somebody's getting married

It’s that time of the year when flowers are blooming and friends are getting married. my good friend, bree is getting hitched in june and to celebrate her family held a sweet bridal shower at their house in malibu. it was such a lovely sunday afternoon with good friends, homemade cupcakes and oodles upon oodles of fun registry gifts from crate and barrel with a few naughty pieces thrown in. who knew urban outfitters made such cute lingerie? I went with a bedside carafe as a gift. I love the classy look next to the bed and it certainly comes in handy when you’re thirsty at night. cheers to a lifetime of love for my funny and fabulous friend bree (and her husband to be, justin). as an extra added bonus, bree just got cast opposite katherine heigel in their newest flick, so watch for it in the near future.

alpha cuppa vodka

my good friends at bollare PR threw a fab party tonite for alpha gear for men sponsored by the GQ men we love issue and bacardi vodka at villa melrose. me and wendi donned our little black dresses and headed out. alpha gear for men is a very groovy store on melrose filled with fun gentleman goodies of the lifestyle brand. the bacardi was a-flowin’ and the boys were too. my fave celeb spotting was joel mchale from E!'s the soup. he funny. I saw lots of ol’ friends (like fellow stylist jordan pictured above) and made new ones. good times thanks to GQ.

april HSN is now live!

hey fashion friends -

my newest blog on spring colors and trends and how to wear them is now live at:
http://www.hsn.com/spring-color-trends-blogs_g-63_xg.aspx

please click the link and comment on the HSN site if you like what you see.
love, jess

road tested. stylist approved.

can a pair of forever 21 jeans stand the test of wear and tear and time with 40 hours of cross-country travel? yes, they can! I had a busy day tuesday starting off with slipping on my new pair of high waisted forever 21 jeans that I picked up at the hollywood&highland mall. I figured if I’m going with something trendy like high-waisted might as well spend as little as possible. headed to work for the day, from work to school (jeans. good. check), headed from school to airport. hopped 11:45 red eye from LAX TO JFK and arrived in NYC at 7am (jeans. good. check). had 10am breakfast meeting with my book agent, 11:30 coffee with potential associate and ol’ friend jaime hochauser, lunch meeting in tribeca with spaceman media and finally met my mom (who thankfully had the car so I didn’t have to lug around the jeans annnnd all of my luggage in the rain - jeans. good. check.) we headed to century 21 in my forever 21 jeans (if you’ve never heard of century 21, it is a MUST STOP SHOP in NYC) got bombarded by couture-crazy crazies, went for dinner at island burgers and shakes where I ordered my bud barzel’s namesake burger (stomach. happy and full. jeans. good. check.), headed to the theatre to see curtains with david hyde pierce which was thoroughly entertaining, got in car and headed back to long island still looking fabulous in my forever 21 jeans from the day before. good. check.

new website!!

hey ya'll - come on over to www.jess-zaino.com - I've been blogging from there plus posted new pix, press, videos and much more! If you bring the dip, I've got the chips!! xo, jess

ladies in red

did ya just catch the oscars? I live not one mile from the kodak theatre where the show is held, so I was lucky enough to the peep the red carpet arrivals as they came in. even though marion cotillard may have one the best actress award, I believe the real honours go to john galliano for dior. he had some smoking dresses on the nominees. my favorite look was the unique and fresh fashions of juno screenwriter, diablo cody. watch out world - glamour has a new name. also noted were the fantastic pops of candy apple red on the likes of katherine heigl, helen mirren, anne hathaway, miley cyrus and heidi klum, even ruby dee in a kevan hall creation. red is always a color to watch and wear for noticeable glamour. also to watch was the absolute simplicity of the accessories. I loved the single strands of diamonds, the lone diamond cuffs and the enormous ring that nominee tilda swinton rocked. we musn't forget the men either. I was a big fan of the boys in bowties but could've done without daniel day lewis' 80's era earrings. congrats all. I'm off to find madonna's afterparty.

