One Girl's Opinion

Upset of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:15:00 +0000

In the third season of Top Chef, Casey started winning challenges partway through the season. She took home plenty of different wins, and in the end it was her game to lose.

Then, in the last meal and the last challenge, she lost it. She put together a lackluster meal and in the end she had nobody to blame but herself.

Last night, Jerrell did the same thing.

There is no other way to explain this. I was Jerrell's game to lose and he lost it. Everybody is so upset that Kenley is still in but the fact is no matter what came before, Kenley went home and actually made something that was better than what Jerrell made.

I don't understand how he could like these dresses and think they're beautiful. I was talking to somebody about him the other day and I said that I still couldn't really get behind him because his early stuff had some pretty serious missteps. This dress is going back to what he was making at the beginning of the show.

The poofs of fabric on the chest are borderline ridiculous. What are they there for? What do they add to the dress? Nothing. The skirt itself is just messy. The whole dress is very messy and unkempt. I have met not one single bride who wants to look unkempt. Brides are some of the most put-together people ever.

The bridesmaid's dress showed no effort at all. It was made out of a fabric that showed too many wrinkles and creases, which is a common problem with Jerrell. It was an interesting color, but I didn't see how it really related to the bride's dress at all. They weren't a set, they didn't go together really. I just don't understand it.

The more I look at these pictures the more baffled I am that Jerrell thought that messy would actually be acceptable.

This is the thing about Kenley's dresses, as much as they aren't my style and as much as I don't like them, they're really well made.

You can go on about how her dress is a rip-off, but this is my problem with that statement: I think the dress is not a rip-off of a specific garment made by a specific designer. I think it's just generally not all that original. When she said there's no silhouettes like that, I wanted to smack her. I thought it looked like something Bjork has worn but I couldn't come up with a specific dress like Michael Kors did.

But I can't deny that both were at least well made, fun, and well done. I have a very big issue with the bottom of the bridesmaid's skirt. That problem primarily being that absolutely hate bubble skirts and that I especially hate extremely short bubble skirts.

Actually, I was surprised nobody said that her bridesmaid's dress was boring and derivative. Because it was nothing special, it was barely noticeable. The top is exactly like a thousand dresses I've seen and the bottom doesn't do anything special enough to offset that.

I wish they had declared a winner in this episode just so I at least would feel that Kenley knew that while she did well she didn't have a slam dunk either. But I guess at this point the final collections are made, so what could she learn?

As for the whole liking ropes thing...and when have you ever used ropes before Kenley? I mean, I think they can be pretty cool when used right, but that seemed out of left field.

I don't understand what's very wedding or bride-like about this dress. I don't think it's the color that is throwing me because well, I've seen bridesmaid's dresses of all kinds of colors. But the fabric itself wasn't really well suited for all the ruffles and pleats and folds that ended up on the dress. It didn't feel right, somehow.

I don't know why the judges disliked the bridesmaid's dress so much, honestly. It was a little odd that they said it was underworked because it seemed the right amount of work when you compared it to the wedding dress. But the other thing was that it wasn't really different enough from the wedding dress to feel like something you'd put a bridesmaid in.

But I do want to say thank you to Korto for saying bridesmaids are allowed to be beautiful. Brides that are all worried about their bridesmaids stealing the show are just far too insecure for my tastes. But then, I have a very very long rant about making good choices during the wedding and getting rid of the whole "it's about me" ridiculousness.

Why they chose not to actually display any of the great features of either of these dresses on the Bravo site confuses me. Why was there no photo shoot of these garments? Since I avoid spoilers, I haven't look at any of the collections so I can't get better pictures. Bah!

First, Leanne's wedding dress was by far the best one out there. It didn't fit my personal aesthetic at all, I wouldn't in a million years wear it or encourage anybody else to. But I have to say that it was innovative, it was interesting, and it was certainly what fashion is all about. The only thing I hated was that the model walked the runway with her hands in her pockets.

It's interesting that it had pockets. I might have liked pockets in my wedding dress even. But the way that it changes everything about the model's posture and walk was horrible. She could have shown that it had pockets without schlumping down the runway.

I loved the bridesmaid's dress. I thought it was just beautiful, though a little short for my tastes. My bridesmaid's wore tea length skirts, so it's not that I think it should be to the floor. But it's been a constant this season that the dresses have just felt too short. Have they not been thinking about their model's measurements?

But all that aside, I really loved it. The color was just absolutely beautiful.

Leanne was the clear winner, and I admit that I want her to take it all home. But I would be fine with Korto winning too.

The only reason I wouldn't want Kenley to win is because I agree with Television Without Pity, she seems more of a stylist than a designer. I feel she does a great job putting together bits and pieces from other people, but that her work has never really struck me as being really original. It doesn't strike me as copying either, just not as creative as she thinks it is.

What a twist

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:57:00 +0000

I am so tired of Project Runway thinking they need to throw a twist our way. Two things the producers need to learn:
1. Organize your shows better so that you don't have decoy collections anymore. It's useless and it makes you look dumb to have everyone on the show talking about "I have to win so I can show in Bryant Park!" when we all know that they showed anyway. Last year's Rami and Chris faceoff was the worst offender, but this season isn't that much better.

2. At this point, actually eliminating somebody in the episode before the finales would be a twist. Maybe you should start doing that again. Your little bit of not eliminating anyone is lame and it's a lackluster end to a lackluster season.

Seriously, what a complete let down! This entire episode was generally dull and petty. It reminded me of the point in the second season of Top Chef where they eliminated Cliff for manhandling Marcel. You realized that everybody there was a generally petty and annoying person, none of them seemed all that talented, and you were just bored to tears with the whole thing.

This is my view on the "drama" put as succinctly as I can. Kenley completely brought this on herself. As my husband put it when she started saying that everybody always turns on her: the only common denominator in all your failures is yourself. Kenley really needs to take a step back and say "is there a reason people always do this to me?" because the reason is that she acts like a terrible person. I don't think she actually IS that terrible, but she's very self centered and has poor manners. She needs to take a look at herself and make some changes and maybe she'll be happier and have more friends.

That said, all three of the remaining designers had an opportunity to be the bigger person. I don't blame them or fault them for their behavior, especially Leanne who had to deal with Kenley so blatantly giving her the silent treatment (how quickly viewers are forgetting that). Kenley was not a nice person, and they gave up trying to be nice to her. Nobody can say they've never done that, and the amount of anger directed at the other three is very hypocritical.

HOWEVER, I have to say that Korto and Jerrell both were given a chance to show themselves to be a better person than Kenley. I can't say what I would have done in their situation, but I can say that they can't claim any kind of moral high ground after they refused to help her.

Also, Korto's anger in the room after the runway judging was uncalled for. She had absolutely no right to try to make Kenley feel guilty for picking her. They all chose Kenley to be eliminated, and she was trashed much worse than anything she said about Korto (at least, that's what we're shown). Kenley shouldn't have interrupted Jerrell, and she shouldn't have pretended that the judges didn't want him to elaborate on why he wouldn't take her. That's why they asked the question Kenley, they wanted the other designers to bash each other. Don't act like it was out of line.

Okay, now that the drama is over with, let's look at the boring dresses from a boring challenge!

I agree that the bodice of this dress desperately needs to go higher. This is the problem with garments with this type of "neckline:" they elongate the top of the woman's body and really made her chest look abnormally long. This is one of the reasons that I almost always dislike strapless dresses. But it is especially evident on this dress.

Otherwise, this isn't amazing, but it's not bad either. It looks more like something they would have made early in the season, but when you look back on previous seasons people are always universally disappointing at this part of the season. Remember the challenge that claimed Kara Janx? How boring and terrible were those dresses? This felt like a redo of that.

This is clearly the weakest of the dresses that went down the runway. I agree with the other designers that Kenley's set of tricks is rather limited. The silhouette is very similar to most of the other things she's sent down the runway. I don't really understand the scales/leaves at the bottom, I can't really get what she's going for and why they're there. But I also don't think this was some sort of hideous costume either.

Okay, the fabric here is doing some odd little crinkling things and that's not good. But I honestly don't understand why everybody hated this dress so much. The curves of lace along the back don't really do it any favors in this picture, and possibly not at all. While I might not think it's worthy of this level of the competition, and while I think the fabric certainly should have been smoother, I also think it was only the bottom because Jerrell's and Leanne's were just a shade better.

Okay, I'm really torn between liking this best because at least it's a little different or liking Jerrell's because this is a bit typical for Leanne. And really, it's partially that I absolutely love this color, and Leanne didn't end up with crinkled looking fabric. But in the end I think it was really six of one, half a dozen of the other between Leanne and Jerrell. I love the flow of the skirt, it's very beautiful. I really wish she could have incorporated the other fabric because that blue with the lavender looked very beautiful.

Leanne's is the only dress I would consider wearing, but that doesn't necessarily make it a winner. But really, how dull was this entire runway show? I expected so much more, but I should be used to this part of the season being boring and disappointing.

I wonder how much Tim didn't want to go to Kenley's house. That's bound to be at least a little amusing.

Arbitrary or genius?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:58:00 +0000

I can't decide if I loved this challenge or completely hated it for how fake and forced it felt. "You're not just giving each other makeovers, WHAT A TWIST!"

I am intrigued that just like in makeover episode of season two, the loser was sent home wearing the winning design.

On with the show!

There are actually a couple ways where Kenley looks better in this get-up than she does in the "style" she usually wears. I was interested by the difference, I think you could write an entire paper on it. But when it comes down to just the actual look, I don't love it as much as the judges did.

I thought it was simplistic for one thing. It doesn't look that hard to construct at all. My other major problem is the diamond cups on the front. They have no edge! They look unfinished and unpolished, which makes the whole dress look just a touch onto the trashy. If it looked a little more like a very well constructed bra (where's Ricky when you need him?) then maybe I would have gone for it, but instead it just reminds me of some fabric swatches glued on the front to keep her from being indecent.

The little fur shrug was...off. But very pop. This just goes to show how much I dislike pop-tartlet fashion.

For the record, I'm going in alphabetical order by designer, as I always do.

Okay, as much as I don't hate Suede like the rest of the world I've thought it was his time to go several times now. I figured he'd be gone by now, and so going into this episode I thought "Eh, it's probably Suede's last one."

Then THIS happened. There is no call for Kenley to still be in the running after this. Those pants are a travesty against woman and nature. I felt so terrible for Leanne having to pretend that this was acceptable. First of all, it was part of the arbitrary nature of the challenge that you got Leanne, who probably is the second least hip-hop person on the show and that it was being designed by Kenley who was the least hip-hop. Anyone on the show would have been better suited to design that genre, and Leanne at least seemed to have a pretty good grip on what hip-hop wasn't, which Kenley didn't have at all.

I can't believe how she just kept asking the black people "this is hip-hop, right?" and when they very unbelievably said "sure" she just accepted it and went on her oblivious little way. It was obvious they were just saying "whatever" and she didn't care.

And it's not even just that this isn't hip-hop. It's that it's TERRIBLE. Those pants are wrong on so many levels that I can't even begin to talk about why. Everything about them seems designed to make Leanne look oddly shaped, and it makes me wonder if Kenley didn't do it on purpose. She kept saying she didn't want Leanne to look ridiculous but then she put her in those pants.

I'll leave aside Kenley's ridiculous attitude since so many people have touched on it better than I. I'll let her outfit speak for itself, and it says VOLUMES.

Suede should have stayed.

You know, this doesn't actually say "punk" to me, but that's because I grew up in an odd era. It's close to punk, but it's not quite there. It's got too much grunge influence maybe. Anyway, of everybody there she did get the closest to what she was going for.

The other thing is, this calls to mind the things I said during the last challenge when the designers made over each other all those seasons ago. I mentioned that Santino and Nick sold their looks on the runway and really looked confident and great and those were the top looks. But that Daniel V. looked bored, sleepy, and unhappy and so his look was quickly targeted for dismissal. Suede was the only designer who was really into it. It's like he said to himself, "alright, I look frightening but I only get to do this once!" Leanne made some attempts at playing the part, but well, what could she do really?

Really though, in the end this doesn't make that much of an impression on me as an outfit because I saw people wear more interesting things in high school.

First and foremost, could we ditch the little checked scarf?

Second, what's with all the dissing on country? I understand if you don't listen to it, but the blogs and the judges...nobody seems to really like it. It's like everybody's next door neighbor that they pretend not to know if they see them at the mall or something.

I like country music, myself. I like old school country music too. So really, while this doesn't look like the modern "cross-over country" stars it also isn't that far off the deep end. I think if she had picked a better fabric for the top, and not done the gold accents but instead stuck with a color that was a little less contrast then it was a really solid idea. It didn't look like a CMA outfit, no. But it looked like a Grand Ole' Opry dress, didn't it?

And really, nobody wears anything that looks country to the CMAs anymore. Just like country stars are mostly not singing country music anymore either. But that's another rant for another time.

I will have to say again that the model either sells or doesn't sell the look on the runway. While I think Kenley's whining about Leanne was uncalled for (Leanne tried dangit) Suede could have easily made a case that his outfit fell flat partially because Jerrell's lackluster walk. It was terrible! He was modeling in his sleep or something.

I'll give you all the criticisms that the judges had. It does have to pop from the nosebleed seats if you're going with that kind of style. It doesn't look at all different from what Jerrell wears in general. But here's the other thing, the big rock stars right now? They're wearing jeans and t-shirts for the most part. They're not really going out there blinged up or glammed or any of that. I wouldn't know what to do with a "modern" rock star look these days. I guess dress them like Jeffery, but I thought he looked ridiculous.

Anyway, Suede said that he wanted Jerrell to look like Lenny Kravitz and if they had put a wig on him, he could have looked the part. If Jerrell had played the oozing sexiness and the cocky swagger of a rock star, this could have worked at least on some level.

Which is all my way of wandering around and arriving at the fact that Suede did not have the worst outfit that day, by far. He was eliminated based on past designs, not based on this week. Which I guess makes some sense but in the end, still didn't make me feel good.

Bonus: I took a look at Suede's collection for fashion week and while there were a couple really cute and flirty little dresses, for the most part it was pretty...off. So much of it would have looked good with one less ruffle or one less detail. Learn to edit a little Suede, please? You're getting pretty close.

Ooh, sleepover at Parson's!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:38:00 +0000

So I have to admit that while most people would probably find the idea of giving recent college grads a makeover is a pretty stupid challenge. I think this episode failed the potential, but I do think potential was there.

Maybe I only find it interesting because I was in that spot once. It wasn't that many years ago when I was thrown to the wolves of the world with a bachelor's and a hope that I could get a job. But I had majored in film and photography and minored in art history, so really, I shouldn't have expected much.

But it is a time that's really interesting for women and their style. They have to discover how to fit in and look professional while still being themselves and having their own style. It's kind of fascinating in a way.

I could just find it interesting because I'm currently in my first few weeks of graduate school and I'm back to trying to reinvent myself again.

BUT, I think they failed utterly at the fact that the mothers were involved. They were unnecessary, they had no purpose dramatically. I'm in a screenwriting class right now and she keeps telling us about how if it isn't an integral part of the story, then the detail shouldn't be there. Is it vitally important that the main character has blue eyes? No? Then chuck it.

So, is it important to the dramatic arc of the episodes that the mothers are there at all? Absolutely not. The clients ran about the same chance of being demanding and difficult as the prom challenge, and so you didn't need the mothers there. The mothers only came to TWO meetings out of what, four? Then they watched the runway show and went away without a word!

If the mothers had at least joined them on the runway to talk about what they thought of the makeover then I would have given it a go. But they didn't, so they shouldn't be there.

It occurs to me that using a screenwriting argument to debate the merits of the challenge on an "unscripted" show could be it's own post, what with the WGA and all. I'll avoid that post and get back to the fun part: MAKEOVERS!

Or not, since most of the girls looked so very much the same as before. Blah de blah.

Jerrell very clearly won this challenge. He took the girl who said she liked androgyny and tomboyish looks and made her look stylish without being overtly feminine. He made her look professional without making her look old, and just in general I'm a fan. The only problem I really have is that along with this "head to toe" makeover they should have done more with the hair. I'm going to refrain from critiquing the girl's hair because no 22 year old needs an anonymous blogger saying she had a bad hair day on national television, but I wanted to see DIFFERENT looks, and this girl's hair didn't really look different.

They got rid of the different colors and made it one solid, and that's about it.

That said, it's still absolutely the best garment of the show, it's actually so far and above the rest it deserves a win with a gold star or something. Absolutely an earned win.

I have no problem with Joe making an interview suit instead of something that screams "graphic designer." Mostly because what in the world screams graphic designer? Bold prints? I don't know. But the thing is, I'm a filmmaker and I'm pretty sure that I should still just wear something professional to job interviews. I'm still supposed to own a suit. There was a bit of a speech at orientation about "dressing like a filmmaker" but I never did figure out what that meant, so I think Joe's idea wasn't bad.

I think Joe's execution has so many flaws I can't actually go over them all. The skirt is the wrong length, it comes up too high above her waist. The jacket is tailored badly, and the shirt...I can barely look at the shirt. It doesn't fit her, it's terrible. It also is far too low cut to go with the rest of the look, I'm so confused by it.

Also, it should be worth noting that pocket squares are not, by default, outdated and terrible. I bet they can be pulled off with quite a bit of style if done right. This isn't it, by far, but still. Don't laugh just because it's a pocket square.

All in all, Joe just fell apart here. I expected to not care when he got eliminated, but somehow I actually got a little upset about it. Not fair, Project Runway!

Dear Kenley,

Please go home. You obviously don't want to be here, so just leave already.

No love,
Me.

That's all I'm going to say about Kenley's miserable attitude other than where has this been the whole time? I know there's editing tricks and stuff, but it's really confusing! Maybe it's always been there, but it's still just obnoxious! I so wish she had gone home last week.

The dress itself...I actually don't like it. I think it's boring, I think it's cliched, and I think it screams "Look at me, I'm so desperate to be different just like all those other people!" Just watching the girl and Kenley snicker on the runway was like watching a bad high school clique or something. What does that have to do with the dress? Because it feels like a costume, like the girl is putting on an entire costume instead of being a person.

I hate the belt. The vest and dress, with a thinner belt, could work for me I guess. But I agree with Tim that the tulle shouldn't have been showing. I also think that this wasn't remotely a makeover, but then almost nobody really did that.

Maybe I'm just too sour-faced about Kenley in general, but I just don't like it. I think that it was only in the top because when you only have six designers it's either top or bottom. In any other week this would have been the middle, IMHO.

Brace yourselves.

I don't like this at all. I think the jacket would look great on somebody with a different build, but this makes her look like she's so wide and so short. There's just so much not to like about what it does to her body. The dress might be fun and nice under that jacket but when you put them together it makes her a block.

I like the idea of the jacket, I wonder what it would look like on Korto's regular model. I also wonder what it would look like on Korto, I think I'd like it.

But this outfit? I'm just not really a fan of it at all.

Leanne...oh, poor Leanne. While there wasn't much drama or difficulty in the long run, why did you make this dress? Fresh off of three phenomenal garments you make THIS? I realize the girl is an elementary school teacher, but so was my sister and she didn't wear things like this.

The idea might have been sound, I guess. But the jacket is just off in so many ways, including the fit. And the top was just not as well made as I'm used to for Leanne. It made me sad to see, and if she had been one of the bottom two I would have cried.

