Here we go again!

Hello everyone! Photo Retouching of models or celebrities is a topic of conversation that never seems to fade away. Not only that but somehow it can pick up steam and grow in popularity. I'm bored with this topic and wish people would just get over it and move one.

This topic will never go away and do you know why? It's because some women have a burning desire to reach an impossible level of beauty and perfection which is fueled by cosmetic companies, hair product companies and any other beauty product company you can think of. (Maybe I should just get over it and move on.) Think about this for a minute. When a skin care company does a photo shoot of a model who is representing their product you can rest assured that 99% of her face is going to be airbrushed so not to show a blemish or an imperfection. You won't even see a single pore on her perfect face after they get done with her. You wouldn't buy the product if her skin looked terrible would you? It doesn't matter what the product is the model or the body part is going to be airbrushed. Nail polish, eyelashes, lipstick, makeup, etc. You name it it's airbrushed.

As a society we have progressed in every area to only expect the best of everything. Including our ads. It's not the 50's anymore. We live in a computerized world where everything needs to be perfect or we quickly lose interest. Your expectations are so advanced that idolizing an average looking person isn't going to cut it anymore. If someone is famous and their face is in an ad they better be who we think they are because if they're not you going to question yourself as to why you like them in the first place and then you won't buy the product. These companies don't want you to do that. You need to be reassured, even if making that person look fantastic isn't real. No one is perfect! No one has flawless skin, perfect breasts, mirrored fingernails, the bluest eyes, the best hair and the perfect pouty lips. Airbrushing and retouching photo's is about selling products. Nothing more!

I'm sure I overstated the obvious here but I get asked retouching questions all the time. I just wish everyone would stop being shocked when it happens. That's my opinion on the matter and I'm sticking to it.

Jim

One spoiled dog. . . !

Hi Everyone! Ruby, our spoiled rotten Golden Retriever, gets more attention than any other dog I know. I say this affectionately, because she is a very sweet dog and worth spoiling. She is also a dog that actually smiles, as you can see! If you lived like her you would be smiling too!

Here, Ruby is wearing Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and a baseball cap while riding in style on a pontoon boat. Jennifer and I go up north with our friends who have a beautiful cabin on Manotowish Waters. But, what's unusual about this is that she will wear the sunglasses all day long if you let her. It's not just a photo prop. They will fall off her but by accident but she won't paw them off if she's just riding in a boat all day. People who ride by and see the cool dog withthe shades on will laugh and point at her. She doesn't like hats, though and she'll knock them off.

If you talk to her she will tilt her head and try and talk back to you as well as stare at you like she's processing what you're saying and she has a memory like no other dog I've ever known. If you say to her, "go get in the boat" she will run down the hill, onto the pier and into the boat and take her seat. And there she'll wait until we're ready to go.

When we feed her she won't eat until you pull a treat out from the fridge and put it in her bowl. If you put the bowl down without going into the fridge for a little something extra she will stare at the fridge and then paw it as if to say, "you and I both know there's a grilled chicken in there. . . !" We have to chop the little extras on the cutting board and she will watch every move you make with her nose right at the cutting board. Chop a little chicken, chop a little burger, scrape it into the bowl and dinner is served. It's all part of the process and if you don't do the entire routine, she'll give you the 'did I do something wrong' look!

I could go on for a long time about how spoiled Ruby is and it's very funny.

Jim

Lindsey Buckingham what?

Hi Mandy!

I'm glad so many people are jumping on the bandwagon against Lindsay Lohan suing E-Trade. I also agree that everyone with the name Lindsay should be upset with Lohan for discrediting their good name, even if it's spelled different and even if you're the lead guitarist for Fleetwood Mac. LOL!

<<-Lindsey Buckingham

When I read your post and I saw that I burst out laughing and I just had to tease you about it. I guess I have too much time on my hands in the wee hours of the morning.

Jim
J. LaMore

Milk a what?

Hi friends! It's me again; the liar and, well. . . . liar will have to do for now.

