A Peace Offering

Some of you may have noticed the lack of Project Runway recapping this season.

Wellllll....

To be perfectly frank, my heart just isn't in it.

I'm not sure when it happened.  Maybe it was the thirtieth bubble skirt walking down the runway.  Maybe it was the faux hawks gone mad.  Maybe it was the perfect storm of the third person narratives, forced catchphrases, and guest star judges.

But somewhere along the line I lost interest and I haven't been able to muster the snark to produce a recap of any decent quality.

For recaps worth your reading time, I direct you to New York Magazine's The Cut and all the good stuff from Blogging Project Runway.

And, as the aforementioned peace offering, I propose doing a weekly recap of the fashions of Gossip Girl.  Since I often find myself googling frantically at lunch on Tuesdays to find Blair's cute dresses or Serena's knee high boots, I thought others might be doing the same.  

Truce?

Project Runway: It's Not Easy Being Green

Wow.  It has become apparent to me that Bravo is phoning it in this season of Project Runway.

Wakey wakey scenes are business as usual with much fluffing and gelling of hair and crass over confident statements about how everyone else's work sucks.

There is the model choosing scene, where I think one person switched and said something along the lines of "She was just better, it's not personal, I'm here to win it!"  And the person who's model was taken said something like, "Bitch.  I see her true colors now."

Then it's back to the workroom for a debriefing by Tim Gunn.  It's an ecofriendly fabric cocktail dress challenge!  

Can't you picture the production meeting?  

"Green is so trendy."  

"I know, it's like totally a trend."  

"I know!"  

"Let's do a challenge!"  

"Okay, but how will we make it even remotely interesting?"

"Make the models buy the fabric!"

"OMFG!"

"It's brilliant."

"Can we make sure that they are dumb enough to totally screw at least half the contestants?"

Intercom noise.

"Susan, get extra dumb models this year.  Thanks."

Sheer television genuis, people.

So the models go shopping for fabric and rave about the UGH-mazing selection of eco-friendly fabrics.  So much to choose from!  But...wait...how long is a yard again?

Yeah, the models buy like two feet o' fabric and think that it will cover their tiny bodies.  Well, the designers try to tell them nicely that that's not going to happen and it also seems like half the models picked the same two fabrics.  A pale yellow shiny silk and a shiny brown silk.  Hmmm....guess the selection wasn't so stunning after all.

Everyone starts working away and it's clear at this point that Wesley and Korto are up a creek yet down a paddle.  Wesley is starting on a tiny wrinkly looking dress and Korto is cooking up something with fins!  Tim seems dismayed!

Meanwhile, Leanne is adding many panels to her dress at odd angles, and ignoring Tim's suggestions to EDIT.  Kenley is chucking her model's nasty jersey fabric, having deemed it unsuitable for a cocktail dress, and is working on a nice looking bland sheath dress.

In other news, Blayne continues to try to make "licious" happen.  

Bro.  

Let it go.  

As a backup schtick, Blayne has started to mimic Stella, riding her about her accent when it comes to the word "leather."  Which, granted, is annoying.  But hearing Blayne say it just makes me want to take an axe to his head, not Stella's.

Suede talks about Suede some more.

Honestly, no one else even registered for me.  Except Jerrel's line of the episode where he summed up everyone royally screwed by the brown silk as "Team Ugly Brown Fabric."  

On to judging and our mystery guest!  Oh, it's Natalie Portman.  Who is like a total midget.  And makes vegan shoes.  Super trendy!  Production team working overtime here!

I know I'm in the minority here, but I am not a fan of Portman and her non-witty attempts to be nice to everyone. 

In the end, Suede's yellow and red crisscrossed bandage dress is clearly the winner here.  I could have lived without the tutu bottom and the fact that it was made by a dude with a blue faux-hawk who refers to himself in the third person.  But, hey, that's life.

