LuAnn de Lesseps: No Longer a Countess, Still Never a Princess

[SweetieDarling]

13 minutes ago, FairyDusted said:

That reminds me of her visit here. I was wondering why the fuck she was appearing at the horse track. Turns out while I was living in Vegas they turned it into a casino.  

Yeah, curiosity got the best of me, and I checked. She's playing Parx Casino, which is (was?) Philadelphia Park Racetrack. Beautiful downtown Bensalem might not have accommodations to The Countess' standards (unless she doesn't mind being charged by the hour), tho the Radisson is nice.

[itsadryheat]

On 6/25/2019 at 5:22 PM, HunterHunted said:

Melbourne y'all

What happened to Melbourne? I loved/love it. Anybody know where to watch?

[Stats Queen]

4 minutes ago, itsadryheat said:

What happened to Melbourne? I loved/love it. Anybody know where to watch?

I wish I knew, I love it also. I know there has been at least one season that hasn’t aired in the US

[itsadryheat]

Yes, I keep checking but have failed to find a place or way to view. Thanks Bravo

[smores]

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

https://allaboutthetea.com/2019/07/02/luann-de-lesseps-steal-jewelry-design/

We know one thing for sure .... no one will accuse her of stealing their music or lyrics. 

This isn't the only one.  Seeing this prompted me to do some digging.  

This one (pearl branch):

is on Aliexpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32258809618.html

This one:

Looks remarably like this one on Overstock.com:

https://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Passiana-Clear-Crystal-Chain-Bib-Necklace/10611217/product.html

And this one:

Also on overstock:

https://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Passiana-Metallic-Branch-Statement-Necklace/10884125/product.html

Or perhaps we could just go to the source for most of them?

http://www.passiana.com/List/ByType/2

[Stats Queen]

9 minutes ago, smores said:

This isn't the only one.  Seeing this prompted me to do some digging.  

This one (pearl branch):

is on Aliexpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32258809618.html

This one:

Looks remarably like this one on Overstock.com:

https://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Passiana-Clear-Crystal-Chain-Bib-Necklace/10611217/product.html

And this one:

Also on overstock:

https://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Passiana-Metallic-Branch-Statement-Necklace/10884125/product.html

Or perhaps we could just go to the source for most of them?

http://www.passiana.com/List/ByType/2

So the statement she is making with her statement necklaces is I’m a plagiarist.

[smores]

Just now, Stats Queen said:

So the statement she is making with her statement necklaces is I’m a plagiarist.

It certainly isn't "These are necklaces I designed, inspired after some of my favorite pieces I've owned over the years" like she tried to say in upstate NY.  

[AnnA]

16 minutes ago, smores said:

It certainly isn't "These are necklaces I designed, inspired after some of my favorite pieces I've owned over the years" like she tried to say in upstate NY.  

Excellent sleuthing Smores!

[smores]

I should be doing about 20 other things tonight, but I got curious to see if I could find any of the others.  And so, a few more pieces from the Countess Collection:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Fashion-women-choker-necklace-Jewelry-2016_60696309288.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.15.5ed6133fmOUXtA

This one comes in black OR green on her site.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Vintage-bohemian-choker-statement-wood-necklace_60817840137.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.7940133fYemebO

The thing that really strikes me as messed up with this is that Luann has lived in different countries and she has traveled around the world.  I'm not a fan of Lu's taste in jewelry, and in fact I'm generally wearing my wedding ring and a pair of earrings I rarely change out of, but I do like to buy costume jewelry for occasions when I want to dress up or even if I'm just going out to dinner with my husband.  I'll throw on a necklace, maybe a bracelet.  A lot of these things are things that I've found when I was wandering around shops while traveling, and it's something I like to do because then when I put on this bracelet I can think of Paris, those necklace remind me of Havana, that necklace of Mexico, etc.  None of them cost a lot, but they're all pieces that were made by local people and I liked and found on my trip.  The items Lu buys (and is pimping), are designed to look like those sorts of pieces in many ways.  

