Thoughts

You know what makes me sad? The fact that this blog is so inactive. We have had only two posts this month (both by Isaac, mine will be the third). Last month we had six total posts, with Isaac drafting four, and Holt and me drafting the other two. Bailey hasn't posted since June and Wilder hasn't posted since December 2007. I have barely been writing. Very sad.

I have seen posts like this on other blogs. The blogger then says that s/he misses blogging and will be better about keeping up with the blog. It's the kiss of death--the blogger rarely returns, and the blog eventually dies.

So I won't say that I'm going to be better. But I will share some thoughts:

1. I hate the Republicans. I can't even talk about the extreme hypocrisy and utter ridiculousness of their tactics (and the frustrating that they seem to be working). It consumes my thoughts way too often.

2. I'm watching Runway right now, and in anything between Kinley and Liane, I'm on Team Liane. I really like her best, but Korto is growing on me. Gobo is really fond of Kinley. He agrees with me that Liane is the best designer of the bunch, but he just has a warm spot in his heart for Kinley.

3. We watched the entire first season of Mad Men over the past month, and are catching up on Season 2. Gobo calls Peggy "Kinley."

4. Also on the Runway topic, I really hate it when Suede talks about himself in the third person. Who does that? Oh! And Heidi just said "...two of you, will be out." She's never said that before.

5. I started watching Big Brother again this summer. I'm pathetic. Luckily, there wasn't all this talk about god and evildoers like last season.

6. In addition to Mad Men, Gobo and I watched season 1 of both How I Met Your Mother and Burn Notice. We're about to start season two of both of those shows.

7. Fall television is starting. I'm really excited to see Pushing Daisies and the Amazing Race again, and I'm sad that I have to wait so long for Friday Night Lights. If I didn't have such an aversion to talking to customer service reps and waiting during a four hour window in the middle of a workday for technicians to install things, I would probably just sign up for DirecTv.

Don't forget the hats!

I know I haven't blogged about this season of Project Runway yet. It's unfortunate I haven't, because there are a lot of things to say. Like how much Suede and his third-person references annoy me, and how Blaine's whole "girl-licious," "diva-licious," and "everything-else-licious" is not only annoying, but a sad and transparent attempt to create a Christian Siriano-esque buzz phrase, and how Leanne's skirt from last week should have been the clear winner, and I'm still disappointed it wasn't.

I kept meaning to blog about this season, and just didn't get around to it. But when I saw that the designers would be creating outfits worthy of an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, I knew I had to pull out the computer.

As you all probably know, I love the Olympic Games. In fact, when this blog started, it was during the Winter Olympics, and Bailey, Holt and I could not stop writing about them. I'm so excited that the Olympics start in two days (and yes, I will be watching, despite the fact that they are taking place in China), and I'm really sad that I won't be working with Holt and Bailey during as the Games take place--I'll miss our discussions about who our Olympic boyfriends are. Yes, I know. We're grown adult women. But honestly, life got pretty boring at work.

Anyway, back to Runway. I won't go through every outfit, because it's really not worth it for the most part. Most glaring was the fact that the large, large majority of the designers just did not seem to understand what the opening ceremony looks like. The most glaring omission: hats. Seriously, where were the hats?!?! Hats are always worn during the opening ceremonies. It's almost like a rule. By far the biggest disappointments was the almost complete lack of headwear.

Two contestant did include a hat, or at least a hat-like covering. First was Joey, who clearly should have been the winner. I'm not sure exactly what his model had on her head--a swimcap, perhaps?--but his outfit really looked like it belonged in the opening ceremony, and he was the only person who used the letters "USA" on his costume. I'm not a big fan of wearing your patriotism on your sleeve, but it's the Olympics! It's the opening ceremony! If ever there were a time to be decked out in red, white and blue with the letters USA on your clothes, this is it. (As a disclaimer, I am pretty much always against skorts. But I made an exception here because the outfit was just so right for the event, and nothing else came close.)

The other person who used a hat ended up in the bottom three. And although I agree that Jerrel's outfit was all over the place, I kind of loved it. Or, as Gobo said, "he shouldn't go home. Some countries actually wear stuff like that during the opening ceremonies." Sure, those are from countries that were probably former Soviet republics, but really, that's not the point. His outfit could be worn on opening day. And he included a hat. The importance of that cannot be underestimated.

As for the rest...there really isn't much I want to say. Daniel's choice not to add the cape to his outfit was clearly idiotic and, like so many of his fellow competitors, just showed a complete lack of understanding of the challenge (and since Kenley--who didn't manage to incorporate red in her outfit--was advising him, she should share some blame as well). Terri and Korta both made nice outfits and I had no issue with them being in the top three, but I definitely felt Joe should have won, with Terri coming in second. I just didn't think Korta's was as appropriate as either of the others' for the games.