I recently wrote an article in February advising that Lindsay Lohan turned down a cool $150,000 to show up at the Vienna Opera because she was on a shopping spree and missed her flight. In that same article I indicated that I would never write another article about Lindsay Lohan. Well it's obvious that I lied because here's another one!

It's been reported that Lohan is suing E-Trade for the Super Bowl commercial they aired where the hip little baby boy is trading stocks like a wolf and somehow forgot to call his girlfriend the night before. He's talking to her on what appears to be a webcam and the little girlfriend wants to know if that 'milkaholic Lindsay was over there. . . !' The little boy stammers and pauses when another little girl (Lindsay) enters from the left and says "Milk-a-what?" It's a very funny commercial as are all the E-Trade commercials but somehow Lindsay Lohan has determined because the name "Lindsay" is used, E-Trade is referring to Lohan as being the milkaholic. What-the-what?

Lohan has now filed a $100 million lawsuit on Monday at the Nassau County Supreme Court over the ad. Can anyone say tort reform? No wonder she couldn't make it to Vienna, she was plotting this scam the entire time.

The actress' lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, claims Lohan's first name is just as recognizable as other single-word monikers used by stars such as Madonna and Cher. That's wishfull thinking. I thought she was known as "Lilo."

Ovadia says, "Many celebrities are known by one name only, and E-Trade is using that knowledge to profit. They used the name Lindsay. They're using her name as a parody of her life. Why didn't they use the name Susan? This is a subliminal message. Everybody's talking about it and saying it's Lindsay Lohan."

Just so you know, I wasn't talking about it and I like to think I'm part of "everybody!" If they used the name Susan then Susan Sarandon could sue them, couldn't she? Based on this argument I think if you picked any name someone could file a suit, couldn't they? Can you sue based on a subliminal message? This is not a winner!

Ok! This could go on forever, but, ". . . as a parody of her life?" So because Lohan has been in rehab just about as many times as Robert Downey Jr., being a milkaholic is somehow a parody? How is this a parody on anyone's life? The babies are at least one years old you shankapotomus!

The company that wrote and produced the ad said that they used the name Lindsay because it was the name of one of the group members assigned to the project and that Lindsay Lohan had nothing to do with it.

When you can't act anymore and you missed the flight to Vienna I guess you have to do something for attention and a little income. I think E-Trade should counter sue saying that Lohan has now attached her name to E-Trade which is bad for business and this has caused a loss of sales. Hey, don't laugh! I'll bet my case is stronger than hers!

Jim

Google Apologizes for Privacy Issues

Hi friends! I'm relieved to announce that search engine giant and ruler of the world, Google, has officially apologized for violations of what many thought were privacy concerns. Oh C'mon!

Jlamore.com is a user of Google and the Mountain view company released a statement acknowledging the sensitive issues and vowed to never do it again. Phhhhht! Yeah, right!

Friday's apology comes after the controversial launch of Google Buzz, a social networking platform that publicly linked Gmail users to their most e-mailed contacts by default.

"I'd like nothing more than to apologize in person to everyone we've let down, but as you can see, many of our users are rarely home at this hour," said Google co founder and president Sergey Brin, pointing to several Google Map street-view shots of empty bedroom and living room windows on a projection screen behind him. "And, if last night's searches are any indication, Sydney, Australia student Julie, is probably out shopping right now for beer using the money she collected from her six friends who are getting ready to throw an Ausie bash based on the flayers Gina, Sally, Leigh, and Linda printed on the HP printer in the rec center. Julie, you recently promised your dad that you would behave. We have the copy right here in front of us."

While admitting that security measures need to improve, Google officials also claimed that everyone makes mistakes, be it storing confidential data indefinitely or, say, "having a few too many drinks on the evening of Jan. 23, driving home in a drunken haze, using fake ID's and sneaking into a boys dorm on the corner of Landon and Lake St, and then desperately searching online the next day for the best way to hide any and all reminders of the previous night. Right, Julie?"

