Patty J. is the founder of eponymous PattyJ.com the lifestyle blog voted Rhode Island's best in 2015.

Style, beauty (watch for her Life Changing Tips!), culture in a fashion-y way as she puts it.

Patty and I 'met' via Instagram (HERE's her handle) and she first caught my attention for being humorous and wit, having this thing for coffee (later I found out there's some drops of Italian blood in her veins), but more so, making life in Rhode Island look so inviting, real and cool.

Last week she invited me to be a guest on her blog and I am honored to be her hostess and let her take the mike: read along and travel to Rhode Island on the chic wagon. The Italian way idea is 'travel with curiosity' and after reading this, you will be either wishing to travel to RI asap or say you've visited through her blog.

about patty

After having worked in retail for almost 20 years, I decided to walk away and start something completely different and new - a lifestyle blog - over a year and a half ago.

I loved posting on social media (Facebook was my addiction at the time.) and I had studied writing in college. I mean how hard could it be, right?

Flash forward to this month and it’s the one year anniversary of my blog PattyJ.com, which spotlights great style, food, restaurants, beauty products, and people in (my home state of) Rhode Island and beyond. (It was also voted Best Local Lifestyle Blog 2015 by readers of RI Monthly magazine.)

some more patty

A few more things you should know about me:

I grew up reading and obsessing over every fashion and beauty magazine I could get my hands on (from YM, which gave Rachel Zoe her start btw, and Seventeen to Allure, huge fan of Linda Wells here, Vogue, and Vanity Fair), but these days (like so many of my fellow bloggers) I find myself getting most of my inspiration and info from Apps like Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter.
People tell me my skin looks nice nowadays, but as a teen, I had horrible acne and tried everything from drugstore products to Accutane to fix it. That being said, one of my hobbies today is buying and trying the latest in skincare from places like Sephora. #SkincareJunkie
I can’t start my day with a grande skinny latte and am known on IG (and my blog) for my deep passionate love of coffee and all things related to it.
When not working on the blog or watching reality tv on Bravo (Watch What Happens Live or The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are my drugs of choice.), you will find me doing Pure Barre, shopping Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods or dog sitting my nieces’ Golden Doodle and Husky.

favorite restaurants & food in Rhode Island

RI is the smallest state, but we are jam packed with fantastic restaurants and have even received accolades because of this. Here are some of the ones I go back to again and again are:

The Garden Grille in Pawtucket: A few years back, I started eating more veggies (and fruits) and less red meat and chicken. That’s when I found this charming spot. It’s small but cozy and clean and (most importantly) offers some of the freshest and best tasting vegetarian food you’ll ever have. Ever. As a matter of fact, if you’re traveling with someone who turns their nose up at veggie fare, take them to GG. They will become a convert. My go-to items on the menu: the Tai Tomato Soup, Squash Quesadilla (black beans, squash, avocado, and cheese), and the Reggie’s Raw Heaven Salad (perfect for lunch during early fall, spring, and the heat of the summer - so refreshing!
Julian’s on Broadway in Providence: This restaurant was one of the first to open in the neighborhood where I grew up which has now become the Williamsburg (trendy Brooklyn neighborhood) in Providence (RI) and there’s always a wait to get a table - because the food is outstanding. The decor is also a mix of rock n’ roll, kitsch, and modern art (Every month or so, the art on the walls changes. Julian’s seeks out local artists and exhibits their work FREE of charge.)
Dave’s Coffee - I’ve been drinking Starbucks for at least a decade, but recently tried Dave’s (a local coffee company) Honey Soy Latte and it knocked my socks off! With two locations, one on South Main St in PVD and the other at the Galapagos Boutique in Charlestown (which is a must see destination if, like me, you live to shop…Galapagos has awesome denim, tops, accessories, and even menswear.).

PattyJ.com Life Changing Tips

Is your hair coarse? Frizzy? Does it always look damaged no matter what products you buy? Ask your hairstylist about either a Keratin Express Treatment. It takes about 1 - 1.5 hours and lasts up to three months. This is something that will give you healthier and smoother looking hair. You can even leave your house without having to spend another 1/2 hour to an hour ironing your hair with the straightening iron. Yay! [READ here the full story]
Find yourself a good cobbler. You’ll save tons of money in the long run because a skilled cobbler will resole and/or recondition your worn out shoes (No more tossing out your favorite pairs!) and even repair your leather belts and handbags. They will even replace the heel caps (which I wear thru constantly) and add sole saving toe caps. The cobbler will be your new BFF.
The dryer is, however, NOT your BFF. Stop putting your clothes in the dryer asap - The heat only helps fade them and break down the fabric a lot quicker. Air drying will keep them newer looking longer. I like to wash as much as I can (including dark wash jeans) on DELICATE and hang to dry on Huggable Hangers from Joy Mangano (available at both Target and the Container Store). Huggable Hangers are also the easiest way to organize your closet because they’re ‘skinnier’ and take up less space than traditional wooden hangers or the plastic ones still floating around out there.
Need to rewind and get back on track after a little too much wine or a few too many desserts? We’ve all been there. My two part solution is to start by adding a fresh juice for breakfast or lunch (My local juice bar is Wildflour Vegan Cafe & Bakery in Pawtucket, RI.) as well as 1-2 yoga classes or visits to the Infrared Sauna. I recently discovered the benefits of Infrared Sauna and it helped me get back into my high waisted jeans after overindulging in everything from Waffles & Cream to homemade ice cream.

