Wimbledon: Love at first sight!

In the UK, Wimbledon is the 'Super Bowl & the Kentucky Derby' of sport. You see, we play tennis in England, and lots of it and this weekend is the men's singles finals with Andy Roddick who will play on the center court against his arch rival Roger Federer. This will be a fantastic match although Federer is the heavy favorite because of his winning record against Roddick.

That being said Andy Roddick has one person to thank for his center court appearance - his wife, Brooklyn Decker! She kept him going when he wanted to quit. Decker is a former Sports Illustrated swim suit model who Roddick fell in love flipping through the pages one day and instantly stopped at her page and it was love at first sight. Isn't that sweet! She claims to know very little about tennis and is constantly photographed in the audience when her new husband is playing. They got married in April.

As you can see, she is absolutely stunning and is the talk of Wimbledon and all the parties that you want to get invited to. She dresses so cute and fashionable and is very sweet when she is interviewed. Of course, every interview, televised or print has a picture of her in her sexy swimsuits and why not, she beautiful and beauty sells. I think people want Roddick to win so they can see more of her. (I put a picture of her in this post just to show you what I mean and what happens when everyone writes about her. I figured you secretly wanted to know.) :)

Roddick has said that it was 'Brook' who kept him going this year as he was about to quit tennis altogether after being eliminated early last year at Wimbledon. We'll see what happens but it should be fun to watch.

I also want to wish every American a happy 4th of July!

Clare London, England

Boho Bracelets: All the Rage!

Hi Jennifer and friends: Stackable beaded bracelets seem to be everywhere now and I know jlamore.com was out front with this trend when it began several months ago. (Actually, I think a trend like this never really goes out of style it sort of just becomes more or less popular.) I saw the new lookbook photo's and you must have them arriving on the site pretty soon. That's great!

What I like about this look is the easy and carefree way you can wear them. Multiple stacks of various styles can crawl up your arm and really add some style to a maxi dress, a pair of shorts, or jeans and a t-shirt. The imperfections in colors and size are what make this style a good one for summer. The prices are low for all the style you get and for me that equals value.

I like to mix and match this look with wood beads together with glass beads varying in size and color. Designers have taken special care to stay with color trends for the spring and summer season but all or most of them have stayed true to the 'boho hippie' styles of old. I'm glad they did that. Why change a good thing. The earth tone colors of brown, gold and deep reds will carry you all the way into fall.

Celebs' have now taken up this trend in a big way but I don't always follow what they do. I like to do my own thing keeping the trend 'my own' in a personal kind of way.

Lynn Los Angeles, CA

Linq "Hipband Drape Cowl" Tunic

I'm loving the new Linq "Hipband Drape Cowl" Tunic! I love everything by Linq :) This dress has a sassy vibe to it, just what I need being a single lady in New York City. I'm going out for a friends birthday party over the 4th of July weekend, we're going out for dinner and drinks after....now I'm much more excited since I have a great dress to wear :)

Kalyn

'Expecting' to Look Good . . !

Hi Jennifer & Friends: The woman who sits in the "box" next to me is as cute as a can be. I mean seriously, she's adorable. Warm, friendly, very sweet, and, . . . she's seven months pregnant! (I have to mention that she's also one of my best friends so I'm biased here.)

Every day she comes to work I wonder how she can look so much better then every other pregnant woman I've seen. She's never tired, always feels great, she is not overweight, and she wears the cutest clothing. I've never been pregnant so looking for maternity clothing has never entered my mind but after seeing her we talk about maternity fashion all the time. So is it possible to look stylish when your pregnant? The answer is a resounding, yes! But, you'll pay for it!

Through numerous lunch discussions we discovered that looking fantastic comes with a hefty price tag. In the past it seems, maternity clothing focused on celebrating maternity and had little to do with fashion or style or everything was skin tight and kinda gross as well as showing a lot of cleavage because you've gone up two cup sizes. It's like you had no other choices and you were supposed to look this way and abandon your personal style and fashion sense to let the world know you were pregnant. But now looking fantastic is achievable and fun. So I heard.

But celebrities such as Jessica Alba and Gwen Stefani show that glamour can still be achieved. Allow me to introduce you to my salvation brands. There are high end websites like mama-al-mode.com where my friend buys her clothing and she loves it! Another site she frequents is blossommotherandchild.com. We have spent a considerable amount of lunch time visiting page after page on both of these sites. A lower end site is Seraphine Maternity Clothes which is very nice as well.

So, if your expecting and you're not Demi Moore gracing the cover of Vogue naked, you can still dress fantastic and have fun shopping for two.

Clare London, England

My Life On The "J" List?