"Americans have every right to be angry at us," Google spokesperson Janet Kemper told reporters. "Though perhaps Julie from jlamore.com should just take a few deep breaths and go sit in the hallway and relax, like they tell her to do at the "boy-crazy-anonymous" classes she attends over at the Sydney, Australia Human Resource Center every Tuesday night." "Breathe in, breathe out," Kemper added. "We wouldn't want you to have another try-to-hide-the-hickey incident, Julie. Not when you've been doing so well."

Well friends, I'm glad Google apologized because I don't think Julie can take much more! ^_^

Jim
jlamore.com

Remnents of legendary party discovered!

There is nothing better than a large archaeological discovery. You know, the ones of non-legendary proportions where scientists from all over one college gather together and ooh & ahh over the lack of evidence...What a bunch'a geeks!

<--Researcher identifies a tool used to communicate the desire to get hickeys.

According to reliable sources, a huge party was discovered along an area of train tracks in Sydney, Australia near where Julie lives that spanned more than 60 feet. Evidence of this extraordinary find is being collected for later examination even as I write this story. From the evidence gathered so far, the party is being described as "one freak'n blowout." Nothing on record indicates a party of such breadth and magnitude has ever occurred in this area before or since Julie arrived. This party find has been dated as far back as the late February period of 2010.

Judging by the vast array of evidence including empty containers of alcohol and artifacts of women's clothing that have been left behind, this party was truly a "balls-out rager." Evidence of a woman named "Julie" has been discovered and it appears that she was a leader or a party organizer, or at least someone with exceptional partying skills who had those skills passed down to her from siblings from the northern hemisphere.

Along with beer cans, cigarette butts, and contraceptive devices, fake ID's were found all over the area. There is also evidence of hickeys either being given or received although no reliable firsthand evidence is available to confirm that assumption at this time.

This 'Ausie' party had longevity as it appears from the cold weather gear left behind as well as ping pong balls which indicate a drinking game and the distinct odor of sun tan oil spiked the air which indicates a tribe or at least one person from Wisconsin was present and not used to warm weather drinking and puking off balcony's. The "Julie" tribe is evidence of the items found as she can party on any hemisphere.

The party evidence and artifacts will be sent to various colleges around the world and used to help identify partying habits and rituals from other female drinkers and organizers.

Jim (for Julie to show how much I miss having her around)
jlamore.com

5,000 naked people. . .Where's Julie?

Hi Friends and writers! Spencer Tunick is at it again! The artist/photographer is known throughout the world for gathering thousands of naked people in a public forum and on location and taking pictures of them for various reasons and causes. This time he's in Sydney, Australia. This particular event was sponsored by Sydney's gay and lesbian Mardi Gras.

Some critics claim this is not art but others argue the exact opposite. I like to think it's art and I like to call it "organizational art" because the work involved with trying to get 5,000 naked people to do what you want would be an incredibly difficult task. Think about that. I would love to know how all of this is set up.

Anyway, one of our co-workers is currently studying for a semester abroad in Sydney and I have to wonder if she's naked and in the crowd somewhere. Knowing Julie, I can't imagine her ever doing this and when she reads this she is going to be mortified that I even mentioned it, but it's a once in a lifetime thing and you just never know. Hey Julie! Are you in there somewhere?

Jim
jlamore.com

Upsidedown photographer. . . . !

Hi friends, bloggers & readers. As one of the creative thinkers at J. LaMore and jlamore.com, we collaborate everyday on new ways to push the envelope in our store, as well as our website, marketing, magazine articles, fashion, design, and, well . . , just about everything.

As a photographer, I always look for new concepts and ideas and when I saw this series of photo's from photographer Brandon Voges I had to stand up and give a bravo!

Voges did an entire series of portraits while his subjects were suspended upside down. It's a simple idea but I don't think I ever heard of anyone ever doing this before.

The portraits are eerie and kind of weird but a very cool idea in lighting and concept. When the blood flows in the opposite direction the human face can take on a bizarre look and Voges took numerous photo's of the process. As you can imagine, in the beginning there probably wasn't much change to the face but towards the end, I'll bet it was painful for the subject but that's when the imagery gets be amazing. I don't know how long each subject was hanging upside down but it would be interesting to know.