Jennifer was eliminated, and rightfully so. I just didn't understand why she chose to make her outfit yellow, white and navy blue. It's the US Olympic team, for heaven's sake! Even Stella managed to incorporate the flag's colors in her design, even if it was mainly black. And speaking of Stella, how she remains in this competition is beyond me. I thought she deserved to be out in the first episode, when she chose flimsy black garbage bags as her "fabric" for the grocery store challenge. She is completely one-trick--all leather and fur and biker sensibilities--and it's completely boring.

Of course, I'm incredibly excited to see what the actual Olympic team will be wearing on Friday. I'm going to bet that there will be hats.

Did any humans die to make this outfit?

On tonight's Project Runway (spoilers ahead), we saw the four remaining designers working on their Fashion Week collections, and then watched as Chris and Rami chose their three top collection designs to show the judges, to determine who would be in the running to win the competition (I won't say to determine who would go to Fashion Week, because we know that all four designers, plus Sweet Pea, got to show at Bryant Park).

The biggest shock that everyone seemed to have was that Chris used human hair in his designs. Everyone seemed grossed out by the idea that human hair was in his designs. But how is that more disgusting than leather? Or fur? I have to imagine the hair came from humans who voluntarily gave it. So why would Heidi be reluctant to wear human hair but had leather Louboutins on her feet while she made that statement?

As for the elimination, I really thought that Chris' three outfits were really great. I particularly loved the jacket and safety pin skirt combo, and the flapper dress with the skirt of hair was cute as well. The Elvira dress looked like it was impossible to walk in, but was still pretty cool if you were six feet tall and weighed 100 pounds. Rami's collection, on the other hand, was not something I loved. I didn't get why he put a chunky sweater over his asymmetric cocktail dress, and I thought the back of the dress was unflattering on his model. The blue coat was kind of cool, but nothing super exciting. The evening dress was his best design, but, as with Chris' evening dress, his model could walk in it.

I thought that Chris was definitely going to make it to the final three, so I was surprised when Rami did instead. I was sad for Chris for a minute, because he really seemed sad, but then I remembered that he still gets to go to Fashion Week!

Next week should be interesting. We didn't get to see much of Christian and Jillian's collections. I wonder if having months to design a collection will benefit Jillian and hurt Christian. Christian was such a fast worker throughout the competition that he was able to finish far more than his competitors under the artificial time pressures the show imposes. Jillian, on the other hand, was a slow worker and struggled to complete her design every week. Now that there are no time constraints, I think Jillian has a great chance of winning the entire competition. Of course, there is really no question that Christian is really talented. As for Rami, my guess is that he'll end up in third place.

No Tim Gunn for Runway?

It appears that Project Runway has not signed Tim Gunn for next season. I can't imagine the show with out him. Seriously people.

Project Runway - Michael Has Lost His Metaphorical Sheen, While Gaining All Kinds of Literal Sparkle

Anybody else terribly worried about Michael after last night's Project Runway? Everything I saw of his was, not to put too fine a point on it, fugly. The piratical cross-ties cinching up his white, show-opening dress were bad enough, but to see them echoed on a "modern urban safari" shirt with freaking GOLDEN SEQUINS on the pockets was just . . . not pretty. It was showing, as the Laura on the show and not on this blog, might say, serious ugly. (I'm so sorry I can't find any pictures!)

I was really interested in what we saw of the other collections though, especially Uli's. The bone belt buckle on the skirt we saw at her Miami apartment was gorg! And how cute was Uli talking about the American dream? I had no idea she grew up in East Germany. It makes her obsession with color and pattern and heat so much more understandable.

Laura's dresses looked stunning. Though the red one with the sparkles inside looked pretty blah on the dress form, but I imagine it will be look better on an actual body. I hope.

And Jeffrey. I felt so horrible for Jeffrey. I really believe that he worked his heart out on this collection, and it's going to be tragic if some taint hangs over him forever because of Laura's accusation. I think it's pretty assy of the producers to leave the question open for a whole week if their ultimate finding next week is that he did nothing wrong. These are serious allegations and it is cruel to hang someone's integrity out to dry for the sake of a "to be continued."

Huh?!?!?!?!

Blogs are reporting that Michael Knight from Project Runway and Brandy are a couple. I'm not sure I believe it.

In any event, Team Knight! I hope he kicks ass on the show tomorrow night.

The easy way out

I am so disgusted with Project Runway. I have generally been disgusted with the show this season--kicking off Alison instead of Vincent, the fat woman/skinny woman unfair challenge, keeping Vincent until the final six--but this past week's episode really takes the cake. (Spoilers, spoilers.)

At the beginning of the season we were told that there would be special rewards for winning a challenge, and sure enough, there were--the designers who had won a challenge were asked back later in the competition. But then there was this past week. Suddenly four designers are going to Olympus Fashion Week? What the hell? Were we told this might be a possibility at the beginning of the season? Nope. And yet it apparently was.

