that her arms are not so bare.
00:44:45
Speaker 4: What's wrong with her arms? And I'm like, well, what is wrong with how she looks now? I literally would say that.
00:44:51
Speaker 5: And they would not just come out and say, okay, we think she looks too big. But that's what they were saying. And it was very uncomfortable.
00:44:59
Speaker 4: And it was on.
00:45:00
Speaker 1: More than one occasion. Especially if she wasn't coming with like, I think I look, because I've said to you, oh, I think this makes me look a little heavy. Well, then let's get you a little shawl, a little blair, a little thing. It's different if she was asking for that, but she wasn't even asking.
00:45:11
Speaker 4: I look great. She looks great. She looked great. She felt great. Exactly.
00:45:15
Speaker 5: And it was very, I just distinctly remember that experience. It was very uncomfortable.
00:45:19
Speaker 7: Wow.
00:45:19
Speaker 2: You know, I think about that a lot because as four women of color, black women on television, how they were judging us was based on people who were tiny. Yeah. You know, if you look at our counterparts, we like very much and we're very talented. from Ally McBeal on to even the Friends people, they were like size zero too. And then so we all looked huge next to them. And you didn't feel that way because we were all together. But I know when I went to other shows to do guest spots and I was like a size six, eight, you know, meaning curvy too. For many of the young women on there, they were like children.
00:45:55
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:45:55
Speaker 2: I had a costume.
00:45:56
Speaker 1: Designer say, well, where do I shop for you?
00:45:58
Speaker 4: Oh, my God.
00:45:58
Speaker 1: I was like, I'll bring some things from my closet. Is it really that hard? Because you made it so easy. Or they didn't even have the realm. They didn't have to think about that because they were shopping for only zeros.
00:46:10
Speaker 4: Exactly. That was not even in their wheelhouse. Yeah.
00:46:13
Speaker 5: Wow.
00:46:13
Speaker 4: That's exactly correct. That's not even anything that they had to consider.
00:46:17
Speaker 2: And, you know.
00:46:18
Speaker 5: Back then, and even now, I mean, I think that what was considered plus size, I mean, I think 10 and above. Right, right. You know, most of these boutiques, like, you know, after, oh, we don't even really carry size 10. I mean, maybe one, but after that, it's gone. So it was really challenging. Even for Dana, you know, I'm the type of costume designer that I'm like, nothing is off the table. So when I discovered that I can alter men's suiting, the times that she would wear pantsuits and stuff... I would go and get those fly ass pants.
00:46:48
Speaker 4: Can I say ass? I guess I just did.
00:46:50
Speaker 3: You just did.
00:46:50
Speaker 2: You just did.
00:46:51
Speaker 1: You can't.
00:46:53
Speaker 4: Like, I remember traffic.
00:46:54
Speaker 5: There was a period of time that some of the European tailoring were a little bit more feminine and something that I could rock with with Dana.
00:47:03
Speaker 4: And I was like, okay, bam. I would take that and tailor it to her. That was.
00:47:07
Speaker 1: Looked amazing.
00:47:08
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:47:08
Speaker 4: So that was... Outside of the Dana Buckman. Remember that? You know, there was those.
00:47:13
Speaker 1: Dana Buckman, Eileen Fisher.
00:47:15
Speaker 4: Right. Who carried the larger sizes. But it was limiting. It's like, okay, you have two styles this month. I need six choices for this woman. Where am I going?
00:47:25
Speaker 5: So it forces you to be so much more creative. And same with the budget. You know, I wish I had the budget that friends had.
00:47:31
Speaker 4: I only wish.
00:47:32
Speaker 5: But I don't besmirch that experience at all because it's made me a fantastic designer. I'm resourceful as I don't know what. I don't know. Anybody who can do what I do with the meager budgets that I get, honey.
00:47:44
Speaker 2: But that shouldn't always be the experiment. It would be great to see what you could do with your mind and your experience with a full-on budget.
00:47:52
Speaker 4: An appropriate budget.
00:47:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, go and do your thing.