The picture shown here won an International Photography Award for originality and creativity and his show of upside down faces was hanging in a gallery in St. Louis.

Cool stuff!

Jim
jlamore.com

The mixed USB . . . !

Hi friends, bloggers & readers! I know all of you MUST remember the days when you would spend hours making a mixed cassette tape for that someone special and that it somehow meant something important. Well now you can 'almost' recreate those wonderful days of yester-year and make a USB of music and give it to that someone special.

This is a really cool idea from suck.uk and a modern twist on the classic mixtape. Each “tape” comes with a USB stick that stores up to 2 hour of high quality digital music - the same amount as you get on a C120 cassette tape. That's 120 minutes of music! You then write your own title, messages and play list all over the retro gift pack just like you did in the old days.

Jim
J. LaMore

I don't need the money, . . !

I'm ashamed of myself! No really, I am! I have reached a new low and have written an article on Lindsay Lllllloooo. . . Lo. . . . Lohan. There, I could barely get it out but I said it. Whew! That was a lot of work. Why this woman is a tabloid favorite is beyond me. She's a completely talentless nobody but this little story is too much fun not to write about.

A 77 year old billionaire from Austria, Richard Lugner, was going to pay "Lilo" $150,000 for one night to escort him to the famous Vienna Opera Ball where all she had to do was walk in with him and sit through the show in a private box and sign some autographs. She would have been flown first class to and from Vienna with all expenses paid, including the ball gown, a penthouse hotel stay for two days, and limo service. Wow! Would this be classified as a 'manual labor' job?

Lugner has been doing this for since 1991 with all kinds of notable 'celebs' but it was Lugner's 16 year old daughter who suggested he choose Lohan for this years rent-a-date. So he did. Not so fast old horny one! You may be a shrewd shopping mall tycoon in Europe but now you're dealing with a real Hollywood C-list celeb here, with like, tons of Gucci baggage.

Alas! Lilo couldn't make the event because she missed the flight from LA to London. Rumor has it, and I use the word 'rumor' with as much reckless abandon as Tiger Woods walking into a sorority house, that Lilo was on a shopping spree that couldn't be interrupted. LOL! That is too damn funny! Her parents have to be proud.

Lilo also provided a list of demands for Lugner which included no alcohol anywhere she was and that he must change the date of the event, even though the date has been the same since 1936. C'mon Viagra man, it's Lindsay Lohan for God sake.

The date wasn't changed and lilo missed the event and turned down $150,000. What's a girl gotta do to make a buck these days. Damn! Times are tough!

Please don't hate me for writing about Lindsay Lohan. I promise I'll never do it again.

Jim
jlamore.com

Casting Calls. . . !

Hi Friends & Bloggers! As part of the new magazine format that we have changed to, one of the interesting parts of that change is the behind the scenes workings of jlamore.com and all the effort that goes into it. One important part of who we are is the look and feel from the models and talent that we have the opportunity of working with and it's very important to us because these women will represent us to the world.

We recently had a "casting call" for model talent that we need for our newly arriving spring fashions and we will also photograph these women for the lookbook, homepages, mailers, brochures and a long list of other marketing material we send out, so there's a process that goes into this.

A model has to have "the look" for us to choose them and the look can mean so many different things. There is a minimum criteria for height and weight but the face is really important. The face sets the tone that everything else follows. We're not interested in large implants or tattoos and piercings but we are interested in a great face!

During the casting calls appointments are made and a schedule is set and when the model arrives there's a little bit of setup and instructions but for the most part we're off and running. We shoot the model in two of our outfits and spend very little time with hair and makeup as we want to see what she looks like as if she was having a normal regular day.

Round one! We turn on the music in the studio and try to get them to move and be as comfortable in front of the camera as possible and we shoot about 500 images. Once the first round of images are shot, she will change her outfit as we look at the first set of images and offer a critique to the model about what we see. "Too stiff!" "Too scared!" "Too flat with no expression!" "Don't round your shoulders!" We show them every picture and mark the ones we like and skip past the ones we don't! When round two ends they usually improve a great deal.