And...why? It wasn't like everyone's design this past week was so great. The judges liked Uli's and thought everyone else's was subpar. So as a reward for a sub-par performance...everyone gets to go to the finals? Where is the logic in this? (On another note, I actually really liked Jeffrey's dress and thought it totally worked with his design sensibilities--I was surprised the judges didn't like it.)

If the show was going to change the rules midstream (or more like endstream), I would have hoped it would be because all of the designs were so phenomenal that they simply couldn't make a choice. But that wasn't the case. Should they have kicked off Michael, who is the clear front-runner? No, I don't think so. But based on his dress this past week, they could have done so. Should they have kicked off Jeffrey, who has been a bit one-note in the past but has also shown creativity, and made an attempt to go outside of his comfort zone with his last design? No, I don't think so. But based on their belief that his dress didn't reflect the work he does, they could have. Should they have kicked off Laura, whose dress seemed well-made, but was exactly like every other dress she has done? (And for that matter, worn on the show.) Another plunging neckline, another sparkly hem? Yes, I do think so. The fact that we are at the end of the competition and they had to tell her that they didn't want her runway show at fashion week to consist of 12 plunging necklines really says a lot about just how one-note she is. Nina Garcia (or was it Michael Kors?) made a great point when she said that it was fine if Laura wanted to do cocktail, but she needed to expand from the same type of cocktail dress. But she has never even tried to do so (and no, I don't think the black and white challenge dress was much of a departure just because it had a straight neckline and cap sleeves). And by the way, plunging necklines are NOT that flattering. If you are tiny enough to wear them, your bones end up sticking out. It's disturbing. And how many AA-cups are there out there anyway?

So what was the problem here? Were the judges just afraid of making a pregnant woman cry?

As a viewer I feel cheated--the rules have always been that three designers make the finals, not four. In season one Austin Scarlett was far superior to Wendy Pepper throughout the season. But Wendy won the challenge and someone had to go, so it was Austin (even though the judges liked his dress, despite thinking it might be fancy for the Grammys). And in season two Kara had become quite popular and had really grown as a designer, but someone had to go, and they thought she had the least potential of the final four.

And this season they couldn't make that call? I don't think so. In the end, the producers just wimped out, and I really don't get why. But as a viewer I don't like being toyed with. The show is about a competition, and it's just wrong to change the rules when the game is almost over. And keeping four designers also makes the elimination of some other designers seem pointless. Sure, Alison might have had a bad day with her yellow dress and Minnie Mouse bow, but why eliminate her that week? Why not just say that they liked Alison so they were going to let everyone stay? Why not? Because the show is about having to make difficult decisions sometimes. And I just can't see how the Alison situation would be any different than what happened this week.

I love Runway, so I'll continue to watch next season, but this season has seemed gimmicky and really left me with a bad taste, and it worries me that the show will only get worse form here on out.

Project Runway

I just have to make one quick comment: Jeffrey is MEAN.

His commentary on Michael's dress and one-pager was just mean-spirited. He looks into the camera and called Michael's idea "STUPID." And you could tell he meant it in the mean kind of way. Now I hate him. When he was rude to Angela's mom I didn't seem to care, but Michael's another story.

Like a cockroach

Project Runway spoilers ahead:

Well, I guess my happiness at seeing Vincent go home last week was short-lived. Every week Heidi says that there will be rewards for winning a challenge that will be revealed later in the show, and I have never really paid attention or wondered what the reward would be. Well, this week we found out: everyone who won a challenge and was later eliminated was invited back to the show for this episode. If the previously-eliminated contestant won this week's challenge, s/he would be back in. But if s/he didn't win outright, s/he would be sent home. Again.

In light of this reward, Angela and Vincent were invited back for this episode. I was surprised to realize that the only challenge winners up until this point were current contestants, Angela and Vincent. Well, and Keith, but I guess the reward for winning a challenge doesn't count when you are disqualified. It would have been great to see Kayne's reaction had Keith returned. Of course, I never felt Keith should have won that first challenge, since all he did was use a sheet to make his dress--it would have been great if Robert had won that first week and been able to return. Oh well.

Sometimes I feel that, becaue of editing, we don't get a real idea of who is liked and who is disliked by the other contestants on the show, but I think it was pretty clear that Angela really was universally-disliked. When Heidi invited her back onto the stage there was just dead silence. No one looked happy to see her. I imagine if Robert or Alison had walked in, everyone would have been clapping and smiling (even if they were actually upset because of the added competition).

