In a hilarious turn of events, 2009 and 2010 became all about eight toned and tanned self-professed Guidos and Guidettes cast by MTV to spend a summer together at the Jersey Shore.
We watched as they hooked up, fought, partied and searched, in vain, for love on the infamous Jersey Shore. For those of us who have never summered on the shore, we are left to assume that the Jersey stereotypes presented on the show do ring true. But really, who cares? Jersey Shore clearly made for great television.
Slowly we began to admit to our friends and our colleagues that we liked to watch. I, myself, refused to tune in until the first season of the show was well into reruns, hoping to avoid succumbing to what I chalked up to low-brow generation Y fodder. No dice. As soon as I watched an episode of Jersey Shore I was laughing out loud, rooting for certain cast members, while simultaneously expressing my disdain for others, but bottom line, I was hooked.
Jenni “JWoWW” Farley stood out for me with her over-the-top curves and her bold personality. The fact that she’s also from Long Island didn’t hurt. Her nickname, “JWoWW,” it’s sort of a self-proclamation of fabulousness that says, “I make an entrance!”
I recently spoke with Jenni Farley about her new beach and nightclub inspired clothing line, Filthy Couture. The line is reflective of the Jenni JWoWW lifestyle she leads - princess of the summer beach and dance club scene - from The Hamptons and the Jersey Shore to the beaches of Miami where the second season of Jersey Shore was filmed.
PR.com (Allison Kugel): How did the Jersey Shore cast get their nicknames? Did the producers give you your names, or was JWoWW your nickname to begin with?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: They were all ours to begin with. I got mine from an emcee in The Hamptons. It was a beach club that we used to go to called Neptune. When I started working there I got the name.
PR.com: Was it because of the boobs or your personality?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I think it was both. Every time I walked by him when he was on the mic he would yell, “Wow!” Six months later I started working with him and we just kind of made up the name as a joke because of that, like, Jenni WoWW. Then it got shortened to JWoWW.
PR.com: How did Jersey Shore come about for you? How did you hear about the casting call?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: They cast at a nightclub I worked at for [the show] Paris Hilton’s My New BFF. My gay best friend wanted to be on that show really bad, so I signed up with him and I guess it was the same casting company. Less than a month later they asked me if I would be interested in a Guido show.
PR.com: Do you come from Long Island or upstate New York?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I was born in upstate New York and I live on Long Island.
PR.com: Do you consider yourself a Guidette, or is that just a [social] scene that you are into?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: It’s a scene. At the end of the day if I had to put a name to it, I guess it would be Guido and Guidette, but it is definitely a scene. I think Long Island has the most dense population of Guidos and Guidettes; that and Jersey.
PR.com: How do you compare spending time on the Jersey Shore to spending time in Miami, as far as the clubs and the guys?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: The clubs in Miami are awesome, and they are open later. In Jersey they close at 2 AM, and in Miami they close at 5 or 6 AM. But there are no Guidos and Guidettes in Miami.
PR.com: Are you into Miami guys?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: No. They’re either Spanish or gay (laughs). I made a lot of gay friends though.
PR.com: Are you the type of girl who likes to have the gay best friend?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Yes, the gay best friend!
PR.com: At what point last year did you realize that your life had really changed as a result of being on Jersey Shore?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I guess just flying out to LA and going to the awards shows and things like that, and being recognized on the street. I never thought it would be like this, and it’s definitely surreal. But it’s a once in a lifetime thing, so I just kind of live it up and enjoy it.
PR.com: How many club appearances do you guys make? And is making appearances a regular job for you now?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: By our contract we are only allowed two a week, and it’s all [arranged by] us.
PR.com: And you went from computer programmer to fashion designer recently…
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I’ve done both. I got the degree in computer programming when I was twenty-one, and then I moved down to New York. That’s the reason why I moved to Long Island, was for graphic design and animation, and designing for fashion. I have two degrees in it.
PR.com: What is the signature look of Filthy Couture? Sum up the line.
Jenni JWoWW Farley: As of right now we have dresses and bathing suits. In the fall we’ll have T-shirts and jeans. The dresses are going to be sexy and then they can be elegant; same thing with the bathing suits. Some of the bathing suits will be girly, and other bathing suits will be kind of like rocker. The T-shirts and jeans are going to be more grungy.
PR.com: Is Filthy Couture completely designed by you?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I design and then I had people just create it. I am not a good seamstress (laughs).
PR.com: If you don’t have JWoWW boobies can you still fit into the Filthy Couture dresses?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Yes, we made sure that they’ll have padding in them and inserted bras, so you’ll be able to have the look; and some of the bathing suits as well.
PR.com: Where is Filthy Couture available?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: As of right now it’s at filthycouture.com only, and we are going to start looking into putting it in some stores.
PR.com: What makes the second season of Jersey Shore different from the first, aside from being in Miami instead of New Jersey?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Last year we were trying to get to know each other, you know what I mean? We were eight people new in a house. Now, this year we knew each other. We know how to push each other’s buttons. We didn’t have to make friends. We were already like a family. But there is more drama. Nobody took anyone’s crap this season.
PR.com: Is there still any sexual chemistry in the house between some of the cast?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: You’ll have to wait and see, but there are new hookups.
PR.com: Who do you hang out with from the Jersey Shore cast when you’re not filming?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I was with Vinny over the weekend. I try to see Nicole [“Snooki” Polizzi] as much as I can. And Pauly [D] is going to be there for Vegas. All in all, we still like to try to see each other when we’re not filming. But we do see each other a lot with promotions.
PR.com: What are you doing out in Las Vegas?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I will be doing my runway show at The Palms on July 3rd, and Pauly, I think is deejaying at The Palms as well.
PR.com: What’s a typical JWoWW day like lately?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Everyday life is designing and really trying to push for the designs for the clothes, getting ready for the fashion show, setting up my networking site; it’s on JWoWW.com, where we are going to be doing live chats and things like that. Also, testing new products that I want to put out, and just making sure that when everything goes out into the real world that it will all be perfected.
PR.com: How would you describe your type of guy?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Well, I’ve been dating Tom for a year now…
PR.com: Same guy you were dating on the first season of Jersey Shore?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Yes.
PR.com: Everything worked out for you then…
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Yeah, everything worked out.
PR.com: Have your parents seen Jersey Shore? And what are their thoughts on the show?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: They love it. They think it’s hysterical. At the end of the day, they raised me well. I was already moved out of the house, and on my own. They just see it as another way of being successful and they are happy for me. They save every news clipping and article, and they watch everything that I’m on.
PR.com: When you’re filming, what is the arrangement? Do you have the right to tell the cameras to leave if you want, or do they have full access to you 24/7?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: It’s filmed 24/7, and it’s like they’re not even there.
PR.com: How many summers have you actually spent on the Jersey Shore?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: Just last year. I was a Hamptons girl.
PR.com: How would you compare The Hamptons to the Jersey Shore?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: The Hamptons is more for older people. It’s more of an upscale, older crowd, whereas the Jersey Shore is definitely for college students who just want to party.
PR.com: Is it possible to find love on the Jersey Shore?
Jenni JWoWW Farley: I’m gonna say probably not. The problem with the Jersey Shore is it’s a whole summer thing. You don’t want to settle down until after September.
Catch the second season of Jersey Shore July 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. JWoWW’s Filthy Couture clothing line is available at filthycouture.com.