The "Small" Feeling (Santa Monica, Highland: home, neighborhoods, store)

[moonsparkle]

Originally Posted by BarcelonaFan

Most celebs are usually much thinner, shorter and less attractive when you meet them in person. I met a pretty well known up and coming model/actress in the LA area the other week. From her website you would think that she is the most gorgeous woman you've seen in a good long while but when I met her she was the most boheme greasy haired no shape having girl I've ever met. She fixes up really well, but on her days off she is rather homely.

But this is besides the point because in the greater scale of things even celebs feel like ants which is why they're constantly struggling with the industry. How hard is this to figure out, especially living in LA?

Everyone has seen those magazines when they show "celebs without makeup", and the public generally likes it because they realize celebs are just part of society, like them.

Just the fact that people remember seeing even non A-list celebs down to exactly what they were wearing should tell you something.

[ferretkona]

Originally Posted by trancedout

Anyone else ever get this in LA?

Example 1...you're at Pinkberry somewhere in West LA with that girl you met at a club last week. Next thing you see, some Persian guy in a new Ferrari 458 Italia pulls up...next to your "compact" car. Your date can't help but notice. Compared to this guy, you're an ant.,,.

You are dating the wrong women.
Don't want to feel like a ant, quit being a ant. Be yourself.

[nurserosie]

I personally could care less about seeing "celebs". They are ordinary people who have a different job than mine. Nothing special

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by trancedout

Everyone has seen those magazines when they show "celebs without makeup", and the public generally likes it because they realize celebs are just part of society, like them.

Just the fact that people remember seeing even non A-list celebs down to exactly what they were wearing should tell you something.

I think that is the product of publicists and mag editors trying to sell the image that celebs are just like them.

No different than when big businessmen like to appear like they're regular guys too, especially the new techies like Mark Zuckerberg.

Or when politicians pander to voters by pretending they're just like us.

It seems like you understand just how much the rich work in other fields, except the movie industry.

[BarcelonaFan]

Originally Posted by nurserosie

I personally could care less about seeing "celebs". They are ordinary people who have a different job than mine. Nothing special

I wouldn't go that far. That just seems like projecting when people say stuff like they're just ordinary people.

Ordinary people cannot act like Daniel Day Lewis or spend time on a yacht in Cannes with other A listers like he can. His day to day life is proly far from ordinary.

[readymade]

Originally Posted by trancedout

He is also in the category of celebrities who play "stooge" roles. Sort of like seeing Moe, Curly, and Larry years ago and saying, "Well, they're just regular guys".

The point is you know you are in a place with glamour celebs, paparazzi, and you're a regular person.

I admit that I felt a bit out of my element at first. Then I had a glass of wine, chatted with some other people I met and ended up having a blast.

Rainn was an interesting case as he was a lot more... intimidating in real life then I would have imagined from being on the show. But, I've hung out with a bunch of different celebs, and while I feel a bit shy at first, they're usually much more normal than I would have imagined. Usually, it's at a party or a bar or something like that and everyone's drinking. Recently hung out with a certain pretty famous actor (friend of a friend) who was WASTED and we spent, like, an hour saying stupid stuff in Boston accents (once he found out I was from Boston) and laughing uproariously. The dude has been a regular on at least 3 hit shows that I can think of and has to be pretty rich. He looked and acted like anyone else.

And, in regards to comedians that some have mentioned... yeah, I've hung out with a LOT of comedians, for some reason. And they are DEFINITELY more laid back & dressed-down than most people. But, oddly enough, rarely "the life of the party." Most of them have been pretty quiet and/or kind of weird. Comedians tend to be kind of messed up, I think. I like hanging out with their girlfriends and getting the fun gossip on everyone. They all know each other.

[jackie100]

Originally Posted by trancedout

Everyone has seen those magazines when they show "celebs without makeup", and the public generally likes it because they realize celebs are just part of society, like them.

Just the fact that people remember seeing even non A-list celebs down to exactly what they were wearing should tell you something.

Most of the females don't look in good in person as their headshots and photos online...

However, many male models and actors (not famous ones but normal actors, struggling actors) look VERY good in person. I've seen some in person that looked like their face was carved out of marble; perfect flawless features. If some of the male actors are shorter than people think they are that doesn't bother me; I don't care about height.

Also, many female celebs do look good without makeup. I've seen plenty of candid shots of Kim Kardashian without anything and she is stunning regardless; it's due to her facial features and face shape. She looks amazing either way. Look at the very first picture here http://www.glamcheck.com/fashion/201...ithout-makeup/ no makeup but she has the perfect facial features. I think she still looks amazing and with makeup on she looks spectacular.

I've seen candid papparazi shots of some actresses leaving the gym with sweat on their face (Ashley Greene, Ashley Tisdale) and I think they still look good.

[greggd1]

Originally Posted by trancedout

Anyone else ever get this in LA?

Example 1...you're at Pinkberry somewhere in West LA with that girl you met at a club last week. Next thing you see, some Persian guy in a new Ferrari 458 Italia pulls up...next to your "compact" car. Your date can't help but notice. Compared to this guy, you're an ant..

