Archive for May, 2008

All week we have been giving you fashioncents! It is so much fun sharing all the thoughts on style and showing you how the Market America web portal really is the one-stop shop for all of your stylish needs. From retailers like Target to on-line genius eluxury.com, there is always something for everyone within every budget.

With that said, I wanted to share some basics of style. I want you all to know that style is a personal thing and it must be organic. Just because one person wears it doesn’t mean you have to and vice versa. Having great personal style is about be being classic mixed with seasonal trends, age appropriate, body appropriate and time/place appropriate.

As the “Cents of Style” keep being posted, look out for tips that apply to you.

Summer style tip:
One of the hot, hot must haves in the accessory department this summer are belts for both men and women. What I like about belts is that you can totally get away with moderate priced belts that are very stylish.

How to wear them:

For hipster men, I love the half tucked in, half tucked out look. For more conservative men, tucked in all the way, but here is something to be cautious about: Don’t hike up the pants too high with the belt. It makes the torso look too short: flattens the buttocks and it’s outdated! Pants should rest comfortably on the hip.

Through marketamerica.com, I hit up gap.com and there they were! The Striped Belts on sale for $12.99 and $7.99 respectively. BUY EVERY COLOR! They work with khakis and jeans. Very hip (designer Tom Ford sells his for $750!!!)

For ladies I love the look of a long shirt that rests at the thigh; loose flow pants and the woven belt below. DO NOT make the belt tight. Let it sort of just hang as a fun accessory piece.

Again, through the marketamerica.com web portal, I hit up Gap.com and found the ‘it” belt – a serious find! It’s a Braided Leather Belt for $34.50. It comes in Black and is best worn with white or beige.

ROCK IT OUT!
Michael

Handbags can run the full gamut. From floral prints to bright colors, they bring a certain sense of style to any outfit. Building on what Michael said earlier about men needing the “perfect white t-shirt,” and women needing that “little black dress.” No outfit would be complete without a nice handbag or purse to complement it.

This season, it is time to travel back in time. Narrow straps have become the new craze, similar to the Gryson woven pouch below, from the 80’s.

As I mentioned in a previous blog posting, Target carries many affordable items that can really make an outfit standout. The above mentioned handbag is both chic and practical for those days when you don’t really want to carry the kitchen sink with you. Once again, Target came to the rescue, where I found this great handbag for about $20.00.

Love,
Loren

Life has been so crazy. As I am sure you know, Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer are indeed a hot couple and they became an item in the ‘Magic City’ – Miami!

I have been reporting on this for the past few weeks and can tell you first hand, it’s the real thing. I saw them all over town and so did my friends. They are nice, normal and down to earth and enjoyed all the fun and sun Miami has to offer. Now that they’ve left town, I can get back to reporting on all the hot trends!

So, you know how girls are always looking for that perfect ‘little black dress?’ Well – guys are always looking for that perfect white t-shirt. I found it. It’s the Suprima Cotton – Three Pack T-Shirts ($34.50) from Brooks Brothers, a Market America partner store. They come in v-neck and crew neck. I prefer the v-neck.

I have tried every single type of white t-shirt from those that cost $10 to a $100. For this price and style – nothing beats it – at all! They don’t lose their shape; they look rich and they feel great.

The white t-shirt is so perfect with a pair of jeans (not heavy denim; light weight); shorts and or fitted sweat pants. Also – only wear the white t-shirts during the day. If you can’t wear sunglasses at the same time – then you shouldn’t be wearing it!

Rock it out!
Michael

The other day, I was out spending some quality time with Amber. We decided to stop in to EB Games, to see if we could find a Nintendo Wii. Sadly, they were (and have been for quite some time), very hard to come by! After leaving empty-handed, we opted to go to the web portal because EB Games was just added as a partner store and we hoped that their online site might have a few in-stock. Although the EB Games brick-and-mortar store was out of stock, we were able to get one through their online store as a package, along with Mario Kart and Guitar Hero III (which is really a lot of fun by the way)! While we were there, we also pre-ordered Wii Fit, a game devoted to helping people exercise more so that they can stay in shape!

Although we have only had the Wii for a short while, I can definitely see why they are so difficult to get. We have been playing it for the past few days and have enjoyed it with our friends as well. It definitely is not your typical video game system, because it is geared towards families and encourages everyone to get involved.

Hope everyone takes advantage of having EB Games as a Market America partner store! They carry an extensive line of games and consoles for kids of all ages!

