The Look for Less: three days of shooting

I'm finally done shooting for The Look for Less on the Style Network. A lot of work went into this 30-minute show. I spent several hours in front of the camera over three days, and I savored every minute of it! I think I loved the camera a little more than I should.

Day 1: My first day began early in the morning at San Francisco Centre. The session involved a lot of “hurry up and wait.” I hurried to get there on time… and then waited to start filming. I met Yoanna House, while I was in line for Nordstrom coffee. She was just as beautiful in person as I expected her to be. And she’s tall. Very, very tall.

My celebrity stylists were – drumroll - Chip and Pepper! I was really excited when I found out. They haven’t done the show for the past year or two because they’ve been concentrating on their own stuff here, on the west coast. Since San Francisco is so close to L.A., they took the trip up for the day, and I'm so glad they did.

These guys are absolutely nuts and have more energy than anyone I know, myself included. They don’t ham it up for the show; they’re exactly the same off-camera too. It was like running around with five-year old twins who loved to have fun. I had the best time ever with them. We danced around and shopped for my look, and we’re now the best of friends. Pepper has promised to send me pictures of his son, and I’m going to ask the same of Chip, whose wife is expecting. I heart Chip and Pepper!

There’s a lot of running up and down halls and escalators just for the cameras, and then running the same path again to catch a different view. And there are breaks to film the interviews too. (I'm not told what to say, in case anyone's wondering.) There are several camera people and sound people and producers, and the crew is just huge. They all flew out from New York, where the show is based, and everyone was so nice.

This supposed one hour of shopping actually took five hours to shoot. Ah, the magic of television.

Day 2: This was my background shoot. After working at one of my law firms in the morning, I met the crew at my office in San Francisco. I held a mock training session in one of our conference rooms, and then I was filmed just strutting around the office and the building. It feels a little weird walking just to walk and have everyone watch you just walk, but of course I didn't mind. They even shot me driving out of the parking garage in my Prius. I hope my Prius gets on the show too!

We then had a shoot at my parents’ home. My “event” is that we are taking a family portrait, so they wanted background on my family, interviews with my parents and all. My parents have been talking about taking a professional portrait for years now. Literally, I think my mom tries to put my dad on a diet once a year, and she says we'll get portraits done for the holidays each and every year for as far back as I can remember. The whole idea of the family portrait is to make my mom happy.

My reason for needing a look for less is that she thinks I spend too much on clothes, so I’m supposed to learn to put together outfits on a budget, which will please my mom. I had to gather up some of my favorite pieces from my apartment to bring back to my parents' house. They had an extra closet built in my old room, so I get shot going through my wardrobe.

I’m kind of afraid the show will make it seem like I'm a materialistic, shallow girl, and all I do is go around and buy expensive clothes; and it’ll also make it look like I still live at home. Oh, well! Whatever. My mom was happy, and everyone loved her, so that’s all that matters.

Day 3: The reveal took place at a hotel, and my mom was genuinely impressed by my look for less. She kept telling me, “You are really pretty. I mean it! I always knew you were beautiful, but you look really lovely.” One of the producers of the show was so touched by the sweetness of my little mom's happiness that she actually teared up!

My mom is crazy, but she’s adorable. She kept asking the crew, “Have you ever had anyone as pretty as Jenn on your show?” She kept making everyone laugh. She asked the hair and makeup person for hairspray because, "I have to look better than my daughter." What a diva. Now I know where I get it.

We then headed to the Palace of Fine Arts for our family portrait. This was also totally real; we paid our own professional photographer, Lisa Lefkowitz, to take our picture. Our parents will finally get their wish granted.

We chose the Palace of Fine Arts because my when my parents got married in San Francisco, they took some wedding pictures there. They didn't realize they were being photographed by anyone else at the time, but they found themselves on the cover of the magazine in the Sunday paper a few months later. We're very San Franciscan. They even met here, not in Korea. You don't hear about that too often.
The whole thing was terribly fun, and I'm so sad it's over. The show won't air until March or April, but I am supposed to get a DVD copy. I can't wait! I'll let y'all know when I get a more specific date. Until then, I'll try to see whether or not I can really shop for a whole outfit for under $150, shoes included. Anyone want to run around the mall with me?