Kenley got high marks for her sheath with the dramatic high collar, which seems to be the ticket to not leaving lately on Project Runway, and I envision will soon become the bubble shirt of '08. 

Also praised?  Stella's leather-but-not-leather-lace-up mini dress.  Go figure.  Or fig-yuh, as the case may be.

Singled out for Nina Garcia's special hatred is Wesley of the Skinny Shorts.  In the greatest one liner ever, she sums it up as "Shiny, tight and short is the quickest way to look cheap."  

Words to live by.

So, goodbye Wesley, my sweet Wesley.  I'll miss those startling glimpses of your upper thighs!

Let's pray that Bravo's production team starts sniffing glue or something to try to liven things up here.  I like my challenges a little cracked up, you know?

Project Runway: Let's Start at the Beginning

Cue the lights, cameras and the Germanic accents...Project Runway is back!!

Contract breach be damned, Bravo has rolled out a new season of crazy stitchers and they are planning to push them to the edge of sanity.

Well, break out the Thorazine and get this party started!

The beginning is always so difficult for me to differentiate between all the effete men; rockers with tattoos; guys who are STRAIGHT, dammit; girls with ironic bangs; and the just overconfident wackos.

So, as the curtain rises, the designers are all moving into their generic "luxury" apartments and introducing themselves around.  To keep them straight (pun intended) I will group them just as the casting people must have.

Effete men:

Jerrel:  Oh yes, he's rocking it shirtless.  Doesn't Parsons have a "No Shirt, No Service" rule? Can they make one?

Wesley:  Who wears short shorts?  This guy.

Daniel:  The man has birds in his audition video and a "windswept" hairdo.  Need I say more?

Girls with Ironic Bangs:

Emily:  There will be rompers.

Leanne: Her clothing line is called Leanimals and she is rocking the jolie-laide glasses.  And she's from Portland.  Look for her to get annoyed that she has to make something commercial looking.

Kenley:  Ooh, an interesting twist...the Bettie Page look with bright red lipstick.  Expect references to forties glamour and ironic nudity in the future.

The Tattooed:

Kelli:  This girl actually reminds me of my wedding hairstylist.  And she was great.  So I will not snark.

Stella:  To quote a doctor friend of mine, this chick has packed a lot of living into her years.  

Keith:  Who?  Oh the guy who looks like the military jerk on Lost.

Joe:  This dude is like totally normal.  WTF?

Overconfident Wackos:

Suede: This is like the perfect storm.  Blue faux-hawk.  Refers to himself in the third person.  Use of snipping in a Z formation.

Blayne:  SWEET GOD.  The producers hit the jackpot.  Sloppy hats, tanning beds and tank tops, oh my.  

Jerry Tam:  Ah, the "established designer" who sneers at everyone else.  Comeuppance is near.  

The Jury is Still Out:

Jennifer:  Huh.  So normal. Weird.

Korto:  Also normal.  Bizarre.

So, the designers find their Tyra Mail telling them to go to the roof for kudos and champagne!

But no challenge.

For that, they must be awakened at four freaking thirty by Tim.  FOUR THIRTY people.  That is just plain cruel.  And why was that one chick already in the shower?  Methinks that reality television has elements that are not totally as they seem!  But Tim looks as fabulous as ever at that hour.  Like you thought it would be otherwise?

They head to a Gristedes where Austin Scarlett drops by to remind them how awesome season one was.  Do you remember Wendy Pepper's edible necklace bikini?

Anyhoo, this is the most well stocked Gristedes I've ever seen.  Seriously, can I shop here?  This is better than Social Safeway for crying out loud.  They all grab whatever they can and head to the check out.

Then it's back to the workroom for some sewing and sneering.  There's a lot of throwing stones.  Living in glass houses, you get the drift.

Then Tim comes in and after seeing the same picnic tablecloth sewn three different ways, he tells them that they SUCK.  And are SLACKERS.  SUCK!