The challenge this week--design a cocktail dress using only the colors black and white, and you must use all of your fabric, including the scraps. The results: generally okay, except for Jeffrey's hideous homage to the '80s. (Or, as he sees it "rock and roll," but really--thigh-high leggings? That's the '80s, even if leggings are allegedly making a comeback. I say allegedly because I have yet to see anyone walking the streets in them. Well, anyone other than overweight women pairing the leggings with oversized Looney Tunes tee-shirts.) Angela's design was pretty awful--the collar looked like a torture device--and Vincent's design was certainly nothing great, which sealed their fate for a second time.

And in the end it was no shock who went home: poor, glitzy Kayne. He tried really hard to design something sedate, and I thought it was actually really cute. But I think it came down to the fact that the judges didn't want to eliminate Jeffrey (despite the clear ugliness of his design), because they think he has more potential. And so Kayne was sent packing. I'll miss the glitter!

As for the winner--Laura finally pulled one out. Personally, I did not see the appeal of her dress. In fact, I would have kicked her off before Kayne! It just seemed kind of boring and already-done to me. At least the back of Kayne's dress was interesting, as was the cut. But Laura's seemed very basic and blah. Perhaps it looked better in person? The judges really were all over it, complimenting its "youthfulness." I was a little surprised and would have given the win (again) to Michael.

So it looks like we have the final four that I predicted. I definitely think Michael and Jeffrey are going to the finals. I know I called Uli as the third finalist last week, but now I'm not so sure. The judges really seem to be getting bored with her aesthetic. I think she or Laura can really save themselves by designing something great next week. But if they are both kind of mediocre, I think Laura goes home. I hope so, at least. Otherwise we will be forced to watch a lot of really low necklines, long sleeves with cuffs and fluffy collars.

Project Delusion

Everyone watching Project Runway this season knows that Vincent is totally deluded. But I kind of didn't realize it was quite this bad. You have to read this article from Entertainment Weekly, in which (among other fantastic claims) Vincent tells us he is the only "real" designer out of the Runway contestants this year.

Yeah, because that basket with chains hanging off of it was really high fashion.

Oh, and we also learn Vincent's true feelings on Tim Gunn. It's really an all-around must-read.

Malan!

It seems so long ago that I got all weepy and sad over Malan's auf'ing from Project Runway, and now it looks all that angst was for naught as he's landed quite well. He's got his own blog on the Bravo website, and he just showed a collection during fashion week.

Real time vs. reality time

Watching Project Runway last night, one question kept popping into my mind. No, it wasn't "why did Michael think it would be a good idea to hand-ruche for the first time in a challenge?" Nor was it "can Laura design anything that isn't a body-skimming dress or that doesn't have a big collar with matching cuffs?" It wasn't even "how is it possible that Robert and Alison are gone but Vincent is still around?" Nope. It was "how much time is there between challenges on this show?"

One some reality shows, the amount of time that has passed is clear. Take Survivor. We know how many days everyone has been on the island because they tell us in every episode (which always makes me wonder why they are so over-emotional about being away from their families at day 14--sure, it must be hard to be out of contact, but it's two weeks!). And in Runway's case, I always assumed they were given a challenge (which usually lasts between one and two days), and then once that challenge is over they immediately get a new challenge, which then lasts one to two days, and so on. Maybe there is a day of rest here or there, but nothing major.

But now I'm not so sure. Two episodes ago (the totally unfair episode of large vs. thin), Laura announced she was pregnant for the sixth time. (This woman can't stand dogs but can manage to birth six babies? I don't get it.) When she made the announcement, everyone was shocked, and she wasn't showing. The next episode, she designed herself a cocktail dress that was body-conscious. Wearing it, one could see a slight, slight stomach bulge. But when I say slight, I mean slight. I'll be honest--my stomach is fatter, and there is no Baby Fraggle entering this world any time soon. The dress was not forgiving, so it wasn't like she was hiding her pregnancy with clothing at that point.

The comes this week's episode, the very next challenge after the cocktail dress, and she's totally showing. For much of the episode her belly was exposed, and it was definitely that of a pregnant woman. And when she was covered up, her belly was obvious, pushing out her shirts.

So how much time passed here? How did she go from pinch-an-inch to full-fledged preggers in two days? The progression was so dramatic it looked to me like it must have taken weeks. Does anyone have an idea how much time really passes on this show?

SPOILERS AHEAD (and unfortunately, as usual, Blogger sucks and I can't post photos)

I guess we can wait until next week to see if Laura has put on even more pregnancy weight. Because right now, I'm just very confused. Of course, we almost didn't get that opportunity, as Laura was in this week's bottom two, where I definitely thought she belonged. Her dress was just so typical--Uli was lambasted last week for making the same type of dress over and over, but Laura has really been the biggest offender in that regard. And this one really was ugly. As Gobo put it--she looks like a Victorian hooker!

