Gym, tan...leopard? Yes, we know that's not the mantra emblazoned in the minds of Jersey Shore fans the world over. And, yet, it's hard not to argue that those were the words Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi lived by during her early years in Seaside Heights.
Though raised in Marlboro, N.Y., the self-described meatball became known for embodying the trucker hats, hair poofs and general blinged-out, bedazzled excess that is practically synonymous with Jersey in the late '00s, having never met a cheetah or leopard print she wouldn't happily drape over her 4-foot-8 frame.
"I call it 'my color,'" she told E! News in a recent phone interview of her beloved animal prints. "It's still my go-to. I mean, I don't rock it as much because I usually look homeless and I'm wearing like baggy clothes."
Now busy parenting Lorenzo, 9, Giovanna, 7, and Angelo, 2, with husband of nearly seven years Jionni LaValle, the 33-year-old is more likely to be kicking it in her mom uniform of cozy leggings and oversized sweatshirts.
"I was definitely more fun when it comes to dressing back then," she admitted. "Now being a mom of three like, I live in leggings. I don't do my makeup. I don't brush my hair. I just don't do anything for me unless I'm going out with the girls or I'm doing a nice dinner."
But just because she's not in Christian Audigier or curve-hugging satin doesn't mean she's any less of a good time.
These days, however, instead of shots of So Co and coconut rum concoctions, she's pouring herself a glass of red (or white!) from her newly launched Messy Mawma line, a collaboration with Summerland Wine Brands.
"I've literally been trying to make my own wine brands for three years now," she says of sipping her way through a few vinos before finding her perfect Tantrum Chardonnay and Chaos Cab. "And I'm so excited because I'm a wine connoisseur and as a mom, I just feel like wine is, like, my saving grace especially after a crazy day. Like a glass of wine, I'm, like, 'Yes, thank you.'"
That feeling of finally uncorking a bottle post-bedtime routine was the inspiration behind the brand.
"Messy Mawma is just, like, a person that is so messy but still has her s--t together. You know what I mean?" she explained. "Like still gets things done but not in a cookie-cutter type way. And yeah, that's me."
So what better way to celebrate (other than raising a glass, of course), but by toasting to Polizzi's very un-cookie-cutter-like fashions of the past decade? She tells E! News the story behind the missteps (hint: alcohol may have been involved) and what styles still deserve an enthusiastic fist pump.