any given saturday in beverly hills

so saturday started out with a lovely breakfast with friend and author barbra horowitz to discuss big style business for the year ahead. over a yummy organic meal at mani's on fairfax we decided to hit up the last of the oscar suites in bev hills to scope more tinseltown treats. we headed over to the four seasons on wilshire only to be told there was no suite, only a bat mizvah. better late than never? not in this case.

oscar sweets

its academy award weekend in los angeles and everyone is abuzz with oscar fevah. I headed over to the TMG/CUUR suites over at the bev hills hilton to see what goodies were in store for the oscar celebs. I was impressed by the sword (ummm, yeah, I got a freeking martial arts sword) and wushu stunt lesson provided by impact stunts. I can't wait to learn more about it and will for sure keep you posted. in the fashion lounge was a fab new featured denim line, plush. really soft cotton made of italian and japanese denim and a fit that covers all sizes of fanny. I loved the light wash boot cut and look forward to checking out their black skinny jean. also in the fashion lounge was bag line mimieki who's luxurious materials of stingray and peacock feather was not so much in line with the green theme of the lounge but waaaay appealing to any girl who loves luxury. I am a HUGE fan of their buttery sahara satchel bag. tomorrow I am heading over to the four seasons for a sneak peak at some more yummy. will keep you posted.

hare

my stylist andi over at byu-ti gave me this recent blunt bang cut with cool rock n' roll highlights. I'm loving the of the moment style and coloring of the look. feel free to steal it for yourself. xxoo.

where'd she go?

sorry I haven't been posting folks, life took off and with it my ability to whip up something trendy. life took off, you ask? ah, yes but in a much more responsible way then you can imagine. I've decided to go back to school and started last week at santa monica college. with both classes in business and fashion, I am enriching, educating and preparing myself for the second phase of Jess Zaino. In addition, I have been helping out my man Saundi with some fun vocal tracks. Disclaimer: I, in no way am pursuing a music career. I just happened to be a willing participant to my genius bfriend's production skills. As soon as I figure out how to post an mp3, I'll get it to you hot and fresh.

what are YOU wearing this valentine's day?

will u be dressing up nice for someone special today (even if it's yo'self that is someone nice)? well come on over to my hsn fashion column for the simple sexy tips of how to dress your best for a date. p.s. it would be an extra special v-day for me, if you would comment ON THE HSN COMMENT BOARD. thanks kindly lovebug!

universal heartbeat

this is HIGH-larious. I was on youtube searching for a love song to post to my special v-day myspace profile and came across a juliana hatfield video I was in from 1995. can u spot me at 17 years old?

fall 2008 fashion week

forgive this trendster for not making a peep during new york's fall 2008 show of fashion week but I was tre busy and watching from afar to get a true sense of who my favorites were. no surprise that oscar de la renta hits it out of the fashion field every time. I was very impressed with the fresh and polished looks that came down the tommy hilfiger runway. and I love the edge of rock n' repbulic and adam + eve. its fall, so expect lots of creams, caramels, naturals, blacks and purple.

grammy weekend

the grammys are happening tonite which means hollywood has been hopping all week long with grammy parties. last night s. and I hit up the rock the vote private party thrown by the roots at the key club on sunset. my producer bud damon passed over his all-access passes for the event allowing me and s. to get down with the east coasters in a west coast funk fest. not only were we treated to an open bar but there were star sightings galore from ryan phillipe and gfriend abby cornish to missy elliott, raven simone, will.i.am, even buddha from this past season's I love new york. the music performances were incredible and we got to see jam sessions with ?estlove, fall out boy, doug e. fresh, corinne bailey rae, travis barker and SEAL!!? up and comers J*davey threw it down and we ended up leaving at 4am when the joint was still jumping. only on hollywood.

DJ RED 5 at Zanzibar

Last night Saundi DJ'd Zanzibar. He plays some smooooove music. As a result he picked up a monthly at Little Temple in Santa Monica happening the first Wednesday of each month. I sure hope you can make the next one. Things are going to get sexy!