I can't say, however, that I was unhappy to see Vincent go instead of her. The fact that he made it to the top six flabbergasts me--not only is he not talented, but he's just plain creepy. And his "couture" dress, which was really just a job for Elmer's glue, wasn't interesting in the least, nor was it attractive. I'm glad he's gone. I'm sad it wasn't much earlier, because it would have been fun to see the designs of some of the people eliminated in his stead. But he's gone now, and that's a good thing.

Uli and Jeffrey definitely had the best designs, and I think I would have gone with Jeffrey's for the win, just because it seemed more couture-esque. And I have to admit--I liked Kayne's design! I liked the sparkles, I liked the uneven corset, I liked the ombre, and I loved the fit. I felt tasteless for liking it after hearing the judges' comments, but there you have it.

But does anyone think that someone other than Michael is going to win this competition? I think it will be Michael, Uli and Jeffrey in the top three, with them finishing in that order. At this point, can it end up any other way?

Mom mom would have totally rocked the runway

Spoilers ahead, of course. [Blogger won't let me post photos, yet again. I will try to add them in later.]

I really wanted to like this week's Project Runway. The idea was cute--everyone's mom came to the show (in Robert's and Vincent's cases, their sisters instead of their mothers) and each designer had to make an outfit for someone else's family member. But there was one major problem with the concept--Vincent's sister (Robert designed), Kayne's mom (Uli designed), Michael's mom (Kayne designed) and Angela's mom (Jeffrey designed) were all plus-sized, while Uli's mom (Vincent designed), Laura's mom (Angela designed), Jeffrey's mom (Laura designed) and Robert's sister (Michael designed) were average-sized (and in the case of Robert's sister, pretty hot). I love the idea of the designers making clothing for large women. Hell, I would love it if they had to design for non-model sized people who weren't even plus sized every once in awhile. But the problem here is that half of the women were large and half were not. Those with an average-sized model were at a huge advantage--most of these designers don't make clothes for larger women all that often. And this was apparent when they had to choose--the first four designers picked the smaller women, leaving the last four designers with the larger ones. Not only was it unfair to the designers, but it was unfair to the women as well--I felt so sorry for the bigger women as they stood while the smaller ones were picked first, and then for Angela's mom as she was the last one taken. A 55 year old woman shouldn't have to feel like the last kid picked for kickball.

The main controversy of this episode was Jeffrey's treatment of his model, Angela's mother. Angela's mom told Tim Gunn that she didn't like the fabrics Jeffrey had chosen for her outfit, and Jeffrey got really angry with her and was totally insulting and rude. I really had no sympathy for him there. The thing that shocked me the most about this wasn't Jeffrey's behavior, it was that he behaved this way in front of his own mother! His mom then tried to apologize for him (after he made Angela's mother cry) by saying Jeffrey was under a lot of stress. I know she's his mother and all, but, um...aren't the other seven designers under stress too? Not an excuse to be rude.

The runway was the most disappointing part of the episode. The judges' three favorite designs--Uli's, Vincent's and Michael's, and their least favorite--Robert's, Kayne's and Jeffrey's. What do the bottom three have in common? All plus-sized women. And in the top? Two of the three were small women. I don't think this is a coincidence. Throughout the episode the designers complained that they just didn't know how to drape clothing for large women. And it showed. Except for Uli. Her plus-sized design was really great. It looked really good on Kayne's mom, and I thought it should have been the clear winner, particularly because she had the challenge of working with someone larger and made something that looked really nice.

But no. Instead the judges continued with their inexplicable fondness for Vincent. Vincent! Vincent won a challenge! I actually thought the dress was hideous, although I know Wilder, Holt and Bailey all disagree with me (although Tim Gunn is totally with me on this). The collar was not only ugly, but the color of the collar was almost the same as Uli's mom's skin tone, so the effect was to make her neckline look like an exaggerated sweetheart and her boobs look odd as a result. It also made her look like she had a little bit of a stomach paunch, which she just didn't, and the just-below-the-knee length wasn't flattering. More importantly, the construction seemed really poor--when Uli's mom turned around, there was puckering all over the dress seams down the back, particularly at the butt and waist. I actually thought that Vincent's design belonged in the bottom three. He had so much to work with, and really came up short. Again. It's really a good thing that there is no immunity for this week's winner.

And then for the bottom: Jeffrey and Robert ended up as the bottom two, and the judges pointed out that they had opposite problems. Jeffrey didn't listen to his client at all, and she hated her dress (as would have anyone with taste--it was ugly and just didn't really make any sense. What was it? All of those layers and the strange collar? It just looked thrown together). Robert, on the other hand, listened to his client completely, and as a result made something boring and unflattering. Much like Nora in season one, Robert was eliminated because he failed to bring his own sensibility to the design and relied too much on his client's direction.

And I will agree that Robert's dress was ugly. But Vincent's sister was the largest person on the runway, and she didn't seem very confident. I can understand that this is really what she wanted, and Robert wanted to make her happy. When one is really big they have an idea of what they "can" wear and can often be adament about not wearing anything different. I think that Robert just wanted Vincent's sister to be comfortable. In the end, it was his undoing.