Lu has a somewhat built in audience between the show and her cabaret and for the people who were going to buy something to support her, they will spend a decent amount of money on the items.  She could have easily found people to partner with to have the items made where she was working with people in an area that needs development and help women start businesses making her necklaces to support their families.  It may have increased their pricing a bit, but not THAT much more and they would be better quality than the crap that she is selling.  The people that she is targeting with her product/show is a crowd that would likely be willing to pay a bit more for something that is supporting a good cause.  If her items were something I would wear and wanted to buy and I had the option to purchase it from her (knowing it was imported from aliexpress/alibaba), or knowing that it was handmade by a small business and would cost $20-$50 more, I would pay more.  There is a jewelry company that I buy stuff from once in a while that has everything handmade in the US by work at home mothers.  It's not even more expensive, but it's given women the chance to help support their families, so to me it's a win-win. 

[hoodooznoodooz]

So both Sonja and Lu are either knocking off or simply reselling, at a much higher price, the same company’s products? They are both really dumb and arrogant. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for their gullible fans who are buying this junk.

[smores]

25 minutes ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

So both Sonja and Lu are either knocking off or simply reselling, at a much higher price, the same company’s products? They are both really dumb and arrogant. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for their gullible fans who are buying this junk.

They are buying cheap stuff from China and then they are saying that they "designed" it and passing it off as if they have sat down and put together a whole collection from start to finish.  For Lu in particular, she could have worded it as she curated/sourced a collection of necklaces that she has for sale on her site and then it wouldn't have been such bullshit.  It's not like she sat down with a pencil and paper or even sat down with a jeweler and said I want something tribal, maybe in silver with some green stones, but not pointy, round, but not huge, etc, and then worked to kind of sketch out ideas.  

There are companies where you can private label things, like Gretchen Christine Beaute.  There Gretchen had an account set up and she would choose the products she wanted to order, say a pink lipgloss.  She would name it "Rosebud" and then she had a GCB logo and she'd decide she wanted 250 of them.  They'd ship out 250 pink lipglosses labeled GCB Rosebud.  

And you can also have companies that you work with, where they would present you with options and you maybe tweak it a bit and then you've "designed" stuff.  I think we saw that with Nene in the past.  She wasn't starting from scratch with the jeans or the ponchos she was making, but she'd say I want this neckline bigger, let's do this color instead, etc, and then she had a clothing line.

Or you can also have products created from scratch, but this is the most expensive and time consuming thing to do.  That's why most of them go the easier and cheaper route.  They all try to pass the other routes off as this one, though.

[pasdetrois]

I read a business article last year that explained how this works for many celebrities. They import cheap stuff, usually from China, then re-brand it.

ETA: didn't Luann have a clothing line a few years ago? I spotted it on a random deep discount site. I mean, there was a dress for $17.

Edited July 3, 2019 by pasdetrois

[smores]

8 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

I read a business article last year that explained how this works for many celebrities. They import cheap stuff, usually from China, then re-brand it.

ETA: didn't Luann have a clothing line a few years ago? I spotted it on a random deep discount site. I mean, there was a dress for $17.

She did.  This reunion number was one of them, it was quite the disaster:

[HunterHunted]

3 hours ago, smores said:

She did.  This reunion number was one of them, it was quite the disaster:

She looks like a dabo girl. That's a bit of a deep nerd girl cut.

[hoodooznoodooz]

Lu looks best when she’s not trying to look good.

[Jextella]

Luanne and Sonja make me sad.   They took HUGE falls when their marriages ended and never recovered.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Jextella

[chewycandy]

51 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

She looks like a dabo girl. That's a bit of a deep nerd girl cut.

I remember her chest getting so red during that reunion. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

On 7/2/2019 at 9:58 PM, Stats Queen said:

So the statement she is making with her statement necklaces is I’m a plagiarist.

