We All Make Mistakes

First off, the Luca Luca scene. Can you talk a little more about what being in the front row of a fashion show means? How exclusive is it?

I love fashion week. The failure or success of any business is buying "right". I help buy fabrics for Zarin Fabrics, and it is important to identify color and pattern trends in the clothing industry as it translates to some extent into home furnishings. With that said, of course I love to buy clothes and this gives me a chance to see the newest lines before they get to the stores. Fashion shows are put on to impress the store buyers as well as the fashion industry making seats hard to come by. Over time, I have developed relationships with different fashion houses as a customer and get invited to their shows. It is an honor to be invited to sit in the front row, but not an entitlement. If I am asked to attend as a front row guest, I like to wear the designers clothes and get a little more dressed up than I might if not in the front row. Allyson's first day of school was the same day as the Luca Luca Show. I had already accepted their invitation to sit in the front row and bought a Luca Luca suit before I realized the conflict. I am a woman of my word and felt the right thing to do was go. Honestly, I was having a bad day, was not in a good mood and felt guilty not being at school when she got out at 3 pm. When Luca Luca made the mistake, they offered kindly to re-seat me. We all make mistakes. I look forward to their Fall 2008 show! I am a big Luca Luca fan and customer.

You met Alex! What were your impressions of her and her husband?

Honestly, I like them very much. They have the cutest children and are wonderful parents. Francois calls me his girlfriend!

Ally and LuAnn's daughter connected at the 17 party. Are they still friendly? How was the party?

Yes, they have become good friends. The party was very noisy and we only stayed an hour. But I know Ally is a big fan of Ne-Yo and it was a special night she will always remember.

Your mother is a great character. Can you talk a little more about her and your relationship? Maybe her background?

Education has always been a priority in my family. My maternal grandmother, grandma Syl, was in the first graduating class at LIU and went to Harvard Summer School, My mother has her BA and Masters from NYU and was a professor at a local college growing up. She chose that career so she could be home for us after school but she should have been a fashion designer. My mother is much more than a mother. She is my mentor, friend and role model. My mother always tells me the way it is, even if I don't want to hear it or don't agree with her. I always say I am a mere imitation and she is the "original". I can sum it up saying that everything I learned, I learned through my mother. She always tells me the right thing to do, and -- I hate to admit it -- she is always right. And anything else you'd like to talk about!

I want to thank everyone for all their blogs on bravotv.com and emails to jillzarin.com. I read them all and respond to each of them. My stepson is still very sick and the doctors are still not 100% sure what caused him to get so sick. They think it is a Rhuemetological disease and are waiting for more tests to come back. It is a process of elimination rather than a test to find out the exact illness. Ironically, one of the reasons I did The Real Housewives of New York City was to bring awareness to Arthritis and educate the public that there is no cure, only treatment for pain. Now, it appears my stepson has a Rhuematic disease and we will work as hard as we can to help find cures for each of these illnesses. He is stable right now with the help of prayer and great medical care that he is receiving in the hospital. We watched tonight's episode together in the hospital and it made us all laugh for an hour. Seeing him laugh for the first time in a week made it all worth it. This show is meant to entertain you and take you out of your lives and into ours for one hour a week. I hope it works for you the way it worked for us tonight.

On a professional note, I am still working with my sister on her radio show, Live With Lisa, trying to book fantastic guests. We canceled our trip for Spring Break in order to be with Bobby' son around the clock, so Ally is hanging out with all of her friends who are in the city. Like everyone, I can't wait to see next week's episode. And if you see me on the streets of New York, please say hi!

Love, Jill