Kelli and Daniel escape his wrath by actually doing something good, and Tim looks like he's talking to a "special" person when he greets Blayne and his placemat-maxi pad bikini.

Duly scared, the designers try to save their dresses, but there is no hope.  Also, Stella has not chosen the Hefty bags, and therefore see through and crappy.  I use this segment to show my husband why we don't buy generic.

At some point, Blayne calls his model fat.  And "girlicious."  God, I hate this guy.

On the runway, there is a huge pile of mediocrity, with several standouts on the high end, and the poo end.  

Kelli, Korto, and Daniel are singled out for their designs.  Kelli worked up a nice looking dress with tons of unique materials and Korto has a very bright paper dress enhanced by some roughage.  Mmm, kale.  Daniel stands out for his Balenciaga-esque bag made from Solo plastic cups.  His workstation looked like a frat party on a Sunday morning.

On the stink end, the judges heaped on the quips for Blayne's diaper unitard.  My husband called it "crotch feathers."  Stella's garbage bag toga got equal bewilderment as being just dumb.  But special praise went to Jerry for his American Psycho raincoat.  I'm guessing he was thinking about returning some videotapes after the show.

In the end, Jerry got the boot, and Kelli took the win.  And I still have no idea who half these people are.

Except Blayne.  Oh please Bravo gods, let justice come swiftly and have him axed from the show.  I'll pass along my first born to be featured in "The Real Kids of Capitol Hill" (debuting in spring of 2020).  Pretty please?

As always, check out Blogging Project Runway for the scoop.  Plus, Washingtonian and New York Magazine are doing recaps as well!

Project Runway: Trendsetters

Ahhh, back again for another fun filled week of designer torture. On previouslies, Carmen was sent home for making pants with a crotch that no man could ever fill. Also, some people cried.

Back on the runway, I notice that Heidi is looking truly spectacular this season. Seriously, what has she been doing? Her hairdo looks phenomenal and her wardrobe is killer.

Oh, sorry. I'll stop.

So Heidi brings out the two losers from the past two weeks and Jack's model so he can chose if he wants to pick someone else or stay with this chick. He promptly decides to "swap" with Ricky. His model was deemed "sick" in the last challenge with girly parts, and in a field where the models are less than impressive, I don't blame Jack for wanting to trade up.

When he picks Ricky's girl with a gleeful look on his perfect face, biceps all a twitch, Ricky confesses to an offscreen shot, that Jack has now shown his true colors. Like what? As someone who wants to win? This is loser talk of the highest order.

Onward.

Back in the workroom, Tim is there with Nina who is showing off past horrible trends that they must choose and modernize. Not only do they have to do this, they have to combine! Like Voltron! To form one cohesive collection of horribleness!

Honestly, what are the producers thinking? I feel like these challenges are just designed to showcase ugliness.

Teams form: Ricky, Victorya, and Elyssa have neon, cutouts, and underwear as outerwear. Sweet P, Steven, and Chris have shoulder pads, dancewear, and baggy sweater. Jillian, Raimi and Joey Faketone get overalls, 70's flare, and poodle skirt. And Christian, Kit, and Jack get zoot suit, fringe...and...something else...

Ok, so some of these, I'm like, that's out?? (Baggy sweater? Crap, I love those!) Others I'm like, that was a TREND? (cough, poodle skirt? WTF?) But basically everyone is screwed. Team leaders must be chosen, and of course people are chosen for all the wrong reasons, namely, the people who expect to win the competition stay quiet.

Also, does Christian speak with the voice of Paris Hilton for a reason? It's like watching Being John Malkovich when John Cusack has taken up residence in his head. Maybe he's possessed? They could have a PR exorcism! First, I must bless this workroom...