I just don't know how this garment existed. After so many amazing things and then she makes this? It reminds me more of Jennifer than Leanne.

Okay, that jacket is bad, I'll give you that in a heartbeat. But at least the dress itself is very cute. Maybe it's not a professional work attire kind of thing, but at least it's cute. The jacket...the jacket is just kind of wrong. But it's so much better than Joe's. As much as I'm confused by how long Suede has lasted, this wasn't an elimination dress.

I do have to say that it makes me kind of grumpy how they kept saying "she doesn't look like a photographer!" What exactly does a photographer wear, hm? I get the whole thing about pants because she's hauling equipment and running around to get a good shot, but there are so few professions that have a dress code and photography is not one of them. I was one for a while, I just wore business casual.

Side note!

I checked out Joe's collection since I now knew he was a decoy, since I don't actually look at them before the show. There were a few good pieces (I love the first denim skirt) but for the most part I was so perplexed. The second corset top with the zippers? That looked so cheap.

What really bugged me was his insistence in the Western theme he had going on with the turquoise jewelery. Okay, my mom loves turquoise jewelery, and it can be really beautiful. But it has to be paired properly and wore the right way, just like anything else. Almost nothing in his show fit that description.

Though I am amused that I looked through the pictures yesterday with a co-worker and we couldn't figure out why he went all western and then this morning's Style section in the Express was all about how the Western look is back. Well, you get two points for physic power, Joe.

Missed Oppurtunity

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:11:00 +0000

I understand that in a way they wanted the designers to have some sort of investment into the sign that they were using, so they wanted them to do either theirs or the auf'd designers. But here's my issue: we could have had this great fashion show type situation where each of the twelve signs was represented and everybody was working on something different. You could have even tried to do that first season thing where it needed to look like a collection instead of separate pieces. Instead, we get lots of the same sign over and over.

And only one person picked Leo! I guess there was only one Leo, but that's just not right. Obviously we Leo's are the most interesting sign ; )

On with the show:

This garment is so much of a disaster that I can't even begin. It reminds me so much of the terrible-ness that got Emily sent home, and nearly had Blayne thrown out too that same week. What in the world was he thinking? How could he have conceived of this idea and thought that it actually made sense? What in the world was he thinking when he chose that fabric for the base part of the outfit and then puckered it that way so that it looked like old pantaloons?

What does have to do with being a Libra? I get the idea of playing with weight and balance, but how does this actually convey that? I don't see that really even at all. I'm completely baffled.

I don't really understand how Blayne made it this far in the competition in order to be this bad at this stage in the game. I suppose because of his habit of being on one week and terrible the next week.

I really wish we had been able to see more of the judges talking about the top outfits, because I want desperately to know why this dress won. First, it's not avant guarde. I might hate that term, but it doesn't fit it. Second, if I saw this and had to guess the sign it represented I would say Pisces because it seems fish-like with the scales and the green colors.

I also think that it makes the model look like she's leaning back in a weird way when she wears it, and maybe she is. But there's something about it that makes her look wrongly proportioned. The top is sort of baggy and loose too, which does her no favors.

I'm not saying this is a BAD dress. I'm just saying it shouldn't have won. It certainly is nice, it's well made, and I do like the skirt and think it's pretty interesting. But why it won, I'll never know.

I kind of don't care at all about this design. I don't see it really representing anything about the zodiac. I like the fabrics but really, it's just sort of there. It's not bad, it's not good. It just is.

It's another one of those outfits that the next day I couldn't remember even seeing in the show, let alone what it looked like.

Okay, I realize avant guarde does not mean wearable. I get that. But this is the thing, when Christian and Chris created an avant guarde look last season, it was completely unwearable and yet it was fabulous and gorgeous. This? This is neither of those things.

First, I don't care what Kenley says this has no relation to Aquarius. And I realize that the two fabrics don't have to MATCH but really, they could do better at it than these two. Kenley might want to be known for prints (which is what my text message said last week when they were doing the Diane Von Furstenburg challenge) but really she needs to work at figuring out that fine line that's involved with "matching" contrasting prints. I haven't seen her achieve it all that well.

This is the worst thing about this episode though, not only is this garment off the wall and strange, not only does it not fulfill the challenge, but Kenley turned into a horrible person somewhere along the line. I kind of liked her before, but she's just turned a little more every episode and I want to put duct tape on her mouth.

It's fine if she's in love with her design, she should be. You should be doing something you believe in. But the way she expresses it seems intentionally obnoxious. She's also rude to the judges, and you can think what you like about the judges but that's just a stupid thing to do. But in the end the thing that drives me the most crazy?

"I don't look at collections."

If that is true, my dear Kenley, then you are a failure. You can't be a writer without reading, you can't be an artist without appreciating art. What do you do in film school to learn to make films? You watch a LOT of films (trust me on this one, a lot) and you're encouraged every step of the way to look at other films that have done what you're trying to do so you can see ways they failed or succeeded as well as developing your own idea about the topic. If you want to be a fashion designer and you want to say, "I don't look at collections" then you're doing it wrong and I've lost all respect for you.

I'm almost sad that she stayed, and that's saying something.

Korto's dress really captures the essence of her zodiac sign, Aquarius. But it does so in a rather expected way, I think. The dress itself doesn't seem very new or edgy either. I love it, don't get me wrong, I just think it wasn't out there enough and that might be Korto's weakness.

I do wonder about the little jumpsuit that the model is wearing under the sheer overlay of the top. It looked a little odd coming down the runway.

I have to admit that I think Leanne should have taken home a third win in a row. Not just because I like her, not just because her colors are so gorgeous. But because if you look at the top designs it is clearly the one that took the challenge as inspiration and then went somewhere else with it. She didn't make a direct representation of the zodiac sign, she made something that is tangentially related but more about the avant garde portion of the episode.

It is something that you could take and then tone down into a ready to wear outfit that would be a huge hit. I can't necessarily look at it and see Scorpio, but I can see how she got there once I know. With Jerrell, even after I know what he was doing I don't see what he was thinking.

I do think that there's something about the dress when it's shown in a photo like this one that you don't get, and it doesn't look as good in a picture as it did on the runway. It's definitely something that needs to be seen in motion.

It does make me wonder if the designers supervise the photo shoots, because I don't know why the model is smiling the way she is.

Honestly, as much as Terri's attitude bothered me, and as much as I think her inability to be a team leader makes me think she should go home, I think Suede should not have stayed in this instead of her.

This outfit is not just kind of boring, it's not typical, it's poorly made. It is so badly made that it reminds me of the first time costumers try to mess around with satins. It's puckered and mangled and just sad to look at. But at least Suede didn't try to make himself a martyr. But really, he should have gone home. Sorry Suede, you seem like a great guy though!

It depresses me that this is the only representative we have of Leo. That makes me downright sad. Leo isn't just a fire sign, it's also a sign that denotes royalty. This does not look like royalty.

I think if she ditched the gold skirt for either a different gold fabric or something else entirely, I would like it so much more. But as it is the fabrics just don't go well together and I just don't like them.

But the thing that bothered me most was Terri's attitude. It was useless, it was baseless, and it made me cranky. She intentionally set up a situation where she was doing all the work and then tried to get somebody to feel sorry for her about it. She wanted to be a martyr for her efforts and that's just stupid. Even if you don't like Keith, he knows how to sew a straight line so have him sew the straight lines. It's not that hard. Give him the crap work, sure, but don't just tell him to get out of your way and then get mad at him for listening to you.

While it may have been a touch petty, I like the way Keith handled it. He basically said, "Fine, I'm not going to fight you, there's nothing in it for me." But he wouldn't just sit there on the runway and take the blame either. I'm impressed that the judges realized that Terri was the problem and didn't try to say "Why didn't Keith stick up for himself." Good on you judges, did you review the tapes or something?

In the end, like I said, I still don't think this deserved to go home because really, Suede's was much worse. I may not be a huge fan of Terri's work (I don't actually understand why so many people loved it so much) but in the end, she's proved herself to be more skilled than Suede and I'd rather see her collection at Bryant Park.

Another administrative note: For those of you who have LJs and would like to add the Syndicated Feed for this blog to your friendslist, my friend Domynoe created one for me! It's at http://syndicated.livejournal.com/1girlsopinion/profile. Thanks!

Back to the same old

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:51:00 +0000

Project Runway, the highs and the lows. The great challenges and the fun drama followed by Kenley crying a lot and forgettable designs again.

Ah well, not much to be done about it. I did enjoy the challenge, and I did quite enjoy some of the top looks. I just felt like there were too many people in the middle again. When I went through to save the images, all I could think was "Oh yeah, that is what Jerell made, isn't it?"

Shouldn't I remember these things the next day? I would think so.

I have no idea what this is. The jacket itself is really cute, I like it. But those pants, what in the world are those pants? I understand nothing about this ensemble, even though I can forgive the scarf as just a splash of colors. But the pants...I just keep going back to those pants. It's the wrong fabric for them, and it's the wrong look in general. I just don't understand it even slightly.

Jerell doesn't know how to turn himself down from 11, does he? He can't just make fashion, can he? If you took off the bright blue belt, which frankly doesn't belong at all, and the jaunty little hat, then you have a cute little outfit. But it's like he's compelled to take it up that notch into costume. On the one hand, inventive styling really helps you stand out and be interesting. On the other hand, why is he that way week after week after week?

I do think this is a cute outfit, but like I said, I forgot it entirely in the meantime.

Okay, I would like to point out the absolute saddest part about the previous two outfits. Up until I just looked at this picture, I remembered that the challenge was to create a look to go with Diane Von Furstenberg's collection. I completely and totally forgot about the entire "A Foreign Affair" influence until I looked at this outfit and tried to remember why he wanted an oriental look.

What does that say about the previous two? That they failed utterly to convey the influence of either old Hollywood or the film. That must be where Jerell's jaunty hat comes in.

Back to Joe's outfit, which is a bit of a mess. I actually kind of like the little hooded wrap/shawl that he's got, but I hate most of the color choices he makes. Why the hot pink with the more orangey-pink of the shirt? Why the glittery black with the satiny black? I'm baffled.

The idea is okay, actually. It's the execution that fails completely. Like I said, the colors are off. They're poorly chosen and they don't go together. But then to have an uneven hem at this point in the competition is a little ridiculous, and for everything else to be lopsided in the back? I'm confused. And the open back almost could have worked with the hooded shawl IF the fabric had been a little less...trashy. It could have been pretty if he had done maybe all black or more muted colors. But those bright pinks just don't flatter the design at all.

I might try to make a shawl like that though.

I ponder that pattern. I think the dress looks great, and it could have been the most impeccably made thing that Project Runway has ever seen. But looking at it on the form Kenley HAD to know that it wasn't going to be enough. She obviously knew, she interviewed about it constantly. So why didn't she conceive of even a little shrug or a shawl or something? Why didn't she try? I understand her protests about making the perfect dress, or the collection needing a simple look (and isn't that presumptuous?) but at the same time, she should have known the judges wouldn't buy it and they wouldn't care.

But the thing that kicks it over for me is that I really never warmed to the print. It would be a great print if it had a solid to temper it. Even a wrap or a small jacket could have broken it up and made it really so much better. Making the top in this print and the skirt in a solid could have done something great for it too. But instead I just think the whole thing looks so busy that I wonder who could wear it.

I expected Korto to win as soon as I saw her put that splash of yellow in the underside of the dress. In this picture the dress isn't as flattering as it could be around the hips, so maybe a bit more tailoring could have helped. But I love the interplay of the print and the yellow solid.

This outfit really does seem at home in high fashion, and I could see it on the runways at Bryant Park. My only problem, and what makes me step back from saying it should have won, is that I don't see the exact correlation between the influence of the film and the dress. But then, I often don't see the influence in finished garments.

I have to say, I really love that Leanne won with immunity. It was a great thing to see because she's just so darn cute and excited all the time. But I do have to admit that as far as fashion goes, I like Korto's dress better.

That isn't saying I don't love this one though, I do like it. I think the coat probably could have stood to be a little less bulky. But the dress is fabulous and I can really see the influence of old Hollywood in the design, without it being too retro.

I think I just still have problems understanding how the jacket fits with the dress. I see how it's an intersection of masculine and feminine and such, but at the same time, it doesn't seem to go like an outfit meant to be together. It seems to be an accidental success where the woman put on the wrong jacket or just had to grab something before she went out. I do think the jacket on it's own is really great though, it's the kind of thing I'd like to wear.

Of all the crazy things that Stella has made (and worn) throughout this show, I think that the model really works this look in this picture and makes it hard to understand why she was eliminated when compared to the other bottom level looks. But in motion and on the screen it really was just a mess. It looked to me like it needed another trip through the iron.

I'm surprised about how the fit ended up because Stella makes tight pants as a matter of course. So how did she mess up making pants? Was it just that her heart was not in it? Was it the fabric? I've got no idea. I do think it's interesting how Stella didn't pay a bit of attention to the challenge. Maybe she wanted to be out, I don't know.

I'm actually kind of confused by this print even being in Diane von Furstenburg's closet in the first place. But I suppose it could be used to good effect, it just isn't here. Also, it's boring. The jacket doesn't look well tailored or well made.

I think the positive thing about this episode is that none of the bad designs are THAT bad, but I also think that's part of what makes this season boring. Where is the crazy German lingerie?

I do really love this coat, but I have to say that the designers and their comments about Terri making the same thing over and over are really spot on. She's reminding me of Christian, only with more understandable ego and a lot more imagination. Did I say that out loud? Anyway.

I think the print worked out pretty well here, but I do wish that Terri would bust out a really fabulous floor length gown or something. What else can she do? Where is she going with this? What kind of collection would she make? This is not to say there isn't a market for Terri, there is. She is going to be very good at what she does and make money at it. I just don't know why that makes her a Project Runway winner.

A housekeeping note: I'm sorry these are getting posted on Friday's these days, but I've started grad school and I have class on Wednesday and Thursday nights and it's the first chance I get to write them up. But I should be able to continue to post them up on Fridays. Also, there's now and RSS feed for this blog, click the link over the right that says subscribe and you'll never miss a post!

Finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:56:00 +0000

I can't believe it, but seven episodes in this season of Project Runway seems to have found it's feet, and so did the designers. All it took was horribly blatant product placement! I can't believe how good this episodes was, it was like I was in a completely different series. Maybe it was that Laura came back. If you follow my blog you'll know I'm not actually a huge fan of Laura, as much as I think she did impeccable clothes I also didn't really buy into her specific style. But she did know what she was doing and it almost made up for Rachel Zoe, who I really just can't stomach.

On to the showcase of this episode, since the challenge was just so dang weird, the clothes!

On the dress form and in the sketch this dress was amazing. It was so pretty looking, and I thought "Hey, Blayne is going to pull it out once again! When is he going to stop doing this to me?" But no, instead when the garment actually came out onto the runway it just...was fitted so wrong it was depressing. What in the world did he do to make the top fit that poorly and couldn't he have stuffed her bra or something to make it a little better? Heck, Leanne stuffed our model's hips!

The concept was great, the fit was terrible. And that seemed to be universal in the lower levels of this episodes.

I hate the styling of this outfit but I can see how it's "runway styling" and not "everyday styling." But the garment itself is really great. It had some problems with bunching, but I've started paying attention to other people's clothes lately and realized that fitted clothing just bunches strangely all the time, it's only flat when you just put it on or something.

But the ideas here are sound, the colors are great. It's a little on the micro side but I love it still.

This is a little too similar to his work in the Olympic challenge, IMHO, but I like that he incorporated the logo for the car. It's a really cute outfit that I could see on the girls that walk around race tracks for some reason (do they hold the flags? I'm not sure, I'm not that into racing). But it really looks like something you'd see around a track. Only, the cars were Saturn's and I'm sorry but race cars they are not.

I love the colors though, I'll say that. I'm a huge fan of that color palette.

This is the thing about Keith's downfall: he forgot what the judges are there for. It's kind of easy to do. See, I'm in film school right now and I know how it is to be in classes or be judged by people constantly who are critiquing your work and going on about what you're doing wrong. I know how easy it is to get down on yourself and assume they hate you.

But the other thing I know, and the thing that Keith lost sight of is that the judges aren't there to make you into somebody else, just like professors aren't (if they're good professors, I've had some that did seem to want to make me in their image). What they're trying to do is help you be a better you. Help you find your voice and use it to the best of your ability, to be the most effective.

Keith couldn't figure that out, and that's part of why he's gone. If he hadn't made those comments on the runway, I'm convinced Stella would have been eliminated instead. But he decided he was a victim, and I've been there so I can't make fun of him too much for it.

The dress itself was a pretty big failure, to be honest. Seatbelts are kind of horrible for stuff like this, I've seen them made into bags a lot and they're stiff and have very little give, and they very easily pucker and twist. Though I do think that them making his model sit down in hair and makeup was just wrong. If she walked in and said, "I can't sit in this, it'll split" then they should have worked around it. Maybe she didn't say that, maybe he shouldn't have let her leave the workroom in the skirt. But all the same, something smacks of "not his fault" while at the same time reminding us of "make it work."

The problem, I think, was completely in the top. Sure, the skirt was uninteresting but if it was countered with a truly fabulous top it could have been something, and instead it wasn't.

I love the handmade zebra print so much. That was such a creative use of air filters, and I think Kenley really made something that was creative and used interesting materials. My biggest problem with it is just that it's a little boring, and it's just so much like everything else that she's given us. Where's the thing that's supposed to make it memorable?

I like this coat, don't get me wrong. But the one thing that makes me not love it as much as some is that I've seen this woven seatbelt thing before. They sell these bags at the Hirschorn in different sizes, and they do some interesting patterns to. So that's not really something that is new.

That said, it's still very impressive. I think that Korto is absolutely a lock for the final three, there's no doubt in my mind about it. One of my friends said that everything she's made has been a kimono, and I do have to admit that she goes with similar styles often enough. But she's been strong in almost every single challenge and she's definitely got a handle on herself and her own style.

I am so in love with this garment. Leanne impresses me more and more every episode, and I'm so happy that she's also got a fabulous personality and great manners to go with a good aesthetic.

I just really love what she did, with taking the natural flow of the leather and letting it really just do what it wanted. Also, for me, this is an example of a garment that isn't something you would just wear to work but isn't' so over the top that you look at it and say "WHO would wear that?" It's just well made and well thought out so you look at it and you don't care who would wear it, the model is wearing it and she looks fabulous.

I love that she decided to fray the seatbelt too. I never really thought that much about seatbelts before, but the frayed ones I've seen haven't been nearly as attractive as she made this. You also can see pretty quickly how fast she learned how not to just pile things onto the dress because the trim is so understated and it's really a trim.

An absolutely deserved win.

Stella is the same story as Keith: she was on the bottom because instead of trying to be better at what she does she decided to be something else. But also, because it was a poorly fit, boring and drab little outfit. Not to mention the fact that the seatbelt skirt had this huge pucker in each layer going down the back. I know it's a horrible "fabric" to try to work with, and that puckering like that was probably their number one enemy. But the fact that it was so bad just speaks to how little Stella wanted to work on this challenge.

I'm really a little baffled about Stella suddenly deciding not to be herself. I don't like her garments or her style, but at least she was unapologetic for it up until now. Unlike others, she just said, "this is what I do, these are the clothes I make." Sure, I wanted to see her branch out, but there's a difference between branching out and wussing out.