Hi friends! I wanted to write about one of my favorite comedians and personalities, Kathy Griffin. The other favorite comedian I'll write about later is Chelsea Handler from the show "Chelsea Lately". OMG! I laugh so hard at both of these entertainers!

Now I have to add that I am in no way this crude or crass but Kathy Griffin's comedy just cracks me up. She is blunt, more than a little crude, and absolutely the funniest person I've watched and listened to in a long time. She swears alot but for some reason she can pull it off without sounding vulgur or disgusting. That's hard to do because there's a fine line between the two.

I happened to be channel surfing one day and stumbled upon a Kathy Griffin show called "My Life on the "D" List. I had seen the commercials but didn't pay much attention to them or her but after seeing this show I was hooked. I've been following her ever since and highly recommend her humor to you.

One of the funniest people on the show is Kathy's mom. Kathy picks on her and swears around her much to the disapproval of her mom. Kathy's humor is self deprecating and she picks on celebrities and shows them in a humorous light of egotism and the lack of respect she receives from her peers. Kathy never seems to make the celebrity "A" list but is always treated like she's on the "D" list. The show is very funny and the picture listed shows Kathy with Paris Hilton at a pool and Kathy wanted to be like Paris and get what she wants by posing and being sexy. Well, as you could imagine that didn't work to well. Just so you know, Kathy has picked on Paris Hilton many times in her comedy routines so it was especially funny to see Paris on her show.

My husband is always teasing me that I'm spoiled (which I'm not, by the way) and that everyone wants to be Jennifer LaMore and so he coined the phrase the "J" list, which is the opposite of the "D" list. The "J" list is everyone who is like Jennifer, but that's a whole different story.

Stay tuned for Chelsea Lately.

Jennifer

So cute!

I just came across this picture of Sarah Jessica Parker with her husband Matthew Broderick and their new twin daughters! So adorable.

The baby girls — Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick and Tabitha Hodge Broderick — were born last Monday at an Ohio hospital to a surrogate mother.

Sarah looks stunning, as usual. Her family looks so cute here! I love how her son James is all eyes on one of the twins. So cute! Congratulations Sarah and family!

Jennifer

The Time Traveler's Wife

Hi everyone!

The summer is usually a time when I get to catch up and see movies playing in the theater. Unfortunetly this summer has been flying by, and last night was my first time going. In the last few years I have noticed that romantic comedies have changed from what we all love them to be; in my opinion the comedy aspect is not natural and seems forced. Recently I have heard quite a few good reviews on "The Proposal", so I decided I would go ahead and give it a chance to surprise me. During the movie's previews, "The Time Traveler's Wife" was shown which casts two of my favorite actors: Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams. It is based off of the best seller book. The movie is about a man who travels through time both past and future, but he cannot control when he will come and go through time. Throughout his travels, he continues to come in contact with Rachel McAdams when she is young and throughout the rest of her life. As they later marry and have a daughter, their love is tested because of the fact that the husband is disappearing through time without choice.By the end of the preview I had goosebumps and was crying. For now I will wait anxiously for its release date, August 14. In the meantime, I recommend that everyone should watch the trailer.

Raquel

Dance Music & DJ's. . . Incredible!

Hi Jennifer & Friends: I don't think young people know what a recession is, because it certainly doesn't stop them from dancing, or maybe they just don't care.

This past weekend, North America's largest dance music festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, packed in more than 135,000 people over two days at the L.A. Coliseum and Expo Park, topping the producer's anticipated numbers by more than 30,000. Proving again that dance music (and massive parties) are in high demand in Los Angeles. Hoards of teenagers and 20-somethings paid anywhere from $55 to $200 to experience over 100 performers, plus art installations and a carnival atmosphere. (For those of you doing the math in your head that's between 7 & 10 million dollars, on the low end, just in ticket sales! Holy shmoly!)

But in LA sometimes really big crowds of young people is dangerous. Event producer Pasquale Rotella and his crew at Insomniac pulled off an event of staggering size and complexity, but EDC was not without its chaotic moments, as waves of gate-crashers sometimes clashed with police and forced the fire marshal to temporarily stop the event at one point. Even in the face of Insomniac's impeccable production values and organizational efforts, the party-going masses proved that they had power to both make up and shake up the dance music festival.

Jennifer, I had no idea that dance music and the producers of this ever growing event style industry was so popular. The stages, the sound system and technology, not to mention the light shows and pyrotechnics are amazing. Putting on these shows is just like booking a touring band and promoting it. These DJ's have semi's that haul all the equipment and stages as well as stage managers and roadies who keep it all straight. What I find so interesting is the money involved for people mainstream America has never heard of. Like me!

Who are these dance, DJ, music producing people anyway? Benny Benassi, Oakenfold, David Guetta, Infected Mushroom, Simian Mobile Disco, Paul van Dyk, . . . . ! I've never heard of them but to young people they're God's! They sign autographs and have security guards to protect them from their adoring fans. Seriously, they arrive in limo's and have an entourage.