Anyhoo, the sewing scenes are predictably stressful with leaders like Ricky clearly getting run over by Victorya, although keeping Elissa in line did seem like a full time job. Jillian did a lot of whining in her terrible horrible no good Long Island accent about Joey F's tardiness with her hot pants. Ugh! And there was a particularly treacherous moment where Steven did a super-poor imitation of Tim Gunn. Hey, Steven. Stop. No, seriously, stop. It's not even close. And way to rehash Santino from Season 2. No, I'm not kidding. Don't go there.

Speaking of the Gunn-meister, he showed up and quips hilariously that Jillian's team is making a whole bunch of outfits for her, which is totally true. He also tells Chris to lose the flocked damask jacket (foreshadow...)

On the runway, the judges instantly tell Jillian's team that they win, provoking much jubilation, but also crestfallen looks from Christian, who is convinced in every single challenge that he will win. Stoic is not a word in his vocabulary. Or Paris's. But they are in.

The loser teams are Ricky's and Chris's. Ricky gets blasted for his shiny shiny material, crappy fit and loser talk...re: bad leadership. Victorya walks all over him on the runway, leaving a bad taste in my mouth about someone I previously liked. His designs do look a lot like the old wardrobe from the Joker in the Batman movies. Also, I'm wasn't as keen on Elissa's design as everyone else seemed to be. But, I guess when you set the bar crazy, it's not hard to move up.




Chris's team had a lot of beige going on. Well, except for Steven's butter colored shiny monstrosity. Honestly, I would have booted him and his poor impressions, but alas, the shoulder padded jacket prompted the kiss of death from Michael Kors....mother of the bride. I mean, Steven had dancewear!! In front of Donna Karan! And showed that thing! And got to stay! Lesson learned? Never be a team leader. Ever.

Sweet P's sweater dress escaped ridicule, but her wishywashyness when serving up a team member for the chopping block did not go unnoticed. Heidi snapped her to attention with her Germanic zeal!

So, Chris was told to pack up his flowery shirts and hit the road. Yes, wheat being separated from chaff, people. Let me predict that the next three to go will be Steven, Ricky, and Elissa. I'm just throwing it out there.

Also, next week...Jack's big controversial exit! Oh, and holy schadenfraudeness! Dale from Top Chef and Jack are DATING!

As always...check out Blogging Project Runway for a much more complete and balanced take than I will ever be able to provide.

Project Runway: Fashion Giant

This episode was billed as the MOST DIFFICULT CHALLENGE EVER!!!!

And, honestly, I don't think they oversold it. Well, yes, they totally did, but towards those last few minutes when Tim was chiding Carmen and Sweet P to get their asses on the runway, I was getting a little edgy.

So, after Heidi delivers the challenge, the designers take a field trip to 10 Rockerfeller Plaza, home to oh so many GE subsidiaries. And standing there is...Tiki Barber!! Star running back for the Giants until retiring last year to report on sob story segments for the Today Show.

And the only person that they let comment on that was Joey Faketone, in order to solidify his straight-man status.

Also, at this point, my die hard Redskins fan fiancee who was watching with me blurts out, "Uh, Tiki is such a bitch. I hate the Giants." And then retreated to the bedroom to read.

He was back for the judging though....

So the challenge is this: Design an outfit for Tiki to wear on the Today Show, but keep in mind that the man's got a booty and a thick neck. And he likes dark colors. And details. (Thanks Joey F.)

So all the designers proceed to flip out since almost none have done menswear and it is significantly more difficult than womenswear.

The typical bitch and stitch segments were broken up by some extra special stress hilarity! First, we watch as Christian gets toted into the workroom by He-Man Jack in both an actual totebag and then piggyback. He's like a little doll!

Then we watch the claws come out when Jack dismembers his own shorts to make a pattern for his pants, and then let others copy the pattern for their own, a move many felt had shades of cheating.

And then! When the male models showed up, you would think that the designers had been in the all-female Navy or something the way that the all started drooling over the rippling man muscles and flowing shiny hair. All except Joey Fake (because he's STRAIGHT, y'all) and Elissa, who apparently considers fitting clothes on a man tantamount to swapping bodily fluids.