If the top had been more fitted and the skirt hadn't had those puckers then I think she probably would have still been in the bottom for being a touch boring, and because so many of the dresses were so good. But I wouldn't be thinking she should have gone home.

This is a really fun little outfit, but it reminds me so much of most of the things that Suede has made up until this point. I do like that he was the only one that used some of these materials, but it's overall effect was really impressive, but would have been more so if we hadn't seen this dress from him before just in different fabric.

This is a fabulous outfit, it's absolutely wearable. I could see this model walking into a club right now. Some of the praise that was heaped on Terri's earlier inspiration design fits right here. The only thing for me is that it is a little plain and safe at the same time. And saying that makes me feel like a hypocrite because both things can't be true at the same time.

I wouldn't have replaced anybody that was in the top (except perhaps Jerell, I think that this garment is on par with his) but at the same time, I think it was really fantastic and I could see this actually being sold in stores.

While on the one hand I absolutely hate this challenge because of the product placement and the cheap commercialism of it. On the other hand, it's more along the lines of the flower challenge or any of the crazy weird ones we've had in the past. I also think that these are just the best garments that these designers have produced so far. Congrats guys.

I'd rather have more Chris March

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:36:00 +0000

Really, bring back Chris March. You did it once, maybe could we do it again? Then I would have a designer I actually cared about in this year's crop. Instead, I just keep rooting for one of my five least favorites to get eliminated every week. At least this week I got my wish.

Okay, Blayne seriously needs to put tape over his mouth and stop speaking. Immediately. I think he might be sealing his fate in the fact that he'll never be able to get a serious job in his life because every employer will just keep saying, "oh, you were the licious one."

There's nothing wrong with this outfit. Which is probably the most distressing part of it all, because I wanted him to make something terrible, but he didn't. It's perfectly capable, and it looks like it's straight out of Adventures of Priscilla. It fits his Queen perfectly.

He really did need to think about the wings falling though, I know costumers who are more competent when it comes to that, but when they're standing up like they're supposed to they are pretty fun and wild.

Thank goodness that's the last time I'll have to see Daniel look so appalled at the judge's opinions of his work. Did you see the condescending look he had when talking about the challenge? The man didn't want to make a drag queen outfit and so he didn't, he thought he was above it. That's fine, Christian thought he was above everything and somehow managed to make everybody love him anyway. But Daniel came right out on the runway and said to RUPAUL of all people that he didn't want to be tacky etc. Um, you don't really know your audience, do you Daniel?

The dress is pretty, it's really nice. It's made out of great fabric, and if he had made it for another challenge I would have talked about how great it was. But once more he came in about three levels short on the challenge. He never was somebody who really could make things pop (after the cup dress anyway) and kept making rather boring, simple outfits. So I'm not surprised that this was the challenge that did him in.

I think Jerell had a bit of a difficult task ahead of him, because La May seemed to be one of the more subtle Queens on the stage, and how do you impress in a drag queen competition if you're subtle?

This is, again, a very costumey look (I hate using that word but it's all I've got for Jerell) and while that's what the challenge called for, there's something about how the collar and the dress go together that doesn't work.

But, I really think that Jerell ended up on the bottom three because everybody (except Daniel and Keith) did such a fabulous job that they had to pick SOMEBODY and they had to say SOMETHING negative about it.

It was a great dress, and so it's a little longer, it's not THAT long. And it's plenty dramatic. I think Jerell just ended up in the bottom three of a very strong group, and the judges were more harsh than even they wanted to be.

I find it amusing that Joe, who seemed just a touch too uncomfortable with the challenge, was the one who won. But he really did take his Queen and give her a fabulous outfit. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she goes and buys it off the auction so she can keep it.

It does look so fabulous on her, it fits so perfectly. It's eye-catching, it's fun, it's dramatic. There's so much about it that's perfect.

I'm not sure that I think it should be the winner, just because it is rather simple and doesn't amp up the drama that extra little bit.

This is such a terrible outfit, and if it wasn't for how insulting Daniel was on the runway, I really would have wished for Keith to go home because of it. It does the Queen no favors, it isn't fun, it isn't well made, and it just doesn't convey anything except being raggedy.

I can't for the life of me figure out what Keith was doing here. Apparently he really needs Kenley to temper his crazy and deconstructed ideas, because he could have done something with this if he had scaled back and edited a little bit. But instead he just went all out and it looks terrible. It's like he ran out of time and glued strips to a bra.

This is so typical of a Drag Queen outfit that I really don't have much to say about it. It's pretty, it's well made, it's very classic and goes with the client's style very well.

But it doesn't really pop, does it?

I love this dress, I absolutely would have picked it for the win over Joe. The biggest reason? Because Sweetie obviously loved it, and loved wearing it. It made her feel beautiful, it made her feel confident, and it showed in the way she wore it.

And that, my friends, is an amazing success. She looked and felt fabulous. The dress had drama without having too much, it fit perfectly. I love the colors, I love the sculpture on the shoulder (and unlike Blayne's wings, it was made really well).

Korto is becoming one of my favorite designers this season.

If Leanne had wanted to bring out the word surrealism, she certainly could have with this dress. I don't really like it as much as most of the other's this week, but it's a little wacky and a little fun, and it fits the client.

I love the colors too, they work so well together. There's not a false note for the fabric at all. It certainly isn't a winning garment, but it's a good effort. There's just a few more awkward looking parts to it, but I can't put my finger on what.

Stella gets a challenge to make an outfit for a drag queen, and she makes this? I'm so baffled by it. It's interesting, a little different, but I really don't see what it's about, what point she's trying to make...

I just don't understand the plaid. Not enough to think it's a bad garment, but enough to say "Eh?" I actually would have put it on the bottom instead of Jerell just to ask her what she was going for.

Dead grandfather's advice aside, what the heck was actually up with those little lettuce roses on the gloves? I didn't like it, I don't understand why Tim loved it, and I just don't get it. The dress itself is fun, but it doesn't look like a showstopper. It looks like something Hedda Lettuce would use as an intro outfit, or something for a more casual event instead of a show. It's a party dress.

But I guess the challenge didn't specify that it needed to be a show dress. Actually, looking at it, it seems like a traveling outfit to me. Like she's about to get on the train to go on some sort of exciting adventure.

I definitely like it, but it's again just the middle of the pack.

I am one of the only people who probably doesn't really like this outfit. I think it definitely deserved to be in the top three, because it does very perfectly fit the Queen it was made for. I completely agree with the top three pics (and the bottom two). But I don't like this better than Korto and Joe's for one reason: it's too much. I know, can you have too much with a drag queen? But I think this one does get there, because there's just so much going on. Not to mention that I can't imagine her actually doing a show in this. Modeling? Sure. But anything past a runway walk, what would she do? It doesn't look like she's meant to really talk, you couldn't do stand-up, you couldn't really dance...maybe you could sing, but for some reason the makeup and garment together make me think it's not meant for somebody who will be making any noises at all (maybe it's the white mime-face).

I will say that I'm so glad RuPaul mentioned Mahagony because I was desperately trying to figure out what it reminded me of.

I think Terri is probably starting to get frustrated, and I know her fans must be. She's had fantastic showings for a few episodes now but not managed to pull out the win. But I really don't think up to now that she deserved it yet. But I see it coming, I think she'll get there, and I can't wait to see it. I might be tired of her ego, but I'm in love with the fact that she really puts herself out there and makes outfits that I can remember the next week and want to talk about. Most of the other designers aren't accomplishing that yet.

Where's the drama, team challenge?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Hey, remember back in the day when Project Runway used to do these team challenges? And the people would argue and cause all this drama, even if up to this point they always got along? There would be at least one crying meltdown, and at least one angry accusation on the runway and it was when PR really delved down into typical "reality tv" territory?

I hope you remember, because I don't think this season can deliver. The drama we get is:
-Terri fusses at Suede, and he efficiently fixes the problem!
-Kelli tells Daniel that his skirt stinks and to remake it. And he gripes but does it and nobody mentions it on the runway!
-Joe says something to Tim about Korto's design, and she says she's looking out for HIM and wants to hear MORE of his imput! The nerve of her! He apologizes and says it wasn't a big deal! It all is solved with a minimum of fuss!

The interviews were so much more confrontational than the actual moments, and I have a feeling it's because the producers went, "well, crap. We tried to make something drama-rific and they didn't deliver. Quick, bait the questions and make them sound more angry!"

At least this episode the garments were so much more successful than the last, for the most part.

This is the thing about Blayne and Leanne's contribution: it doesn't fit the challenge. This isn't something that's even slightly formal, it couldn't be worn to work as is. BUT, it's really well made. I wouldn't choose most of the pieces to put them together the way they are, but I don't see anything that looks particularly borked up.

And on top of that, I really like that blue shirt. It's a bright and pretty color, it hung really well, and I just liked it. Maybe not with the purple shirt under it, but I liked it.

I think Blayne scraped through on this one not because of the actual look but because it at least was well made. Also, as bratty as he was you could tell that he and Leanne worked well together and respected each other. I like how Heidi tried to call in and say "Why didn't Leanne speak up" when really, the design was approved by Brooke Shields so what would she say? "No, you really need slacks with this." Slacks weren't what he pitched.

Though they would have improved the whole thing enormously.

Laura K. at Blogging Project Runway said that she was impressed with Jerell's attitude and the way he treated Stella. It was really admirable, and I think that the dress really shows how much they respected each other.

It's not my personal taste, but I could really see it working on Brooke Shields and on the show. I can see it working in an office setting with different accessories, and as it is out on the town. A side note, I'm really tired of this "day to night" junk on the show. Everybody seems to think it means some sort of wacky convertible thing, but really it could just be a look that works well in both settings, like this one.

The only qualm I have about this one is that the very top of it doesn't seem to fit the model very well. There's something about the way it flowed on the runway that didn't look fitted properly.

I have to say I really love the skirt. I would actually like to see if I could pull off a skirt like that. It's the type of subtle but fun print that I think they expected out of Kelli.

Am I the only one that is completely reminded of Ugly Betty with this model and the styling here? Yeah? Just me? Okay.

I love the top, I think it's really fabulous. The print is, again, really great. It's a fun bit of design and I really like it. I'm also so glad that the other print that Kenley was advocating was nixed, because seriously, what in the world was she thinking? No, please, no.

I'm not actually that big of a fan of the skirt, but it's just not my style. I can see how it could come off pretty well in the right setting, but something about it on the runway didn't seem right to me. Maybe it was the unfinished edges on the scallops, or just that they looked unfinished.

You know, I don't really like the high-waisted trend, have I said this before? On this dress it almost works, but I think lowering the waist even a few inches would have made it more successful.

But as it is, it's still a deserving win.

I have so many problems with this outfit, and that's why I'm not even that sad to see Kelli go, even as good as her first outfit was.

The colors don't seem to go, the print is just not the right choice, and my biggest problem? That the construction just seems shoddy from top to bottom.

The top is cut strangely, the bustier left this swatch of midriff that was entirely inappropriate, and it didn't look at all like they had the same time as everybody else. It looked like they took three or four hours less.

I would have been okay with Daniel going home too, if only because if you notice, I still haven't seen him repeat anything nearly as good as the cup dress and because I'm so sick and tired of how absolutely APPALLED he looks when anybody disagrees with him or says something bad about him.

Watch his reactions to anything from Joe fussing at him at his machine to Michael Kors' insults last week to Kenley's outburst of laughing (which matched my own, I admit): he's shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that anybody could doubt him! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Really? Daniel, you haven't even shown the personality and the ego to back up your indignation (see Santino for an example of this) so just let it go.

I know, I must be crazy, but I kind of enjoy this look. The colors are fun and bright, the skirt is a great counterpoint to the jacket, and it might not have as much flash as say, Jerell and Stella's contribution but I like it. It's something I could imagine seeing on stylish women in NYC.

The sleeves are a little much, but only a little.

I'm getting a little tired of Terri's schtick. This is a perfectly acceptable garment, I couldn't wear the shirt at all but I could imagine the girls I work with looking really great in this outfit. It's a little casual for the office, but not too bad for the type of office Shields' character works in.

But I really don't see anything extraordinary about it. What sets it apart? Why does it deserve any praise? I'm not really getting on the Terri bandwagon. I want to see her do something new and different, and something really fascinating. I guess we'll see.

This episode was so emblematic of this entire season. I could write an essay on it. But when they had the bottom four on the runway, all I could think was "As long as Leanne stays, I won't feel at all sorry for anybody else leaving."

Though that weird brown thing Leanne was wearing did try my patience a little.

Nobody likes to settle for silver

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:11:00 +0000

Finally, Project Runway 5 has an original challenge! It's even timely and could have been really fun and fascinating! You know, if they had some more imaginative designers who liked to take more risks and just be more out there.

The think I love about the early seasons of Project Runway, and the thing I love about a lot of really creative types, is the way they're willing to do something really wacky. As much as I don't personally like Daniel V's orchid dress from season two, it was really an amazing risk.

This outfits were all so safe, except for Jerell, that I was afraid I had missed a part of the challenge that said that they couldn't do anything too weird.

I'm also surprised at how most of the outfits don't really fit what I think of the Opening Ceremony outfits at all. If you watched last night, and saw the garments created by Ralph Lauren then you would see that the only person who really came close was Terri, and I have my own opinions about hers, which I'll get to. But in general, everybody seemed to miss the mark. (I actually delayed this post so I could watch the opening ceremonies and compare them).

Okay, for the challenge, this outfit is generally awful. It's not something that American athletes could really wear, and you couldn't make anything remotely similar for the men. Plus, it's pink and light blue, which are not the colors of our flag.

But if you take it outside the challenge, as much as I hate to say it, it's pretty cute. He must have changed the sweater a lot after he talked to Tim, or Tim didn't really see what he was saying. Because I don't see anything Sgt. Pepper about it.

I do take points off for the skinny pants, just because they work on the model but they would never work on anybody else. But really, the sweater is neat, I could see somebody wearing that if they had the confidence to pull it off.

I don't care how much I did or didn't like Jennifer, this dress is a travesty. It has nothing even remotely to do with the challenge, and if it was a challenge to make a cocktail dress, it still doesn't look very good. The buttons are just wrong, they throw off the balance completely. The shade of blue with that bright red don't really work well either. And maybe it just needed a good ironing, but why is it so wrinkled? Why did it seem so puckered on the runway?

I think both Jennifer and Daniel had an equal chance of being eliminated, and personally I think both equally deserved it. After that one high note, Daniel hasn't done anything really spectacular. If he doesn't really bring something to the table next week, then he should go.

Also, I realize Joe's little freakout was pretty unreasonable, but Daniel's reaction to it was equally idiotic. He just kept whining over and over about it when really, he could be sewing.

Last note: I don't think a bolero jacket would have saved this. In fact, I think more red would have killed it.

Again, this dress has nothing to do with the Olympics. But what it has going for it that Daniel's doesn't is that at least it's wearable and cute. But I can't make a case for it even beginning to fit the challenge.

Nina was very accurate to say that Jennifer couldn't get out of designing for herself, no matter what the challenge was. But the sad thing was that even the clothes Jennifer wore seemed very "same thing, different day" to me. I wanted to like her so much, she seemed like such a nice person. But in the end, her garments just weren't very creative at all.

And I really wanted her to just stop it with the surrealism bit. I've studied surrealism and I won't ever pretend to understand it, but I do like it. Nothing that she presented, nothing that she wore, was even remotely related to the word surrealism. If you watch Un Chien Andalou or go to a Dali exhibit (as she's always mentioning) then you'd see how little her clothing relates to the word. When Michael Kors said something about the surprise of surrealism he hit it perfectly on the head. But there's nothing surprising about Jennifer's designs.

Oh, gracious. Again, Jerell puts out something that looks like a costume more than anything. This one makes me think of boating, like it belongs in a 1950's movie with a yacht scene.

The biggest problem is that there's far too much going on. There's a hat, there's leggings, the skirt, the belt, the shirt, the two scarves and it's just all stacked one on top of the other. A little bit of editing (and a lot less hat) would have made this really work, I think. It at least would have been much more like the actual outfits worn by the athletes in the opening ceremonies.

An important note: I normally hate high waisted skirts, pants, and shorts because I think they typically make people look downright strange. This really, really works. I'm a fan of it, and that gives this a bonus point. Jerell certainly didn't deserve to be eliminated for this, but I think it's good that he got called out and told to tone it down a bit.

Joe is the only person that I thought made an effective mix of red, white, and blue. Everybody else had too much of one, not enough of another, and it just didn't work for me. But because I thought the colors were so balanced on this one, I'm glad it got in the top three. Though I have to admit that the Ralph Lauren outfits had almost no red.

I think it's much too casual for the opening ceremonies, but it would still make a really cute garment for publicity shots or some other event. I even like the USA down the side, though a lot of people think it's a little too much.

The one thing that kills it entirely though, and the thing that I think clearly lost it for him, was the mismatch of lengths on the skort. If you're going to do something like that, then you have to have the lengths match, there's no changing that. I honestly think if he had made just a little skirt then he would have had a clear chance at winning.

What in the world is that skirt? Did he just bunch of the fabric like that because he was in a hurry? Because it really just looks like a ruffle on the bottom of the jacket instead of an actual skirt.

The scarf is definitely too much, though it could have been nice if it was a little smaller. But in general, I think this outfit would look horrible on most of the athletes competing in the games, and popped collars are not actually in right now among the demographic I belong to.

A different bottom and this jacket could have been something. But with that skirt it just all falls apart. I would have put this in the bottom over Jerell, even though I thought Jerell needed waking up.

I'm really, really unsure what Kelli was going for here. It's very Pleasantville, and with this years Olympics people have been talking a lot more about the modern age and technology, so I think retro is the exact wrong direction to go.

It's a nice enough outfit, for a certain type of person. You have to be really into that 1950's look to be able to do this, and I think Kenley could probably pull it off (though she'd probably not pair the top and skirt together) but I don't really see it working as an Olympics outfit.

This is a really smart dress. I like it a lot, if you look at it completely separate from what they were trying to do. It does seem really similar to a lot of the things Kenley has made already, but it's nice, it's well made, and the model looks fantastic in it.

It's a shame it doesn't look like what they were supposed to be making at all.

Korto again is showing that clean, simple, but stunning garments are just what she does. It's very impressive, because she's not doing flashy things but she's showing how impressive something simple can be.

I have two qualms with the outfit, the high waste makes the model's lower torso look abnormally long, and that there's not enough color. I don't know where she could have incorporated very much more color, but it still would have been nice to see it.

I don't agree that this would look good on a lot of body types, anybody even slightly short would look terrible I think. People with muscular arms, it's iffy. But on the model, it's fabulous. It's a deserved win, I think.

While it's not shockingly good or bad, I really like this outfit. The model looks very happy and comfortable. The only change I would make is that the shorts make it more casual, when the opening ceremonies are a little more formal. But it's all well made.

I would still want a little more color though, personally. But it's a good effort from Leanne, I like seeing what she'll do next.

Why hasn't anybody looked at Stella and said "Please stop making the same thing over and over again!" I mean, they told Jennifer that, why not Stella? Oh, wait, because the judges went nuts over her "green" dress for some reason.

But really, tight pants. A simple vest. Blah, blah, blah. I like the colors and the contrast on this, but I want Stella to actually branch out and do something different. I also don't think it would work on anybody but somebody the model's size, and I don't think that it befits the American Athletes.

