Mary J. Blige — and Her Credit Card — Were Once Rejected by Boutique Cashier: 'Didn't Want to Take Our Money'

Mary J. Blige has been a superstar for more than three decades, and she's about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in October. But the music legend hasn't always commanded respect just by entering a room.

In the new docuseries In Vogue: The 90s, Blige, 53, and stylist Misa Hylton recall a jaw-dropping experience that unfolded in a shopping boutique back in the early '90s when they were both starting out.

"Mary J Blige is the first artist I ever styled," Hylton says in episode 5, which is titled "Hip Hop Takes Fashion." "When we met, we automatically got each other, We understood each other. We loved the same fashion. We loved hip hop. We loved style. So at this time, the early '90s, we were making money, and we were able to shop and able to buy things that are more expensive and more luxury."

Blige adds: "I've been in a lot of stores with Misa. We were shopping so much because we never had a lot. Once we were able to shop and get the things we wanted, we were blowing our credit cards to smithereens."

Unfortunately, for the then rising queen of Hip-Hop R&B and her stylist, having a lot of money didn't always mean having immediate access to the finer things.

"We went to a boutique and we were shopping," Hylton continues. "When it’s time to pay, the sales associate keeps telling us. 'The card's declining.' They keep trying."

"We call the credit card company. The card’s not declining. It’s actually not even being rung. Like, ‘Oh, okay. You don’t want us to buy these items.’ It’s because we were young and we were Black, and they could not figure out how we were spending this much money. They didn’t even realize who Mary J. Blige was yet, and so you see how luxury fashion brands didn’t really value us or didn’t respect us. They didn’t see their brands on us."

Blige, who has since gone on to sell millions of records and win nine Grammys, sums up the incident succinctly. "They were rejecting us," she says, adding. "They were treating us like little street kids. They didn’t want to — they probably didn’t want to take our business. They weren’t treating us the way they treat us now. Absolutely not."

In addition to Blige and Hylton, the episode also features fashion recollections by Tommy Hilfiger, Naomi Campbell, Missy Elliott and longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Blige and Elliott discuss their ground-breaking 1998 Vogue fashion shoot with Lil' Kim.

"It took a lot to be able to get into Vogue, Elliott says. "The strength of showing three Black women in this particular article — that was a huge deal."

In Vogue: The '90s is now streaming on Hulu.