So, with much discarding of best laid plans, all the designers make it to the runway, although there was some busted up stuff on those walking mansicles.

Only moderately busted:

Raimi, whose khaki jacket, button down and dark pants made a sleek casual weekend look. Actually, this was one of my favorites, but I can understand that it may have been too casual for the challenge.



Christian, whose asymmetric camel sweater outfit I thought was a little odd, but my fiance deemed it "wearable."



Jillian's dark three piece suit was nice, tailored, and appropriate. But honestly, I have a real problem with the white collar-blue shirt look. There is a special place in shirt hell for those things.

beam me up Scotty!!

Chris sent down an outfit that I honestly loathed. I thought the jacket looked like something up for auction from the Star Trek set. But the judges had bigger fish to fry.

Victorya seemed to ignore the dark color mandate and sent a white jacket prancing down. Whatever, she's immune.



Steven. Oh man. How did this escape the scathing crotch comments?? Did anyone take a good look at these high waisted pants? Seriously? Ugh. And what's with the scarf? Is he trying to hide Tiki's man-neck? Poor form!



Elissa's model looked like an escapee from a mental health seminar. One where you all repeat overly wordy platitudes out loud and probably end up drinking some freaky Kool-Aid. At least there weren't any visible spit marks.



Most Busted!



Oh man.



Sweet P's shirt came out weird twice. I guess she doesn't look like she would be the next Thomas Pink or anything, but at least I give her credit for being honest about what happened and at least styling it artfully on the runway.



Ricky, sporting a Confederate soldier hat, weeping profusely about his pinned together garment was spared. At least his crotch was proportionate. I guess the South did rise again.



Okay, Carmen. WTF??? Make a shirt! A T-shirt! Anything! And Kors was right. That crotch was all kinds of crazy. It was nice knowing you.



All Kinds of NOT Busted.



Joey Faketone made a hot looking three piece look with a purple shirt and vest. For some reason, Heidi is revolted by the idea of her husband, Seal, in purple. Huh? I think purple can look great on men. Oh well, I think a lot of people, including Joey, thought that he would win, but alas, it was not to be. I thought Tiki would be just mesmerized by the pocket square. I mean, who wouldn't be?!?



Kit Pistol got the shaft in this one. I'm sorry. No offense to Jack, but I thought her outfit was really nice. A navy fleece blazer with those double vents to allow Tiki's butt to breathe or something, khaki pants, and a classic white shirt. I really liked this outfit. I may actually find similar things and dress my fiance up in this outfit.



But, Kit lost out to Jack and his short-stealing ways. Granted, the dark pants and tailored shirt were made infinitely more interesting by the details on the shirt, but I feel like he abandoned so much that the look was kind of blah. However, I don't mind having Jack around for longer...maybe we'll get to see him bench press Christian.



I can't say it enough...Blogging Project Runway tides you over til next week!

Project Runway: Money Changes Everything

Let me start by saying that my viewing of this episode started on a low note, having baked two pies, six sweet potatoes and eaten at least three dozen marshmallows intended for the top of aforementioned sweet potatoes. And Gossip Girl was a rerun.





And then I passed out while watching the judging.





But never fear!! I Tivo in addition to watching live.



So, we start off this episode with the typical wakey-wakey shots in the luxury digs and the designers head out to meet the second challenge.



At the runway, Heidi tells the designers that they will be designing for an icon. They all look suitably excited. They head back to the workroom where Tim tells them that their icon is....SARAH JESSICA PARKER!!!!



Then the room erupts like it's the second coming of Jesus Christ himself.



Seriously, I haven't seen hyperventilating and weeping with joy like this since bloggers got ahold of the Mark Foley IM transcripts.