I have to admit it wasn't the worst thing out there though, and it is really well made and fitted. Begrudgingly, I have to say that it does look good on the model so it was a success on a few levels.

A lot of the designers are having trouble being really creative, aren't they? Sure, little things might be different, but I see such similarities between their outfits from week to week. Change it up people! Be different! The whole point is to show a range.

This is a cute little dress. I like it. But it's not very imaginative, it's not very different, and it's not even that difficult looking. I've made skirts like that before, and I'm certainly not that skilled.

The worst part is, this actually fits the challenge really well, unlike so many of the others. Well, if the skirt was a little longer.

Like Joe, two changes and Terri might have walked home with this one (and been really similar to the designs that the athletes DID wear). First, get rid of the scarf. What in the world is the scarf? Why does it exist? Why did she add it, and when she did, why did she make it a billowing tumor down the front?

The other thing she needs to do is not have the top fit so poorly so that the model was falling out of it. When I saw it, I assumed there was some sort of flesh toned top part on the shirt, and that it wasn't fitted properly so it looked like the model wasn't wearing a complete shirt.

Nope, turns out that it really was the model spilling out of her shirt. That's just completely ridiculous, and I can't believe somebody didn't mention it on the show.

Like I said though, those two changes and this is easily the best effort on the runway and the clear winner. The jacket is just fabulous, the pants fit well and aren't those cursed skinny jeans type fit. Everything else about it is spot on.

Enjoy the Olympics everybody! I had a lot of fun watching the opening ceremonies and seeing what all the countries had their athletes wearing. There were a few too many solid colored blazers though, and I was sad that the U.S. outfits were so boring. Fashionable, I guess, but boring.

Inspiration take two

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:36:00 +0000

Sorry this is a few days late, I was in the land the internet forgot for the week watching the ponies swim on Chincoteague Island. It was a ton of fun, but they also didn't have Bravo so I had to wait until I got home to post.

I know everybody is saying it, but it bears repeating: what's with the recycling old challenges, Runway? The first one was kind of cute, and interesting to go back and do it again. But this one? Blah, blah, and more blah. All it did was really put a spotlight on how dull this pack of designers really are.

I really don't understand why Emily got all the dislike and this dress didn't even make the bottom three. They're really extremly similar, and honestly I think Emily's is better made and more presentable.

Blayne is going to be one of those who is either really good or terrible isn't he? For one, his inspiration photo wasn't all that fascinating. Actually, almost none of them were. For two, what in the world is that collar?

I would have made this dress be out before Emily's, honestly. It's so...amateur and simplistic. It's a little literal, which is never really fun, and it just makes me think of the kind of thing a teenage girl makes when she first decides she wants to be a fashion designer.

First, I don't understand this dress exactly. That little bit of black bodice at the top just makes me think the dress wasn't finished and it's her bra showing through or something. But the fabric is lovely, and if it didn't have that one thing that confuses me, I'd like it more I think.

But it is just rather dull. And aside from the materials, the cup dress wasn't that amazing either. I guess you could argue that Daniel is all about simplicity and classic sillouettes but so far I've just been wondering what he can do and when he's going to stand out again.

I can't understand why so many people seem to think that Jennifer's dress was a bigger disaster than this one. For one, her picture was so typical. It's NYC at night, let's do time lapse of car's lights. Never heard of that before.

For another, it's supposed to be a photo about energy and movement, and this dress has NONE of that. It's just a ruffle. A big, funny looking, not very colorful ruffle. And it looks like it's supposed to go all the way around but one end got detached and is just hanging down the front.

Plus, Emily committed the cardinal sin of saying, "Tim Gunn told me X, BUT, I like my design so I'm not listening." STOP DOING THAT. How many times do we have to repeat this over and over and over? Maybe Tim isn't always right, but don't discount him without thinking about it.

If the dress had been strapless, then maybe the ruffle wouldn't have been as bad, but instead you've got this one shoulder that's thick and doesn't make sense.

The only thing that keeps me from confidently saying this dress deserved to be eliminated is that I think Blayne's was so much worse.

So help me, I cannot figure out what the heck matronly means while watching this show. I've tried to pay attention, and I just don't get it. Is it the fabric? Is it the length? The sleeves? I don't know, nothing is consistent about when they employ that word, except maybe that the dresses are a little more conservative.

This is the thing with Jennifer's garment though: her inspiration photo was actually kind of neat, and different than what most people come up with. New York City at night, and we get graffiti and we get lights every single time. But we don't neccesarily get a well-cropped photo of a pretty nifty looking clock. And maybe it's just that I often find myself taking photos of neat clocks when I'm on vacation, but I like it.

I like her fabric, and I see where she went from her photo to the dress. Okay, it's not gorgeous, it's not perfect, and it maybe deserved to be pretty low on the scores because it's a little dull, and only the sleeves really make reference to the clock. But you can't convince me that it's not a better garment than Emily, Blayne, and Keith's creations. The worst part of it is the top layer of blue skirt, because it poofs out in an odd way. Otherwise, it's not THAT great, but no, it isn't an elimination dress either.

I admit that Jennifer shouldn't have started her whole Holly Golightly/Dali thing and talking about surrealism because it's not in this outfit. She even said in an interview that she was going literal. So that was a major misstep, she sold it wrong. There's nothing slightly surreal here.

I have so little to say about this dress. It's a step up from last week, but at least it looks more like a flamenco dancer than an exotic dancer. The bust fits oddly, and really, that's all I've got. Why are these designers so dull?

I liked Joe's photo, it stuck out in my mind. Plus, he did a more literal take that still managed to be interesting, and kind of cute. But he's still coasting along the middle of the pack, when is he going to do something that's going to get him noticed?

Oh, Keith. His photo was intriguing, the idea was really interesting. Most people in a challenge like this, if they're not Andrae, are going to look for all those bright flashy and beautiful things that make up NYC. But Keith found something dirty and discarded, which is also a part of any city.

And then he went completely in an opposite and strange direction that I couldn't follow. How did he get from that photo to this dress? I absolutely don't get it. It just looks like a bunch of rags pinned onto a sack. The fabric choices don't make a lot of sense to me either. I have no idea what he was thinking, and honestly thought he was going home. Which would be sad, he's grown on me.

To be completly honest, I keep going back and forth on if this one is worse than Emily's, and the only reason I think it isn't is because he at least had a different kind of inspiration photo.

So promising right out the gate, and yet what has Kelli given us in the two challenges since? I know they're designers and not photographers, but her photo was kind of bad. There's a way to take a photo of a fire hydrant and that's not it. But that's just me being picky.

This is not my type of dress. At all, it doesn't even come close to the types of things I like. I can see the Mad Max influence, I can see how it could be an expression of her as a designer. But I don't really care for it anyway.

Okay, I want to say first that I kind of like Kenley. She seems like a nice and fun person, she has a design sense that I like. I like vintage, I like that older pin-up style. I really enjoy some of the clothes she's made and worn so far.

I really don't like this dress and I have no idea why it won. I can't figure out who would wear it, where they would wear it, and what the relation to her photo was at all. It had generally nothing to do with her photo, let's all admit that right here. The colors weren't even similar.

The tulle-like skirt part is interesting, and if it had been with a different pattern for the main dress, or different sleeves on the dress, I might have gone for it. But putting it all together, I just simply don't like it at all. Thick collar, puffed sleeves, bubble skirt...it's all too much.

I have no idea why this won. No idea at all.

Remember when I was talking about Daniel and how he might just really like simple garments? I get that feeling from Korto, she's seems to be very focused on simple ideas done well. But here's the thing: her outfits aren't boring. They're just not flashy.

I don't even remember her inspiration picture, but this jumpsuit is completely wearable and I could see it on store shelves right now. It's nice, it's well made, and it's just a good, solid effort. I can forgive the misstep from last week easily when you put this and the first dress together.

I think I'm joining a chorus from the rest of the internet when I say I want this skirt. Leanne deserved this win, hands down. She looked at the city and found something commonplace for inspiration, and said as much. That's something that a good photographer has, the eye for seeing things that have always been there as something worth looking at, for not glossing over the commonplace and forgetting that it's there.

Then she took that inspiration, and made something classy out of it. Something simple, beautiful, and it's very easy to see how she went from the photo to the garment. But at the same time, it wasn't a literal translation of it, it was just an inspiration.

She learned so much from last week, and I'm sure it makes all the judges happy they didn't eliminate her because I don't think Wesley could have done that. It's always impressive to see that kind of progression from somebody on a show like this. Most of the time they walk around saying, "I don't care what the judges think this is what I want!"

This whole piece is just absolutely fabulous, and I have no idea why it didn't win. Apparently the internet feels the same, because every poll I've seen has said by a gigantic majority that it was the favorite.

Deserved praise, every bit.

Can we eliminate Stella before I fall asleep? Or before she wears those atrocious pants again? Please?

This is so boring and typical that I refuse to talk about it.

Kind of cute, kind of fun, not that fascinating. I'm so running out of nice things to say about some of these people's outfits. Somebody on Blogging Project Runway commented that this looked like it belonged in Michael Knight's collection from season three, and I completely agree. But it looks made well, and it fits her nicely.

I have absolutely no idea why the judges loved this so much. I can see how she went from her picture to this, that's fine. I can see how they enjoy it in a 70's throwback kind of way.

But I just don't like that pattern for the top at all. There was something about it on the show that bothered me the entire time. The horizontal nature of it? The darkness of the colors? I don't know what it is, but that pattern on that dress seems completely wrong to me.

So I didn't like it, and I think I really could have if it was slightly different. A little lighter maybe? I don't know. But I certainly don't get the idea of wanting to get to know a girl that's wearing that outfit. I wouldn't think she was anybody intersting at all. Sure, attitude, I can see that. And I can completely understand why it was in the top, in fact I think the top dresses were the best ones. But I don't understand the overwhelming praise.

It must be that it's just not my style, I guess.

Let's see which challenge they crib off of next week! I would guess a team challenge, but it's not the right number of designers for that. I'm going to guess there's unconventional materials involved.

Short Delay

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:47:00 +0000

My "recap" of the most recent episode Project Runway will be up on Friday. I'm currently on Chincoteague Island for the 83rd Annual Pony Penning/Swim and there is no Bravo at the hotel. Tune in mid-afternoon on Friday!

Not an actual green dress among them

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Sorry about not getting this up yesterday, I meant to do it but then birthday festivities took over the whole afternoon ; )

First and foremost I'd like to express how much I hate the term "green." For one thing, if I was going to pick an "earth friendly" color it would be blue or brown. For the other thing, you're talking about fashion. In fashion, could we please reserve the word "green" to mean actually green? Please, use something else, it just ends up sounding so silly to be walking around saying "This challenge, we're going green!" and "This time you had to make green cocktail dresses!" and then have the models walk down with not a green dress among them.

Also: I think a fabulous challenge would be restricting all the designers to the exact same fabric. Because seeing the way that different people took the same fabrics was actually the most fascinating part of this challenge.

On to the actual garments, which underwhelmed me completely. Why exactly did the models end up with so little fabric, or are the designers so bad at using what they have? Or do "green" fabrics cost $30 a yard? I guess that's possible at a nice fabric store like Mood, but really last time I spent $75 on a dress it was floor length. Heck, the last one I made was floor length and fully lined, and it maybe topped $120.

I completely expected to hate Blayne's next creation, after I hated his "girlicious" one so much. But actually, I think this is a fun little outfit. I'm not sure what type of girl would wear it, but his model looks very nice. It might not be for cocktails with people you're trying to impress to get a promotion, but it would be good for cocktails with your friends. I'm still floored that this was Blayne's.

I like this dress, it's pretty simple and cute. Any women's fashion that includes pockets gets a bonus point from me. But there's just something about it that makes me think of Cloe's 23th look from season two. Sure, this is black and that one was gold, but for some reason that's just all that comes to mind.

I'm so bored already this season, this dress has so little I can really say about it. They make this big dramatic thing about if he'll finish or not and of course he does and there it is. It's a black dress. It's a cut, unremarkable black dress. A thrill a minute, these people are. He goes from a dress made of plastic cups to this? Oh well.

This is the dress that most makes me think "where was all the fabric?" It honestly looks more like a bathing suit cover-up than a dress. It's really cute, and I like it a lot from the front (I seem to recall not liking the back though) but if it just had a little more length on the skirt it would be nice.

I am glad she actually used different fabrics. I think a lot of the reason that designers made such short dresses and complained about lack of fabric was how almost all of them seemed terrified of the idea of using two colors. Live it up! Geeze.

This looks like something a costumer would put together in a couple hours to wear to a dance at a convention. I'm sorry, I like Jennifer a lot, she seems really nice, and really my type of person. But this dress has absolutely nothing going for it. Why are the gray parts so completely different? Why does the top fit so poorly? Why are those colors paired in that way? I think they could have gone together if there was less gray and it was more prominent. But that's just my hunch.

But if there weren't such obvious mistakes from other designers, I could see this being in the bottom for being so little effort or real "design."

This outfit looks like it should be worn by a higher class hooker. As if the outfit wasn't bad enough, the top doesn't fit, and the makeup is terrible. I don't blame L'oreal for that either.

Is this the same model who was wearing the horribly styled raincoat last week? Because I feel so sorry for her. Why in the world can't she have somebody who knows how to put together a good look?

Ugh. And that blue fabric seems really gorgeous too, it would have probably been a lot of fun to work with. Or was it the mysterious "jersey" everybody hated so much? Because I think they must have forgotten to watch the show for the last four seasons, when multiple designers have made really amazing looks out of jersey, over and over again. It's praises have been sung probably once a season. It could be completely fashionable to make a cocktail dress out of jersey, you just have to be willing to try it. This is why this crop of designers is not making me happy, they don't seem to be all weird ideas and risk like some of the others in the past.

Though I guess you could call dressing your girl like she's about to hit the street corners to get you some extra cash is a risk...

Joe had the same brown fabric as the two people on the bottom and he didn't end up even getting called onto the runway. I think that says something that Wesley should have heard loud and clear: it's not the fabric, it's the designer.

Don't get me wrong, fabric can make or break your outfit a hundred times over. But you can still get it together, and you should be able to when you're competing on Project Runway.

This brown has it's issues, and I think this dress wouldn't really look good in most situations because it's all wrinkles and puckers on all three things made from it. But Joe seemed to understand that, and he made something simple, sleek, and well-tailored to make up for it.

And he didn't win, sure. But he wasn't out either.

This dress looks cute and fun in this picture. This dress moved on the runway like it belonged in a circus. I know that it's my own personal issue against those kinds of skirts but I just can't take it. Standing still, it's great. But the way it moved...yuck.

What is this? Seriously, it's not a cocktail dress. The skirt is so stretched in such an odd way...

I realize it's one of only a handful of outfits to really utilize having more than one color of fabric. But I just can't stand it. The colors look good together, but the top is just too much and it seems badly sewn. Which is dissapointing, coming from Kelli. Did she run out of fabric? What happened on the left side that made it so uneven and strange?

And for something so dull, why do I dislike it so?

This dress is fabulous. I don't really usually like things with a big collar like that, but for some reason it works here. Maybe it's the model, maybe it's the color, but it's fun. I can't imagine actually trying to wear it to an event, how would you eat? I guess you wouldn't because getting a stain out of that would be a disaster and you wouldn't want to risk it. But even sipping cocktails in a collar like that probably has it's own challenges.

But with just the subtle belt to break up the dress, and the collar being the only real draw to it, I think the reason this dress works so well is that it's fitted and sewn perfectly. Kenley certain didn't lament her fabric, she took it and made it into what it really wanted to be. She made something so elegant and classic I almost expected Laura from season three to pop out of the woodwork to applaud.

One question: why? Maybe the outside darts could work, though I can't really imagine them ever looking like anything besides inside-out. Maybe that super small top part could work if the look was meant to be slimming overall, but instead with the point being to accentuate her curves, it makes her look more bottom heavy than she deserves.

But then the wings hit you. They make no sense, I can't even fathom what in the world could have been going through her head as she put them on. Why? How could anybody in their right mind sew those things onto the dress and think it's a good idea?

And the worst part, the back of the dress was completely off-putting. It wasn't symmetrical, though it seemed like it was trying to be. It looked like it was badly done. When you look at the front, you have misgivings but think "it's not too bad" but if you see the back...then you chuck your good faith out the window and say, "Wow, this is just wrong."

Also, at this point in the competition, Korto really shouldn't be so emotional. She's going to get labeled like Andrae. I realize she didn't actually break down for 45 minutes on the runway, but it just made me feel like a horrible person as I watched her start crying.

But as horrible as I feel, I can't change how much I dislike the dress, and neither can the judges.

This outfit is...special. Honestly, I love Leanne, she's exactly my type of person. She seems to be a little shy, but to also really think as she speaks. I like her quite a bit.

But she committed one of the cardinal sins of Project Runway, and I think it's definitely in the drinking game (if there isn't a PR drinking game, then why are you slacking internet? Make one!): she said, "Tim Gunn said XX but I'm not going to listen."

*bangs head on desk* When are they going to learn? WHEN?

Anyway, the thing to remember, and the thing that saved her despite the massive amount of stuff that got thrown on this dress, is that while she made a lot of stuff out of that brown fabric, she made it WELL. It's a terrible fabric to try to make an entire garment out of, but she did as good a job as she could, I think.

I felt really bad when Heidi asked her model how she liked it, because you could tell the model didn't want to hurt Leanne's feelings, but also wanted to be honest. At least Leanne didn't get upset and start spouting off about being thrown under a bus (who started that phrase, and can we go back in time and actually throw them under a bus?) I think Leanne might be too classy for that.

I am 90% baffled as to what the judges loved here. For one thing, this is absolutely the wrong fabric to be making this kind of dress out of. It looks like crushed velvet to me, and who knows, it might be.

But really, in the end, it looks like something Julia Roberts would have worn in the pre-shopping-montage moments of Pretty Woman. You can do the asymetrical one sleeve thing, but this just looks wrong here.

I'm not saying it deserved to be on the bottom, it didn't. But it certainly didn't deserve top three. Not with some of the other looks that came down the runway.

When I saw this dress on the form, half-finished, I made a couple noises that roughly translated to "Oh my goodness, there is a mess of weirdness over there and it's going to be nuts." But it completely surprised me, and I'm glad it won. While I think Kenley's dress was very impressive too, this one was flirty and fun and original.

I like that Blayne didn't sit around whining that he had the wrong fabric and he hated the fabric and blah blah blah. He just said, "This is neat. Everybody else has it too, but here, let's do something else..."

He's one of the only people that really tried to make something great out of what he had, rather than just making something. I personally would like it more pink showed through, and I'm not a huge fan of the tulle because I generally think tulle is a bad idea if you're over the age of five. But it's still much more inventive and fun than anything else people did.

This is the dress I think should have been in the top three instead of Stella. One of the girl's at work said she would buy it and happily wear it. It's not revolutionary, it's not really amazing. But it's very wearable, it's very nice, and it's something that I could absolutely see being on the rack tomorrow at the store.

And somehow Terri managed to actually have a dress of a decent length instead of a micro-mini. Maybe her model just has a little more sense.

First, Wesley can't dress himself, so I'm not sure what we expected. Did you SEE the outfit he was wearing on the runway? It hurts my brain.