Being a model is hard work and looking like a "model" in front of a backdrop in a cold studio is even harder but a model has to have thick skin and self confidence because it's an industry that's extremely critical of how you look, but, when you find one that has the "look" you know it from the first frame.

We also surprise a lot of people about how advanced we are with the studio lighting, professional camera equipment, and the overall set up with computers and software. Some models think they're just going to stand in front of a wall and we snap a few pictures of them with a little point & shoot camera. The jlamore.com studio is 1000 sq ft., and we're growing out of it.

The model pictured here is Alex and she has the "look" if anyone does. We did nothing to her hair and nothing to her makeup and no computer touch up. This picture shows the tag still on the Black Orchid jeans and part of her bra is showing. She walked in the door looking like this, and, she happens to be one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We used Alex for our Facebook page just from the casting call test shoot. You don't see that very often! Click the image to see it big and then let me know if we should use her as a fashion model.

Jim
jlamore.com

P.S.
This image is copyright protected and any use w/o permission is prohibited.

New format! No ads . . !

Hello friends & bloggers: Yes! Yes! Yes! Jlamore.com is changing the format of the blog to a new magazine style format which means I have to actually write more articles and answer questions. Ok! I can do that! This is a change that's cool and I love it! As the blog administrator, let's open up this baby and see where it takes us.

"No! . . . No! . . . No!" This is a collective answer from Jennifer and me to all the people and businesses who ask jlamore.com to sell advertising on the friends blog. I would put up a banner that said "no advertisers" if it didn't look so much like an advertisement for not selling ads.

After saying all of this, however, I would love to do an article on cool ads that people remember and how they get to become an ad. That's fun stuff and very interesting because it takes months to create an ad that last for just a few seconds.

I get emails every week from people asking me to place their banner ads on our site and everyone of them ask me by way of email. Not one call or a letter, just a chincy stinking little email! How lame and lazy is that. How did these people get my email address anyway? If they called I would still say "no" but at least I would respect the effort.

We don't sell ads because it would ruin the integrity of the blog and cheapen the site all together. Having all kinds of ads on the site is not who we are. In addition, I really don't like "private" sites that sell ads with blinking banners and ads that slide from the side of your screen to stare right at you and then your forced to click the "X" to get rid of it. Ugh! Do those people hate their readers? They must because after that happens I click to get rid of the site all together and will never come back, but that's just me and I'm easily annoyed by those things. Have you ever been on InStyle.com? I removed the link for fear that you would hate me later on.

We love our readers and writers and the last thing we want to do is annoy any of them. I understand why people want us to have their ads running on the site. The friends blog is popular! It took us four years to get to this level and for me it's not worth the risk of upsetting even one reader.

I'm going to try very hard to give you the best Internet experience you can have when you visit our site. The new content format will make the site even more intelligent, informative, fun and interesting for you to read. In the future, we want to add video to the blog as well as have a reporter type feel with writer assignments that can take you in all sorts of different directions. Not just fashion but lifestyles too!

So, if you want to be a writer for the new "friends magazine" let me know. We would love to have you. Having great writing skills is a plus but if you want to express yourself in a wide open forum, this is the place for you. Personally, I think it would be great to have a writer from Vancouver reporting on the Olympics. Anyone in Vancouver interested?

Jim
jlamore.com

Yes! I'm the geek in the back room! In the dark! All alone! Like a mushroom!

Bring on the Olympics. . . !

Hi Friends & Bloggers! Now that the Super Bowl is over and the Saints pulled off an amazing victory, I am now ready for the Vancouver Olympics and it's only four days until they light the torch. I love the Olympics, especially today, and with the technological improvements in television watching the Olympics is almost like being there. Jennifer and I have a 50" HD plasma and it's incredible! The sound when watching sports or concerts is also unbelievable.