Once it finally quiets down, SJP explains that she has a line for Steve and Barry stores called Bitten, and it's for the everyday woman and it's super cheap. Like, you only get to use the change you can find in your pockets to buy fabric cheap. (Ok, fine, $15. But honestly? I could blow that at Starbucks in like an hour. Not enough for a whole outfit.)



But first, they must sketch and present, which is always the funniest part of any episode. Chris totally pulls a brainfart and goes mute with tears in his eyes. Many people want to touch SJP. Joey Faketone leaves her handshake hanging....ouch! It's clear who she is going to chose as team leaders...and they are...Raimi, Christian, Victorya, Marion, Kit Pistol, Ricky and Elissa.



Wait.



Huh?



Oh yeah, Elissa got picked. I feel that this was some colossal joke on who ever had to be on her team in an effort to get that person kicked out. Because there is no way a reality TV gem like Elissa is getting kicked out.



Oh, and ps, on FashionGateWatch...Ricky is sporting a fishnet Village People hat AND a trucker hat. Also, Carmen's sleeves threaten to knock models off the runway and take over the universe.



So, they pick teams and Sweet P gets the shaft and has to work with Elissa. Because she already told the camera that she wants to be on a good team. Sucker!



They all shop and scrimp, then it's back to the workroom where Elissa spit marks her fabric. Oh, did anyone miss that? SPIT. Like saliva. On her fabric. That someone else was going to wear.



Can I get an EWWWW?



Other than that, the sewing scenes were rather boring. The real drama came on the runway!



First, Ricky and Jack created a magenta peasanty looking dress. Looks cute and nice and all, but nothing spectacular.



Raimi and Jillian produce a shirtdress tunicey thing over leggings. Also, passable, not blowing my footless tights off though.



Kit and Chris make another tunic type garment over leggings. Theirs is cut snugger and shorter. Very cute on the model, not so super cute on a nongamine, but they earn a pass.



Elissa and Sweet P produce a cape and jersey dress. Both are interesting, but seriously, why do fashion people always want us to wear capes? Just let it go! It's weird! A poncho was as close as I got, and that was a little uncomfortable. Elissa insists on calling the dress polymorphic, which I understand, but it makes her sound totally bananas.



Christian and Carmen produce a teal tube dress and jacket which Christian, bless his heart, choking back tears in the face of criticism, insists that even the plus-est sized woman can wear his clingy dress and motorcycle jacket. Carmen also does a poor imitation of someone who cares when saying that Christian should get kicked out instead of her. I would have booted her right then and there.



However, the judges reserved that pleasure for Marion, who, on a team with Steven, who may or may not be a serial killer, created an enormous cape-y poncho (again! with the effing cape!) that made the model look like a really tall hairball. See ya...wouldn't want to be ya! Also, the "can I have some more?" Oliver Twist thing is really not a style choice I can get behind.



The winners? Clearly Victorya and Joey Faketone, who produced a sweet little tie neck trapeze dress and plaid vest with a racerback. You can pick it up at a Steve and Barry store near you. I would, but I have no idea what this store even is.



So...another mildly memorable contestant bites the dust....



Give me some more Elissa insanity! That chick is looney!!



As always, Blogging Project Runway for all the scoop and speculation about the next episode. The HARDEST CHALLENGE...wait for it....not yet...EVER!!!!

Project Runway: Sew Us What You've Got

Oh. Thank god. It's back.


Of course I mean that the little geniuses who run Bravo have rounded up a questionably talented yet unquestionably insane pack of designers to entertain us through another season of delightful reality television!


Yay!


I'm so excited that I am choosing to ignore all conflicts that my Tivo is currently facing on Wednesday nights.


I will also ignore the fact that the producers at Bravo have meanly NOT provided us with a "Road to the Runway" episode where we get to mock all the rejects along with Tim Gunn on his road trip with the greatest hits from past seasons and harpies from Elle Magazine. Damn you!!