Probably a licensing deal, for a cut of each sale?

Edited July 5, 2019 by SuprSuprElevated

[pieinmyeye]

On 7/3/2019 at 1:56 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

So both Sonja and Lu are either knocking off or simply reselling, at a much higher price, the same company’s products? They are both really dumb and arrogant. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for their gullible fans who are buying this junk.

On 7/3/2019 at 1:56 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

So both Sonja and Lu are either knocking off or simply reselling, at a much higher price, the same company’s products? They are both really dumb and arrogant. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for their gullible fans who are buying this junk.

Sorry for the double quotes. Just wanted to say that you couldn’t pay me to wear those tacky ass necklaces. They are hideous!!

[hoodooznoodooz]

On WWHL, when asked what her reaction was to Barbara’s comment at the Christmas show, Lu said that she was stunned. 

She also said that she loves to tell “jokes.”

She closed with, ”If Billy [Stritch] says I can sing, that’s all I need to know.”

[FairyDusted]

I was kinda surprised to see her LIVE right after round one. You just know she had to be sweating it! I wish I would have tweeted my question about the janky kitchen, Damn it!

[snarts]

The WWHL with Luann & Pauly D was a good one.  The games were funny, especially smushy/not smushy & Luann's fault or not, the questions were good and it flowed.  Obviously biased because I enjoy both of them but too many of the recent WWHL have been hella awkward/not enjoyable to watch.  

That said, they had some easy chemistry.  I did wonder if they'd hook up after.  Luannn's body language said yes.

[HunterHunted]

10 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

On WWHL, when asked what her reaction was to Barbara’s comment at the Christmas show, Lu said that she was stunned. 

She also said that she loves to tell “jokes.”

She closed with, ”If Billy [Stritch] says I can sing, that’s all I need to know.”

Maybe Billy Stritch was being hyper literal. Yes, Luann is physically capable of singing. Luann is alive. She has working vocal chords and enough lung capacity to force sound out of her mouth. Luann can sing, but there is one really important word missing from that statement -- well. And I think we're all in agreement that Luann cannot sing well.

[biakbiak]

3 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Maybe Billy Stritch was being hyper literal. Yes, Luann is physically capable of singing. Luann is alive. She has working vocal chords and enough lung capacity to force sound out of her mouth. Luann can sing, but there is one really important word missing from that statement -- well. And I think we're all in agreement that Luann cannot sing well.

Billy is also making money of her so isn’t really impartial.

[Jextella]

IMO, I think everyone who can do so on pitch "can sing".  Luanne does that near as I can tell.

I feel she is a singer - just not a versatile or strong one.

In her defense, she never claimed to be anything more than she is in this regard.   In fact, I feel she knows her limits and designed the show with these limits in mind.  The show is not just the singing.  It's the banter, the comedy, the dresses, the guests, the audience, etc.

I think cabaret is an apt name for what she does, and if reviews mean much, she seems to do it well.

[SweetieDarling]

imo, Lu is NOT a singer. In one scene when she was rehearsing, I thought she could benefit from REALLY NEEDS some vocal lessons. Then I realized, she'd probably be offended by that suggestion, because, look at how fabulously she's doing! Ok, she does have a stage presence, I'll give her that, and she seems to be comfortable working the crowd -she THRIVES on being the center of attention, (jmo), and they enjoy her. The show probably is, in person, very entertaining, if you're into that. I think some of the criticism comes in when she doesn't differentiate Cabaret Countess from everyday Luann. She expects the fawning and adoration from Everyone, and her friends (aka The Little People) have had enough. They supported her at the beginning, but can only put up with so much.

Before anyone brings up Beth and incessant SK product placement and Ramona and her products, just remember, we were just as annoyed then too(if not, more so -looking at you Bethenny who had a whole trip revolve around product placement), so this is not really unfair judgement, at least as far as I can tell.