NEW YORK GIANTS #1

even for lil ol' stylephile like me, I know a good game when I see one. watching my hometown whoomp new england's arse was a california treat. let's go giants!!!!

america's next top idol

I had the pleasure of auditioning for american idol yesterday. yup, THE american idol. but sadly no, not the singing portion. I was too young to compete. ha. I am now in the running however for a gig as an on-air Stylist for the show. even if I don't make it past this portion to "get to Hollywood", I still got a fun prize at the audition. one of the models from the janice dickinson show (which is produced by idol's fremantle media) works as an assistant in the office and any chance to see one of my fave celeb-reality show peeps in person is a secret treat for me. now if only I make it onto the show I can make reality teevee a reality.

SAG style

I was glad to see the celebs working the red carpet again for this years SAG awards. since it is an award show that awards actors, it was a pleasant show of performer support despite the writers strike that is proving to be the straw that broke the entertainment industry's back. the dresses were a statement in individuality and it was a breath of fresh fashion to see people making some bold choices, both good and bad (and very very ugly). we'll start with the bad news: what was jane krakowski wearing? that over embellished neckline looked like a beehive of plastic beads!? a beautiful color but the heaviness of it threw the couture off its course. sandra oh who is a favorite of mine looked like she was swallowed up by a huge black dress then tied up in a bright pink bow. bad. very bad. as for the good: the award goes to christina applegate. she looked stunning in a glamorous flapper beaded throwback floor length. stunning. I loved the bright pops of yellow (color to watch for Spring!) and the fact that Metallic is now a major Hollywood player. Hemlines were long and necklines were left sleveless, strapless and bare with the colors and cuts being the main accessory of the night.

super deluxe style!

trends ahoy! or is that chips?

it's a new year full of possibilities, hope and change as the politicians continue to remind us. don't get me wrong. change is great and certainly needed to keep us moving forward. a change is gonna come and if you're not prepared it can rock your socks off and I don't mean of the athletic variety. a perfect start to take control of our changing world is to take charge of your personal space, so let's start with what's on your person...

if you don't know what to keep or cleanse, go with this trick: if you haven't worn something in over six months, ditch it. if it's well-preserved you may get money for it by bringing it to buffalo exchange. I racked up a couple hundred bucks and unloaded a ton of stuff doing this. and as always, its better to give then to receive so if you don't have a buffalo exchange in your area, pack it up for goodwill.

as for what you keep, save the metallics. they're still ice hot. especially this shift rocker from laROK or this sexy gold heel from steve madden. if you're looking to add a few key pieces go for naturals but as natural conjures up visions of woody harrelson smelling of patchouli and playing the bongos nekkid, I prefer to say eco-fab fashions of wood, stones and other natural materials. h&m has a great collection of pure cotton coming in to stores for spring. pair a tee with these fun wooden bangles from target to score major socially conscious style points.

sheesh, I'm still thinking of that woody harrelson bit. and no, nekkid isn't the men trend du jour. but rufus is! not only is the menswear line known for its updated traditionalist styles that have become the contemporary status quo of cool but they've just added accessories into the mix with pocketsquares, bowties and ties .

if I still have your most treasured and appreciated attention, I hope you won't mind a few more words from the world of Jess Zaino...

I'm on Style Network's How Do I Look?, this Monday, January 21 at 9pm

I will be appearing live on HSN January 30 and 31st at 10pm EST talking about the natural and metallic trends I mention here

You can always log on to my monthly fashion writings on the HSN fashion homepage (and while you're there, pick yourself out something nice)

Who is this wild Jess Zaino? For a fun look into my fashionista life, check out this interview I had with Fashionalities

And that concludes the trend portion of this style session. Thank you kindly for the time. Let me know what's going on in your 2008 and live long and prosper fashionably.
Love ya like a sis,
Jess