So, the way I see it, disco isn't dead! It's alive and well and growing rapidly. It's also not disco anymore. Well, its kinda' like disco but it's all dressed up with confetti cannons and really cool stuff.

It's funny how when cultural things change they have a tendency to come back the same only different. But they do come back.

Lynn Los Angeles, CA

My Sister in the NY Times

My older sister Marianne works for a sports marketing company out of Madison. One of the perks of her job is that she gets to travel to big sporting events, her latest being the US Open. My sister and her friend were on the course one day, and told a reporter a few things thinking it was for some local newspaper. Turns out it was for the NY Times! I posted parts of the article below... it's pretty darn funny! (my sisters name is in bold) For the complete article, click the link!

Three Top Players Draw Admirers for More Than Playing Ability

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — They worried over Camilo Villegas’s listlessness. Was he sick, tired or sick and tired? Sergio García, told him to take his time over the ball and regrip if he needed to. The man love for Villegas, Scott and García, who played together for the first two rounds of the United States Open, permeated their gallery Friday during their first 28 holes like a musky cologne.

They had female admirers, too. But more obvious than the gaggles of girls left swooning in their wake as if they were golf’s answer to the Jonas Brothers, the threesome had the effect of pumping up the testosterone at Bethpage Black. From tee to green, they were enveloped in support. Scott, who was at even-par 140 after 36 holes, said it was great. His score — which tied García’s and was two better than Villegas — was like a bolt of lightning in the clear blue sky. He had missed seven cuts in his last eight events. Among the more memorable expressions of enthusiasm, Scott said, was this: “Some guy yelling at Camilo, ‘Knock it in, you hunk!’ It was pretty funny.”

Scott, an Australian who is six months younger than García, radiates sunshine. His hair is short and curly, and his drives are long and straight. On the greens he often looks lost, his seeming vulnerability to the yips causing fans to want to reach out and rescue him. Maria Carlini was thrilled when she found a spot along the gallery rope that left her an unimpeded view of Scott. As he walked past, Carlini, a college student from Wisconsin, cried out his name, followed by her phone number. “Call me!” she said. During the trip to New York, Carlini said she and her friend Marianne MacGuidwin drafted some conversation starters as witty as any David Letterman top-10 list. Alas, they had yet to get close enough to Scott to use them. “I’d just like to shake his hand,” MacGuidwin said. The two women acknowledged that in his gallery they were a definite minority. “There are a lot of quote, unquote man crushes,” Carlini said. MacGuidwin nodded her head in agreement. “I think there’s more man crushes than women,” she said.

I'd have to agree with my sister... those 3 make watching golf much more fun for me!

-Julie

Do's & don'ts of wearing shorts!

DO hit the shops There is a pair out there for everyone. From the smooth, shiny-ponytailed executive (tailored, black) to the punky teenage model (tie-dye denim from Pepe). One trawl of Topshop and you will find sailor girl, candy stripes with turn-ups (perfect for Kelly Brook), sawn-off denim (Kate Moss), tidier denim (Kylie) or floaty, flippy numbers (Chloë Sevigny).

DO get going on leg preparation You need a good exfoliator, plus a tanning product. Johnson’s Holiday Skin body lotion is brilliant — it not only gives instant glowing colour, but works on developing a tan underneath. A cover-up stick is good to hide broken veins or bruises from riding your bicycle. Alternatively, you may just want to keep your tights on for as long as you possibly can.

DO go up a size Too tight and too high-cut equals too seedy.

DO embrace opaques Luckily for us, black opaques and shorts — particularly denim — go together like fags and Kate Moss. They are not merely a great chicken-skin concealer, they also make all shorts look automatically chicer (which is why Kylie, who likes to dress up, wore denim shorts and tights to Nobu the other night). Make sure they are opaque — any old black tights under shorts will make you look like a district nurse, and not in a good way.

DO add a blazer or long cardigan Let it graze the hem of the shorts to soften their impact and give them a cute, sophisticated edge (think Alexa Chung).

DO remember you cannot go wrong with denim And they don’t have to be indigo. White, light blue and beige are hot for summer.

DO get the fail-safe summer look A big white T-shirt, bare legs and flat gladiator-style sandals (ankle height, though, not to the knee) or chunky, strappy sandals with a heel could well be your staple summer outfit. Seriously.

DON’T tip over into slutty territory Shorts should be sexy, not vulgar. Cool everything else down to compensate. Wear fitted hot pants with a big T-shirt or loose checked shirt, Converse trainers and no make-up.

DON’T team heels with hot pants A very bad combination, unless you are deliberately camping it up. It’s too Victoria Beckham, and you want to be Kate Moss. Heels with shorts, definitely.