Second, apparently Wesley has no color sense. He stood there with some nice green and this brown and said they didn't work together at all, and just chucked the green out the window. I looked over at my husband, who actually has to think about colors that go well together for a living, and we both were completely baffled. Everybody I've talked to has agreed that he should have made the dress with the green as a focus and brown as an accent, so that that fabric wouldn't have done him in like it did.

Third, he came off as such a whiner. Nothing was his fault, nothing was his problem. He basically was like Stella last week. I should establish a Whiner of the Week award. Goodness gracious, what do these people expect? They're on Project Runway!

Lastly, this dress is such a mess. He said it himself, he was completely aware that this fabric was absolutely unforgiving. And yet he did it anyway and he messed it up so terribly. I admit, I couldn't have done anything with this brown. But I also admit that I'm not a fashion designer, I'm a "sometimes it's fun to make costumes" type. The design isn't even one that would look good with that type of fabric if it was impeccably done.

Actually, quite frankly, this fabric is just a bad choice for a dress. One of the main reasons that Joe's wasn't too bad was that he made something that wasn't so heavy with it. But it's a heavy, dark, difficult thing. It's meant to be an accent, or a skirt, or a top, not an entire outfit.

There are a few things about fabric shopping that are always good to remember:
1. Get the best fabric you can afford. Sure, there's usually some $3/yard stuff but your finished garment will look like $3/yard. Maybe you can't get the luxury stuff, and for some projects and budgets cheap is the only way to go. But it's the best advice I've ever gotten about sewing: buy the best fabric you can afford.

2. While you should buy as much fabric as you can afford, and if you're working from a pattern go with their recommendations, cut conservatively. Use every inch that you can. Depending on the width of the stuff on the bolt, you can get a nice dress with very little yardage. But for some reason the Project Runway crowd always seems to be so wasteful with their fabric. Maybe that's just how it looks from this side of the editing. But really, my mom always used to buy a yard or two less than the pattern called for because she could cut the pieces so much better than their diagrams. Thankfully, pattern makers have made better diagrams.

3. Remember money for notions, but that shouldn't be the bulk of your budget. It's easier to get buy without a zipper than it is to get buy with two yards less fabric.

Maybe next week, somebody will do something really wacky. Though I have to say, hearing Tim Gunn say that he wants to jump in front of a cab after he slits his wrists made my husband and I burst out laughing.

Back where we started from

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:44:00 +0000

I didn't meant to do a hiatus at the same time as Project Runway, but that's what happened, huh? Anyway, I've also been reading a lot more books that just weren't good or bad enough to review. They were just kind of there.

But since Project Runway is back, so are my recap/review/ramblings!

Every time Project Runway or Top Chef start a new season, I just watch the new people and wonder if I can get invested in them. They never seem to catch my attention quite like the first crowd (for me, Runway season two and Top Chef season one). But then somewhere along the line, one or two of them win me over. Last season, it was Chris March and Kit Pistol. In season three, it was Michael and Kayne.

The strength of each season, I think, is how I feel about those contestants that I don't become big fans of. While I loved Michael and Kayne, I still really liked Bonnie, Bradley, Katherine, Uli, and Robert. But in Season 4, most of the contestants were ones that I tolerated more than actually LIKED.

So now I'm sitting here wondering how this season is going to fall. I have to say that the women look like a lot of fun this time around. Some of them seem a little out there *coughStellacough* but for the most part, they seem like a really interesting bunch. Then men...well, we'll just say I like Joe, so far.

But enough rambling, on to the clothes!

This completely reminds me of Santino's disastrous skating outfit from season two. I know that Michael Kors said it was the wrestling challenge over again, but I don't see that as much as that turkey feather explosion.

First and foremost: what the hell is with the "girlicious" thing? What is so girlicious about this outfit? There is NOTHING that that moniker fits here. Girlicious to me is something that Britney Spears or Ginger Spice would wear. Something sleek that shows off their curves, possibly in pink but not necessarily.

There's also something very strange about the shoulders. You only got a glimpse of it once in a while, but they were made out of some odd colored fabric that had nothing to do with the rest of it. The whole outfit was just confused and going in too many directions.

Blayne also strikes me as a whiner. His model is too curvy apparently (they had their measurements, and they should realize that's what the hour of fitting is for) and according to my text messages, the supermarket clerk rang up his purchases wrong so he didn't have the money for a skirt.

Really? Austin's dress shriveled and almost died. It's called make it work.

I'm not thrilled with Blayne, at all.

I'm with the judges on this one: who goes in the grocery store and says "plastic cups! GENIUS!" But it worked, and it worked really well. That must have been such a time consuming and difficult dress to make.

I admit that it doesn't really look comfortable, or all that perfect (she is so obviously encased in hard, rough plastic) but if it was made of fabric it would just be a cute little dress. I think the only reason he didn't win is because he went with just one idea rather than the multitude of stuff that Kelli did. But it's a very strong showing to start out the gate with.

I have to say that I'm actually not a fan of this outfit. And I agree with Tim that everybody used a "fabric substitute" and that made it kind of boring. The outfits were interesting, and they were dresses, sure. But it went entirely against the spirit of the challenge.

The bottom of the dress, using the detail from the tablecloth, are cute. It's all at least interesting, but it honestly just makes me think that somebody stuck a bunch of gum on the model and this is the result of years worth of schoolchildren's bad habits.

Plus, there's the fact that the collar of the dress doesn't really seem to flow into the rest of the dress, it's like they're two different outfits put together. I have a feeling most of the collar is the result of Tim's angry comment about nobody being able to wow the judges.

I know that I'm technically yawning because I got almost no sleep last night, but this dress could easily be the culprit. It's so boring that there's so little I have to say about it.

See, I know it's made of paper towels, and that's interesting. But they didn't really transform into anything, it just became a boring little dress. Michael Knight's coffee filter dress was fluttering and fascinating. Somehow, it was both coffee filters AND a dress. Don't ask me what the difference is, but there's nothing that makes it MORE. Maybe that's what Tim means by wow factor.

(The fact that I just typed that as "WoW factor" means I'm playing way too much World of Warcraft, BTW).

On the one hand, I'm not entirely sure what this outfit even is. On the other hand, it's pretty whimsical and much more reminiscent of the outfits from the first time they did this challenge. The skirt is actually really cute, it's the kind of thing I'd want to wear. The top is a little out there, and the colors certainly clash a bit. But for some reason having the stripes on the top go all the wrong directions actually makes me like it MORE.

And the paper umbrellas are a fun touch, I'm surprised nobody else thought of it. Overall, a good idea, but not the best outfit to walk down the runway that night.

Poor Jerry, I actually liked him. I think his problem here was more styling and presentation than the actual outfit. Well, there's a few problems with the outfit too.

But the boots? Too much. The gloves? Never in a million years should have happened. That weird hat she's got on? Bad choice. The wacky cape on the raincoat? What in the world was that for?

If he had actually taken the shower curtain and made a really great raincoat with it, I think he would have been middle of the pack safe. But he tried to just chuck stuff at it to capture that "wow factor" and none of it worked at all. Plus, if he had said something about his inspiration being the whole "april showers bring may flowers" and then actually followed through on that...

Think about it, cute little white raincoat (that was tailored and fit without the weird bunching on top) is atop a neat little dress that actually is covered in fake flowers (or real ones) or umbrellas, or something bright and colorful and reminiscent of flowers...

That would have been a great reveal on the runway, it would have been cute, and it would have been a great soundbite for the judges. But instead, it's just blah. Plus, the dress under the raincoat was a disaster. The gauze, and the random swaths of purple just made me think of a bad sci-fi movie.

I'm sorry Jerry. I don't think you were the worst of the bunch...in fact, I don't eve think this was the second worst. But it was third to last, probably.

This was a really cute idea, and he styled it really well. But I just really like that he went in with a theme and an idea (pasta, one of my favorite foods) and he executed the theme from top to bottom. The pasta makes a really fun pattern on the skirt, the pot holders make a great bodice. It's not really making a dress out of banana peels, but it's still a really cute little outfit.

I'm already thinking I'm going to like Joe.

Again with the yawning. And this time I can't even talk about how it's paper towels. It's just a tablecloth. Yay.

It's not even a new or interesting silhouette or a really fabulous gown...it's just a little cocktail dress. We've seen this plenty of times before.

I think it's obvious that this should be the winning outfit. I have no qualms here, this was the best, the cup dress came in second. I really love the skirt, that's the kind of print that I would wear if I could pull it off (and if there was really a top that matched it). She's the only person that didn't use a single thing as it was intended. Well, aside from the cups.

But she didn't use any plain fabric. Even her fabric substitute, the vacuum cleaner bags, she transformed with die and bleach. She made clasps out of a notebook, she made a pattern with thumbtacks (and I'd like to know how she did that without killing her model). The whole thing was exactly what the challenge was about.

When it comes down to the dress itself, I like the skirt, and the clasps in the back. The thumbtack belt I'm okay with. But I'll be honest, I hate the coffee filter bodice. I can recognize that it was exactly the right thing to win the challenge, but I have to admit that it just looks weird on the model. It doesn't really flow from the top to the bottom, it feels like three pieces put together, like one of those books where you flip part of the page to make silly pictures.

But it's still the clear winner.

I love that you could still see the texture of the dodgeball on the bodice. I also really like the fun, asymetrical nature of the skirt. If Kelli and Daniel's outfits hadn't been so great, I think this one would have been in the top. It's a cute, fun outfit. It's colorful when most of them really weren't and it seems to fit pretty well too.

I imagine that it wasn't that comfortable to wear though.

I don't really see what Michael Kors was so in love with here. I do like that she used fresh produce, and that she thought about it. It wasn't just "I want to throw something living on here to be impressive" it was "I wanted to slice the tomatoes to look like brooches or jewels."

It sort of reminds me of the salad dresses that Chris March made before he came on the show. But I see why the judges didn't really want to put it too far ahead because it, once again, was just a piece of cloth that happened to come from a grocery store.

It's a good dress though, it's made well and it's just different enough to catch the eye. Plus, the colors are all fabulous together.

This is a really cute dress, but it seems like something you'd make for a five year old for Halloween. Add a tiara of twizzlers and call her queen of candyland.

But I do have to say that of all the people that listened to Tim say "what's with all the fabric" Leanne actually did something about it. There's not much different between her gluing the meringues on top of the tablecloth than Joe gluing pasta on a muslin skirt, or Chloe gluing leaves on a dress for that matter.

It's not my style at all, and it could probably stand to be a few inches longer, but it's a pretty good effort. Also, for some reason, I really like Leanne and can't wait to see more from her.

I hate this outfit and I don't like the designer much more. Remember when I said Blayne was a bit whiney? Yeah, Stella turns that up to eleven. She's the one that got the trash bags without looking to see if they were high quality or cheap, and not thinking about it. And she put more in her bag than one box of trash bags and yet she couldn't muster herself to do anything but this?

It's a horrible, horrible outfit. It's not even close to the outfit that got Kirstin eliminated in season two (the clothes off your back challenge). That one at least had an interesting skirt to go with it.

Not to mention that she styled it with the hair under the halter top, so I kept wanting to yank it out and fix it.

She did nothing to make this outfit. She barely draped it, and sure she "hand sewed" it, but really? That's barely any effort compared to what some other people did here.

She should have been eliminated, I can't imagine why she wasn't. Jerry at least showed some creativity. This, this is something that a middle-school goth kid might whip up.

It's boring. It's a checkered tablecloth. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Also: SUEDE? And he owns a bedazzled denim jacket with his "name" on it? Wow, I am not impressed.

I don't exactly love the look of the top, but I love that she did it. It was something different, and nobody else really did anything similar (unless you count Blayne's weird jump rope belly patch). I can't imagine how much work went into weaving that together, I'm impressed.

It's a pretty nice outfit too, but there's not that much I can say about it.

Boring. Tablecloth. Only with fly swatters as decorations. And? And nothing, that's it.

You know what I'd like to see? Next week's challenge to be "take all that crap you bought and didn't use, you know, all the fun stuff? Make THAT into a dress now you slackers."

But I guess they didn't know people would buy all those fun looking things and then not bother using them.

I think this crowd looks promising, but if Stella doesn't get eliminated soon, I might snap. Especially if I have to see her in those leather-booty-short-with-striped-leggings pants again.

Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside by Holly Black

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:40:00 +0000

This is again my contribution to the Mythopoeic Award Challenge, but only Tithe and Valiant are on the list of nominees. Ironside I read just because it rounded out the story.

Okay, this is a hard review to write. Because I love the Spiderwick Chronicles, I love Holly Black's blog. I even met her for a brief moment at Faeriecon last year and she was fantastic and interesting.

But I just couldn't get into these books. I didn't dislike them, don't get me wrong. The characters just didn't engage me somehow. I blame this partially on the fact that Roiben, the main male character, is an elf. I don't like elves. I know, this makes me a bad fantasy fan, but I don't. They're always gorgeous and perfect, lean and athletic, with pretty hair, and some kind of tragedy that tries to make up for their perfectness. Not interested. Roiben got much more interesting in Ironside, but in Tithe he just seemed like he was a foil more than a character.

My problem with Valiant was that while I could sympathize with Val's desire to run away and I even thought parts of her story were fascinating, the fact is that I just couldn't muster up any sympathy for all the drug users in the story. Maybe I'm not supposed to like them all, but as soon as Val agreed to shoot up Never, I just couldn't feel bad for her when bad things started happening. In my mind I just said, "Well, she's the one doing drugs..."

Now, this part is hard to explain because I read kids books all the time. I don't care what age range a book is for, I care if the book is good. But these books read like young adult books, and that sometimes got in the way of what they were trying to be, I think. Also: I have an intense personal problem with pop culture references. It's very difficult for me to stomach them, no matter what they are. The current trend in young adult novels is basically full of pop culture references. I hear Avalon High is an excellent book, but I made it about two Britney Spears comments before I put it back.

This makes it sound like I'm very negative about these books, I'm not. I would happily recommend them to anybody that likes faerie tales (the original kind, with the dark settings and the bloody bits). Anybody who likes young adult books would probably also love them, and anyone who liked The Blue Girl by Charles De Lint would enjoy them as well, I think.

But if you aren't a regular reader of faerie tales or young adult novels, I think you'd have trouble with all the genre conventions that these books exhibit.

I really look forward to reading anything that Black writes, but I expected these books to be a little different than they were, so I can't help feeling a little disappointed.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:31:00 +0000

Okay, so there will be discussion of the Project Runway final collections, but for now we're going to take a break and review a book!

As I mentioned in January, I'm doing the Mythopoeic Award Challenge over at Foxy Writer.

The first book I decided to read was 2004's Adult Fantasy Winner, Sunshine by Robin McKinley

I actually had picked this book up a few times, trying to read it probably three times. I got it from PaperBackSwap on the basis of a friend's recommendation. I picked it up again after another friend mentioned how much she loved McKinley's other book, Beauty.

But I just couldn't seem to crack that first chapter. Reading the book for the challenge, I made myself get through it and I'm not sure if I feel this is an accomplishment, or a foolish endeavor.

McKinley has created a fascinating world, where the Voodoo Wars have changed the face of the city where our protagonist is a baker. Vampires, ghouls, weres, and other paranormal creatures are a fact of life there. Magic handlers are famous, and there's a branch of government called the Special Other Forces.

The author created an interesting situation: the main character, Rae (who is called Sunshine) is the heir of a very important magic handling legacy. She's ignored these talents for years, but has some skills at transmuting. Her "element" is sunshine, which is rare, but gives her interesting skills. Through a few quirks of fate, she ends up imprisoned with a vampire named Constantine, and befriends him. She then ends up joining him in an effort to kill the vampire whose gang captured her.

Okay, with that description, it still sounds like a pretty great book, at least a very interesting one. However, the book doesn't try to actually be about this fascinating world. It doesn't really explore the strange connection between Sunshine and Constantine (though it pretends to, it never gets anywhere). It certainly doesn't really explore why Constantine, of all the vampires in the world, is a good guy. We're told that there are different ways of being a vampire. But then we're told over and over that vampires are evil, terrible, etc.

WHY is Constantine special? HOW is he substantially different from the others? Well, that certainly wouldn't matter, would it?

Except it does. Everything that the reader might desperately want to explore is thrown by the wayside. Why?

I fully blame the fact that the book is written in first person. Rae has only a few settings in her brain, and we're treated to them ad nasueum:

1. She makes cinnamon rolls. Amazing, astonishing, large, popular cinnamon rolls. Lest you forget, we are reminded of these cinnamon rolls every chapter, at least once. If not more times.

2. Rae doesn't trust the SOF, or authority in general. Or really, anybody. So she's constantly talking about all these fabulous people in her life, and then telling us why she doesn't trust them and can't rely on them. Only, her reasons aren't all that sound. Her boyfriend has tattoos. Apparently this means something, though we never get to find out what, and it keeps her from telling him anything. Because he has tattoos. Huh?

3. Rae is a complete vampire fangirl, but don't mistake that to mean she thinks vampires are cool! They're evil, she shouldn't be friends with one! She should stake him on sight! She totally reads anything ever written about vampires but she knows better, she knows they're bad, she just likes to read stories where they're not bad! Or something.

The entire book is Rae complaining that she wants her life to be normal again, while never acting like that's what she actually wants. She pretty much walks around using her powers at every available opportunity, while complaining that she has them and wishing they'd go away. This isn't just a case of the reluctant hero, who eventually accepts that they are the only person who can complete the task. This is just a bad character.

If the story was about Rae, but we weren't treated to her inner thoughts, I think it could have survived. But instead, she thinks the same things chapter after chapter. She doesn't really grow or change. Being treated to her inner workings doesn't give us some insight to her development as a person. She just keeps complaining about how she wants to make cinnamon rolls.

I desperately wanted anybody else's insights. I eagerly read any scene involving her landlady, because Yvonne actually had something to say, and revealed interesting things. But even scenes with Constantine were bogged down with Rae's inner ramblings about vampire physiology. Which would be interesting, if she ever got anywhere with it, but she has no answers or really astute observations.

Sunshine is not a bad book. I've read bad books, this isn't one of them. But I think it desperately needed to be switched to third person, or to go through one more draft to make Rae a fleshed out and interesting heroine. As it is, it reads like a book designed solely to set up a series, but as far as I can tell Mckinley hasn't written any other books in this world.

I encourage people to pick this book up and try it themselves if they think the plot or characters sound interesting, or if they like McKinley. But I also suggest that if you don't make it through the first chapter, don't keep trying. It doesn't get any better.

But I know what I like...

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:45:00 +0000

You know, you would think that the art history minor in me would have celebrated this challenge. You would think I would love it. But really? I was kind of bored by it. I think that when they did the inspiration challenge in season two, they nailed it on the head: designers should be inspired by everything around them.

So giving them famous works of art was intriguing but not that fascinating to me. Being inspired by art should be status quo. There was something about the way they were phrasing things, that they were "lucky" to get to be inspired by this art...it didn't make any sense to me.

This episode also made a few things more clear. I'll get into them as I go.

On the one hand, if you put the avant guarde dress and this one side by side, I wouldn't say they were THAT similar. On the other hand: he should have known better.

But really, the similarities to the previous dress weren't what bugged me. To be honest, nobody this season has much of a range. Chris probably has done the most varied work on the show.

What bothered me was that it was practically a direct copy of the inspiration piece. Remember when Andrae took a picture of gutter water and made it a fabulous gown? This was supposed to be about transforming the piece of artwork into something else, and Chris didn't really do that much for it. It was a very literal translation.