Many thanks to Francesca for including me on her very cool site. I’m a huge fan of just about everything she does on ChicFB.com and on Instagram. I hope you’ll also click over to PattyJ.com and see some of the fabulous content from me and some of my RI friends.

You know that feeling of knowing a person before meeting said person?

What I knew of Dijana was very little and consisted of the booklet on my seat and the 15 minutes of the runway show at the Bass Museum. I generally trust my guts and let them work for me when they want to, and, as it turned out, my impressions were not far off.

Dijana swim celebrates “symmetry, purity, sensuality, renewal and beauty” it said on the booklet, enough to peak my curiosity. The right amount of fashion poetry and I wanted to read more, while seating among the A-listers waiting for the show to commence.

Dijana expresses love and gratitude to everyone who helped with this journey, 118 to be exact and that includes Wuppi, her beloved dog.

The recurring symbols throughout the collections are the lotus flower, the bamboo and the triangle.

The first representing the rebirth from the mud, is a tribute to a friend who passed away recently.

The bamboo is the predominant print which represents the balance between flexibility and resiliency against adversity.

The downward triangle is the ultimate representation of femininity.

Wasn’t that enough to wanting to meet with her?

Our conversation went from drones to generosity, from Nespresso to compassion, from puppy love to entrepreneurial hurdles, from Goldie Hawn to sustainability, and, how much our patience and compassion get put under test by people with no manners.

Dijana is an all-encompassed business woman who started her new adventure from scratch, that is: coming from an artistic background, having no previous experience in fashion but a clear intuition of what she wanted.

Sheer determination and a great dose of humbleness characterize her personality and her approach to everything, from friends to business.

“I need to understand”

— Dijana on the production process

“I need to understand” is a way of approaching life that brought her to put together a flawless collection in a few months. And you have got to believe me in this: the samples are impeccable, they went through the rough waters of a runway and three days of exhibiting at the Cabana show. They have been touched, worn, taken inside out, tested, washed and yet, not one thread out of place.

She wakes up as early as 6 am and is at the mill all day, something unusual and out of the ordinary in Miami.

DM - “You have to understand that nobody has ever been allowed in as consistently as me, but everybody, from the owner to the seamstresses and the drivers, has been so compassionate and understanding that we almost became an extended family."

Same with Roberto, the grumpy and intimidating big guy of the only place in town that makes strings (you know those strings that tie your bikini top or bottom) when he seemed not to be leaning towards her idea of a thinner string without internal elastic. You know that annoying feeling of having the marks on your skin from your bathing suit when you lay on the chaise longue?

Well ain’t gonna happen with her bikinis, Roberto caved in, went the extra mile to accommodate her requests and agreed to produce the most subtle and imperceptible string that ties her bikinis.

Because she is like this: she works hard, as hard as anyone else that she surrounded herself with and doesn’t get no as an answer, not capriciously though, but with an intent and the sweetest disarming smile.

Putting up the Ritz in a few months with so many telling her she was crazy, faced her with the ‘impossible’ word one too many times that the Leo in her took over and, voila’, she made it happen.

However, not all roses come without thorns and challenges became the inception of a dream come true.

“I love to be put in the dark spot”

— Dijana on challenges

“I love to be put in the dark spot, to have that grey day, because all that comes out of it is a success, a solution, like a rebirth into a better me.”

Like when, this past December, she couldn’t find the fabric she wanted and was originally directed to look into the wrong direction by whom had diverging interests from what were her requests. It took her the spur of the moment determination and one full Sunday of emailing from her office in Miami Beach, to find the mill she is currently working with.

How did you know that it was that the one?

DM – They were the first one to promptly send samples, within that same week.

Was it what you wanted?

DM - Exactly it, 5000 miles away they got it.

The exclusive bamboo print with her signature had more or less the same trajectory: found the best of the best, adapted to her vision and produced. A common path, passion and workmanship are a commitment for life wherever you are.

Her seamstresses were sitting first row at the show, not exactly a publicist's dream in a restricted seated environment, but she didn't want them standing, because if she made it there it’s thanks to all who have passionately contributed.

And it proved her right, who, if not them, would be proud of every piece that went down the catwalk?

She believes in the energy and its power infused in every hour spent sawing a piece. Every seam is impregnated with the feelings of the seamstress, it reminded me of “Like water for chocolate” while she touched one long billowy dress and remembered when Margarita was making it. See? That’s what Dijana stands. As a responsible fashion entrepreneur, she has a strong opinion on sustainability, hence the use of polyester, a synthetic fabric yet the one with the least environmental impact. It was in a blink of an eye that she mentioned the movie “The True Cost” produced to document the environmental and human cost of fast-fashion and the reproachable consequences on economy.

Her friends tell her “you need a vacation”.

“Not now, I can’t, I’d feel like abandoning my creation after having worked so hard.”

When they say if you do what you are passionate about, it won’t feel like work.