00:47:55
Speaker 1: Do you have any favorite looks of ours that you enjoyed putting together?
00:48:00
Speaker 4: You know what?
00:48:00
Speaker 5: My most favorite episode, but included everybody, was A Raisin Harlem. Oh, wow. I mean, that was my biggest joy because it really was able to showcase what I can do. It was a period piece. And everybody was so extra and over the top and glamorous. Plus all the background people.
00:48:20
Speaker 4: We talked about that. You have to do just everyone. Everyone. It was, oh my God. I was in seventh heaven. I was like, look at this.
00:48:27
Speaker 5: Because, you know, of course you know what my ability is contemporary. But then, you know, to showcase a period, I was like, oh.
00:48:35
Speaker 4: This is amazing.
00:48:36
Speaker 2: Period through character, too.
00:48:38
Speaker 1: Period and characters.
00:48:40
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:48:40
Speaker 1: And also, now you had to filter who we were and who we were playing.
00:48:44
Speaker 4: Through that period.
00:48:44
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness.
00:48:45
Speaker 2: And you basically have just a few days to do it. Oh, yeah. I mean, you know the episode is coming.
00:48:50
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:48:50
Speaker 2: But still, it's like, again, everything gets pulled into this brutal schedule. How do you do that?
00:48:58
Speaker 5: You know, I learned early on that my temperament is I work best under pressure.
00:49:03
Speaker 4: I learned that in college.
00:49:04
Speaker 5: You know, anytime that I would prepare for a paper and do all the research and do it all in advance. But if I do it the night before, ooh, A + + +, fabulous.
00:49:14
Speaker 4: So the cadence, there's something.
00:49:20
Speaker 5: About the cadence of television that I'm well suited for. It's like hit it, quit it, hit it, quit it. You get the script, read it, go shopping, fit it, alter it, break it down, shoot it.
00:49:29
Speaker 4: It's like a three-day thing.
00:49:31
Speaker 5: And my entire career, I've worked Saturdays and Sundays with my child in tow, of course not paid.
00:49:39
Speaker 2: People don't even know.
00:49:40
Speaker 1: No, they don't know.
00:49:41
Speaker 2: Honestly.
00:49:42
Speaker 5: That's the level of integrity that I had. It's like, I want to make sure that everything is on point. And if that meant that I worked longer hours, unpaid hours, was stitching something at home, whatever I had to do to make it look amazing, I was committed to doing that.
00:49:58
Speaker 4: But that, a raise in Harlem, oh my God. And even Kyle. Let's talk about the guys though.
00:50:03
Speaker 2: We got to talk about the guys.
00:50:05
Speaker 4: We got to talk about the guys.
00:50:05
Speaker 2: Because yes, you had Overton was dressed like a straight gangster. Right. And then TC was dressed like a waiter and then later on.
00:50:13
Speaker 4: And later on in the suit.
00:50:15
Speaker 1: And that trench coat you gave him at the end, it was to the ground.
00:50:20
Speaker 4: I have a.
00:50:22
Speaker 5: Special affinity for menswear. And I think because my father, my father, you know, father-daughter time was to go to this little store downtown LA called California Tie Shop. It was this little alley of a place and it was just me and him and he'd go through it and he says, okay, this is a French cuff and this is, This right here, feel this fabric.
00:50:42
Speaker 1: Okay, this is crap.
00:50:43
Speaker 4: This is cheap. Now feel this here. This is elegant.
00:50:46
Speaker 5: See this tone on tone stripe? You see how this one is soft and this one's not. This one's too bold and garish. No, you don't want that. Look at this pocket square and this tie. Do you see this pattern here?
00:50:55
Speaker 2: So your dad gave you a fashion sense.
00:50:58
Speaker 4: Honey, he gave me an appreciation for menswear.
00:51:00
Speaker 2: Okie dokie.
00:51:01
Speaker 4: And again, I'm going to toot my own horn.
00:51:02
Speaker 2: Please.
00:51:03
Speaker 5: There ain't nobody that can select a man's tie better than I can.