DON’T attempt a playsuit Unless you are under 26, or could be, forget it. Cat Deeley’s legs look terrific in a playsuit, yet, somehow, the look doesn’t work. It’s a bit like wearing those bikinis with the frilly bottoms when you’re over 40.

DON’T wear with nude tights Ever. A sin on a par with wearing tights under jeans.

DON’T wear the following styles... or at least approach with caution
- Nondescript cotton khaki ones with button detail or multipocketed cargo-style shorts. Way too geography field-trip.
- Stripes and sailor detail. Unless you have Kelly Brook-style 1950s curves, they will make you look like Shirley Temple.
- Puffed shorts. Puffies either work or they don’t — but slim hips are a must.
- High-waisted, midthigh versions. If you’re going for a high waist, keep them short short.
- Wide-leg, knee-length styles. They look like they are going to be the answer to all your working-wardrobe problems, but are actually strangely ageing.
- Floaty, flutey shorts. The less structured the cut, the better your legs need to be.
- Amy Winehouse-style, straight-leg denim shorts, rolled up a couple of inches above the knee. A killer on all but the longest and fittest legs. Ditto her bum-grazing cut-offs.

Clare London, Eng.

My Michael Jackson weekend

Hi Jennifer & Friends: As I mentioned earlier I have a friend and her husband staying with me for the weekend. I had several things planned for daytime fun as well as evening entertainment. However, with the death of Michael Jackson LA has become a zoo, so to speak.

People are out and they are EVERYWHERE. Traffic is especially bad, nightclubs are packed and it seems Michael Jackson is enjoying his day (and upcoming years) of popularity even in death. When you finally get into a restaurant or bar this is all you hear or want to talk about. It's fascinating and my friends are having a memorable trip because of all this, even though we haven't done one thing I had planned. It's ". . . and hey, we were in LA when Michael Jackson died. . . . !"

One topic of conversation I listened to was how Michael Jackson will trump Elvis Presley in life after death fame with tours, auctions and museums, etc. The parallels between the two entertainers is rather spooky and you can get into some interesting discussions with die hard Elvis fans about this. I can see their point to the contrary. Elvis was in the army and he wasn't a "suspected" child molester and he wasn't, . . .well, "weird" like Jackson but they were both larger then life figures. My friends husband said that to try and draw a complete and accurate comparison would be impossible as they're from two different periods of time. It's like trying to determine the greatest baseball player of all time. You can't do it. But it makes for interesting conversation.

My friends are having a great deal of fun being part of this "extravaganza" that always seems to involve Los Angeles when it comes to scandals, murders and deaths of celebrities. But this is the biggest of them all. We tried to come up with a celebrity who's death would be bigger and the names of Paul McCartney, Madonna, or Mick Jagger come to mind but none of us could agree on any one person, but we did agree on this one thing: the three challengers are pretty normal people and they're only half as interesting. So it was determined that weird trumps normal for celebrity.

So super stardom is one thing but eccentric and more then a little bizarre, it seems, is what puts you over the top. But you have to be talented to get to this level and Michael Jackson was all of that and then some. You also have to have staying power to keep doing fantastic things and when you change the world you have now reached a level that very few people can achieve. You must also keep in mind that being weird and crazy talented allows for a great deal of forgiveness. We as the public look at that and think you can't be that good and not be a little weird. It just goes with the territory.

Elvis, in his day, changed the world, so did the Beatles. Michael Jackson? Yep! He changed the world of entertainment. I don't think anyone can argue that point, and yes, he's more then a little weird too, but who cares.

Here's one last confirming point that Michael Jackson is as popular as Elvis and will forever be that popular above all the other notables: there are Elvis impersonators all over the place. Many people impersonate Michael Jackson, too. (Danny Gans in Las Vegas) Have you ever heard of anyone impersonating Paul McCartney, Madonna or Mick Jagger, or anyone else? Nope!

Sleep well my little pretties!

Lynn Los Angeles, CA

Sad, bummed out & crushed!

Hi Jennifer and friends around the world. I'm so sad today. London is sad today. Millions of people who bought tickets to the comeback concert are going to either refund them or hang onto them for posterity. AEG certainly hopes people hang on to them. The death of Michael Jackson could put them out of business.

AEG sold 11 tickets a minute the instant they went on sale and sold out the entire 50 shows in 11 hours! Michael Jackson's London concerts were to begin on July 15, his first in 12 years involving a considerable amount of money. Even Madonna can't compete with this kind of ticket sales and unbelievable interest.

More than $85 million were already earned from ticket sales for the 50 shows at London's O2 Arena, which were already sold out. Producer and promoter of the shows, AEG Live, footed the bill for $20 million production. According to Billboard calculations, Jackson's take on ticket sales alone would have been worth $50 million.