It is very lovely though, I will give him that. But I have to say that I'm just sick to death of Chris telling Tim Gunn that he likes his work, and ignoring any advice he's given. "Don't defend the shoe to me!" Every time Tim tells Chris something, Chris ignores it, and then he gets called out for it on the runway.

However I think it's terribly hypocritical of them to be so rude to him about this being similar to ONE other outfit he's made. Rami, Christian, and Jillian have turned in the same outfit over and over again.

I'm so bored with Christian. Where is this talent? Where is this wunderkid? Look, he made skinny black pants, a poofy top, and a short jacket. The sleeves are poofier than usual, sure. But it's still just a more exaggerated version of the same thing he's been making since day one.

I know that the final collections have already been posted, but I like to be surprised so I've only looked at Sweet P's. But if Christian wins with a collection full of skinny, unflattering pants, short jackets, and poofy sleeves, then I will personally write a letter to Bravo telling them to stop abusing my faith in them.

Christian reminds me of Santino with one fundamental difference: once you really looked at it, you realized that most of Santino's problems boiled down to being confident, and putting on an act in order to sell a brand. Christian? I think Christian really is a prissy little drama queen.

I don't think this outfit should have won, because I don't think it's really different at all. I don't even think it's that much of a re-imagining of inspiration piece, it's more of a literal translation. No thank you.

Jillian is also turning in the same outfit over and over, but it took the denim challenge for me to start to realize it. She likes tailored jackets, she likes short skirts and high collars.

The difference is, I think that Jillian's clothes are more wearable, more interesting, and just show more talent. I think she, again, took a more literal approach to creating this outfit, but I think she re-imagined it just enough. Actually, I'm sorely disappointed that everybody went so literal. That is just dull.

I think this outfit was cute and fun, but at the same time it makes me think of ice skaters or maybe ballet dancers. It definitely has a costume vibe to it, but then, so does Christian's. Apparently costume and avant guarde are in the eye of the beholder.

First, let me say that I think this is the best model this season. She is just absolutely gorgeous.

That out of the way, Rami had a chance and he failed it. I can understand his point: why should he compromise who he is as a designer?

The answer? To win the competition. If he wants to be known as the designer you go to for drapy-grecian dresses? That's fantastic. Plenty of designers only really do one thing (See Christian and Jillian), but that should be what you do in a COMPETITION. We know he's good at other things, he's done really great tailored work, he just doesn't LIKE to. But isn't something like Project Runway about the challenge in the end?

This is a beautiful dress. I think it is downright gorgeous and I can find very little to say against it. It was interesting, it was different, it was fun. The color is stunning. As much as I'm tired of Rami's draping, and his attitude about it, I wouldn't have even been upset if this dress had won.

It is, again, far too literal for the inspiration. I really hope he learned his lesson before he made his collection.

Poor Sweet P. I really just think she was out of her depth once she got to this point in the show. It wasn't anything to do with her model being late, it was that the dress itself is just not up the level of everybody else's pieces.

I could make this dress. I try not to say that, but I could. It wouldn't be that hard, but I wouldn't actually do it because it doesn't look that good either. There's just something odd about it, something off.

I think she's the only person that didn't go literal with her inspiration, and went so far afield you can't see it at all. She needed some sort of train, at the very least (thanks Shoka for the suggestion). It doesn't bring to mind "peacock" at all.

Also, it makes the model's hips look large. It's not a very flattering silhouette at all.

One thing I have to say though: of everybody this season, I think Sweet P would be one of the first I would personally hire if I was a rich eccentric. She's full of self-doubt, and that hampers her work in the show, but when she goes for the gusto she really nails it.

I still think she and Elisa should start a line together.

Next week is the reunion show! I probably won't have much commentary on that, since I _try_ to focus on the clothes. But we'll see. Not too long and this blog will return to your regularly scheduled book and movie reviews!

Also: a quick thank you to MyIncognito, for all the wonderful comments : ) I've really enjoyed them!

Slammin'

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:55:00 +0000

Before I get started, there is one thing to ramble about. I've said a couple times that I don't get why Tim Gunn keeps saying that this group of designers was the most talented.

He appeared on the Daily Show this week, and elaborated a bit: they're the most talented when it comes to execution and sewing. They are very technically proficient. I have to say, I agree there. They do seem to be accomplishing more and with better results in their time allotment.

Here's a flash for Bravo though: I don't care. I don't care if they could make me a three piece suit in two hours. I don't care if they can line a jacket in thirty minutes. I don't care if they've never seen an unfinished hem.

I want them to be ARTISTICALLY impressive. And those are two very, very different beasts. This batch of designers has been safe, boring, and I've seen almost nothing that really is going to become iconic. Think about it: Jay's Empire State Building dress. Santino's disastrous lingerie. Jubilee Jumbles. Coffee filter dresses. Teal wedding dresses with trashed trains.

The memorable outfits from Project Runway are not the ones that are made impeccably. They're the ones that are different, that show a great amount of creativity, of ingenuity, of insight and just DESIGN.

Christians fit last week, reminiscent of some of Vanessa's complaints from season one, is that "real fashion" isn't like the show. "Real" designers aren't expected to sew a garment in two days, in fact they aren't often expected to sew much at all.

So, in a competition that is supposed to be about design, how can you claim that being technically good, but not that creative, makes them "the best group yet?" They clearly aren't, I'm sorry. They need to be idea people, they need to make more flops that show that they were at least trying to be crazy. They need to take risks and chances. Universally the most interesting challenge this season has been declared the avant guarde challenge. That's because its' the first time this season they've really done something that was out there and not necessarily wearable, but at least interesting.

Okay, all that off my mind now, we turn to this challenge. To make an outfit for a WWE Diva.

Um. Okay? I mean, it's no more ridiculous than some things they've done, but still.

Okay, it's no secret: I love leopard print. I adore the stuff. I can't really pull off wearing it, but I love it all the same. So this was, very much, my favorite outfit of the night.

Plus, I love the hoodie, especially the fablous bell sleeves that give it a little more style and definition. It makes it more flirty and fun.

The criss-crossing straps are also fantastic, and a great way to add some detail to an outfit without loading it down with rhinestones or feathers. I just really love that kind of stuff.

The styling is also fantastic. I love the boots he picked to go with this, they're perfect. And his girl really worked it on the runway, and you can tell she really loved it. I'm not sure what the holster on her leg is, but it's an interesting touch too. It keeps her legs from becoming a big bare area.

I completely agree with this win. This outfit looks fabulous, and I'm glad to see Chris win one.

I know everybody loves this. And I know, I don't like Christian and that's factoring into my opinion. But I can't stand it. One of the things I like about Chris' outfit is that it doesn't scream what it is. Sure, you wouldn't catch somebody just running around in those hot pants, but I could see it being a costume for all kinds of characters. Trust me, you put an anime character in that, and the cosplayers will go nuts trying to duplicate the straps.

There are only so many things that Christian's outfit could be. And most of the ones I can think of aren't very nice. It reminds me of something, and I can't think of what, but it isn't a good association.

Also, I don't think it really displays much creativity on Christian's part. He's making variations on a theme here. Is his entire fashion week collection going to be "feirce" tight pants, short jackets, and skin tight shirts? I realize this is chaps with lace and such. But really, he makes tight pants and a jacket almost every week.

I'm bored with him. I do have to say though, his attitude this week was refreshing. Thanks for having fun with the challenge for once Christian!

This outfit is a very close second for the win, in my opinion. While I think the shoes are horrible, the rest of it is spot on perfect. The shiny fabric makes it the costume, and gives it the Diva attitude. But the design of it is very sporty and fun. It's taking something pretty standard and making it really sexy.

The criss-crossing straps are also fabulous. They showed some close-ups while talking to Jillian and I was fascinated by how well done they were. Also, I again this this outfit is more versatile in it's own way.

Fabulous job from Jillian.

I'm not sure words can describe what I think about the thing he made that poor girl wear. For one, I'm not sure it's the color that's so much the problem, it's what he did with that color.

Something like Jillian's outfit made in that pink? Could be flirty and cute. This frilly, uneven mess? The color just accentuates how terrible it is! I'm absolutely astonished that they didn't think Rami's was worse than Sweet P's. If Ricky hadn't made that horrible sack for his girl, I would be right now declaring that Rami should have been out.

It doesn't fit her, it doesn't flatter her. I can't, for the life of me, figure out how this came from RAMI.

I can't explain my innate "Get it away, get it away!" reaction to this garment. It's that bad.

Ricky, what good will you earned by not crying at your auf'ing, you ruined with your sour grapes complaining on the Bravo website.

He said (paraphrasing) that they wrestle in bathing suits, that their wrestling outfits look like bathing suits.

No, they don't, okay? Maybe, a long time ago they did. But look at what the girls were wearing when you first talked to them. They were wearing things more in line with what Jillian made. Plus, this outfit is not practical for wrestling. As much skin is showing in Chris, Christian, and Jillian's outfits, they were fitted so well and made in a way that they looked like they weren't going anywhere. This? This looks like the first girl she fought would grab that thin bit of fabric in the front, and yank her by it until the thing ripped in half.

But as much as this showed little innovation and not as much skill to make, there's the sack he made to go over it. First, why was that necessary? Because he had the time since his bathing suit wasn't that difficult? Second, it was ugly. It was poorly made, it looked terrible on her, and it was awful looking.

Ricky, don't whine about this. You lasted a lot longer than many people think you deserved, you got one win before you left, it resulted in your outfit being sold (and selling out literally within an hour or so), and you made it this far. Be a big boy, recognize your faults, and move on. Don't say that your outfit fit the theme when it so clearly didn't match anybody else's, because it only makes it more obvious that they understood and you didn't.

I really hope this Diva did her own hair and makeup, because otherwise, Sweet P...what were you thinking?

As for the outfit, I don't think it's as bad as everybody (Sweet P included) seems to think. I can see the Pin-Up influence, and I would actually think it would be fun to do a photo shoot with this outfit doing traditional pin-up poses. With different hair and makeup, of course.

Now, Sweet P messed up on one thing: there was no reveal. She said this Diva's thing is "Robe, and reveal."

Okay, then you need a reveal. However, I think she did the best she could after her fatal mistake: choosing those fabrics. She couldn't do anything with those fabrics, unless she mixed them with something else, that wouldn't leave her Diva looking like the alien princess of the latest Sci-Fi original series.

But in the end, I absolutely do not believe this outfit was on the same level of terrible as Ricky and Rami's. I think she just didn't make what her Diva would like, so she had trouble catering to the client.

I have to say that as much as this was a strange and nonsensical challenge, it produced more memorable outfits than most of the other ones this season. So in the end, I did enjoy it more than others.

The Fashion Week show was this morning! I'm not telling, but I've already read who the final three are, the information is out there if you like!

Project Runway: Home of bad puns

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:05:00 +0000

You know, I realize I should have seen this before. But the titles of Project Runway episodes are alway terrible puns, and they usually give away the content of the challenge before it gets started. I wasn't shocked in the slightest about the denim.

The actual context of gathering materials was just odd to me. Why this warehouse? Why make them sprint 50 yards to get to the material? Why hang it up so high that I would have never been able to reach it? And why did the warehouse have a dirty, dirty floor?

Do viewers really respond to the scramble? It reminds me of the food flurry* on Top Chef. I don't really like what it brings out in the competitors. Is it just me, or does Victorya seem reminiscent of the type of person that no matter what you say you found, she'll say it's probably hers? "Oh, Victorya, there was some money on the floor in the hallway, do you know whose it is?" "Oh, it's probably mine, yeah, I think it's mine..."

*(I fetched that term from Television Without Pity, it's not mine)

The outfits themselves, I have little to say about. You'd think I'd be more excited, since if I had my way I'd wear jeans all the time. But for some reason all I kept thinking of was the time Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake showed up at some red carpet with denim formal wear. They're still on worst dressed lists for that.

You know, this dress is so close to nice...honestly, I think that weird little piece that Tim pointed out is hat ruins the effect. If I have to hear one more designer say to Tim Gunn, "But I like it..." I'm going to scream. Listen guys, any artist should know and embrace the fact that sometimes you're too close to your design. Sometimes the best thing you need is an outside pair of eyes. Especially an extremly creative, knowledgeable, and intelligent pair of eyes as Tim Gunn possesses.

I also don't really see the "little black dress" interpretation. If this was made out of a nice black fabric, it wouldn't really fly very well. It's too...something. I always thought the point of the little black dress was that it was entirely timeless, and as long as you fit into it, you could wear it. It's outside of the trend-sphere. The actual skirt here is cute, but the top is just not working in a way that's timeless.

I don't think it was a travesty though, I'm not sure why the judges were so upset about it. But then, I'm often confused as to what upsets the judges. They seem to find one thing and harp on it for ages. Look at Stephen's "French maid" debacle. That dress looked nothing like a French maid, and they never stopped saying it.

All that said, the dress certainly doesn't wow in any way, shape, or form. Chris is back to be being a little non-plussed and boring. Stop that!

Okay, I should preface this: I absolutely without a doubt, with every fiber of my being, hate skinny jeans. The depths to which I hate this fashion trend know no bounds. I think they always look terrible, I have yet to see them on anybody of any body shape that I think they look good.

So making his model look like she's teetering on stilts instead of legs? Not winning me any points here. I personally think adding the sleeves on the bottom makes it look like she's wearing leg warmers.

Also, the outfit just reminds me of everything else Christian has done. Maybe it's that he's putting his personal touch in everything, but really? He reminds me of Santino more ever week. I first started writing up these recaps because I was trying to show that Santino was using almost the same techniques from week to week and that I couldn't see this amazing talent people kept talking about.

I say the same about Christian. And his attitude is even worse. For one thing, yes, getting denim wet changes the color. Does it do it permanently? Not to any jeans I've had. A damp cloth wouldn't have done so much damage that it deserved Christian's little preachy speeches. You know what? How hard is it to say, "You know, that might not be the best idea. If you're going to get it wet, do it today so it has more than enough time to dry." And then? DROP IT. Walking around boasting about how right you are? It's so utterly childish.

Also, might I point out that once again, Christian was "above" the challenge. You know what Christian? If you're so "above" this? Then leave. Walk out. Quit. Nobody is keeping you there. Of course this thing isn't how "fashion is." But it's how the SHOW is, and if you didn't know that before you auditioned I have no sympathy.

As for the outfit, well, honestly, if I hold my hand up to the screen to block out the pants, then the jacket is kinda nice. But the poofs on the shoulders confuse me. They looked on screen like the seam had ripped and the lining was poking out. Other than that, I actually like it. The collar is fun, and I really enjoy that it's made out of pants.

I'm really baffled by all the hate for Jillian's coat. Okay, so I completely recognize what Tim said in Tim's Take: this is too similar to what she sent down the runway last week. I also do think that taking off a row or two of the red tags would improve that idea.

But overall? I like it. I actually think that it takes Victorya's idea of updating the classic trench and actually DOES it. I think it flows well, for denim, and the color is really the right one for it.

The construction can't really be seen on a screen, so I can understand if it was made poorly. But I don't think it makes the model look huge, it makes her look like she's wearing a coat. They're in New York City, it gets cold there, and women wear coats when it's cold.

Actually, employing the same method I used for Christian's outfit, I covered up the red on the shoulder and the whole thing was more interesting. So while I think the idea was cute, that probably should have been ditched.

But overall, it's not a bottom two garment, in my opinion.

Okay, here's the thing: Rami obviously watched season three of Project Runway. How do I know this? When talking about the field trips, he says you could be making a dress out of trash or going to Paris.

Both of these things were very significant moments in season three. Season three ended with the victory of one Jeffery Sebelia. Whose final dress happened to use zippers along the seams as an accent. It was, in fact, widely praised for this.

So why exactly has everybody, Tim Gunn included, been oohing and aahing over the zippers like he invented the idea? Yes, he uses it to really good effect. Yes, I like it overall. No, there are no new ideas in fashion. But I don't like that everybody seemed to be acting like it was so brilliant. Yes, it was cool looking. Fine, I'll give you that.

Actually, with the exception of the way the zippers go down in the front edge of the skirt instead of just going around and doing a full ruffle, there's not much fault I can find with this dress. I love the top, it's really cool looking. The buttons are something that reminds me of a sailor costume, but it's pulled off well. It's a great garment, and if it had won I wouldn't be surprised.

I will however point out that Rami's assertion that he's more sophisticated and fashion forward because he's not American is insulting. What is it about this season? First Michael Kor's says that straight men can't design women's evening wear. Now we get that American's aren't fashionable.

You know what Rami? That's ridiculous. Think before you open your mouth. If you said you have a different design sensibility? I would be behind you. But saying it's BETTER because it's not American? Whatever.

Okay, I really don't know why Ricky won. For some reason I'm okay with it, I don't know why. I don't understand why it's any more or less impressive than Chris or Rami's designs (in fact, it reminds me a lot of Chris' design). I can't explain to you a single reason why this is a winning design other than it must have been constructed impeccably.

Now, one of the parts of the challenge was to represent the Levi's 501 brand. And I can see how this dress does that more than the others. Certainly more than Rami's. I think that it was probably what helped it win, that it seemed to fit 501s so much more than the others. Even Christian's, as much as it was based on their "trucker jacket" didn't quite capture it. Don't ask me to explain why, but 501s are in my world rugged, real world jeans. They have their own laid back style, but they're not high fashion. So maybe that explains the win.

I do have to say thank you to Heidi for asking Ricky what the hell was up with his crying. She said it exactly the way I wanted to.

I probably would never wear a denim dress. But if I for some reason decided to, it would probably be one like this. Now, the fact that the dark patches don't line up at the waist bothers me. But having just made a dress that had a similar issue I can tell you I understand 100% how hard that is to do, especially if you're in a time crunch.

There's just so much that is right about this, and it puts me right back on the Sweet P bandwagon. I would like her more if I didn't see her reactions to criticism, but her clothes are getting better and better.

This dress has so much to like. The pattern, the construction, the shape. It's all in all just so well made, I think the only reason she didn't win was because it was more dressy than the idea of 501s.

Okay, sometimes I say things like "I could make that!" Most of the time, it's not really true. It's usually especially not true if you take into account the time constraints that these contestants have.

But I do not exaggerate here: I could make this. Something like this, any costumer with a couple hours and the right supplies could throw together. I know she tried to say on the runway that it took her a long time to do, and it LOOKS simple but isn't...and I think the judges believed that as much as I do. If it was that hard for her to do this, then how has she survived so far?

There's nothing to like about this. The jacket was probably pretty standard before she altered it. The collar is okay, but the skirt-that-isn't-a-skirt is weird looking. It doesn't match, it doesn't flow well. I can't find a single thing to praise about this coat.

My picks for the top four are changing, slowly. I'm not entirely sure that Jillian can survive much longer. She's been about to miss the runway for weeks now, and seems to be falling more and more unhinged. Rami, of course, is a shoo in. Sadly, Christian probably is as well.

So the question is, Chris, Ricky, or Sweet P?

insert "witty" guarde joke here

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:17:00 +0000

On-Guarde, Off-Guarde. See, it's "Avant guarde" jokes! Haha. Really, we get it Bravo.

This challenge was actually FANTASTIC. Thank you, this is exactly what I want from this show! Please do more of this. And the prize was very good, so please, more of that too. I was actually struck by the fact that the description of taking the avant guarde idea and translating it to ready to wear echoed a lot of what I said talking about Kit's dress in episode one. Which turns out to be rather ironic...