As I mentioned in my post on the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the 2010 Olympics will now be available in 3D. Does anyone remember when Dorothy Hamil won the gold medal in 1976 and what it looked like on your 19" tube TV?

Well now there's 60" plasma flat screens that are so clear it's freaky cool. They also have camera's on a wire that actually fly with ski jumpers and these cameras will be 3D capable. OMG, that is the coolest thing ever. Why would you need to actually go to the Olympics and fight the crowds when you can watch the experience like this. I understand that going to the Olympics would be great fun and the experience would be incredible but, wow, watching the Olympics is completely amazing with today's technological advancements. Jennifer and I have a close friend who's going to the Olympics and she is staying with a friend who has a house in Vancouver. Going like that would really be fun!

I like the behind the scenes portions of the Olympics and the individual stories of some of the athletes and I always cheer for the underdog too! Like the Jamaican bobsled team. Think about it: a bobsled team from Jamaica? They have my support, automatically!

I've never been to Vancouver but I'll bet it's a great place to visit. After the Olympics comes the Masters Golf tournament.

Jim
J.LaMore

J.D Salinger dies. . . !

Hi Friends & fellow bloggers:

I love a great story and will tell one from time to time. Telling a great story is an art and when you hear a tale that's fascinating you seldom care if the story is indeed factual. Sometimes, truth and fiction is a line that's blurred in a fog of intrigue. As for most of my of my stories over the years, a fog of humor!

When author J.D. Salinger died this week I was immediately brought back to the days of my youth when his book, "The Catcher in the Rye" published in 1951, was a must read, and still is today. I read it and loved it. I still have the book as I never returned it to the school library. The late fee must be ten thousand dollars by now. (See what I mean about truth and a good story.)

The book was an incredible story of a rebel youth, Holden Caulfield, a teenager newly expelled from prep school and his anti establishment views and attitude ring loud and clear. Reading it was a youthful right of passage, almost like getting your learners permit, but what's even more amazing and intriguing is J.D. Salinger's life after he wrote the book. He was a complete recluse. Living, or hiding, in a self inflicted way for more than 50 years in a little shack in a small town in New Hampshire. Wow! He was 91 years old. Salinger became famous for not wanting to be famous. Very Garbo'esque!

Mark David Chapman, the killer of John Lennon in 1980, said the reason for killing Lennon could be found in passages in "The Catcher in the Rye."

Salinger wrote a couple more short stories that received less critical acclaim and in 1954 he moved to a little 90 acre compound in New Hampshire and stayed there for the rest of his life. He emerged every once and awhile and was even married at one point and, had a son, Matthew in 1966. As the years rolled by Salinger grew more and more reclusive and at one point he even had his publisher remove his picture from the back book covers of "Catcher" and said he was "sick and tired of seeing his picture on the back cover and I don't want anyone else to see it either."

When Salinger said that he was "in this world but not of it" his friends and family really began to see a change in him which, of course, lead to even more intrigue about his whereabouts and his reclusive habits. "He was either crazy or the Manet and Tolstoy of our time," as a NY Times reporter recently said Salinger. Not understanding him is the way he wanted to be known. He didn't care for fame, celebrity or money. Just like the characters he wrote about. It is said that Salinger wrote about fictional charcters and then brought them to life by living them.

If you've never read the book, I highly recommend it. To this day "Catcher" still sells 250,000 copies a year in paperback and is published in 120 different languages.

Here's the first two sentences in the book.

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two haemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

Jim

Ralph Lauren: "Don't concentrate on 'celebs'. . . !

Hi Friends! I found a recent article posted in Newsweek magazine very interesting regarding 'the modern celebrity' and how all this craziness takes on a life and after-life of its own. It was enjoyable reading and I linked the article for all to read should you have about ten minutes of spare time. It was a Tiger Woods article (if you can stand another one) but it refers to our current state of celebrity culture. It's sick and wrong!

The author refers to "people," for the most part lately, that have no discernible talent to speak of but are somehow elevated into celebrity status because of the actions of someone else or for just being themselves. It's really out of control but the sad part is it's not going to improve anytime soon. We even recognize the silliness but we can't stop ourselves either. It's really like rubber-necking the Internet! We just have to slow down and look even though we hate ourelves ofr it!