The total ticket gross for the run would be about $90 million. Premium and VIP packages and secondary market sales would have boosted the gross to more than $100 million. And, merchandise sales could bring in another $15 million.

The Billboard Magazine website has been bombarded with inquiries and at one point the site as gone down.

I have several friends who want to obtain a refund but cannot get onto the sites to find out how to do this. They may just have to wait until everything calms down.

Clare London, England

Twitter, TMZ, and others go down!

Hi friends and readers from all over the world. Because of the death of Michael Jackson, several news and entertainment sites went down because of an overload of site visitors. I find this incredible!

Twitter and TMZ shut down several times during the day. Perez Hilton went down as well. A global Internet analysts said that at its peak, roughly 15 per cent of all posts on Twitter mentioned Michael Jackson, while Iran’s disputed presidential elections or the swine flu pandemic never reached over 5 per cent.

Google said that there had been a “volcanic” surge in interest in Michael Jackson, with most of the top 100 searches on the site related to the singer. All Facebook, which tracks Facebook usage, reported that Jackson's page appears to be attracting around 20 fans a second, predicting that it could fast become one of the top pages in all of Facebook.

The picture to the left is from our J. LaMore Facebook page which is kept updated directly from our blog every thirty minutes.

Since the news aggregation site Drudge Report broke news of President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky almost a decade ago, blogs and social media sites have increasingly shown their power in reporting major news stories. Early yesterday afternoon , the gossip website, TMZ.com, broke the story of Michael Jackson’s death.

Itunes has reported that Jackson's "Thriller" instantly climbed to number one downloaded album. Amazing!

I'll keep you posted with any further updates.

Jennifer

Michael Jackson. . . .Wow!

Hi Jennifer: As the entire world knows by now, Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles at the age of 50. I'm stunned and it's surreal living in LA with his death as the news and people in the street is incredible.

I'm sure, based on what's going on currently, that his death is going to be covered like the death of Princess Diana. It's so terrible and shocking because he was so young.

I know he was a very odd person but you cannot deny his stardom and his talent. As weird as he was I would have bought a ticket to one of his upcoming concerts.

I'm watching the coverage as I write this so. that's all for now. I'm glued to the television.

Lynn Los Angeles, CA

Back from Vegas

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been MIA lately... I was busy partying in Vegas for my sisters bachelorette party!! We stayed at Cesear's (and got upgraded to a suite... couldn't have been better!) This is my second time going there in 3 months, and I want to be back there asap! We went to mostly the same night clubs as I did last time (Pure, Tao, and Body English.) All in all it was a total blast! I posted a few pics from the trip.... oh yeah, and I got bangs! (Left is a group of us before Thunder from Down Under show, middle is me and my sister Katie the bachelorette, and right is all 9 of us)

-Julie

The Geisha House Restaurant!

Hi Jennifer and friends: Well, it's confirmed, I'm having my college roommate and her husband spend the weekend at my condo. I'm very excited as I haven't seen her in many years although we stay in touch through email and Facebook. (By the way she is an avid reader of the 'Friends blog'.)

She has never been to LA and the first thing we're going to do is go to dinner Friday night at one of my all time favorite restaurants, The Geisha House. This traditional Japanese restaurant has the best food I have ever tasted and I had to make reservations three weeks in advance before it was confirmed I was having guests.

I'm not a food critic and I don't know how to describe the menu other then it's Japanese style food with unusual and interesting sushi dishes. The decor is beautiful, the waiters are in Geisha outfits and the food is amazing. I also have to add that's it's expensive but well worth it. Lots of twenty somethings come here for dinner and the attire is business casual.

Geisha House is right in downtown LA and if your not to full, there are plenty of night clubs to go to in this area. I'm usually to full to stay out late but I'm going to have to give it my best as a tribute to my old college days. I can't stay out late like I used to do.

My boyfriend has never met my friend or her husband so it should be fun. I'll keep you posted about what I'm going to wear and what clubs we go to.

Talk to you later.

Lynn Los Angeles, CA

P.S.

Nice blog Clare! You crack me up!

New way to reduce stress. . . Not for me!

Hi Jennifer and Friends: I have to pass along a funny and some what strange conversation I had the other day when I was out with some friends in a pub after work. All of us gals work for different companies and we were meeting in a huge popular pub in downtown London.

I arrived first and sat at the bar next to a couple who were discussing a book that was sitting on the bar. The book was titled; F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C Parkin. As you probably know, bar stools are close together and it was impossible not to overhear the strange conversation these two people were having. The bad language is what caught me by surprise and I guess that was the point this couple was eventually trying to make to me.