So, instead, we are introduced to this season's contestants as they meet each other, "Real World"-style in the generic "luxury" apartment buildings which are currently giving cockroaches and Starbucks a run for their money when it comes to taking over Manhattan.



The challenge this week was to do the 50 yard dash across Bryant Park (no time to stretch first? WTF?) grab some of the gagillion dollars worth of fabric furnished by Mood and make a dress that exemplifies "your" style.


Run, designers, run!


Okay, as always, with the beginning of any reality show, I can never keep all the contestants straight, but here goes!




Let's start with Christian, the little wannabe Brit wunderkind, because I think he would like that. He is oh so carefully hipster styled in his asymmetric hair and braggart ways, but the kid delivered. Honestly, I didn't love his piece on the runway, and I really didn't like it when he back talked to Tim Gunn, but upon second look, the piece strikes me as a Burberry outfit gone cool. I like it more the more I look at it. I also liked his clear disappointment in not winning the challenge. I guess they don't teach stoicism at his fancy London design school.



The uber-pale quartet: Steven, Kit Pistol, Sweet P and Marion. Yawn. Oh and by the way, "Kit Pistol," it's called a pseudonym. Not a "Mark Twain." The viewers of Project Runway are not idiots. You can use big words around us, it's not the Fox Business Channel or anything.



Jillian seems mostly normal, smartly choosing a bold color and using that to enhance a rather simple dress.

Carmen A. Webber, as she likes to be called, seems to think that being a good model makes you a good designer. Having seen what Marc Jacobs looked like pre-post-rehab-workout binge allows me to be to beg to differ. Also, what is up with the puff sleeve jackets?? She's wearing one in every frame, she makes one for her model and is shown making ANOTHER in the previews!! Maybe she is one really just of Clinton Portis's characters. She gets the Angela Death by Fleurchon Award for this episode.





Chris is probably the most interesting character to me right now. He is a costume designer, and sort of falls in the Kayne-uh-oh-a-non-fashion-designer-designer mold, but he turned out a beautiful, theatrical gown that wasn't costumey at all. I'm eager to see what else he produces.





Ricky. Poor poor Ricky. Cried in his interview about what he does (lingerie designer). Seems to have an entire wardrobe of Village People hats and sent a garment down the runway that looked like it could have been found on a rack at Forever 21. Re: not really really bad (we'll get to that in a minute...Elisa!) but certainly not good.





Jack looks like the most symmetrical man on earth. So classically handsome. Looks like he's got some controversy in the future. His dress won runner up for my dress-I-would-actually-want-to-wear contest.





Kevin...does this guy look like Joey Fatone or what? I mean, talk about your built in Halloween costumes! Wow, I'm calling him Joey Faketone from now on.






Victorya is definitely one of my favorites. She seems low-key and she turned out a pretty, feminine cocktail dress that didn't look like a total rehash of every other trend I've ever seen. I loved the look of the arm bands, but I agree with Monsieur Orange, no hailing cabs. Well...that's what men are for...





As for Rami, well, you could tell he was going to win this challenge from minute one. I mean the one where Tim walked in and said, "Stunning." Serious contender in this one unless he implodes or bores Nina with the same outfit six weeks in a row.


And that brings me to Elisa and Simone. Unfortunately for Simone, while her outfit was boring, simple and looked like it had been sewn by a three year old on meth, she was up against Elisa who was clearly NOT about to get kicked off. She has her own theme music! Already! Elisa is clearly the whack-job of the show and will remain firmly entrenched as better designers get kicked out for lesser offenses because she reminds people why lithium was invented.


She also kind of reminds me of John Cusack's character in "Being John Malkovich" with the marionette puppets. Anyone else?


Also, this was a special episode for me as Monique Lhuillier was the guest judge. I picked out one of her designs to wear to my own wedding!


As always, please check in with the wonderful folks at Blogging Project Runway for all the scoop and see you for a recap on Turkey Day!

photos courtesy of bravo.com