So, we have another team challenge. I find it very interesting that the only people who led teams were ones who hadn't before. Chris certainly wasn't going to step up to that plate again, and Ricky probably couldn't have been paid to go through that again.

Jillian, who had probably one of the easiest times in the previous team challenge would have led again, but lost in a notion toss. What did they toss? It looked like a pack of needles. Anyway, I'm surprised that Victorya didn't think strategically and say she should lead because she was immune. I can't recall a single time they've eliminated a worker in a team challenge, it's always the leader.

On to the fashion! Each team did two outfits that were meant to be a matched set, so here goes:

I admit I was worried about this one. I loved it, but I don't really know much about avant guarde fashion at all. I thought that of the looks walking down the runway, it was the most over the top and conceptual, and the most like it was based on an idea or a word rather than a "look."

Also, I could not in a million years imagine making this dress. I think my brain would freeze about a third of the way through. Over 40 YARDS of fabric? Yikes!

I also think one of the great benefits here was the great synergy between the team members. While Christian had some of his standard diva behavior, it really seemed like Chris knew how to take that attitude and roll with it. Christian also seemed to really respect Chris' opinion and expertise. It was a great partnership, and that was refreshing to see!

Their ready to wear look was a great translation of first dress. I agree with the judges, the skirt is just there. And to be honest I'm not a fan of the shirt, but it works for the challenge. It is what it was supposed to be, even if it was a bit too puffy for my taste.

What was Victorya's contribution to this look? The outfit under the coat? Eh, I was underwhelmed. Okay, I admit it. I just really don't like Victorya, and I can't even completely explain why. Possibly because she hasn't made one garment this season I've actually liked that much. But as soon as I saw that coat walk down the runway I knew this wouldn't be the episode to take her out unless they really hated the ready to wear outfit.

That coat is a marvel. I can clearly see the inspiration from the hairdo (which wasn't as clear to me with Christan and Chris). I don't know that I like the tan pants underneath, just because they don't seem to match the plaid. But the plaid looked much darker on my television, and I liked it.

There's so much to love about this coat. But I think that the reason that Christian/Chris won was because they really were outside the norm. I could see a J-rock star wearing this coat, easily. It isn't something that would be worn every day by an "average" woman, but it's a look that would be wearable in certain situations outside the runway.

If you know the ready to wear outfit was constructed in about twenty minutes, you think it shows. But if you don't think about it (and you have a model brilliant enough to pose like this one to minimize the flaws of the garment) then it's a great. The little strap (which the model is covering in this picture) really wasn't great, and the dip of the dress was too low, in my opinion. But it echoes the original dress very well. It is cute, and fun, and I absolutely can't believe it was made in less than an hour. Actually, I watched Iron Costumer at Technicon last year, so I can believe it. But it's still impressive.

Hey, remember when I said that Rami reminded me of an old co-worker last week? Yeah, this week he acted EXACTLY like the other guy. Guess what Rami? Sweet P was right. When Tim Gunn agrees with Sweet P, you should LISTEN. Kthnx.

What did Rami think "avant guarde" meant? Apparently ribbons and folds and bows. He didn't have drama, he didn't have a WOW factor. There wasn't anything that made you go "How did they DO that?" The fabrics, if you ignore the pants, are beautiful. The corset is actually lovely. If you started to strip off some of the random ribbons, it is a nice dress.

But first: blank pants? Under a dress? Please, Rami, go visit Go Fug Yourself and learn a little about why pants under dresses is bad. It looks like she's trying on the dress in the store and just didn't feel like pulling off her pants because she hasn't shaved lately and doesn't want the sales girls to gossip about her hairy legs.

I also don't see what his "theme" or idea was, or how the hairstyle inspired it. I can, however, see how the first look inspired the second. Sweet P continues to surprise me, and I'm actually finding myself rooting for her. It's strange.

There's a little bit of an odd poof on the torso somewhere. But it's cute, it's a compliment to the first dress, and it's made well. Sweet P, despite Rami's constant micromanaging and his belittling of her opinion, managed to pull out something great.

And for the record, I think the bustle could have been a great idea. It would have at least been more interesting.

I hated that Kit was going to get eliminated, but as soon as I saw it was her versus Rami, I knew she would be out. And it's terrible, because I think she has a lot of talent. But it's not showing in this dress.

I love the corset, I love the sheer apron. But honestly, the fabric selection reminds me of my childhood. Like it's something I would get for a Strawberry Shortcake doll, or maybe Holly Hobby. It's not quite either of those, but I could easily see this skirt being on one of those cartoon heroines of the 80's.

Kit had a theme and an idea, which puts her one up from Rami, but I don't really see it in the dress. She said nesting because the hair was like a bird's nest, but she made a dress that took the idea of nesting from nesting dolls. Those two don't work together, even if they're the same word.

But it just doesn't fit the challenge. I hate to say it, I want to love it. I do, because I like Kit so much and I dislike Rami's dress that much. But it just...I can't see how it has anything to do with what they were asked to do. It doesn't make me think high fashion. It makes me think of little southern girls who think hoops skirts are fun (they are, until you try to sit in them...)

The ready to wear look, well it's made well. It's a cute dress, and I don't dislike it. But again, it's boring. I wouldn't mind it being a little longer, but I also don't see what it has to do with the first dress. It's not even made out of one of the fabrics from the first dress.

Honestly, these two looks were such complete missteps for the challenge that I understand why Kit was out. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

In the end, while I loved the challenge, the results weren't very surprising. So I wonder which I would rather have: to agree with the judges and have little to say, or to disagree and being so angry I could rant for days?

Take it back!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:43:00 +0000

Okay Judges, we had an understanding.

We were in so much agreement! It was unprecedented! I was surprised every week to hear you talking so much sense, to hear you saying things I actually agreed with. When you ousted Elisa, I was upset but I understood. The same with Chris. I actually was completely behind you the rest of the time.

Until tonight. Oh no, when you break my heart you really make sure to do it well, don't you? Why do you do this to me Nina? Heidi, how have you forsaken me so?

In other words: who put what in their water before the episode and don't you ever do it again. What in the WORLD were those results? Were we on the same planet? Did you people EVER go to prom? No really, even the designers: I don't believe you know what prom is.

Do me a favor everybody, do a quick google image search for "Prom" or "Prom Dresses."

In my little corner of the world (which in HS was Southwest Virginia, nestled between Radford University and Virginia Tech) prom dresses were about the same amount of decadence and expense as bridesmaid dresses, only often with more style.

Actually, my prom dress Junior year WAS a bridesmaids dress. Shh, don't tell anybody. But the fact is that these teenagers really do deck themselves out like the red carpet. Almost none of these dresses was actually nice enough for prom in my hometown. So I find it hard to believe that these rich, private school girls did not want something similarly fine. In fact, when I went to my first formal "grown-up" party (a holiday party for my husband's company) I realized that the dresses were pretty much just prom dresses. Man, where is Kayne when you need him?

This episode was so insane, that as much as I'm angry at the judges, it's bringing back the feelings of old seasons. For once, I finally am actually involved. I care! I was talking to the tv again!

I'm unpopular in this opinion, I realize this, but I think Christian needed to be booted for his own good this week. If I heard one more disdainful comment I was going to throw a complete fit.

So Christian is above his fellow designers, he's too good for Hershey's, and he's OBVIOUSLY too cool for school (and prom). Fine, Christian, we get it. How many times do you have to have something like this happen before you get your comeuppance and start behaving like a real person? There's no easy way to put this: stop being a diva. Even Santino eventually realized he wasn't all that and baboon's ass.

As for the dress, well...I hate it. It looks like it could have been something interesting, but the construction looks so poor that quite frankly it reminds me of my own attempts at more formal dresses. It is absolutely not a prom dress, that's for sure. It looks terrible on her figure, though the colors compliment her skintone. But the silhouette is just not something that she should be in, and she was the client.

His behavior on the runway was just downright ridiculous. I do agree with Nina, him blaming his client was wrong. It's just professionally unappealing, along with the fact that the challenge WAS to work with your client.

I do, however, concede that his client was annoying. She was overbearing, sure. But in my world, that's just the way fate likes to turn around and give people what they gave out before.

Chris belonged in the top three for this dress. He absolutely deserved as much praise as could have been heaped on him. I could easily see all the richest girls in my school begging their parents to buy them this dress. If it came in a deep navy blue (or any shade of blue, really), I would buy it myself. I'm not kidding, depending on the price, I'd go out and put some money down for it because I think it would look good on most body types, and I need a new formal dress.

This dress is the exact mix of style and fun that most prom dresses are designed for. In my world, the only reason I don't think it should have won is that I don't adore the color. It looks great on this girl, but for some reason I'm not a fan.

But man Chris, thank you. You're actually bucking up and showing us what you've got. Keep it up!

(Also, thank you for shutting down Sweet P and Victorya's whine fest by pointing out you got voted off. They were annoying me).

You know, if you just ignored the bust of this dress, it's actually quite lovely.

But I was positive Jillian would be called out for how borked up the bust looked. It's bunching oddly, the seams aren't smooth...I just don't understand it at all. It's a great idea, actually. If it was constructed perfectly, I bet I would like it.

Maybe I'm crazy and it's not a construction problem. But the bust of this dress looks terrible and I don't understand why not even Tim said anything about it. Where is the justice?

I do, however, love the colors.

I was absolutely baffled by almost every word coming out of the judge's mouthes during the judging of this dress. What planet were they from? Matronly? Old? Wait, what?

In Tim's Take, he says they really were obsessed with the hem. Okay, I decided to go and check out my own skirts because I personally am a huge fan of the flirty handkerchief hem style, which this seemed to want to be. I have four of these style skirts.

Each of them had the edge of the fabric barely turned under, not even a half inch, and a simple seam around. One of them (a red one, actually) had the very edge of the fabric covered with a sort of zig-zag stick that gave the bottom this interesting rolled look.

Neither of these seem like what Kevin did, so okay. He should have done one of those two things, fine. I actually can't understand why he didn't just do a quick, small hem. I know that hems are annoying. Trust me, my last sewing project I actually volunteered to do anything else so that my friend would sew the hems because it was probably about ten yards of hem to sew. But while it was tedious, it was actually the easiest part of the entire project. If you actually own a hem gauge, then yes it would be time consuming but not the end of the world.

The only reason I don't like this dress is that it's not formal enough for prom. If it was floor length, then yes, I'd be all for it. But as it is, it's a homecoming style dress, where shorter dresses are more the style.

I honestly have no idea what they mean when they said this dress looked old. I see nothing about this that looks old. The only thing I can figure is that they didn't like it and latched onto the first criticism they could think of, if it fit or not.

I actually really love this dress. It's very cute, it seems like a great marriage of Kit and her client's styles. The colors are really bright and fun.

My only problem with it is again, it isn't formal enough for prom. It would work, especially depending on the girl wearing it. But I think people just really have missed what the modern prom is: a FORMAL.

But I do really like this dress, it is fun and well made. It deserved a little bit of praise, but then I often think that of Kit's outfits. Why isn't she getting the attention she deserves?

In the middle of the episode Wednesday I realized finally why I don't like Rami. He actually reminds me of somebody I used to work with, years ago. This somebody was...not a nice person to work with. And Rami has a lot of the same mannerisms and a very similar look.

So forgive me for not jumping on the Rami bandwagon, it's nothing to do with him, I just can't get past that resemblance to somebody I'd rather never see again. It's not his fault!

This dress though, sorry, is his fault. What IS it? It looks like there is supposed to be a train, but the model got tired of tripping on it and threw it over her shoulder. Also, please, how many times do I have to say this: prom is a FORMAL, not a cocktail party. FORMAL. This is not a formal dress. Just because they are 17 doesn't mean they don't understand the meaning of formal. Please to go pick up an issue of YM's Prom Special. Or whatever the hip teenager magazine is these days.

This dress doesn't really just fail because it's not right for prom, but because it can't decide what it is. It looks like three different dresses put together, without too much trouble to blend the ideas.

I don't understand all the hate for this dress. For one thing, if you're going to hate on the skirt you have to hate on the winning dress too (and trust me, I will). The weird bubble hem was just...dumb. I can't even figure out why somebody would think it looked cool.

If people were complaining about the fact that the skirt was odd, or that it wasn't formal (again, not formal, what challenge were you people doing? What proms did you go to?) then I would understand. But instead everybody is angry about the color.

I don't think the color is that bad. She needed more interesting makeup to mitigate the fact that it's not a color that pops. But I don't think the color is so bad, I think under the prom lights (it's a dance, the lights are dim) this lighter, sparkling fabric would actually pop instead of fading out like darker shades.

All that said, I would gladly have let them eliminate Ricky if it meant Kevin got to stay. Ricky did well at the Hershey challenge, but in this one he's right back to lackluster. It's boring (not because of the color, because it's a non-entity of a design) and it doesn't fit the challenge at all. And honestly, it doesn't look that far removed from lingerie. Plus, the construction isn't too on par.

This dress should have won. Flat out, no question in my mind. The judges are on massive amounts of hallucinogens if they do not agree that this dress should have won. They obviously are too old to properly judge high school fashion.

This dress is classic, beautiful, perfectly constructed, and made of some of the most gorgeous fabric I've seen this season. The working relationship between Sweet P and her client was perfect. The client asked for something, Sweet P took her wishes and made them work without compromising herself.

The styling is perfect. The hair, the jewelery. Everything is absolutely spot-on exactly what it should be. This dress and this model could be the cover of Seventeen's Prom Special.

I can find nothing to say that is negative about this dress. Some people might say it looks a little too "old" or something. But as I said before, I see no difference between the formal wear at my prom, and the formal wear at parties for adults. There are outfits on red carpets right now that aren't that far from dresses being sold for high school girls. There isn't this huge disconnect like the people on the show seemed to think.

The fact that this dress didn't win is ridiculous. Sweet P had been faltering, but she pulled this one out. She deserves a lot of praise for this. I only wish I would look good in it.

There is one thing I like about this dress: the color. It's a fun, bright blue. Something like that can really be a neat twist on the average formal dress.

I hate everything else. The depths to which I dislike this dress are matched only by the depths to which I dislike the judges for choosing it to win. What in the WORLD are they thinking? How could any of them have thought that THIS was the best example of prom fashion on that runway? When you had Sweet P and Chris' dresses next to it?

It wasn't. It just simply wasn't. For one: NOT FORMAL. This is maybe a homecoming level of formal, it is NOT PROM FORMAL.

Two, bubble skirt. I hate that style of hem. It flows funny, and it makes the model look like a cartoon character or something. The movement is completely off, and it just reminds me of a marshmallow or something.

Three, the bedazzled front. I could have sworn that the Bedazzler was "out" when I was in high school, is it making a comeback? Cheap jewels that don't match glued on in no discernible pattern? WHAT? Without the jewels it was okay, with them it looks like somebody in high school that fancies herself a designer made her prom dress and expects everybody to think it is "kind of a big deal."

Four, the bust. It's just constructed badly! It fits strange, it looks lopsided...it's just not made well. Sweet P's dress had no flaws, not one. This one looks again, like a home sewn job.

I cannot fathom why this dress won. I can't wrap my mind around it in the slighest. I can't come up with a single reason for that decision, except that the judges have some sort of strange love for Victorya, who I personally think should have been eliminated a few episodes ago. Her construction seems poor, her fit is almost always bad, and I haven't seen her do much that really pops and demands attention. Why do the judges like her so much? How completely disconnected are the judges from the actual purpose of the challenge that they thought this met the criteria?

It seems to me if you're going to do a prom episode, you should maybe research prom. The designers couldn't, obviously, but they had their clients to help them do it right. The judges should have known what they were talking about before they walked in that room, and they so clearly didn't.

One last note, and I hate to be harsh to 17 year olds (which is a lie, really, but I usually save my barbs for private conversations) but couldn't they have gotten some runway coaches for the girls? This was our fifth episode with non-models on the runway (mothers/sisters, designers themselves x2, "real women", and now high schoolers). This was by far the worst showing when it came to runway walking and presence.

When I still worked at the newspaper, I covered a high school fashion show. Those kids were fantastic, they weren't awkward in the slightest. So I know high school kids can do a runway walk, it's completely possible. So why were so many of these girls so awkward? They didn't show off the garments at their best, and that's kind of a shame.

Though I guess, walking a runway in front of Heidi Klum would make anybody seem awkward and nervous. But really, I think the show would benefit from a runway coach for these episodes. I was too focused on the model's walks that I missed the clothes the first time around.

Where is this store again?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 19:23:00 +0000

I was all set to post my Project Runway thoughts. I was so excited! What could be more fun than talking about outfits made from stuff at a candy shop? The first really fun challenge of the season!

But I can't get Bravo's website to load, so I can't post the pictures. Which makes things difficult. I'm currently trying to find something to work with so I can do this post. The pictures are just going to have to wait.

First, I want to say I'm completely baffled by the model selection. It comes down to those three and Ricky picks the one that I think has had the least attractive poses/walking in the bunch. I'm rather confused. And I agree with popular sentiment: where have the models even BEEN this season?

Also: What did they do with all that candy? Please tell me the chocolate got eaten or saved or put into cookies for the homeless or something!

If you can get the Bravo website to work, be sure to check out the outfits!

Ricky:

I was actually surprised that Ricky wasn't called out in the top on this challenge. He really understood the spirit of the challenge and from the audience's POV he seemed to execute the idea well. These were Ricky's two weakest points, so go Ricky.

It was fun, it was whimsical. It was not just something off-the-rack. It was one of my favorites, even though it's not something you could wear to a party.

Kit:

I'm amazed nobody stopped to be amused at Kit using Kit Kat bars. No jokes? No comments? Did I miss them? Come on! It'd be so easy!

I like Kit's skirt, a lot actually. I find it interesting that three different outfits made use of the Hershey's label vertically in a rather similar way (Ricky, Chris, and Kit). But at one point Kit says something to the effect of "Should I just use one Kit Kat bar?"

Yes, yes you should have. The top just loses all focus the way it is, and with one artistically placed wrapper it could have been really neat. Instead the entire outfit put together is just too much, too busy. She looks like a store rack instead of a model.

Elisa:

The Meiling Syndrome strikes again. When the show started, I didn't like Elisa. I thought she was crazy. But then the second episode started to change things a little. I thought she was crazy but I really liked the outfit she and Sweet P put together. It wasn't too much later that I read about her car accident on the internet, and I gained new respect for her. Then seeing her talk about it in the episode, seeing her work, I just started to like her so much in spite of myself.

I honestly don't think Elisa should have been eliminated either. Though I think her outfit went the wrong direction, and it was a misstep, I think Sweet P's was more off than hers. When she started talking about making a sort of faerie dress for her daughter, I thought "Wow, this is going to be so neat."

I admit, I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. The outfits people came up with at FaerieCon were some of the most fanciful and fun things I'd seen in ages. I want to see what the Chocolate Faerie would look like!

But when she started talking about Gretel I realized she meant Fairy Tales, and I thought "Well, that can still be pretty cool!" But I don't think the concept actually came through in the dress. It has to be in the dress, because the garment has to speak for itself.

I'm sorry that Elisa is gone, hopefully she won't become one of those Project Runway stars who drop off the radar and stop updating their websites.