As I became engaged in the conversation, one of my friends showed up and now both of us were talking to this couple and how they just say "f**k it" when they feel stressed out referring to excerpts in the book. As you can imagine the controversy this kind of behavior will draw is limitless and I asked how it would work in the business world. Apparently you have to say "f**k it" under your breadth in exchange for keeping your job. In reality this is a form of Buddhism as well as a form of cognitive therapy. Whatever! Calling it "F**k It" was only a cool way of marketing the book and you don't really have to say the "f" word if you don't want to. You can use other words to 'get out' or express what your feeling.

The conversation continued with this couple for some time until all of us arrived and we moved to another location, but all of us had a great laugh using this new found form of stress relief that some guy wrote a book about. We also added a few of our own stress relief words and phrases and are looking for a publisher right now.

As you can imagine, most people can rise to this level of stress relief without ever buying a book of such nonsense but this couple truly believed in saying f**k it.

What ever happened to self control?

Clare London, England

It's all about me, or them!

Hi Jenifer and friends from around the world. There's a new phenomenon going on in the world of fashion these days; self blogging! Seriously! Blogging about yourself and what your wearing.

Tens of thousands of young woman around the world have created their own blogs and then take pictures of themselves and post the images in 'lookbook' format on them. Some of these young woman have been extremely successful in gaining attention from big name designers and publications and have actually created a press page listing all the links and articles written about them.

These young women are obsessed with thin beautiful models, the photography, the outfit they have on, and who put the look together. Then they find a less expensive version of that look and more or less copy the style or find some other way to make it their own in an almost Lucky Magazine like fashion.

These blog sites are popping up fast and about 85% of site visitors are between the gets of 15 and 25, 75% are women, and 50% are in the U.S. Still, this is a global community with contributions from Poland, Argentina, France, Australia and just about everywhere else that young people care about clothes. Huge blogs such as the Satorialist and Garance Dore are more street driven and have a different feel but these new blogger's are far more self centered as they instruct their readers how to put the outfit together and then tell you where to get it.

The older blogger's tend to write about fashion in a different format and will explain how fashion relates to them in their world like 25 year old New York stylist Kelly Framel does with her blog the glamourai. Twenty five year old Suzi Lau is the pioneer in personal fashion blogging and her site the Style Bubble out of the UK is visited by tens of thousands of young fashionistas. Lau will also admit that it's a little bit vain to write about yourself but says that she found no other way to express herself then to start her own fashion blog.

These blogs are now starting to receive national attention. Marc Jacobs named a fall 2008 bag after a a fashion blogger 'phenom' Bryan Boy. During this past Paris Fashion Week, Rumi Neely, the popular San Diego-based blogger behind Fashion Toast, was flown to the Ungaro show after a picture from her site wound up on designer Esteban Cortazar's inspiration board. She was given a dress to wear to his show and sat in the front row.

Amazing!

Lynn Los Angels, CA

Dress like Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad was spotted wearing the Gypsy 05 "Maxi Halle" Dress in brown and purple. It looks so adorable on her. I'll have to say that I like that color that we have here at J.LaMore much better ...even though Lauren sure can rock purple :) Happy Shopping!

Jessica Stylist/Model

Meet the J. LaMore Staff. . . !

Jessica is the face of jlamore.com. You know the story: A reluctant superstar told to play a different postion for the good of the team. She is expected to do it all and look fantastic at the same time. When the website strated three years ago Jessica took one for the team and jumped in with both feet. This was a huge challenge and all of us were struggling trying to make it look right. Today, Jessica has changed as much as the site has. She's no longer the shy bashful girl who came looking for a job and hardly said a word in the interview. So without further interruption here's:

Five minutes with Jessica Ploessl

Where are you from?

JP - I’m from Oregon which is just south of Madison.

What do you do at J. LaMore?

JP - What don’t I do! I like to do a little bit of everything at J. LaMore! My favorite thing that I get to do is be creative by styling myself and other models for photo shoots and fashion shows. I also do a little of the buying with Jennifer which I truly love…I’ve always been able to keep up with the ever changing trends of the fashion world and it’s great to actually put that talent to use.

How has J. LaMore changed since you started?

JP - J. LaMore has definitely changed since I started here 3 years ago. We have jlamore.com which is a huge part of my everyday job. I model on the homepage, product pages, and lookbook and it’s so rewarding to be able to look back and see how far the store and the site have come. Also, the people that are now on the J. LaMore staff are amazing and they make the store and site the best that it can be.

What life experiences have changed you?

JP - Being an aunt has changed me in many ways. My niece is now eleven and with her getting older she is definitely getting smarter and more interested in the world around her. It’s a challenge everyday to answer all her questions and keeping an eleven year old entertained is a whole different world. Also I always have to keep in mind that she looks up to me so I’m always trying to be the best example that I can be!

