Catching Up with Samantha Swetra Of 'The City'

Long before Whitney Port made a habit of showing her designs at New York Fashion Week, she was a SoCal girl struggling to acclimate to her new home in The City. Luckily, when the chill of Manhattan seemed like too much to bear, the "Hills" export found a good friend in Sami Swetra, who shared her passion for fashion and was never not smiling.
Swetra, who worked at Bergdorf Goodman when we saw her last, was a consummate source of relationship advice for Whit and helped the newbie cement her status as a New Yorker by taking her to get her first pair of big-brand shoes. Since the show, she's swept up a spot as an executive at a luxury retailer and is navigating a long-term relationship with a Frenchman! Ah, metropolis...
Read what Sami told Remote Control below, check out her Wear The Wild blog for some insider style musings and follow her on Twitter for a first-person account of NYC fashion!
What was your personal path like to New York?
I came from a small town in New Jersey and always dreamed of living in New York City. I worked my ass off in high school to get to New York, then worked my ass off in college to land myself a position at Bergdorf, and voila--it all payed off!
The "Weekend at Freddie’s" debacle was one of MTV's best awkward moments--was it really as cringe-worthy as it seemed?
Oh, my God--you have no idea. The 10 minutes you saw made it look bearable compared to how it really was! But looking back at it now it's very amusing, and at the end of the day, Freddie is still one of my super close friends. He's the guy I call for advice!
We saw you champion Whitney and see her through some firsts in New York--her first pair of Manolos, her first big meeting with a buyer... What have been some of your exciting "New York" firsts?
I've been here for eight years, and there are so many. New York is a place where anything can happen! I, too, bought my first pair of designer shoes here. Then later met the designer, Giuseppe Zanotti, and went to dinner with him and his team. I met my first New York boyfriend on the subway after getting on the wrong bound train. I had sushi for my first time and I shared a bedroom for the first time (not in the boyfriend way...).
The last time we saw you, Roxy was crashing on your couch while moving out of her shared apartment with Whitney. What have you been up to since "The City" career-wise? In your personal life? Do you still keep in touch with any of the girls?
I'm currently an account executive at Roberto Cavalli. I learned so much from my experience at Bergdorf--that job dovetailed very nicely into my new position. I'm a really hands-on type of person so being around the clothing all day suits me.
I have the same group of friends that I had while filming "The City." I live with my French boyfriend of a little more than a year, and I've been slowly but surely learning French for him (I mean me...)! As far as Whit and I go, she's still a very close friend! Anytime we're in the same city, we make sure we fit in a date night. Roxy and I still keep in touch, and the last time I saw her was maybe seven months ago in London. Whit was with us, too. Then there's Freddie who's like a brother to me!
What's next for you?
Well, my new job at Cavalli is really the perfect fit for me and the right direction for my career path. I wanted to relay the knowledge I gained from Bergdorf over to the wholesale side of the business. Also, my blog "Wear The Wild" shows a little piece of my life. Styling is my passion, and after "The City," I wanted people to see what I was up to.
What advice would you give someone who wants to move to New York and get into fashion?
I would tell them to just do it! Where there's a will, there's a way. Also, always keep in mind that it's a very small industry, so refrain from pissing someone off!

credit - remotecontrol.mtv.com, thanks Doll!! : )
~Kelli at Hills Freak

There's Going To Be a 'City' Marathon on Logo Tomorrow!

This Saturday 11/12 at 2/1c Logo TV will have it's network premiere of 'The City' and will be run a 4 hour marathon of it to celebrate!
The marathon starts at the very beginning of the series with the episode 'If She Can Make It Here...' which depicts Whitney Port's arrival to New York during the hectic New York Fashion Week.
The marathon continues with 7 more season one episodes, 'The Truth Will Reveal Itself', 'The L Word ', 'Good Things Come In Threes', 'Boys Night Out ', 'He Never Said He Had a Girlfriend', 'The Truth Hurts', and 'Mingling with the Commoners'!
Check out on the Logo TV schedule here to catch more 'City' episodes!

My DVR is already set - yours? Happy Watching! :)
~Kelli at Hills Freak

Samantha Swetra & Lindsay Lohan: Prive Bound

Samantha Swetra & Lindsay Lohan heading to the Prive salon in NYC on March 19, 2011
Sami tweeted: "Monkey in the middle #today"
Click here for more posts on Samantha Swetra
~Kelli at Hills Freak

Samantha Swetra Attends The Alice + Olivia Fall 2011 Presentation At MBFW

Samantha Swetra attends the Alice + Olivia Fall 2011 presentation during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Plaza Hotel on February 14, 2011 in New York City
credit - zimbio
~Kelli at Hills Freak

