retro shade

on my first day of seventh grade at sagamore junior high school, I wore a burnt sienna cable knit sweater, jeans that met with scrunched white socks in penny loafers (influenced by my dad complete with penny). to finish the look, I had a pair of really cool shades that I loved and wore with trendy pride. how very MLK. I found those same wayfarer glasses today in forever 21 for $6.80. that's an A in history and style.

maui'd

I have seen several close friends get married and even helped a few pick out a dress but yesterday I had the honor of assisting my bud, evan marc katz with picking out a tux for his halloween wedding. we met up at the men's warehouse in bev hills where he chose a calvin klein number that fit perfectly and a pale-yellow vest and tie combo that will surely have him shining on his big day.

summer in the city

I love coming home to new york if only to spend to spend time with my most cherished bff's. we hit brooklyn’s chez oskar for mojito breakfast then headed to central park for an afro-beat summerstage. if u can hop a flight to nyc for the summer, I highly recommend the park production of hair and a walk across the brooklyn bridge.

I'm in love

can x-mas come early this year?

put it in the papers

if u missed it yesterday, in new york post's, page six was a "we hear" spot that featured the likes of my boy designer matt levine of steelo who is opening his members-only club the eldridge in the next few weeks AND shooting vh1's glam god. two projects you definately don't want to miss. you read it here first.

a good guest

a good guest
arrives slightly late. and leaves on time.
a good guest brings energy and charm and a small present.
a dinner guest engages the person on his right and left.
a party guest mingles and meets everyone.
a house guest is self-sufficient, not needing constant entertainment.
all good guests write thank you notes.
very good guests call the next day.

* courtesy of tiffany & co. *

trendster has left the building

I am currently sequestered in an undisclosed location on an ‘untitled stylist program’ for vh1. I have no phone or computer access until the end of june, so... see you in july! peas and blessings. xo, jess

congrats grad!

after a ten year hiatus, my friend wendi went back to school and graduated yesterday cum laude. she celebrated with a proper pool party at daniela's house atop mt. olympus. it was super fun and for those that need a summer bathing suit when swimming with family and friends, stick with shoshanna.

sex in my city

I just saw sex in the city and I fell in love with it. for any girl or guy who loves and appreciates fashion, miss fields outdid herself with the costumes. bold style with pops of color dominated the screen and the photography of it beautifully framed the unbelievable fashions. I also had a personal revelation that included my newest venture to seek out love. as carrie says, an overwhelming love. I’ve made it this far on my sass alone and have decided to ensconce myself in a new venture. p.s. for any guy who wants to get sex in his city, droves of women are showing up to the film dressed to their nines in their latest. hit up a show and go get that.

swimming with sexy sharks

today was andres' bday and he celebrated in style with a poolside party at the standard downtown. wendi and I made our way down around high noon in the incredible l.a. heat to check out the hot new saturday standard party, swimming with sharks and of course to shoot off some water guns with the birthday boy. here's a trend tip for ya: if you're of the hipster persuasion, make sure to get yourself a pair of neon plastic sunglasses. it is THE look du jour of the downtown set.

fat jew

last night my boy beef was in town from nyc at swinghouse studios with the band he is managing, team facelift as part of a showcase for vimby.com. three dirty doods by the names of fat jew, machine and fonda are a nyc-bred menage a trois of glam-hip hop-improv rock and have already been featured in pagesix and brought in a room full of william morris heavy-hitters so no doubt you'll be hearing more from these guys on the music trend tip.

living on a jet plane

ron just moved back to l.a. from new york so we decided to catch up on ol' times with an afternoon of some light jet plane shopping. sponsored by my fave car company, porsche we took a little taste of the very high life. I'm going with the new jet aviva. where's john travolta when you need him?

upcoming teevee appearances

sometimes I scroll through my Tivo settings and search when I'll be on the boob tube. hey, at least I cop to it, right? my most recent findings state the following:

Monday, 5/12 @1AM I Know My Kids A Star, VH-1

Monday, 5/12 @1PM I Know My Kids A Star, VH-1

Tuesday, 5/13 @3PM I Know My Kids A Star, VH-1

Wednesday, 5/14 @11AM I Know My Kids A Star, VH-1

Thursday, 5/15 @5PM How Do I Look?, Style Network

Saturday, 5/17 @2AM How Do I Look?, Style Network

patricia pumps at payless shoes

last year, uber-fab designer and stylist, patricia field designed an uber-fab line of affordable shows for payless. it proved such a popular collab that she's doing it again. keep an eye at out may 27, 2008 for her newest line of limited gold-detailed tootsies at payless stores everywhere. while you're at it, CLICK HERE to catch a glimpse at patricia field's barbie luxe collection.