I'll miss Robert. His white dress with the red bows and wall hanging from week one will remain one of my favorite outfits. I know the designers found his stuff from the last few weeks boring, but I think that had he been able to stick around he would have shown us some really cute stuff. Maybe I can commission him to make me something?

Total garbage!

I watched Project Runway a day late because of problems with my DVR, so my apologies for not posting on it earlier. Of course, spoilers ahead:

I pretty much loved this episode until the end, at which point both Gobo and I were disgusted, with Gobo swearing off Runway forever.

First things first: the challenge involved the designers going to a recycling plant in New Jersey (and New Jersey was really at its ugliest the morning they drove out there) to get their supplies for the challenge: all recyclable materials. Everyone scrambled for a half hour to get their materials, then went to a crafts store where they had $25 to buy paints and other supplies, and then had one day (as opposed to the two days they have been given until this challenge) to design their outfits.

Generally, the designs were not that great, which is to be expected considering the materials the designers were working with. The worst? In my opinion, and the judge's, Alison's and Vincent's. Alison's made her model (called "zaftig" by Tim Gunn) look fat. Poor Alison spent most of her time working on a different design, but realized about four hours before deadline that it wasn't going to work, and so had to scramble to make something else. Vincent, on the other hand, never strayed from his "vision"--white paper covered with paint and embellishments. He called it "wearable art," but most everyone else just called it ugly. And what was going on with the black tank underneath the dress? Was it the model's own sports bra? Ugly.

The most disturbing aspect of Vincent's outfit? He continually said that it "got [him] off." Ew. And worse? Immediately after that, he said that it reminded him of a "child's drawring." (Yes, the extra r in drawing was purposeful, that's how he pronounces it.) So a child's drawing worn by a grown woman gets Vincent off? Somehow, I'm not surprised. But again, ew.

And so with Vincent and Alison in the bottom two, Alison was eliminated. And I understand that her design was truly unflattering. Of course, I also thought that an outfit like hers was something that the judges might like: it had a very sculptural feel and was definitely different--things the judges have liked in the past. More important, in my mind, was that Kayne had been in the bottom three and although the judges hated his design they cut him slack because of his past performances. Didn't Alison deserve the same? In episode one she was safe with a white minidress with a necklace hanging from the front. In episode two she worked with Jeffrey on a brown Miss Universe dress in multiple layers and fabrics that was neither the highest or lowest rated. In episode three (the dog episode), she was in the top three with her leather, silk and linen dress and jacket combo with matching leather outfit for the dog. In episode four, she and Jeffrey completed Keith's design after he was ousted, and despite the depleted manpower finished in the top two. In episode five, she was safe with her look for Farrah Fawcett, which was really quite cute. So to recap: twice in the top three, never in the bottom three until this last episode (the sixth).

On the other hand, Vincent has been in the bottom three a total of five out of six times (in the first challenge with that hideous dress with the straw pockets and straw hat with chains; in the second episode with the ill-fitting green Miss Universe dress with elfin-inspired sleeves which also showcased his complete inability to work with others when he ostracized Angela; in the fourth episode working with Robert and Kayne on the dress and ugly-jacket combo; last week with his Twiggy-inspired dress complete with tacky crescent-shaped pockets, an ugly plaid print, and a color-blocked bodice; and in this most recent episode). He has never been in the top three. He is clearly the least-talented of the remaining designers, whereas Alison really had potential. And his dress this week was legitimately bad (and Laura had a point that his model couldn't walk in it). I really would have gone another way with this decision.

As for the rest of the designs? Michael won, although I would have put him third, behind Jeffrey (who I would have put first, in large part because his dress did move) and Robert (who got almost no airtime but created what I thought was a kind of cute mylar dress). The dresses are posted here in the order in which I thought they should have finished.

Laura ended up in the top three again, but I have to agree with Jeffrey that her stuff is just getting really boring. I have already noted her tendency to repeat the same design (fur collar and cuffs in two outfits already), and this wasn't that different, with another low-cut neckline and high waist. The "For Nuts Only" print on the back of the skirt was a cute touch, but shouldn't have been enough to put her ahead of Robert in the top three.

I just don't understand how Vincent is still in this competition. Maybe next week is his week to go?

Project Runway

Red didn't do her usual post about Project Runway last week, so I just want to post a couple of thoughts before this week's episode airs. First, I love Michael and I was so happy to see him win. And I liked his outfit even if hot pants are ridiculous. But the absolute best thing was when he said "I'm not trying to play Captain Save-A-Ho, as we say in the hood." Would Captain Save-A-Ho be like the most awesome superhero ever? Also, this really isn't relevant, but is Michael gay or not? My gaydar is failing me on that one.