[izabella]

32 minutes ago, SweetieDarling said:

Before anyone brings up Beth and incessant SK product placement and Ramona and her products, just remember, we were just as annoyed then too(if not, more so -looking at you Bethenny who had a whole trip revolve around product placement), so this is not really unfair judgement, at least as far as I can tell.

We were annoyed by those promotions.  And we are annoyed by Lu's cabaret.  I, for one, never want to hear the word cabaret again, just like I couldn't stand to hear the words burlesque and caburlesque after Sonja's failed venture on stage.

The issue here is the cast's double standard on promoting a Housewive's business.  The difference is that the cast is expressing how annoyed they are about Lu's cabaret, and no matter how much they were annoyed by Skinnygirl all the time everywhere, or Ramona's products, they never said anything about it much less screamed at Bethy to stop bringing up Skinnygirl and stop with all the product placements.  But they are constantly hating on Lu's cabaret and are telling her to shut up about it.

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

issue here is the cast's double standard on promoting a Housewive's business.  The difference is that the cast is expressing how annoyed they are about Lu's cabaret, and no matter how much they were annoyed by Skinnygirl all the time everywhere, or Ramona's products

Well it’s easy to ignore a bottles of alcohol it’s not so easy to ignore Lu’s singing and going to multiple shows.

[ShawnaLanne]

2 hours ago, izabella said:

We were annoyed by those promotions.  And we are annoyed by Lu's cabaret.  I, for one, never want to hear the word cabaret again, just like I couldn't stand to hear the words burlesque and caburlesque after Sonja's failed venture on stage.

The issue here is the cast's double standard on promoting a Housewive's business.  The difference is that the cast is expressing how annoyed they are about Lu's cabaret, and no matter how much they were annoyed by Skinnygirl all the time everywhere, or Ramona's products, they never said anything about it much less screamed at Bethy to stop bringing up Skinnygirl and stop with all the product placements.  But they are constantly hating on Lu's cabaret and are telling her to shut up about it.

Drinking a margarita or 300, and looking at jean's, even going on vacation are much different things than being guilt tripped into going to your 6th caberet show with the same material.

Edited July 13, 2019 by ShawnaLanne

[izabella]

They have to do something to put on tv.  It's their job and this season, cabaret was it since most of the women had no storylines at all.  This season was short for a reason.  What did Sonja and Ramona bring to the season?  Dorinda brought little except for her anger toward Lu from last season, plus she invites people to her Berkshires house so she had the fish room drama to carp about all season. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by izabella

[divsc]

I think some of the annoyance about Luann's cabaret hype (aside from the fact that she is being haughty and insufferable about what a star she is), is possibly that the other women disapproved, thinking that she should have still been in rehab - not leaving early to do cabaret shows.  I also wonder if they suspected throughout the season that she was still drinking and that she should be laying low and focusing on that issue, not her stardom. (And being in the bar/drinking scene it entailed.) I think maybe they also expected her to be a little humbled and not sort of thumbing her nose at her issues by just basking in the limelight and going full on diva. 

I also get Luann's point that this is an outlet for her that she sees as a positive, healthy thing for her to be doing. To her, this IS her self-care and way of working on herself. It probably does give her some kind of high -- (That's not necessarily a bad thing. Except if it becomes a drug and the crash/withdrawl when the applause stops coming.) And let's face it - it's $$$$. And good money coming in sure helps lower stress levels for most people. So I can also see why she was eager to just get back to her life and keep moving forward.

But I could see the cabaret focus rubbing the others the wrong way, more than just their usual stupid products and items they hawk. Especially because she seemed to show no self-awareness and is totally tone deaf (literally and figuratively) to how she is coming off to everyone.

[Mondrianyone]

56 minutes ago, izabella said:

so she had the fish room drama to carp about all season. 