What have you learned at J. LaMore?

JP - I’ve learned a lot of new things in the past 3 years at J. LaMore. I feel so lucky to be able to work at a store where the owners allow me to be such a huge part of everything that goes on at the store. A resourceful tool I’ve picked up is I’ve learned how to interact with so many people whether they’re customers, J. LaMore friends, or vendors that come into J. LaMore. At first I use to be a little more on the shy side and having to be able to communicate with new people has really brought out my outgoing side.

Tell us a funny story about yourself?

JP - I always have weird, funny, awkward stories to tell. Just the other day I was at home and walked from my bedroom to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I was walking I saw the mail lady trying to get up to my mail box but our dog was jumping all around making it impossible for the mail lady. So I ran outside to get the dog. While apologizing to her about the dog acting like a crazy animal I realized that I also had to apologize for not having on any pants! There I was standing there in my underwear.

The Best Of Madison

This is the crew from J.LaMore out celebrating before going to the Best of Madison last Friday! We went to Restaurant Magnus in downtown Madison for drinks, after we danced the night away with all the other Best Of Madison winners :) So much fun!

Jessica

Stylist/Model

Summer Plaid

Celebrities are crazy about plaid tops! I love that plaid is in style, I love to dress casual but cute and jeans and a plaid shirt is the ideal way to dress for me. I bought this J.A.K. "Yellow Plaid Western" Top and I've already worn it three times :) I'm basically obsessed with it! I wore it with skinny jeans tucked into boots the other day when it was a little cooler and I'm wearing it today with a pair of faded denim ripped up destroyed shorts and some gladiator flats...pretty much the best casual outfit ever!

Kalyn

Theatre Etiquette . . .Ssshhhh!

I recently went to a little summer festival where a stage was set up and a short play was put on by what looked like some high school kids on a summer class of some sort. It was a lot of fun and they were trying to raise some money so they sold the tickets for $5.00 and you could sit where you wanted on a first come first serve basis.

My problem was this; I gave the actors the respect they deserved and was quite during the performance. It wasn't a big production or a serious play but with all the phones ringing and people talking and kids crying I could hardly hear what the actors were saying.

So I thought I would write about theatre etiquette and inform all the friends blog readers what the rules are in this area. I looked them up so it shouldn't be a big surprise - 1 Turn of your cell phone! Good God! 2 Never whisper let alone talk. 3 Don't bring a picnic and get all set up for a nice little day in your seat. 4 If you fear that you’ll cough, bring a handkerchief to smother your mouth and pastilles to put in it. Considerate theatregoers would rather asphyxiate than interrupt a good actor. 5 Always apologize if you cause force people to stand when moving to your seat. 6 Don't clap when the actors arrive on stage. 7 Have nothing to do with standing ovations. They're big in the USA and now it seems that if you don't get one the performance was bad. 8 Try to dress up. It's not completely necessary but it is the theatre and doing so gives it respect. 9 If you must bring a child, well, . . . you know the rest. 10 Try not to kick the chair in front of you. Can you think of one person who likes this.

Anyway, hope this helps and you get to a theatre performances this summer.

Clare London, England

Meet the J. LaMore Staff. . . !

Jennifer LaMore's name is on the door, the website, and everywhere else these days, and her reach gets longer and longer all the time. It's quite remarkable what a small town girl can accomplish. She has a nation wide following of customer friends, friend friends, and business asscoiate friends and always has time for each one of them. It doesn't matter what time of day or night, she is always there, especially if you're one of her friends. Jennifer is in a business that fits her perfectly because she genuinely loves people, has an incredible eye for fashion and style, and that's what makes J. LaMore and jlamore.com a huge success. She loves what she does. It's really that simple! So here is:


Five minutes with Jennifer LaMore


Where are you from?

J. La - I grew up in a small town just outside of Madison called DeForest. The population was around three thousand. The only things to do growing up was go bowling or play sports! Needless to say, I had a 170 bowling average and was the short stop on the local soft ball team! Between, bowling, softball, pompom, basketball, track, swim team, and choir I was a very busy kid!

How did you get started in your own business?

J. La - I have always loved fashion and helping people. I had worked managing a local boutique and absolutely loved my job. I loved the customers, the clothing, the hours, everything! I had always dreamed of having my own boutique, but wasn’t quite sure how I could make it happen. My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, and I talked incessantly about my dream of owning my own boutique. We would get together over wine and write out our business plan on restaurant napkins! My dream became his dream and we decided to go into business together! We opened J. LaMore in 1999, two years before we got married.

What has changed at J. LaMore over the past ten years?

J. La - So much has changed in the last 10 years. If someone had told me 10 years ago that a significant amount of commerce in the world would be done on the World Wide Web, I’m sure I would have scoffed it off. I always expected the web to impact our lives, but I had no idea it would literally run our lives.