00:51:07
Speaker 4: Or the whole dang gone look. But I have spent.
00:51:10
Speaker 5: For Kyle, let me tell you, I spent hours looking for just the tie, looking for just the right, perfect tie. I mean, I'd be in Neiman's and Saks and Bloomingdale's and all the places.
00:51:21
Speaker 4: I'm like, no, no, no, no.
00:51:23
Speaker 5: And then when I saw it, when I see anything that works, it's like Christmas morning.
00:51:28
Speaker 4: It's like, oh!
00:51:29
Speaker 1: Oh, my God.
00:51:30
Speaker 5: And then you take it to the fitting, and it's all, we all like, ah, ah, ah. You know, that's why, like, you know, in a black show, because, you know, you can dance.
00:51:37
Speaker 6: Everybody's dancing.
00:51:37
Speaker 2: Everybody's like, yeah.
00:51:38
Speaker 3: When something happens, it's like, yeah.
00:51:40
Speaker 4: Towel, towel, towel. Exactly. When it hits.
00:51:43
Speaker 1: How much was TC allowed to collaborate with you? And what about all of us?
00:51:47
Speaker 4: Did you allow us to collaborate? Everyone, I believe.
00:51:50
Speaker 5: I hope I did a good job of listening and collaborating, because I think everybody really... was invested in their wardrobe and invested in the look. He truly was invested and he truly appreciated my attention to detail because his vests were otherworldly. I mean, the suits, the pinstripes, the hats, the fedoras, the top.
00:52:09
Speaker 4: Come on now.
00:52:10
Speaker 2: He was always bragging about you because he wanted to showcase his friends. And it wasn't just always about... I mean, he has an innate love for fashion and design, but he also wanted to put them down, you know, and give them some sort of... platform. And he really did. And through you, because you allowed it.
00:52:28
Speaker 4: Yeah, exactly.
00:52:29
Speaker 5: Which, you know, I don't know that people do it too much these days, but I remember being able to use the platform for a lot of black designers.
00:52:37
Speaker 4: You know, it was a FUBU, WalkAware, and one.
00:52:40
Speaker 2: Chaka King.
00:52:41
Speaker 4: You know, Chaka King.
00:52:43
Speaker 2: All of them. All of them.
00:52:44
Speaker 5: So that was like really, you know, I was very proud of that. I was like, you know, everybody had an opportunity to rock something, you know?
00:52:52
Speaker 7: Right.
00:52:53
Speaker 4: So you.
00:52:55
Speaker 1: obviously had such a strong influence on 90s fashion that we were watching on television and being on television.
00:53:02
Speaker 2: Yeah, and basically created the whole template for it.
00:53:06
Speaker 1: How does it feel?
00:53:07
Speaker 5: It's kind of surreal and a little weird because part of what my vision and my creation has now become a part of the visual lexicon, if there were.
00:53:16
Speaker 4: Did I just make that up? Is that a word?
00:53:18
Speaker 1: The visual lexicon.
00:53:20
Speaker 5: The visual lexicon of what it meant to look like a black attorney. When I'm gone, or even now, if a costume designer wants to research... oh, this period, they're going to be looking at my stuff. You cannot escape that. You cannot escape that. So when I think about that, I'm like, oh, you did that. I have to do this because I always think I haven't done much in life.
00:53:43
Speaker 4: You know, sometimes it's just like, oh, I want to do something bigger.
00:53:46
Speaker 2: You know why you think that? Because it was your avatar doing all that. You were in two places at once. I don't even think she's here right now.
00:53:53
Speaker 1: This is a hologram.
00:53:54
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:53:55
Speaker 2: This is Yes. You know, when you're in doing that, the amount of work you're talking about, you have time to sort of see, you know, and reminisce. But I think that's why people need to lay back a bit and also to get their flowers. And frankly, you deserve so many of them. You did such a fantastic job. It's magnificent.
00:54:13
Speaker 4: I appreciate that.
