CELEBRITY SIBLINGS: The Scali Sisters of Jersey Couture

Photo by Pop Culture Passionistas

The new season of Jersey Couture began last night and we are happy to have the Scalis back on our TV sets. Last year the series debuted and we fell in love with the family from New Jersey. Mom, Diane, owns a dress shop called Diane & Co., and daughters, Kimberly Gambale and Christina Scali, work with her. Together they make women all over the New Jersey area feel like princesses for all sorts of occasions — from sweet 16 parties to proms to weddings and much more.

The Scali woman know that every occasion needs the perfect dress and they will stop at nothing to help her find it. On a recent conference call interview we spoke with Kimberly about how the show has affected business and what it's like working with her sister.

Kimberly is the oldest of Diane's two daughters and she is also the only one married. Last season viewers met her husband Jerome and their daughter Francesca. This time around they introduce the latest addition, their new son Lorenzo. But besides her two human children, Kimberly's third baby is Diane and Co. Her responsibilities at the shop include running the sales floor and the online business as well as the stores signature "Fluff Me" service. The sisters provide pampering from hair to make-up and more on the day of the customer's special event. Kimberly stated, "The reputation that we've had was always customer service and that's what we've pride ourselves on."

She told us that doing the series has definitely affected business. "We were a busy boutique to begin with before the show… Following of the show, we were just blessed to have a ton more customers from outside of our area, which makes it great. We had people fly in from Taiwan. We get people from the west coast."

But the popularity is not necessarily always a blessing. Kimberly divulged, "With the good also comes the bad. We love meeting the fans of the show and we love meeting people. But you still get the people that come in and say they need a dress, but they really just want to meet us and see the experience. They get the two hours of trying on, but they're really not interested in buying a dress."

She said to solve that problem they tell viewers, "Just take pictures with us and meet us as a fan. Don't play like you're not interested in meeting with us and just do it from behind the scenes." She continued, "We take our jobs very seriously. The show is secondary to our business and our family. It's an overall amazing experience. We are just blessed to have so many people that just love us for the family that we are. You can't ask for more than that."

As sisters ourselves, we are always curious to hear how siblings who work together get along. Kimberly admitted, "The hardest part I would have to say is we're both right. It's never like, 'Oh you're right' or 'You're right.' Everybody has to be right. In our family, whoever can scream the loudest wins."

The siblings do bicker quite a bit on the show, and it makes for very entertaining TV. But Kimberly assured us it is not played up for the audience. "What you see on our show, I can honestly say, is all reality. What you see is what you get. There is nothing sugar coated for the camera and we're just blessed to get along. We have our fights, we have our screaming matches, but at the end of the day, you suck it up and you start the day over the next day and you're over it. It's a great thing to work with your family, but it's not the easiest."

Tune in to Jersey Couture on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST/ 9 p.m. Central on Oxygen.

For related stories check out:
An Interview with the Women of Jersey Couture
SallyAnn Salsano Is a Big Wig on the Jersey Shore


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