Kayne is starting to annoy me. I was not thrilled with the way he handled the whole Keith thing last week. First, why not talk to Keith himself? Second, when Keith apologized, he really was not gracious at all. Then this week, the way he talked about his model I thought was really rude. Sure, she seemed like an airhead, but he was very contemptuous of her. Not a great attitude for someone who makes his living catering to women. I also did not get the love for his dress. It clung to his model's butt in a way that I did not think was flattering at all. Finally, his pageant background gives me the creeps. If you've seen Little Miss Sunshine, you know what I'm talking about.

Finally, poor, poor Bradley. I'll miss him. I have to admit that he's not a great fashion designer, and it's not clear why he was chosen for the show. I was willing to overlook the weird wrap thing in the first challenge, because it did look sort of like one of those avant-garde Japanese designers. And I didn't really like that gold top in the third week, but the judges seemed to like it. And the brown pants fiasco last week could have been Bonnie's fault. But this week it became clear that he doesn't really know what he's doing. How do you not know who Cher is? All that being said, I still liked him just because of his interviews. He either had an extremely dry sense of humor or was just amiably dopey. I couldn't tell; I just know he cracked me up.

Project Letdown

Spoilers ahead, proceed at your own risk.

After all of the hype about someone getting kicked off of Project Runway, it didn't play out very dramatically at all. I hadn't read any spoilers (which Holt linked to in her post a few weeks ago), but I got an idea it would be Keith with the blatant foreshadowing at the fabric store, when Keith said he always feels like the rules don't apply to him and he likes to bend them a little. Of course, he said this as he was trying to sweet-talk himself a good deal on thread. I actually thought that might be the infraction, even though it seemed really dumb. Of course, it wasn't.

So Keith wanted some pattern-making books around. And he blatantly displayed them, even though they were against the rules. Along with his internet usage (who knew that wasn't allowed on Runway? In fact, who knew pattern-making books weren't allowed? I liked a glimpse into the show's rules--I wish there were a place one could access the rules for all reality shows), it spelled his dismissal from the show. It's a little sad, because clearly he was a front-runner, and his personality was getting bitchier by the episode, so he would have been fun to watch.

What I did think was very poor form was Kayne lecturing him after he was already dismissed. Way to kick a guy when he's down. Particularly when it was Kayne's whistleblowing that resulted in Keith getting kicked out in the first place. You would think Kayne would have said something sympathetic to Keith, but no--as Keith apologized before leaving, Kayne continued to tell him why what he had done was so wrong. Nasty! I do love how the show didn't pull any punches, though, naming the person who had tattled.


As for the actual challenge and results, I have mixed feelings. It was another collaborative challenge, and I never think that the designs look as good as when the individuals do their own thing. I thought that Angela was really smart to choose Michael and Laura. I think Michael's designs have been among the best every week, although he hasn't managed to crack the judge's top three (he has definitely been in my top three, though--I'm sure that's quite the consolation for him). And Michael and Laura worked really well together on the last collaborative challenge, so Angela made a great choice going with the two of them. She was also smart to listen to their criticisms in modifying her design. It was the clear winner, in my opinion.

I also agreed that Alison and Jeffrey's work(with Keith's original design) was the second-best. But that's really not saying much. And how could the judges not have pointed out the strange thing going on at the waist/hips of the model? What was that?! It looks like the model was wearing Kevin Federline's wifebeater, decided to shed it but for some reason couldn't lift her arms above her head and decided to step out of it instead. But then she got distracted when the straps were at her waist, so she just wore it down the runway instead. Yech. I also didn't love it when Tim Gunn told Alison and Jeffrey that, despite Keith's absence, they would have to "carry on, and, frankly, make it work." I like it when Tim uses those terms naturally, but now they have become a part of the Project Runway phraseology, and it seems so scripted.

I didn't like Robert or Bonnie's designs. Robert's pieces were fine on their own (I wouldn't wear the jacket, but the dress was cute), but they just made absolutely no sense together. The jacket was way too J.Crew-barn-jacket-circa-1992 and the dress was polished. They just didn't match up as pieces. Would Robert have dressed Barbie in those clothes? I think not.

Bonnie's also had jacket problems--as her model walked down the runway, I kept wondering why she didn't take off her jacket at all. Of course, when she finally did take off the jacket at the judges' behest, I realized why it had stayed on. The pants were awful. Does a rise that high look good on anyone? When the model's butt looks saggy, you know it's no good.

When I realized who the two last-place teams were, I fully expected Bonnie to be the one to go. Not because her outfit was any worse than Robert's, but just because they were both bad and I think the judges based their decision on who they think has more potential to be on the show long-term, and they decided it was Robert (I would have made the same decision). But what really bothers me about these team challenges is that unless someone really messes up, the team leaders end up on the chopping block. (Malan and Bonnie this season, Kevin in season one.) They have already managed to do something better than their teammates--that's why they were chosen as leaders. But they don't receive any real credit for that. Why would anyone even want to be a leader? Wouldn't the better strategy in terms of staying on the show be to propose something boring, not get chosen, and then work your hardest doing what your team leader asked?