00:54:14
Speaker 1: I also want to thank you on behalf of all the Boho Black girls. So we're talking Freddie on Different World. Me on Living Single, Rachel True on Half and Half. And yet we all had our own version of that and you managed to make it look completely different. Like if you put the three of us next, you go like, oh, they sort of are doing this boho, you know, mixing a little bit hippie, but that you did this look that now we get to embrace.
00:54:43
Speaker 5: Which I love creating those looks because I get to access the resources that It's my happy place.
00:54:50
Speaker 4: That's vintage stores.
00:54:52
Speaker 5: Vintage and thrift shopping is my thing.
00:54:55
Speaker 4: Why do you love it so?
00:54:56
Speaker 5: I don't care what it is that I'm doing. You hire me for a futuristic sci-fi something, somebody going to be in vintage.
00:55:04
Speaker 2: That Jabba walkie is going to.
00:55:05
Speaker 4: Be in vintage first.
00:55:07
Speaker 1: What do you love about it?
00:55:08
Speaker 4: Because it's the thrill of the hunt. It's like a high.
00:55:12
Speaker 5: It's really like a high when you just go in there and it seems like you can't find nothing.
00:55:15
Speaker 4: Oh, there's nothing. Then you start to find something like, oh, my God, this.
00:55:19
Speaker 5: And the light bulb goes on and you're like, oh, my God, the most amazing, fantastic, phenomenal, fantastic.
00:55:27
Speaker 2: For anyone shopping, they probably think you're climaxing several times. Exactly.
00:55:34
Speaker 4: It's almost like that.
00:55:35
Speaker 5: That thrill right there, I mean, it's coupled with my passion for what I do. I'm so passionate about my work. I mean, I go to bed thinking about, you know, like I'm working now with Ruth Carter on a couple of her clients.
00:55:48
Speaker 1: Ruth Carter. Let's have a moment for Ruth Carter.
00:55:51
Speaker 2: By the way, it was you, Ruth Carter, and who else who were like almost basically the- Michelle Cole. Michelle Cole.
00:55:56
Speaker 4: Michelle Cole.
00:55:57
Speaker 1: Yeah, I worked with her.
00:55:57
Speaker 2: The trifecta doing this at that time.
00:56:01
Speaker 1: Something we were talking about before we started the show, there's another reason why you love vintage and upcycling music. That's a personal planetary experience.
00:56:10
Speaker 5: Well, you know, fast fashion has really done a number to the planet. You know, I would venture to guess that anybody listening does not need another T-shirt, another pair of shoes, another jacket, another pair of jeans, another pair of anything, quite frankly. Unless you got really big or really small, I think you probably have all that you probably need for.
00:56:32
Speaker 4: Many years to come.
00:56:34
Speaker 5: And what's happening with fast fashion is that they are exporting the jobs to places like Bangladesh, where there is, of course, they're being exploited, getting paid pennies and insufficient working conditions. So what ends up happening to all this fast fashion, they're not well-made. So you wear it once or twice, and then you dump it. So then you think, oh, well, I'm going to donate it to the Goodwill. Well, when the Goodwill cannot sell it, it ends up on the shores of Africa.
00:57:06
Speaker 4: Ghana, yes.
00:57:07
Speaker 5: When you throw it in the trash, it ends up on the shores of Ghana. It's literally mountains. It's time for us to just stop the madness.
00:57:16
Speaker 2: Like, stop.
00:57:17
Speaker 5: Just take accountability. Everybody, and I'm not saying don't go out and shop ever. Because that's unrealistic. But maybe consider shopping from a thrift store. Shopping in your own closet.
00:57:27
Speaker 2: Shop your own closet.
00:57:29
Speaker 4: Upscaling something.
00:57:30
Speaker 5: If you got a jacket and the sleeve's a little bit too tight, cut the sleeves off and make a vest.
00:57:36
Speaker 1: Change the buttons on something to look, yeah.
00:57:38
Speaker 4: Exactly.
00:57:39
Speaker 5: Consider doing something to it or giving it to a friend who, you know, will wear it, a family member who will wear it. Stop making, you know, Amazon rich and making, you know, shopping and just for what?