Kevin:

Bored now. It's an nice enough outfit, but it doesn't stand out. It's not FUN. This was a nutso challenge and he turned in the same kind of thing he's been making. It shows he has skill, but creativity? Not on display.

Side note: Why are they all so patient and willing to listen to Christian? I'm supposing they might trust his judgment, but I certainly wouldn't. I guess they don't get to hear all his derisive comments.

Which brings me to...

Christian:

Hey, Christian, here's a tip: this challenge was about stretching creatively. Making something zany out of unconventional materials. Stretching your artistic muscles. It was not about making a simple dress and covering it with wrappers, nor was it about being so constantly dismissive of the materials. So you're better than Reeses Cups? What does that prove? Nobody likes a diva.

In season two, I liked Chloe's flower dress a lot. Until I read a review of the episode that said they couldn't stand the praise it got because it was just leaves glued on muslin, it wasn't really trying to make something of difficult materials. I realized they were right. Which means Christian's outfit is just...blah. Besides, it didn't move or flutter, or have sculptural qualities...if it had at least had some of the presence of Michael Knight's coffee filter dress it could have been redeemed. Heck, Chloe's leaf dress actually made a fascinating pattern that really thought about color and texture.

This dress looks like Christian thought the challenge was stupid so he didn't bother really doing it.

On a side note: how did he find so many Reeses Cups that would come right off the wrapper like that without leaving smears of chocolate behind? And they looked like minis, I NEVER get the minis out of the wrapper that cleanly. Maybe that's why I dislike the dress so much, because I want to eat that candy without getting chocolate on my fingers.

Chris:

This garment is interesting, but not fascinating, when viewed on it's own. The thing that makes it so worthy of praise is that Chris made it. If you visit Chris' website, you see some of the things he's made with similar design challenges. Heck, I'd actually seen his salad-fixings dresses on tv before on some talk show. He could have done anything with this challenge. Like he said, he could have made the parade float. He could have done that in his sleep, I'd wager.

Instead he thought about what the judges have said about him and took a step to prove he has range. He said "They might just be waiting for me to fail and overdo this. I'm going to prove a point." And then he actually proved his point.

Normally the judges are annoying about things like this. They spend three episodes telling somebody "You're too costumey, you're too costumey!" Then they give them a costume challenge and go "Where's the costume? You're out!" Instead this time they praised Chris for showing what he was capable of. Kudoos, judges. When did you get so rational?

Sidenote: a lot of fuss has been made about Chris' departure and return. I can see both sides of the argument but quite frankly, I don't think it's as big an issue as people were making it out to be. Besides, it's all said and done now.

Sweet P:

As I said earlier, I think this should have been the dress to be out this week. For some reason, while I find Sweet P to be a perfectly nice person, something about her getting by week to week bugs me. This dress was flat out boring. It might have been made well, but she clearly couldn't handle the challenge. She waffled about and couldn't settle on a design, and ended up with something clearly made in a couple hours.

Again, very little creativity on display here. Again, creativity was the point of the challenge. It's a cute outfit, sure. But it's got nothing. And if I remember correctly (again, can't find good pictures right now) the front of the top was just off somehow. It bunched up, and looked disproportionate. I honestly can't understand why they judged this to be better than Elisa's dress.

Sweet P also has this habit of always looking so shocked and dismayed on the runway. Actually, she just over-emotes all the time. She's not quite at Andrea or even Angela proportions, but I really want her to be understated sometimes. I don't think it's doing her any favors in the judging to be constantly going "Ooooooh, ooooh, really? It's really that bad?"

Rami:

I probably would have given the win to Jillian if it wasn't for the fact that Rami's outfit just looks better. Jillian's was more creative, to be sure. But Rami's is just cute. You could probably sell that if it wasn't made of paper.

The model wore it well, the styling was on point. It was just fantastic, and Michael Kor's was right, it fits her like a dream. It's the kind of thing you expect to see in advertisements.

Jillian:

Jillian deserves about a thousand bonus points for effort and innovation. The skirt is sort of a cop-out, but the bodice is beautiful. I'm personally not a fan of those bodices that move as one piece around the model's body instead of fitted TO her body. But this one does what it's supposed to do and does it well. She made a great pattern out of Twizzlers of all things.

One random thing, when the model was leaving the workroom she had glasses on, I'm assuming her own glasses. For some reason I decided this was brilliant styling and couldn't wait to see her walk down the runway in them, but they were gone for the runway show.

Don't ask me why, but I loved the idea of some cute, red plastic square glasses on that model in that outfit. Something to make the outfit even more of a juxtaposition of sexy, childish, cute, and beautiful.

Victorya:

I actually put Victorya's outfit below Elisa's on my scale. What WAS it? It had no personality, no color, nothing neat or interesting. It was just a bunch of ruffles, most of them not showing off the Hershey's patterns which was the whole point.

And instructing her model to walk that way was a seriously bad decision. Since you didn't get enough of the York idea from the dress, you couldn't even make a case that it was the York commercials used to have that whole winter theme going on. If she had gone somewhere with that and really went all the way, that could have been neat (and shown she knew the brand). But instead it's just a weird off-white frilly apron dress.

There's nothing that I understand about it. The only reason I think it deserved to stay over Sweet P was that it was a little more difficult to make, appeared to be made a little better, and at least Victorya had a vision and went with it instead of changing her mind.

Overall, I'm so glad the challenge was fun and interesting. Can we please continue to do this PR? Please? Next week, make it autoparts or something!

New book challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:09:00 +0000

I'm trying to get myself to clean out my list of "Books to Read" and so I'm going to be doing a book challenge this year. The lovely Lenneth is doing the Mythopoeic Award Challenge:

I'll be listing the books as I read them, along with links to where I'll be reviewing them on this space. Book #1 is one I've had about three stops and starts on and never gotten past chapter one:

1. Sunshine by Robin McKinley.
2. Tithe by Holly Black.
3. Valiant by Holly Black
4. Deerskin by Robin Mckinley.
5. The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue.

Lighten up, it's just fashion.

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 19:39:00 +0000

I had trouble getting myself to write this critique because I actually have a problem with the latest challenge. Thank goodness most of the designers resisted the urge to be jerks to these women for not being model-thin (I actually thought Kevin's attitude was quite refreshing) but I get the distinct feeling that the only reason they weren't bellyaching all the time was because these women had lost so much weight, so calling them fat on top of that would have been cruel.

I realize that fashion is apparently only for thin people. But PR can stop making it such an important point. Last season, the designer's comments about designing for each other's mothers in the Everyday Woman challenge were ridiculous. They all came off sounding like whiny brats. "But...these women are fa-at. How am I supposed to make an outfit for a fat woman! Fat women don't like FASHION! Fat women aren't supposed to want to look nice!"

Instead, this year they treated these women like their most important thing about them, indeed the only trait we learned about them, was the amount of weight that they lost.

Overall, the idea is interesting. It's just, something about the way it was done that just got under my skin. Not to mention that I've become such a big believer that focusing on mostly meaningless numbers like weight or BMI instead of health is one of the worst things you can do for yourself.

I'm going to try to leave all of that behind and just talk about the clothes.

As an aside, I am going to miss Jack but it really was the right decision to make. Your health should always come first, and I think it's safe to say that even leaving this early on he made his impression on the viewers. Good luck Jack!

I'm happy that Chris is back, because I really wanted to see more from him. I agree with the producers in their decision to bring him back as well. Last season they gave Angela and Vincent a change to return, so why not go back to Chris? Also, there was a sentiment that Dale talked about on Top Chef: you want to win because you're the best in the competition, not on some technicality. So eliminating a person early would make the competition too much easier for everyone else.

To the clothes! I don't understand the bow, I really really don't. It's just, wrong. It's bright and out of place and just, pointless really. I like the little colored pleat, but I think if you made it in the blue of the shirt instead of red, it would be more fun. So if you changed those two things: no bow, blue pleat, then I'd actually be pretty happy with this. Actually, I would considering buying and wearing that top. I think it's fun and structured, and it fits her really well. So I hope that all this hate for this outfit is focused on that bow.

I'm kind of over Christian in so many ways. But I have to admit he did really well on this one, especially considering his picky client. But she looks good, it's tailored so well, it's fun. You get the sense that Christian made it, but it's also very much what a normal person would wear rather than being "fashion."

It's pretty modern and fun, and just well done. I have very little to say about it besides kudoos.

Okay, this is something that bugs me: how much time to the judges spend with the "clients" in this type of situation? Because all of them kept saying it was really "Elisa" and not at all what fit her client. But Elisa spent more time with the lady than they did, so how do they know? They kept saying things like "It's so you!" to other ladies as well. Are they making assumptions based on their appearance? How confident they seem? Or do they actually know these women?

All that said, this outfit doesn't look that great. It reminds me of when I try to dress nice, she looks short. There's something odd going on with the skirt hems, and the boots weren't really a good styling choice.

But I actually really love the jacket, I think it's cute and flattering. Nobody talked about it because paired with that skirt it's not really that great. But with a nice pair of slacks, I think it'd be a nice jacket. A little boring maybe, pretty commercial, and not a challenge winner. But a nice jacket nonetheless. I do not think this was the second worst look of the day. I don't know what else was, but this isn't as bad as they made it out to be.

I won't deny that Jillian made a really cute dress. There were things about the way it moved on the runway that I didn't love, but overall it's a really nice article of clothing. I think it's styling is nice, the color is nice. In fact, if I saw it in a store I'd probably try it on but halter tops don't really fit my figure.

I completely disagree with the judges that it was okay that she didn't really do the challenge AT ALL. I hate how they pick and choose who they will hold to strict standards based on the challenge, and who can get away with not doing what they were told. They were told to transform the existing clothes. Jillian decided that fabric wasn't good enough for her and just didn't use it. She used it for an idea, sure. But she didn't do the same challenge as the other contestants, and I think it should have disqualified her design for consideration. I don't think she should be eliminated for it, but they absolutely shouldn't have called her out and praised her either.

Other people adhered to the spirit of the competition, she didn't bother. When a teacher tells you to do a homework assignment, you can't just randomly decide to do a different one and hope that if you do it well they'll ignore that you did something else. The judges need to consistently apply the rules or not bother.

I know it's a personal preference, but I don't like things without straps. I think they make the top part of the torso look too long, and it just doesn't do any favors for most women. I don't know why I think this but I do.

That is about the only critique I have for this outfit. Kevin, besides being a good sport, really transformed the clothes he was given. And you can even tell in the picture, his client LOVED it. She really enjoyed the look, and he was happy that she liked it. I think that I wanted him to win just because he was so darn nice throughout, without any of the catty comments we keep getting from Christian.

Overall, I think this outfit is a success. I think the only reason it didn't win out was that it wasn't as "everyday" as what Christian did. This is really an occasion outfit. I can't figure out what occasion, but it's not something you could just wear to work.

This outfit is so close to great...I can't put my finger on exactly what bothers me about it, to be honest. I don't really like the color, to be honest. And I think the white patch on the front should be black, or there should be another white accent somewhere to balance it out. But overall, it's cute. Actually, it's not as inventive or odd as most of what we see coming from Kit, which I suppose means that she really tailored it to her client, which is good.

I think it's really that coming from Kit, it's a little boring. I also think the bottom patterned piece needs to flare out more so that it looks a little less like she's wearing a skirt over a dress.

Somehow, this outfit left no impression on me after the show. But looking at the picture, I think it should have taken Jillian's place in the top three. It's really cute, it's fun, and it's everyday enough. The model certainly seems to enjoy it, and it's very Rami at the same time.

Rami seems like such a clear favorite that I hate to be nice to him. I'd rather root for the underdog, but it's a really good outfit. I'd probably pick up that top at the store, it accents all the right parts of the woman's figure. Good job.

I think Ricky is on borrowed time just because he's not innovative or interesting. That said, there hasn't been a lot of really out there fascinating stuff this season, has there? It's become so boring. Robert Best is probably screaming at his tv every week.

The top is cute. If it wasn't for those big gold things, I would probably wear it. Well, if it wasn't translucent. I think the top of the jeans somehow don't fit the bottom of the jeans...there's something odd there. They fit strangely on top.

Otherwise, this outfit is just so...standard. I've got nothing more to say about it. Please stop being so boring PR contestants! Take risks! Do something really weird! Even Elisa stopped being so crazy after the first episode. I want baboon's asses exploding! Project Runway isn't always supposed to be about sellable and wearable, fashion is also part art, and art is about being out there to make a point.

First and foremost: the only thing French maid about this is that it's black and white. That's it, it was ridiculous for the judges to harp on that. It has NOTHING to do with the typical French maid idea.

That said, it also was the worst showing of the night, sorry Steven. He was so daunted by the wedding dress that like Jillian he didn't actually do the same challenge as everybody else. He didn't bother to do what he was asked, and yes it was a really hard challenge but that was a chance to shine and he didn't do it.

I get a little tired of the designers this season when they talk about their fabrics. So it was some sort of weird lace that catches in machines or something. Your point? This show has had outfits made out of corn husks, lawn chairs, peanut sacks, scrap paper, ferns, Spanish moss, etc. None of those things were so easy to sew either, I'd wager.

Also, as a costumer I have little sympathy. I've made costumes out of some really really low quality stuff. I'm talking $1/yard stuff from the Wal-Mart bargain bin. I doubt this wedding dress was made out of something so much harder to deal with.

Of course, I don't think this dress is that bad. It fit her strangely as she walked on the runway, but the fact is I've seen a lot of dresses like this in my day. Which is why I was fine with it being the worst of the night. There was nothing new about it, it didn't fit quite right, and it didn't personify the challenge in any way, shape, or form. I want to know what this lady thinks about all the hate being spewed towards her wedding dress. So it didn't fit her anymore, that was still the dress she chose for a very important day in her life. I would be really angry if people were talking that way about my wedding dress, I loved it so much I'd never bring it to a challenge like this. She took a big risk bringing that in, and she wasn't rewarded at all. And yet she's still smiling. That woman is a hell of a good sport.

It's a shame this dress didn't make it into the top, it's really cute and fun. I don't like the color, but that's what she had to work with. I probably wouldn't pair it with black hose either, but that's just me. I also hate pointy toed shoes, you don't see anybody in the fashion world agreeing with me there.

The only thing that's going against this dress is that again, it's sort of unremarkable. It's very safe, very nice. It was a success, but it took very few risks. Where are the risks this season? I can't believe it's making me long for Santino.

I actually really don't like this dress. I think the chest was all kinds of weird, which you can't really see in the picture here. I don't really know what it was about it, but it just was off. It didn't seem properly tailored to the model's body or something. There was also some odd bunching going on, if I recall correctly.

Maybe it's just that I really don't like green velvet. But this dress just doesn't appeal to me at all. But again, it's BORING. What can I say about it that's positive or negative? Almost nothing! Because it's just a dress.

There is no way this is the most talented group of designers the show has ever seen. Maybe it's that the challenges suck, but for the most part they're just talented seamstresses. They're not showing much vision, innovation, or anything that makes me think they're "cutting edge." They aren't envisioning the future of fashion, they're following along what's been done already.

I'm so bored, please PR, make them make an outfit out of electronics!

The Golden Compass

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:10:00 +0000

The Golden Compass - Film Version.

We're going to take a break from Project Runway, because this last week was just a little bothersome. I'll talk about it later, but the fact is the challenge bothered me. So instead I'll talk about the movies I went to see this weekend, starting with The Golden Compass.

Now, I'm interested in how many people are griping about the title. But honestly I like it because it fits better with the idea of "His Dark Materials." Also, it being a noun describing a thing that is very important to the plot of this particular story, I think it fits better.

What interests me is how everyone seems to be making comparisons between this film adaptation and Lord of the Rings. The reviewers keep saying it was made to cash in on Lord of the Rings, it's like LotR, etc.

It isn't. In the slightest, please don't go into it believing you'll have a similar experience at all. This film is made with almost the exact same formula as the Harry Potter films.

I walked out of the Harry Potter movies saying, "You know, that felt like a mash-up of the best scenes in the book, rather than a true adaptation of it." While I never got past the second chapter of The Golden Compass, I felt the same at the end of this movie. Like I had seen a bunch of random bits, strung together as loosely as they could, so that you could cram in as much of the story as possible.

In the case of Harry Potter, it's a forgivable strategy. There's no way you could actually adapt any of those books (or indeed this one) into a single film. But the difference here that even Lord of the Rings couldn't rely on is that most of the people going to see Harry Potter HAVE read the books.

Most people, myself included, have not read The Golden Compass. So the screenwriter desperately needed to take a page from Peter Jackson and make a story that is deeply rooted in the original, faithful to the feeling of the book, but actually a film adaptation. It needed to be it's own entity, and I don't know that the director alone was capable of that feat. He certainly didn't manage it, I'm sorry to say. His heart was in the right place, and you could tell he did love the books very much. But even Peter Jackson had massive amounts of help, a whole team of people working to make it perfect. He had people who had devoted their lives to these books helping him envision this world. While I'm sure His Dark Materials are good books, they don't inspire that sort of devotion.

It wasn't a bad film. The problem was it had the potential to be a great film, it could have been so amazing. But the truly fascinating characters had these great actors to portray them and they had nothing to do. They were there for a split second and given very little motivation or story. Lee Scoresby and Serafina Pekkala could have carried the movie, if they hadn't had to redub all of Eva Green's dialogue in ADR, making her voice and her face just so slightly off that it bothered me and I couldn't watch her talk. That's a personal pet peeve though.

Lee Scoresby introduction was brilliant, I looked forward to seeing more of him and I saw so little. His interaction with his daemon Hester was comical, and hinted of a calculated casualness. I hope that in the books he is explored in much more detail.

I'm happy that Iorek Byrnison got his due, and had his story told. But couldn't we have discovered anything more about Mrs. Coulter's dual-faced character? Couldn't we have gotten into the fact that even though I only read two chapters of the book, I got the distinct feeling that Lord Asriel wasn't a very nice man?

I suppose the problem really lies in the fact that I just didn't identify with or enjoy Lyra very much. Is it the character? The original writing? The adaptation? The acting? I don't know. But I didn't care what she did from one moment to the next, except that it allowed me to see the gyptians, or get to see one of Pan's many adorable forms. She seemed to exist only as a catalyst for everything else, not so much as a well-developed character.

While lesser movies have had their sequels, I don't know that The Subtle Knife will be made at this point. Sure, there was religious controversy surrounding the film, but I don't think that was what killed it. I think the type of people that would avoid a film because they see some persecution in it wouldn't have seen it anyway, and wouldn't have amounted to much of a box office difference. I think the movie itself just isn't that good, and that's the real shame of it all. It seems like the story only gets more interesting as the books progress, they should get their day in the cinema.

A final note: this is not a children's film, or I think so much a family film, and that is part of what will hurt it's repeat business. The fact is it's violent, and I don't make that claim often. In fact, while I called Pan's Labyrinth a violent movie I also heartily recommend it and say people should look past the necessary violence into the great fable that it is. In this film, it isn't so necessary for the battles to be so full of death. While there isn't a lot of blood, there is a very distinctive moment when anyone dies that shows without a doubt that they are completely gone. I don't think death should be thrown around so flippantly, even of the bad guys. It stops having an impact when you just chuck it out there left and right.

I think in the end it's a movie that might be worth renting, especially if you liked the books and can view it as an adaptation and not expect it to be perfect. If you liked the Harry Potter books AND movies, then maybe this is for you. But I won't be watching it again.