$40 a... season!?

on the way home from dropping off my sister at the airport today, I dropped in to steve and barry’s, the store which carries sarah jessica parker’s bitten line. they are having a sale in which EVERYTHING in the store is $8.98 or less?! I am big fan of disposable dresses for the changing seasons and I was able to pick up some of the stylish finds for under $40!? I highly suggest you find the closest steve and barry’s (even if its in a bordering city) to do the same!! you’ll be glad you did.

diamond in the rough

my sister and I were looking for something tre hollywood to do while she was visiting, so we scored some tickets to the jimmy kimmel green room. underneath the el capitan theatre, drinks and yummy treats flow freely in a room that houses friends of the guests and staff. neil diamond was the musical guest and we showed up early enough to catch his sound rehearsal. we then headed in to get some photos with our dad's fave late night sidekick, guillermo and uncle frank. sweeeeeet (caroline).

the weekend of obama

caitlin is still here from mexico city. two weeks and still going strong. this weekend was our weekend of obama. we bought an obama shirt from the farmer's market, an obama canvas bag from agape and went to a phone bank to call indiana on behalf of the primaries. yeah. we're sort of crushing on obama.

say CHEESE!

my sister is visiting from mexico city. I've spoken of her before. she's rad. so smart. so silly. in addition to being an editor for a think tank with the world trade organization out of geneva switzerland, she is a foodie with a food blog and a culinary radio show on public radio out of switzerland entitled 'caitlin's kitchen'. what better way to show a foodie a good time but by taking them to a grilled cheese contest!? I had read about the grilled cheese invitational in several papers and heard their announcements on NPR. however, with all of the press they did, there was no mention of a location. turns out, this group of grilled cheesers are quite the Illuminati. they choose to keep the location a secret so as only the diehard grilled cheese fans will find it. caitlin and I were steadfast on eating that cheese so we took to the streets and after several stops on the web, we took a drive over to the cheese store of silverlake. we walked in calmly showing no signs of the hope we held inside. 'do u know the location of the grilled cheese initiative?', I asked an employee. with a chesire cat smile, she replied with a very clear she knew where it was, 'nope'. thwarted! the shop owner overheard our request and came over with the address xeroed on the back of a piece of paper. he carefully slipped it to us and disappeared back amongst the roquefort and camembert. eureka! we got it. we rushed to the car with little time to spare and made our way to griffith park where the contest was being held. as we walked from our car to the clearing we saw hundreds of people dressed in orange and outrageous costumes. there was a mad max-style thunderdome set up in the round with the chefs in the cooking up their cheesy creations in the middle and then around that were the hundreds of visitors who act as judges. when a new sandwich comes off the pan, the person or part of the group yelling and chanting 'CHEESE' the loudest will be awarded with a sample to judge. upon getting a sandwich , there is a ballot attached to the paper plate in which you judge the grilled cheese on presentation, cheesiness, uniqueness of ingredients and of course, how it tasted. we screamed for cheese as loud as we could and ended up with a lovely pecorino with truffles, an undercooked american, a gloppy and oily cheddar and a pizza-like mozz with oregano. after several pieces and several hours of shouting we were wiped out. on the way to the car, we dreamt up which ingredients we would use to take the grand prize. but we can't tell you that here. you'll have to find it for yourself next year.

house call

last night I attended the 'after the flood: building on a higher ground' exhibition at the museum of architecture and design on wilshire. co-sponsored by brad pitt and his make it right foundation, the traveling exhibition is a series of architectural blueprints of homes that can be built in new orleans in the wake of hurricane katrina. all houses are sustainable and come equipped to brave the strongest of winds and water. it is a spectacular undertaking and the night was beautiful (including the new orleans caramel turtles they passed around for dessert). yummo.

pink flamingo

Can't afford a CHANEL suit? Try a limited edition Le Vernis Nail Color - to some it's just as chic. Do you recall the vampy dripping dark red that Uma Thurman wore in Pulp Fiction almost a decade ago? Of course you do. It was Chanel's Vamp and it instantly became part of our polish pop culture. How about last year's pandomium that followed Chanel's Black Satin polish? Before the store's were stocked up, the limited edition color had sold out. Each season, Chanel comes out with a Limited Edition color that sells for $19 a bottle and you can you bet your twice monthly Mani/Pedi that the color sells out before the season even starts. Right now, Chanel Le Vernis Nail Color is offering a Limited Edition Blue Satin for Spring 2008 but this month the Summer 2008 collection is released and with it, a bright pink polish named Flamingo and the frosted golden-brown, Antilope.