00:57:51
Speaker 4: Like people, oh, that's my therapy. But we are killing the planet.
00:57:55
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:57:55
Speaker 4: We are killing it.
00:57:56
Speaker 2: We're in an addiction.
00:57:57
Speaker 4: The severity of it is so high right now.
00:58:00
Speaker 5: And a lot of people need to understand that. Please make an effort to don't run out and just knee jerk. Oh, you probably don't need whatever you think it is that you need.
00:58:09
Speaker 4: Go in your closet.
00:58:10
Speaker 2: That's actually deep. We didn't know we'd go there, but we need to go there.
00:58:13
Speaker 1: But I thought it needed to be said and just something to consider.
00:58:17
Speaker 5: What's interesting, though, and when I started reading about and learning more about it, unbeknownst to me, I've been upcycling my entire career, my entire life. And I just didn't call it upcycling. That's got a fancy name. Before when I was doing it, you know, and creating these characters, I was always shopping vintage. I was always shopping thrift stores. I was always having characters that are, you know, accessing things that are gently used or worn. When I did Dear White People, Dear White People, all those characters, that was a huge ensemble cast and 80% of them wore things That were not from a mall. They were from a thrift store or a vintage store. And they all had their distinct look. They looked like they were shopped from a mall, but I really don't like shopping from a mall.
00:59:01
Speaker 4: It's so boring. It's uninspiring.
00:59:04
Speaker 5: I don't like shopping high-level stores. I don't want to go down Rodeo Drive. I'm not interested.
00:59:09
Speaker 2: Awesome.
00:59:10
Speaker 4: Give me no orgasms.
00:59:11
Speaker 1: Also, all the characters begin to look alike because if every costumer is shopping from those stores, then everybody looks the same.
00:59:18
Speaker 4: Then everybody looks the same.
00:59:20
Speaker 1: I want to highlight a collaboration that you allowed me to have with Sinclair's wedding gown. And so when it came time for this wedding, not only did I get to help Erica, sorry, not sorry, I got to choose what the bridesmaids wore. And so you had to, you know, we had to choose a bridesmaids dress that would look beautiful on everybody. And you let me collaborate the wedding dress. And thank you for that. It wasn't just like, here, put this on.
00:59:46
Speaker 4: We couldn't even speak to you.
00:59:47
Speaker 2: You were so into it.
00:59:50
Speaker 4: No.
00:59:50
Speaker 2: Was I? Yes.
00:59:51
Speaker 6: Yes.
00:59:52
Speaker 5: But it was like your wedding. Like, why wouldn't I let you collaborate? That's just crazy not to.
00:59:57
Speaker 1: It could have been a rack of dresses. Pick one. You actually made that.
01:00:00
Speaker 4: Yeah, we had it made.
01:00:02
Speaker 6: Yes, honey.
01:00:03
Speaker 4: It was a couture bespoke.
01:00:04
Speaker 2: It was a bespoke wedding dress.
01:00:07
Speaker 1: Sinclair couldn't have afforded it.
01:00:08
Speaker 2: It was beautiful.
01:00:09
Speaker 4: Exactly. But it was beautiful on you.
01:00:11
Speaker 1: And right timing.
01:00:11
Speaker 4: And that was so important. I mean, even though it's just, you know... on TV. It's still you. Yeah.
01:00:17
Speaker 5: You still have to be fabulous and feel comfortable and beautiful and all the things any bride wants to be on their wedding day.
01:00:24
Speaker 7: Right.
01:00:25
Speaker 2: Right.
01:00:25
Speaker 6: You're welcome.
01:00:27
Speaker 1: I always ask, is that in the archive somewhere? Is that dress somewhere in the archives?
01:00:31
Speaker 5: So after a show is gone, done, canceled, wardrobe goes to the costume house on the lot, in this case, Warner Brothers. And from time to time, Warner Brothers has to decide what they're going to sell or give away, whatever they do to get rid of it to make more space. So all costume houses do that same thing. And the people who choose to do that don't look like us. And so they don't understand our fashion. They don't understand our style. And I think everybody was up in arms about Hollywood's so white. Well, that kind of thing filters down on.