I'm hoping we don't see another team challenge for awhile.

Doggie Runway

I know I'm a day late, but I'm finally getting around to sharing my thoughts on Wednesday's Project Runway. Spoilers ahead.

I was really unhappy with the judges' decision. Sure, Katherine's dress (right, top) was simple, but I thought it was also really cute and wearable, and the dog hoodie was super-cute (and that was part of the challenge, so it should have counted for something).

How was Bradley's gold monstrosity better than Katherine's sophisticated dress in shades of green? More disturbingly, based on the judges' comments, it appeared that Bradley's outfit was one of their top three. Is this right? Or was it a bottom three outfit and they just edited out the negative comments? Because I liked almost every other outfit a lot better than Bradley's (right, bottom), and he barely designed for the dog. Vincent's also warrants mention as being incredibly boring. His was better than Katherine's? Really?

I already see Laura getting into a rut. Are all of her outfits going to involve fur collars and cuffs? Because that's going to get old really quickly.

I know that most thought Angela's outfit was the most hideous, but I didn't think it was that bad. Yeah, it was totally '80s, but that is kind of in right now. Had she created a story about a girl who lives in the Village and just wants to stand out, be punky and have fun, I think she could have sold it. Her whole British-girl-in-Paris-throwing-a-party-for-a-dog thing didn't quite help her, though.

Uli's dress did deserve the win, I thought. I haven't liked her designs the first two weeks--I thought the first week was a bad combination of floaty and frumpy and last week, although in the top two, looked poorly constructed on top. But this week really was quite nice.

Next week we find out who gets kicked off! I can't wait! (But please don't post spoilers on who it is in the comments, because I want to stay in the dark.)

Cross-promotion does its job

I am going to watch a beauty pageant this weekend. I never watch beauty pageants. I'm against them for all of the reasons everyone has heard a million times, so there is no reason to repeat them here.

Of course, they do have their cheesy charm--the shaking hands when the winner is named, the wide-open smile (check out the photo of Miss USA, Tara Conner, who will be competing this Sunday in the Miss Universe pageant), the "talent" competition, the proclamations of hoping for world peace. There is something just a little irresitable about all that. But still, I have steadfastly kept my distance from pageants since sometime after the age of 12, and I wasn't really looking forward to putting an end to my moratorium any time soon.

So why am I watching Miss Universe this Sunday? Really very simple. I want to see how Kayne and Robert's dress from this week's episode of Project Runway looks. Will it be exactly as it was on the show (only fitted for Tara)? Will there be a lot of stylistic changes? Remember, the designers only had $300 to buy all of the materials for the gown, and only a couple of days to put it together. Will they recognize the need for refinements? Although the show likes to imply that the winning design will be worn as is, in the past they have made changes. (Remember when Nancy O'Dell chose Wendy Pepper's orange dress to wear to the Grammy's? It was changed quite a bit before Nancy actually donned it.) But Kayne and Robert's dress did look pretty good to go, so maybe it will remain in its original form. And of course, the biggest question might be--how will it compare to the other dresses? I need to know!

And so, I will watch.

Update: I watched! Well, I didn't watch it all, but I did watch the top five, and Miss USA was wearing her Runway dress. It looked exactly like it did on the show--really no changes at all! She did seem to have trouble walking in it, but it doesn't really look like a dress that was made for walking.

Reality Recycling

I'd been seeing the previews for Workout during Project Runway, and I kept thinking that one of the people in a reaction shot looked suspiciously like Rebecca from The Amazing Race - the one who went on the Race with her disfunctional little boy boyfriend who had a shaved head except for some little devil horns at the front, remember them? - and sure enough it's her! I thought I'd give the show a try, because the New York Times vaguely didn't hate it, and it turns out that I find Rebecca as unentertaining when she's helping a Playboy playmate tone her ass as I did when she was telling horn boy to stop whining about his sunglasses. All this to say, I really really miss The Amazing Race.

PSA: Project Runway tee-shirts

For all you Project Runway fans out there, they are selling tee-shirts designed by this season's contestants. The link is here. The only ones I like are Kayne's and Katherine's. I'm actually considering Kayne's, but do I really need another cute tee-shirt? And cap sleeves...well, as a friend who once worked for the Gap, Inc. said to me: "they aren't very democratic." (Translated: almost everyone looked like they have fat arms in cap sleeves.) Maybe you Malan fans can buy his shirt (which really isn't bad--his, Kayne's, Katherine's and Bonnie's are my best of the bunch).

ETA: Laura's and Bonnie's are the most popular according to the Runway website.