Who or what has influenced you throughout your life?

J. La - I grew up in a large family with two sisters and two brothers. My dad worked three jobs and my mom stayed home to raise all of us. I didn’t really acknowledge it as a child, but as an adult who decide not to have children, I can’t even imagine what my parents went through in raising five kids! I’ve always loved to work, and to work hard and I think that came from watching my dad. As an adult, the biggest influence has been my husband Jim. He truly amazes me. I’ve never met anyone who believes in me as much as he does. He’s my biggest cheerleader, my endearing critic, and a believer in all I do. He encourages me on a daily basis to be the best I can be.

If you could do it all over again, what would you change?

J. La - When I think back to the beginning, I worried so much about everything! It was so new, I was learning so much, and it went by so fast! I wish I could go back and relive the first few years and really comprehend and appreciate the accomplishment it was. It’s so hard to do when you’re in the middle of it all stressing over every detail. Outside of that, I really don’t think I would change a thing. I absolutely love what I do and feel so blessed to have this be my life.

How would you define yourself?

J. La - I’m strong, very driven, hard working along side of loyal, fun loving, caring and giving.

Tell us a funny story about yourself.

J. La - It was Christmas time a few years ago and my husband and I were off to chop down our Christmas tree. He wanted to go to the local pre-cut place, but I insisted on walking out into the wilderness to find our own perfect tree. It’s freezing cold outside, but I have to make sure we see all of the trees available. We finally find “the one” and proceed to chop it down and drag it back to purchase it. I’m pulling the lighter weight front side, while Jim is carrying the heavier back side. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something crawling up my sleeve. I glance down and there’s a mouse almost on my shoulder! I screamed so loud, the mouse popped off my shoulder on to the ground and stood there shaking! I continued to scream and flail my arms up in the air while jumping around the tree farm. It was quite a scene. Of course, Jim fell to the ground he was laughing so hard.

Meet the J. LaMore Staff!

As previously mentioned, all of the people who work at J. LaMore and jlamore.com have to have a certain skill set. Which now brings us to "Mandy Mandy" as I having fun calling her. She has brought J. LaMore and jlamore.com to new heights of creativity in promotions and marketing we so desperately needed. Her designs for the homepage, lookbook, flyer's, posters, and fashion shows have caused Jennifer and I to rethink how we do a lot of things. We feel Mandy is responsible for jlamore.com to be voted a top 100 website by thefind.com this year.

Each person Jennifer and I work with was given a list of question to answer so you could get to know them a little. So, here's -

Five minutes with Mandy Braatz

What’s your job at J. LaMore?

MB - My job at J. LaMore has to do with all things creative. I am the resident graphic designer and creative director. On lookbook photo shoots I help to style and direct the models and I have also started to do some of the photography. Most of the time, however, I am in the “cave” with Jim looking over my shoulder, telling me to make my fonts bigger. He’s my special helper ;)

How did you get the job?

MB - I studied abroad with Julie’s older sister, Marianne, who knew that I was into fashion and suggested that I become a J. LaMore shopping “friend”. Once I got back to Madison, I stopped in to talk to Jennifer and Jim about helping out on lookbook photo shoots and getting some experience and they took me on as a fashion intern for the summer. Luckily, they liked me enough to keep me here permanently!

How has jlamore.com changed since you’ve been here?

MB - It has become the epitome of awesomeness! Over the past year we have been striving to create a new, more fashion-driven website through more frequent lookbook updates, more images and shopping features on the homepage, and more interesting pages to visit. Overall, I think it’s prettier to look at now.

What life experiences have you had that have changed you?

MB - Studying abroad in Greece for a semester has definitely had the biggest impact on my life thus far. It’s a very eye-opening experience to live in a different country because it humbles and matures you in a way that you could not at home. The people I met there and the things I did are some of the best memories I have in my life.

What have you learned while working at J. LaMore?

MB - Not to piss Jim off. Julie will never stop talking. Jessica tells the best “stories” about nothing. And Jennifer hates walking in anything but heels.

Tell us a funny story about something that happened to you?

MB - Senior year of high school I went to Mexico for Spring Break with my family and some friends. One night we were walking around in downtown Playa del Carmen where they were putting up a new shopping centers and restaurants and whatnot. Because of this, there was a lot of construction. I was chatting with my friend and not really looking where I was going and as we rounded a corner I fell straight into a pothole. My friends and family all turned around to see me, just a head and shoulders, peeking out above the ground. My brother and sister immediately erupted in laughter as my parents helped me out. It hurt a little, but I was mostly just in shock after falling into a pothole in the ground. To this day, they all say they wish they had taken a picture.