01:01:09
Speaker 4: Every level of the industry.
01:01:10
Speaker 5: So if there were Black people working in the racks, in the studios, they would be going, oh my God, I remember this when Sinclair wore this.
01:01:19
Speaker 4: We got to keep this. We got to keep this Max suit. Oh my God, that lavender suit with the mint green. Oh my, they would be freaking out and keeping it. And today it would be there.
01:01:29
Speaker 5: So it's really important for diversity to happen on all levels, in front of the camera, behind the cameras, in the studios, all over. Because there's repercussions.
01:01:40
Speaker 1: Ceci, this was refreshing. It was enlightening.
01:01:44
Speaker 2: Thank you, Ceci.
01:01:44
Speaker 1: It was delicious. We thank you for all the work that you do, all the work that you continue to do.
01:01:48
Speaker 2: And so much of what's on that screen is told through the story of costume. And so people to understand your story and understand how it's connected to so many other stories. that you put out there in the zeitgeist. It's beautiful. So bravo.
01:02:02
Speaker 4: Bravo.
01:02:03
Speaker 2: Thank you.
01:02:04
Speaker 5: I received my flowers with great gratitude and thanksgiving and love and joy.
01:02:10
Speaker 2: I appreciate both of you.
01:02:12
Speaker 6: Thank you.
01:02:13
Speaker 2: Don't go anywhere.
01:02:13
Speaker 1: Don't go anywhere because we're about to answer some fan questions.
01:02:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, true blue.
01:02:17
Speaker 2: True blue.
01:02:18
Speaker 1: It's true blue and tight like what? Do you remember?
01:02:20
Speaker 2: There you go.
01:02:21
Speaker 6: Come on.
01:02:29
Speaker 1: So Amber, you have the question from our wonderful person out there.
01:02:33
Speaker 7: I actually have two questions. First one is from Deontay from Oakland. And he asks, hi, Erica and Kim. I heard you were looking for a general fashion question. So what current designers would you have used for living single? If you could use any current designers now?
01:02:54
Speaker 2: I'm glad Ceci's here. My quick thing is Telfar.
01:02:57
Speaker 5: I mean, here's the thing. I'm unique in that I don't have an allegiance to any designer. And I'm not, you know, a label whore. And I could care less about the designer name. Now, I do care about promoting black designers for sure.
01:03:15
Speaker 4: So, you know, I.
01:03:17
Speaker 5: Would definitely, you know, look and see what, like you said, Telfar or anyone else has. But, you know, I don't like to be beholden to any specific designer because I'm married to the look.
01:03:28
Speaker 1: The aesthetic of it.
01:03:29
Speaker 5: The aesthetic of whatever it is. And what I found throughout the years, you know, a lot of people, oh, it's Gucci. It's, you know, it's YSL. I don't really care. And those labels are not necessarily consistent. I would probably do some deconstructive wardrobe on Sinclair. I would do, you know, some of the more men's suiting on Maxx. You know, Tom Ford is having a big moment with his deconstructed looks and whatnot. I think I would do a version of that that would be more thrifted versus off the rack.
01:04:01
Speaker 2: So you're still recommending to take pieces that you already own and or find ways to put together.
01:04:07
Speaker 4: Exactly.
01:04:08
Speaker 2: Because that is the look of living single.
01:04:10
Speaker 4: Exactly.
01:04:10
Speaker 5: And to veer away from specific designers. While I would like to, like I said, enhance and support them, I think people need to start thinking less so of the designer as being the end all be all, but trust their eye and their instinct to choose what's good for them.
01:04:26
Speaker 2: I love it. That's a new age.
01:04:28
Speaker 4: Thank you.
01:04:28
Speaker 2: You got another question?
01:04:30
Speaker 4: Well, this other question was from Amber W.
01:04:31
Speaker 2: From Chicago, which is me. I was like, you sound familiar.