Very koi.  🐟

[hoodooznoodooz]

11 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Maybe Billy Stritch was being hyper literal. Yes, Luann is physically capable of singing. Luann is alive. She has working vocal chords and enough lung capacity to force sound out of her mouth. Luann can sing, but there is one really important word missing from that statement -- well. And I think we're all in agreement that Luann cannot sing well.

Heeeeee!!!!!!

You do know that if you google “spit take, possible causes of,” this post appears?

[Mannahatta]

https://people.com/tv/luann-de-lesseps-says-bravo-paid-rehab/

So now Luann is saying that Bravo paid for her rehab. And the reason she didn't challenge Bethenny's story about her drunken run in the field wearing a negligee, was because Bethenny was clearly having a breakdown.

I look forward to seeing how they each spin such wildly contradictory stories during the reunion. Although at this point I am willing to accept the possibility that they are both insane.

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, Mannahatta said:

https://people.com/tv/luann-de-lesseps-says-bravo-paid-rehab/

So now Luann is saying that Bravo paid for her rehab. And the reason she didn't challenge Bethenny's story about her drunken run in the field wearing a negligee, was because Bethenny was clearly having a breakdown.

I look forward to seeing how they each spin such wildly contradictory stories during the reunion. Although at this point I am willing to accept the possibility that they are both insane.

This makes me angrier that Luann left early. Bravo doesn't provide them with health insurance because the women are independent contractors. Bethenny and Barbara were scrambling to get Luann into rehab and make sure Bravo treats this as an excused absence so that Luann isn't fired like Adrienne. Somewhere in the course of all of this, Bravo agrees to pay for her rehab. And Luann walks out of rehab early. WTF is wrong with her? One of the things that would convince her bosses that she's serious about her sobriety and keeping her primary source of income might be something like STAYING IN THE REHAB THAT THEY PAID FOR!

[SuprSuprElevated]

I'm thinking that Luann just kicked the door wiiiide open for future Bravolebrity 'rehab' bills.  Well, that's okay, based on my monthly bill, Comcast/NBC/Bravo et al have plenty of money.

[Ohiopirate02]

5 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

I'm thinking that Luann just kicked the door wiiiide open for future Bravolebrity 'rehab' bills.  Well, that's okay, based on my monthly bill, Comcast/NBC/Bravo et al have plenty of money.

Didn't VH1 have a sober house reality show back in the day with Dr. Drew?  I could see Bravo resurrecting that with some Bravolebrities from the Howives and Southern Charm with Lu, Kathryn Dennis, Craig, and probably Brandi Glanville thrown in as well.

[divsc]

Umm.... so what's in this really, vodka? 😆

Luann de Lesseps launches ‘Feelin’ Jovani’ IV Drip

https://pagesix.com/2019/07/18/luann-de-lesseps-launches-feelin-jovani-iv-drip/?_ga=2.60839215.263081656.1560300211-1292344417.1555990657

[politichick]

On 7/13/2019 at 7:53 PM, ShawnaLanne said:

Drinking a margarita or 300, and looking at jean's, even going on vacation are much different things than being guilt tripped into going to your 6th caberet show with the same material.

Plus, who wouldn't want to go on that SK tequila trip? That was fabulous!!

[Baltimore Betty]

3 hours ago, divsc said:

Umm.... so what's in this really, vodka? 😆

Luann de Lesseps launches ‘Feelin’ Jovani’ IV Drip

https://pagesix.com/2019/07/18/luann-de-lesseps-launches-feelin-jovani-iv-drip/?_ga=2.60839215.263081656.1560300211-1292344417.1555990657

I thought that was Danielle from RHNJ.

Is this Lu's hangover cure?

[SuprSuprElevated]

Oh.Dear.God.

I'll just say that I hope she's socking away the spoils.  She's probably on minute 10 about now.

Edited July 20, 2019 by SuprSuprElevated

[Stats Queen]

1 hour ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Oh.Dear.God.

I'll just say that I hope she's socking away the spoils.  She's probably on minute 10 about now.