Whitney Port: Answers Your 'City' Questions

Whitney blogged : Hi guys,
Thanks so much to everyone who left their questions here on my blog. I only had time to answer a few because I've been working like crazy -- hopefully I'll get around to some more in a bit :)
xoxo, Whit
Was there ever a time in The City where you thought you were wrongly portrayed in a scene? And if so, what scene was that?
There have definitely been times where I felt the situation or story told was dramatized or facts didn't really line up. However, who you truly are really does get portrayed. There is only so much editing they can do and no one ever forces you to say anything. All the words that come out of our mouths are a reflection of our personalities. So while it is a TV show and the producers are awesome at making things look super dramatic, we all are very close to the people we are portrayed as.
The season finale of season 2 left a lot of questions unanswered about yours and Roxy's relationship. Did you two reconcile and are you still in touch?
We have definitely reconciled and talk all the time. We have been traveling quite a bit since the show ended filming so we haven't gotten much face time but I miss her so much and will see her when we are both back from our current trips!
I was just wondering how things went with Kelly since we didn't get to find out. Did you go with the pink girl (I can't remember her name, just that everything was pink), or did you stick with Kelly?
I actually went to work with Alison Brod PR but was never actually represented by Kelly in the first place. She was and is a consultant but did not do the press for my line so it wasn't like I was ditching her!
Why after Jay you didn't show your personal life as much?
I realized that my personal life is something sacred and private. It is the only thing that keeps me sane so I wanted to keep all other opinions out of that equation. From the beginning I have never shown my family (to a large extent) or many of my very very close relationships. While I know I was on a reality show, there was always a boundary I kept.
Do you still have contact with your friends of The Hills? Like Lauren, Audrina and Lo?
I talk to all of them periodically. I ran into Audrina recently at a party which was so nice! I was so proud of her for her recent stint on Dancing with the Stars!
Were a lot of people fake to you in nyc because you were famous, or was it easy to make friends. were the friends you made on the show your real friends and do you still keep in touch with them?
I didn't really make very many friends here because I am a bit of a loner. I'd rather have a very few best friends then a bunch of fringe friends. Roxy and Sami have always been genuine girls and they will always be a part of my life!
Are you going to do any more reality TV? I know that Lauren Conrad is coming out with a new style reality show, will you do anything similar to this?
I hope to continue my career in television. I never knew it was something that would bring me so much joy and fun! I love being involved in the production side of things. But who knows! It is all a work in progress!
Are you and lauren still friends? I used to think it was the only real friendship on The Hills.
We are still friends of course. We will always have an awesome experience in common that is so unique.

credit - Whitney's Official Website
~Kelli at Hills Freak

Whitney Port: Whitney Eve Spring 2011 Show MBFW

Noticeably absent at Whit's presentation were Roxy Olin and Kelly Cutrone. I didn't really expect Kelly to attend but it's odd not to see Roxy there. And note Alison Brod standing next to Whitney (in pink)
credit -fashionshowphotos.net, thecobrasnake, pop sugar
~Kelli at Hills Freak

The 'City' Crew was Filming at at Whitney's Show!

As expected, the Whitney Eve show downtown on Saturday night felt less about the accomplishments of a young designer and more about trying to figure out what angle the crews from The City were working as they trailed Whitney Port through the room. When we last saw La Port chewing on her lip and staring off into middle distance to the beat of sickeningly hip music, she was deciding whether or not to leave the figurative womb of Kelly Cutrone's People's Revolution for the more aggressively pink representation of Alison Brod. After some cunning detective work, we're guessing Brod was the answer: There was a giant boom mike suspended over her head for most of the night as she carried on energetic conversations and made introductions for Whitney, and a camera was trained on her face. What can we say? We notice things, you know?
Port and Brod did throw a nice party: The models arranged themselves on a lit dais along one wall, with a bar tucked off to the left serving mint juleps, and a table of iced cake bites and tiny waffle cones piped full of brightly colored frosting. We overheard Port's City castmate, Bergdorf's buyer Samantha, up-talking with her friends ("Alexander Wang? Is fabulous?") while wearing a black Whitney Eve dress and a stark, messy topknot, the likes of which ought to be paired with a smudged smock and have paintbrushes sticking out of it. A handful of vaguely familiar, vaguely attractive dudes who could've been any one of Whitney's TV boyfriends paraded through the venue as well — one of whom actually was her current squeeze, Ben Nemtin of MTV's The Buried Life. And British personality Louise Roe, who swung by The City this past season to strike professional fear into the heart of villainess Olivia Palermo, showed up to hug and kiss Port, and also to wear a beige bowler hat. Olivia herself, obviously, was nowhere to be found, but we're sure she would've been hatless at least. That's a point for her.
Port, in a fairly awkward olive satin jumpsuit that cinched around the ankles (which, in fairness, did hang well on her, perhaps because she has the figure of a model herself), maintained a very humble and pensive demeanor as she gave interviews about the clothes. She said she looked to her friends for inspiration, and modeled her line after "a girl who wants to follow her dreams, but look good doing it," which sounds like pleasant fashion code for, "I basically just tried really hard not to make it ugly." But Whitney balked when a reporter asked how it felt now that she's made it. "I'm still just trying to get my line out there, to get it seen," Port insisted. "I haven't made it yet, by any means." Then she glanced absently over at her models during the next question. "Sorry, I had to check on my models," she apologized. "They're starting to droop a bit." Aw. Wherever Kelly Cutrone may have been tonight — we didn't see her at the party while we were there — at least she taught her girl well.

This is the first I've heard mention of 'The City' or of any filming in months! This made my week and hopefully yours too : )

credit - The Fug Girls @ The Cut
~Kelli at Hills Freak

Roxy Olin & Sami Swetra: Target Kaleidoscopic Viewing Party

Roxy Olin and Samantha Swetra attend the Target Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular exclusive VIP viewing party at The Standard on August 18, 2010 in New York City.

credit - zimbio
~Kelli at Hills Freak

The City (Season 2): Ep. 11 'Roommate Wanted' - Full Episode, Episode Photos and Behind The Scenes Photos

For anyone outside the US, you may have to watch with a different browser. I recommend: Hotspot Shield, Free VPN or Ultra Reach

Episode Summary:
The tension between Roxy and Whitney builds, and Roxy starts to look for her own place. Olivia reluctantly interviews a celebrity wearing Whitney's line, while Erin sees another opportunity to replace Olivia at the magazine.
credit - mtv

Behind the scenes photos:
Click here to see Whitney, Kelly, Sami and Roxy filming at the 9th annual 'Tulips & Pansies: A Headdress Affair'
Click here to see Photos of Whitney and Roxy filming the moving out scene

~Kelli at Hills Freak