Love,

Loren

Hi, its been a while since I have caught you up on things since I have been back from Spain. Spain was spectacular. The country itself is so gorgeous and we got to do so much in the short time we were there. When we first landed, we went straight to Alejandro Sanz ranch in the country about 2 hours from Madrid. Wow, it was gorgeous. So beautiful, and filled with nature and so green. I was surprised to see how green it was there, because the temperature was about 70 degrees. However, the coolest thing is the mountains that surrounded his ranch were snow covered. Incredible, how it can be such a perfect temperature below and snow topped mountains. It was surreal. Alejandro had the 4th most famous chef in the world come cook for us at his house. His name is QuieQuie Dacosta. He was spectacular. In fact, I never never seen anything presented like that before in my life. He created actual forests and scenes with our food. (smog and all and I will have to share pictures so you can understand). It was an experience of a lifetime. Then he and Raquel, put together a flamenco party for us and invited all the people they wanted us to meet from Spain. It was the best time. I mean this wasn’t just any flamenco singer, this was Pitingo, the most famous flamenco singer of all the country of Spain. I recall my daughter saying as he sang “mom, how can someone sing so good”:) We went to Madrid for a couple days, where Alejandro had a private tour for all of us of the Prado Museum. Oh my god, the masterpieces in that museum, took my breath away. Of course fabulous food everywhere we went and all of our friends came in town so we could be together. There was Antonio and Shakira, and Paulina and Nicolas, David Bisbal and Elena and Marc and Maria and DJ Irie. We then went to spend the night on a trip to Sevilla that Alejandro put together. It was the most magnificent place I have ever seen. It was like a fairy-tale city with the most beautiful buildings that are over 2000 years old and from the Roman times. The city’s cathedral is hard to even describe is it so amazing. Search them out online. You will be amazed. We stayed in the Hotel Alfonso XIII… one of the most gorgeous hotels ever. We didn’t get much time alone because the paparazzi were all over us thinking Alejandro and Raquel had gotten married. (that wasn’t true of course, not yet:) Of course, we did so many other things while we were there on our trip and Alejandro made it so memorable. Amber was not ready to leave and I don’t think JR nor I was either. Amber had an amazing time and loved everything. I know it is one of the last few trips we will have together as a family alone as she approaches college and starts to do her own thing. So I will treasure every single moment with her. We stopped in NYC on the way back to Miami for a few days to check on Jennifer and Marc and the babies. They are growing so fast and are SO beautiful. Amber and I helped Jennifer for a couple days because believe it or not, she has no nanny and she and Marc are talking care of Emme and Max alone. They are amazing and they are great at it. They just get a babysitter when they need it at night for an event. And they love every second of it and they should because they are such good babies. Emme is so sweet and content all the time and Max is like a athlete already. His body is like JR’s at the top, so muscular and thick. I love them. Amber loves them so much too and it is great to have that time with her with the twins, because I get to tell her all the things I remember about her when she was that age. Of course, Jennifer is skinny again and always gorgeous and she glows like I have never seen. We are all planning our summer vacation now in June and all the kids are going. I love being in a house of kids and all their laughter and innocence, like when Amber and Brooke are singing in the house SO LOUD or playing the piano so loud at 2 am, but I don’t mind at all. I love every single moment with them. I want to mention for a minute the Hogan Family as I brought up Brooke. I am sad by what has happened since the tragedy of the accident with Nick and his friend, John. There is no sense in me getting into the details, other than it was horrible for all in involved. Nick was wearing his seat belt that tragic day, when he made a mistake with his friend John in the car as they raced with their friends. However, John was 22 years old and knew what they were doing and DID NOT wear his seat belt. Of course all people involved made a horrible mistake and John of course is still suffering from this accident as will Nick emotionally for the rest of his life. He was sentenced at 17 years old in jail yesterday for 8 months. A punishment we do not agree with at all, and I don’t want to discuss all the details that I know. However, I know that children will be children and 17 is still a child. Our kids make mistakes along the way, that is how they learn. I made tons of them as did JR, as did most of the people I know who will admit to it. No I didn’t race on the streets before, but I did other things I got away with, that I am not proud of today. I pray for John and I pray for Nick every single day. I ask you to do the same. I pray for Linda and Hulk who we spoke to just the night before the sentencing, as this as torn apart their family literally. And Linda will be without her Nick for Mother’s Day this weekend. Don’t be so fast to judge. We all make bad decisions sometime, we make mistakes as we grow. We make mistakes now as adults and all we can do is hope we can grow and learn from them. I know Nick is growing and I know what he has learned. We love Nick and Brooke like our own children. Brooke practically lives with us and they couldn’t come from finer parents. So during this Mother’s Day, while you get pampered by your kids, be sure to hug them tight and love them no matter what. (and think of Linda, for me please) I will be spending a day doing nothing but resting, playing by the pool and watching MARKET AMERICA ON KIMORA’S…LIFE IN THE FAB LANE, at 8pm on Style network and laughing with Amber, Jr and Steve Ashley. Exactly what I choose to do if given any choice. God Bless all of you and of course all of our Mom’s out there. May you have the most beautiful day ever and remember why you are…
Lots and Lots of Love,
Loren

I am so excited! For quite some time, many of you have poured in response after response for us to try and bring Dillard’s onboard. We would like to announce that Dillard’s is now a Market America partner store!

Dillard’s offers everything from apparel for men, women, junior’s and children. They also carry handbags, accessories, as well as products for your home.

Loren

As many of you may remember, Kimora Lee Simmons launched Fabulosity, a line of cosmetic products, in conjunction with Market America at February’s World Conference in Miami.

This coming Sunday, Market America will be featured on her reality show, “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane.” For those that attended Leadership School, you already know firsthand just how fabulous her line of cosmetics are. Sunday, the whole world will know as well! Make sure to catch the episode which premieres Sunday at 8 pm EST on the E! Network.

Click here to see a sneak preview of the upcoming show.

Many of you having been requesting the store, Hot Topic for quite a while. We wanted to let you know that they were recently added as a Market America partner store. Hot Topic features apparel, music, as well as shoes for teenagers. I particularly like their line of retro t-shirts from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.