While some can afford the 458 legit. Many, Many, Many, lease or finance. Its about 3.5k to lease the 458 per month. Its doable for many, but at what expense?

The woman, I dont know but I sure have met a lot of women that tell me about their cars, vacation homes, etc and after you get to know them...its a front and in some cases coming from some old dude.

[drive carephilly]

In most other cities it's just not cool to flaunt your wealth. Philly has its fair share of rich folk (right in between Boston and SF) and those people drive nice cars, wear nice clothes, have several homes, etc. but if you were sitting next to them on the train, you'd never know how wealthy they were.

That's the thing, even in NYC, even the really rich don't always have cars. A lot of people just use a car service. For the people who have licenses they might rent some really pimped out ride for the weekend but status conscious people are far more concerned about your zip code, the building you live in, what restaurants you go to, where your summer house is, where your winter home is, where you vacation in Europe, etc, etc. people still care about fashion in NYC (a lot) but there's a lot less bling about it than in LA.

Originally Posted by trancedout

LA.

In NY they are confined to a few square miles in Manhattan. The 4 other boroughs might as well be Pittsburgh.

FWIW - NY has almost 3x as many millionaires as LA and most of Manhattan is for the wealthy or super wealthy. At this point there's not much below 110th St. that isn't gentrified (I mean actual gentry, not hipsters) and at this point it's pretty much just Chinatown and the LES for as long as they can hold out. I think it would be roughly equivalent to the area between Santa Monica and Venice from the beach up to Highland . . . except in Manhattan people are living at 4-6x the density.

Also, it's not just Manhattan. In addition to a few neighborhoods in Brooklyn the Hamptons are also a well known home to and playground of the wealthy as well as quite a few towns on the North Shore of Long Island. So are places like Montclair, Essex Fells and Rumson, NJ. Most of Southwestern CT and a good chunk of the hills north of NYC too. But you're right, you wouldn't likely know these people had an insane amount of money if you were in line behind them at the grocery store or stuck next to them in traffic.

Also, LA has long had wealthy neighborhoods within its boundaries. With the exception of enclaves like Georgetown, Chestnut Hill, Upper East Side, Beacon Hill, etc. the wealthy on the east coast have been in the suburbs. It's really only been the last 15 years (20 years for NYC) that there's been explosion of wealthy people living downtown.

[Elle Oh Elle]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

In most other cities it's just not cool to flaunt your wealth. Philly has its fair share of rich folk (right in between Boston and SF) and those people drive nice cars, wear nice clothes, have several homes, etc. but if you were sitting next to them on the train, you'd never know how wealthy they were.

That's the thing, even in NYC, even the really rich don't always have cars. A lot of people just use a car service. For the people who have licenses they might rent some really pimped out ride for the weekend but status conscious people are far more concerned about your zip code, the building you live in, what restaurants you go to, where your summer house is, where your winter home is, where you vacation in Europe, etc, etc. people still care about fashion in NYC (a lot) but there's a lot less bling about it than in LA.




FWIW - NY has almost 3x as many millionaires as LA and most of Manhattan is for the wealthy or super wealthy. At this point there's not much below 110th St. that isn't gentrified (I mean actual gentry, not hipsters) and at this point it's pretty much just Chinatown and the LES for as long as they can hold out. I think it would be roughly equivalent to the area between Santa Monica and Venice from the beach up to Highland . . . except in Manhattan people are living at 4-6x the density.

Also, it's not just Manhattan. In addition to a few neighborhoods in Brooklyn the Hamptons are also a well known home to and playground of the wealthy as well as quite a few towns on the North Shore of Long Island. So are places like Montclair, Essex Fells and Rumson, NJ. Most of Southwestern CT and a good chunk of the hills north of NYC too. But you're right, you wouldn't likely know these people had an insane amount of money if you were in line behind them at the grocery store or stuck next to them in traffic.

Also, LA has long had wealthy neighborhoods within its boundaries. With the exception of enclaves like Georgetown, Chestnut Hill, Upper East Side, Beacon Hill, etc. the wealthy on the east coast have been in the suburbs. It's really only been the last 15 years (20 years for NYC) that there's been explosion of wealthy people living downtown.

Yeah, I've heard about all of this but apparently those beaches back East are inferior to the great ones boasted in LA, OC and SF.

Similarly, another thread here noted that the issue lies in downtown being the playground and employment palaces for people in Chicago and NYC. Whereas in LA it's more of a pleasure or entertainment thing and work is scattered all over the city unless you're working at a government building or fortunate enough to own a small biz down there. People here can go for years without hitting DT but over there it's pretty much designed so that everything is already in DT.

There are some rich areas in Massachusetts, Philadelphia, and Connecticut but they aren't as well-known or viewed the same way. Like I said before, those also present more of an educated image rather than being rich and famous (most famous people here are viewed as being clueless, dumb and superficial) because those places are really only known for good economies and big universities, best in the nation.


New York Has the Most Millionaires - The Wealth Report - WSJ