01:04:39
Speaker 7: If you had an unlimited budget, what is the fashion story that you would tell?
01:04:47
Speaker 2: With an unlimited budget.
01:04:48
Speaker 4: For anything.
01:04:49
Speaker 2: Unlimited budget.
01:04:49
Speaker 4: My Lord.
01:04:50
Speaker 5: I would fly to other countries and get textiles from all over Africa, Indonesia, Marrakesh, Egypt, Dubai. I would be flying and scooping up all the things, honey, the accessories, the jewels, the beads. Everybody would be so textured and layered and faceted and, oh my God, have things made in India.
01:05:14
Speaker 2: Oh, come on.
01:05:15
Speaker 1: Come on. Come on now.
01:05:16
Speaker 2: Come on. Sesi, this sounds like a line we need to see. Sesi.
01:05:19
Speaker 4: Oh my God.
01:05:20
Speaker 1: See it through my eyes.
01:05:21
Speaker 2: You know me.
01:05:22
Speaker 4: That would be beyond. Because we don't see enough of that. Oh my gosh. Textiles around the world. Japan. Oh my God.
01:05:29
Speaker 2: Oh Lord.
01:05:30
Speaker 4: Come on.
01:05:30
Speaker 2: Come on. Oh my God.
01:05:31
Speaker 4: So there you have it.
01:05:32
Speaker 6: Bravo.
01:05:33
Speaker 2: And there you have it.
01:05:34
Speaker 1: Well done. Thank you for coming and having this conversation. You know, Ceci and I always finish things with, and there you have it.
01:05:41
Speaker 2: And introduced everyone to a person that we love that is, you know, inside of our lives in a way that can't even be really told. Because we spent all those years and you saw us nude, naked. You saw us vulnerable. You made us feel good. You told the story. But you also had to hold space for us to be ourselves and tell you our secrets. You know what I mean? And know our secrets.
01:06:06
Speaker 4: Is that part of the show where I tell the secrets now?
01:06:09
Speaker 5: No.
01:06:10
Speaker 2: You evil bitch.
01:06:11
Speaker 4: You evil bitch.
01:06:13
Speaker 2: Thank you.
01:06:13
Speaker 4: And that's that.
01:06:15
Speaker 6: That's that.
01:06:16
Speaker 2: Thank you again.
01:06:19
Speaker 1: Thank you. Well, that's our show.
01:06:23
Speaker 4: And there you have it.
01:06:23
Speaker 2: That's our show. And thank you.
01:06:25
Speaker 1: Kim Fields and Ceci for talking about fashion and fun and fabulosity. Thank you.
01:06:32
Speaker 4: My pleasure. It was so much fun.
01:06:34
Speaker 2: It was. It was. Thank you.
01:06:36
Speaker 1: I'm coming to shop your closet, Ceci.
01:06:38
Speaker 2: And by the way, send us your questions if you want us to try to answer them. RelivingSinglePodcast at Heartbeat.com and that's spelled H-A-R-T-Beat.com. And make sure you catch this and listen wherever you listen to your podcast.
01:06:51
Speaker 6: Yes.
01:06:52
Speaker 2: And check us out. Next week we're going to have all sorts of new stuff to talk about.
01:06:55
Speaker 4: New things.
01:06:56
Speaker 2: And you never know who's going to pop up.
01:06:58
Speaker 1: That's right.
01:06:59
Speaker 6: See ya.
01:07:03
Speaker 1: Reliving Single is hosted by Erica Alexander and me, Kim Coles. Reliving Single is a production of Heartbeat in association with Color Farm Media. Executive produced by Kevin Hart, Jeff Clannigan, Eric Eddings, Leslie Guam, Erica Alexander, and Ben Arnon. This show is produced by Kim Coles. Amber Watson is our senior producer. Our associate producer is Kenny Jackson. Our video editor is Shannon Joy Rogers. Our sound engineers are Eric Hicks and Cedric Wilson. Production supervision by Razak Boykin. Additional production support from Alex Atkins and Z Taylor. And a special thanks to Dr. E.J. Johnson.