This has been a topic of interest of mine for many years and with the growth of jlamore.com, I've really noticed how the fashion world is obsessed with celebrities that designers want wearing their clothing. The designers will use anyone who is photographed in their clothing, too. It's crazy and I don't understand it! Why is a woman who can't act, can't sing. doesn't say intelligent things, doesn't really even have a job, hasn't really accomplished anything and never will, is followed everyday by hordes of photographers who happily click away even when she's putting gas in her car and then, oh yes there's more, every woman wants to wear what "she's" wearing because all the designers have given her free clothing because she's famous for,. . . . well, . . . . being famous! Was that job posted on Craig's list? Is there someone I can talk to about this job? Even part-time?

Ralph Lauren in a recent article about designing clothing stated that he doesn't concentrate on celebrities at all saying, "One minute she wears your gown and the next minute she's wearing someone else's. It's not like the days of Audrey Hepburn wearing Givenchy and having a relationship with the designer over a period of time and where he also made clothes for movies, . . ." The good ole' days are gone for good, but I really like what he said. (Just so you know, we painted the inside of our house with Ralph Lauren paint! If he would somehow read this I would like him to know that.)

We don't follow "the fickle celebrity" either at J. LaMore because we want you to look great all on your own, not because Paris Hilton wore that top to the dog park with 'Nicky Dog'. But every designer on every buying trip we go on whips out their press packet showing all the celebrities who wear their clothes. Like that's important and somehow a right of passage for their line. Giorgio Armani just signed Megan Fox to be the star representative for his line. The long list of celebrities he has used in the past is just the opposite of Ralph Lauren. I was surprised to read that.

So, is this celebrity nonsense ever going to end? Nope! By the way, I really like those aviator sunglasses that little home wrecker is wearing! ;)

Jim

jlamore.com

A little rock fashion tidbit!

Have you noticed that Lady Gaga is now one of the biggest things in music right now and it's because of how she dresses. She's definitely talented but her wild outfits get just as much attention.

I recently went to a marketing school where a Lady Gaga figure was predicted long before she became popular. This was called a "Pendulum Swing" and it happens every 10 years or so where the popularity of such things swing back and forth in and out of popularity. Let's take a recent look at an example of this theory.

The group KISS was formed in 1973 and became incredibly popular and they wore outlandish and bizarre costumes on stage. (Elton John was also hugely popular) KISS stayed popular for about six years before they disbanded in 1982. During their decline regular rock bands swung back into popularity like Guns & Roses, Bon Jovi and Madonna as well as many other normal looking bands.

Then Michael Jackson came along with his incredible stage and video performances with Thriller, Billy Jean, Beat it, and many others. He lasted for some time before the public grew tired of this kind of thing and they swung back to regular bands again like Billy Joel, Maria Carrey, Celine Dion and Shania Twain, even Britney. We really grew tired of them.

Today, the pendulum has swung all the way back again to Lady Gaga. Go figure! Her outlandish outfits and stage antics draw quite a bit of media attention and her music is pop and just "OK" to me. Based on this theory she isn't going to last long before we swing back to someone else a lot less Gaga-like.

Granted, this is a condensed version of the theory but if you can visualize a popularity pendulum swinging back and forth this really makes sense and you can apply this theory to many things.

Jim

Get a FREE iPhone APP!

The first 20 people with an iPhone or iPod Touch who send Jennifer an email will win a FREE download of My Style Fashion Assistant! Don't wait! Here is their website for you to see how this works! Very cool!

When you send Jennifer and email write "I want the App" in the text box.

Hello Everyone! New Vision Interactive has developed a shopping product for all you App crazy iPhone and iPod Touch users that has been voted a top 100 App by iPhone users. Your fashion assistant will revolutionize how you get dressed in the morning, how you shop, and will literally be your digital shopping assistant! You always wanted a stylist, right?