Who exactly is she going to be in the show, because we know she can’t sing?

[FairyDusted]

Or act. I saw her on SVU a few seasons back. Embarrassingly bad.

[biakbiak]

Lots of people who can’t sing or act have done a run in Chicago it’s basically turned into a vanity project where various “celebs” do a few weeks.

[ShawnaLanne]

17 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Oh.Dear.God.

I'll just say that I hope she's socking away the spoils.  She's probably on minute 10 about now.

This is only going to make her more insufferable, and she can't sing for shit, but damn, I'm happy for her.

14 hours ago, FairyDusted said:

Or act. I saw her on SVU a few seasons back. Embarrassingly bad.

I'd blocked that. That was so. So bad.

[Cherrio]

Its a part fitting for me because its all about class?

says the woman who shit in a hotel bed and left it there

[BckpckFullaNinjas]

On 7/3/2019 at 12:11 AM, smores said:

I should be doing about 20 other things tonight, but I got curious to see if I could find any of the others.  And so, a few more pieces from the Countess Collection:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Fashion-women-choker-necklace-Jewelry-2016_60696309288.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.15.5ed6133fmOUXtA

This one comes in black OR green on her site.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Vintage-bohemian-choker-statement-wood-necklace_60817840137.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normalList.80.7940133fYemebO

The thing that really strikes me as messed up with this is that Luann has lived in different countries and she has traveled around the world.  I'm not a fan of Lu's taste in jewelry, and in fact I'm generally wearing my wedding ring and a pair of earrings I rarely change out of, but I do like to buy costume jewelry for occasions when I want to dress up or even if I'm just going out to dinner with my husband.  I'll throw on a necklace, maybe a bracelet.  A lot of these things are things that I've found when I was wandering around shops while traveling, and it's something I like to do because then when I put on this bracelet I can think of Paris, those necklace remind me of Havana, that necklace of Mexico, etc.  None of them cost a lot, but they're all pieces that were made by local people and I liked and found on my trip.  The items Lu buys (and is pimping), are designed to look like those sorts of pieces in many ways.  

Lu has a somewhat built in audience between the show and her cabaret and for the people who were going to buy something to support her, they will spend a decent amount of money on the items.  She could have easily found people to partner with to have the items made where she was working with people in an area that needs development and help women start businesses making her necklaces to support their families.  It may have increased their pricing a bit, but not THAT much more and they would be better quality than the crap that she is selling.  The people that she is targeting with her product/show is a crowd that would likely be willing to pay a bit more for something that is supporting a good cause.  If her items were something I would wear and wanted to buy and I had the option to purchase it from her (knowing it was imported from aliexpress/alibaba), or knowing that it was handmade by a small business and would cost $20-$50 more, I would pay more.  There is a jewelry company that I buy stuff from once in a while that has everything handmade in the US by work at home mothers.  It's not even more expensive, but it's given women the chance to help support their families, so to me it's a win-win. 

@smores!! Would you be willing to share the site that has jewelry made by in-home moms, please?  And thank you!!

[car54]

LuAnn admits Bravo paid for her rehab.

https://www.realitytea.com/2019/07/22/luann-de-lesseps-reveals-who-really-paid-for-her-second-trip-to-rehab/

[smores]

4 hours ago, BckpckFullaNinjas said:

@smores!! Would you be willing to share the site that has jewelry made by in-home moms, please?  And thank you!!

Sure!  Here it is:

https://soulku.com/

[BckpckFullaNinjas]

On 7/13/2019 at 6:58 PM, izabella said:

They have to do something to put on tv.  It's their job and this season, cabaret was it since most of the women had no storylines at all.  This season was short for a reason.  What did Sonja and Ramona bring to the season?  Dorinda brought little except for her anger toward Lu from last season, plus she invites people to her Berkshires house so she had the fish room drama to carp about all season. 

Love what you did, there!