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Well if you saw the “What Not to Wear” episode with Courtney last night it seemed like a let down for us. They made it appear that she didn’t buy any clothes in the store which was not the case. So here’s some inside TV dope.
You see when they have a “reality show” they have a narrative they have to follow. If the kids at the house on “Jersey Shore” went to the library instead of the club and spent all their time playing chess they wouldn’t have a show. So Courtney’s narrative like most of the subjects on the show was that she couldn’t find any clothes. Which was not true but it flowed better if she was shown as being depressed and despondent until Stacy and Clinton came in and saved the day.
Now we love Stacy and Clinton and they showed us the love as they always do. In the show they said on camera how the black lace dress was great and Clinton said there were several great dresses she should have bought. Well in fact she did buy two of them and wore them in the last two minutes of the show and held one of them up when they were showing what she bought. She also bought a lot of jewelry and all of it will be detailed on the TLC What Not to Wear website.
The problem that Courtney has is that she is a size ten on the top but a twenty on the bottom in the hips and thighs. She is the classic pear shape and the Lisa Wrap Dress and the Lauren in the Rust Polka dot fit her perfectly. The Wrap Dress is the go-to dress for a pear shape as you can manipulate how you tie it to give you the right fit. The Lauren dress has a gentle A-line that skims the body but really flatters a pear shape. Because she was so small on the top they were able to get a lot of inexpensive pieces at Loehmans and Century 21. When they detail the cost of some of her jackets and tops they were $25 or less. Now if you read the TLC website you have people complaining even about those prices! You see in the retail environment here places like Old Navy are selling stuff for $5 it is a very tough market. If you buy that $5 t-shirt you have to realize that it is going to fall apart after you wash it two or three times. I mean it comes from China and the wholesale price is probably $2.50 since they buy in such great volume. So it is pretty difficult when you are selling stuff that is made in America and has a higher price point. Don’t get me wrong, our customers love our stuff especially the private label once they sample it and see how well it wears and how it is made. But it is still a struggle.
Stacy saw Courtney, she knew that she was going to be an extremely hard fit on her bottom half. That is why she kept repeating “you can shop in the regular stores for the top but you need to go to the plus stores for the bottom.” So Stacy told the line producer “Call Lisa, tell her it is an emergency and we need her.” So we dropped everything and were ready for them the next day. But the director and the narrative made it look like she didn’t buy anything. Nice. Thank God for Stacy and Clinton setting it straight in the dialogue as they looked at the film of shop day one. That saved it. I can always count on them.
You never know what footage they are going to use or how it is going to come out. We prefer to be shop day Two because then Stacy and Clinton are in the store and they always find clothes they want to praise on camera. But when you are dealing with an unknown it is difficult. We promoted this appearance and it was kind of disappointing since they told us we had a reveal outfit when we didn’t and we thought they were going to feature our crocodile belt which Courtney loved. We have one other shop day one and two shop days two. So look for us three more times this season!
Catch the Season Premiere of What Not To Wear on TLC this Friday January 8 at 9pm EST and again at 11pm EST and again on Saturday, January 9th at 2pm EST!!
Lee Lee's Valise on Season Premiere of What Not to Wear
TLC’s “What Not to Wear” will start its new season this Friday January 8, 2010 at 9pm EST with Courtney from Atlanta who shopped at Lee Lee’s Valise on Shop Day 1. She had recently lost 170 lbs and had gone on a spree of wearing super sexy “club” clothes that were inappropriate for work and more relaxed moments when you don’t want to look like a hootchi-coothie mama. So she was sent out with the goal of finding more work appropriate styles that still were fashion forward but were not all “flash and lace and skin.” Stacy wanted her to “leave the lace for the bedroom!”
That made it very interesting as she really loved the Lace Boudoir Dress which she said would have been something she definitely would have wanted to add to her wardrobe if she was not going to stick to the rules that Stacy and Clinton gave her for the show.
You see when they film the show in your shop, you never know what they are going to use in the final cut so we don’t know if she will appear on the show in that dress. She looked great in it and should have bought it anyway as it is a perfect “event” dress but it was too close to her old style and she had to work with the rules that they set for her.
Courtney eventually chose among many other things two great dresses that are made exclusively for Lee Lee’s Valise. We put together our “West Side Story” Lisa Wrap Dress which is in a great print together with our crocodile belt to accentuate her waist for a work appropriate but still fashion forward look. She also loved our Lauren Dress in the Rust Dot fabric that looked and fit great as it complimented her skin tone.
Courtney also chose several necklaces, bracelets and earrings to complete a “look” that brought praise from Stacy and Clinton. One of the bracelets (a black strappy bracelet) that Courtney purchased was produced by A Global Friendship for Project HOME which is a not-for-profit started by a survivor of the Tsunami to benefit the children orphaned by that disaster. She was able to do good and look good all at the same time. If you would like to find out more information on Project HOME you can check out their facebook page!
Her purchases combined a sophisticated style with a fashion forward look that can go from work to play and got her out of the rut of wearing clothes that were more appropriate for the club than the workplace.
Today ONLY for Cyber Monday you can take off 10 percent at checkout!
Cyber Monday - Take 10% off at checkout!!
The origin of Cyber Monday is simple. In 2005, a group of retailers got together and decided to offer incentives for shoppers to shop online after the Thanksgiving Black Friday weekend. ~We also understand that not everyone wanted to brave the crowds. So here at Lee Lee’s Valise, today only, you can take 10 percent off at checkout using the code “instyle” ~~Good luck and we hope your internet connections today are just fabulous!
Best of New York - Lee Lee's Valise - "Plus Size Chic"
“Full-Figured Ladies from every borough flock to this Carroll Gardens boutique to find frocks size 10 and up. Expect lots of attention from Lisa “Lee Lee” Dolan and her sales clerks, who will give you the lowdown on their labels. If you are shopping solo, they’ll give you their honest opinions, too. Unlike some New York shop owners who tink that plus-sized duds only come in dowdy, the clothes here are all chic and ultimately flattering. Don’t be surprised if you end up spending hours browsing and eventually buying. For the bustier set, the store carries size H cups.”
(AM New York, Thursday October 22, 2009 “Best of New York”)
Lloyd Boston's Style At Any Age on the FLN
Thursday, Oct 15th on the Fine Living Channel at 9pm EST!
I am a fan of Lloyd Boston’s makeover show Closet Cases. So I was extremely pleased to be a part of his new special on the Fine Living Channel called Lloyd Boston’s Style at Any Age. Lloyd helps three women find their own unique style. One is in her 20’s and another in her 30’s.The show came to Lee Lee’s Valise to dress the career woman in her 40’s.
Lloyd was very insightful in putting together several looks for the subject who was a forty year old New Yorker who normally wore lab coats so what was underneath didn’t matter much. This acupuncturist got the point!
I don’t want to give away the show but I know you will enjoy the process of putting together different looks for different age groups.
So set your TIVO, DVR or for those of you still living under a rock your VCR to the Fine Living Channel for Thursday night at 9pm.
WideWidths.com