All you have to do is take a picture of your clothing in your closet or in a store on download an item from website and organize them on your phone using My Style Fashion Assistant. You can then move the items around to create the perfect outfit to wear for that day, week, or month.

You can photograph your entire closet if you like and organize all the items by category such as shoes, pants, sweaters, etc., then you can bring the phone to your local store or send the picture to Jennifer and she will pick out a top or pant that you should wear depending on your needs. It's so simple and easy to use!

J. LaMore was lucky enough to be part of this new project even in the smallest way. (We love working with smart people) Some of the images you see are from J. LaMore and when the video is finalized you will see jlamore.com used as the website for the video demonstration.

So don't wait! Email Jennifer and we will get you a free download of My Style Fashion Assistant.

Jim McCarthy
jlamore.com

Bark'n for the Yak Lady. . . !

Hi Charlotte! I don't get to write that much on the blog but I have to add a few comments on the Christmas topic! I thought Love Actually was a great movie and one of my all time favorite holiday movies.

But the very best Christmas movies of all time is Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase and A Christmas Story. These movies don't have any music to speak of but for knock down fall on the floor laughter you can't beat them.

In our movie room we have a replica of the leg lamp, complete with fishnet stocking, sitting on our bar that had a small part in A Christmas Story. Everyone who comes over to visit comments on the lamp and remembers the part it played. Frrrggeeeelllaaayyyy. . . . ! Too funny!

There were so many funny characters and lines in Christmas Vacation that it's hard to remember any of them. However, when Clark asked his cousin about his kids future he said "right now he's bark'n for the Yak lady at the carnival . . . " Clark responds, ". . .you must be proud . . . !" We have a college gal named Julie who works with us at J. LaMore and I always tell her that if she doesn't pull those grades up she'll have a career bark'n for the Yak lady! I die laughing every time I tell her that.

Jim

Fresh face . . . !

Hi Sarah: The new face on the site is local model Paige. You're going to be seeing a lot more of her in the coming months as we shoot more and more cover shoots, lookbook, and product images.

Paige participated in Wisconsin Fashion Week this year and won the fresh face contest, which was really no surprise to anyone who knows her. Outside of being absolutely stunning, Paige is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet.

Paige has the look of "fashion" that few people have and our goal at jlamore.com is to maintain that look as much as we can with the models you see on the site.

Stay tuned as you will see more of Paige in the new lookbook this week.

Jim

Look Book, behind the scenes. . .!

Hi everyone: For the past three years many people have asked me about the J. LaMore LookBook and how it all works. Well, I can add a little insight into the process but it's complicated and time consuming and technical. I'm not trying to brush anyone off but I'm not even sure where to begin with how to explain this. But believe me, there is a detail involved master plan.

First, you need a studio and a lot of equipment to make it run right. Then you need lights, more lights and meters to read the light. Then you need camera equipment. Really good cameras and lenses. If I had to choose, I would take a really great lens over a camera body any day of the week. The lens quality is everything for me. You also need lots of lenses too! Really good lenses! Canon is our equipment of choice.

Now that you have that out of the way, you need a "look" from your models then you need to figure what to do with that look. That's where Mandy and Jessica come in as well as a long list of other beautiful models we have shot like Paige, Allison, Melissa and KJ to name just a few. Amazing looks and really nice people, too! Whether you shoot lookbooks in the studio or on location putting the look together takes time and a team of people to make it all work. All the models want the cover (homepage) because that's where all the visitors go first. Ten thousand or so every month and then the lookbook.

J. LaMore has a van that we use to transport all the equipment, models and staff when we go on location. Once we empty out the equipment, the van is set up as a rolling dressing room where the models can change their looks in privacy if we're in the country or in a parking lot in the middle of the city.

Once the pictures are taken (400-500/lookbook shoot) they go to post production. That's where Mandy performs her creative magic and the images are processed for the Lookbook, Homepage, magazines, flyers, etc.

This is just a small piece of the puzzle but I hope you get the idea that it's a lot of work, but it's fun.

Jim