An actual cute beach wear look from Project Runway

I had very high hopes for the team of Althea and Louise, mainly because I've loved what they've made so far and they both seem super nice. Anyway, I think my expectations were met (almost). Although I knew from the editing that they'd be stuck in the middle, it usually happens when they are barely shown.

This is adorable and I would wear it to the beach in a minute. I also disagree with Tim that dropping the dress into a skirt was a bad idea. It made a cute skirt and was also super practical if you want to tan for instance. I also love how the bathing suit top works into the top of the dress to make an interesting pattern and overall design. This really is the only look I could actually imagine wearing to the beach.

I really like this dress. The only problem is that I don't see how it connects to the first look. I also don't think it's very avant garde, adding a big train to a dress doesn't really make it avant garde. Otherwise I think the dress is gorgeous. I love the bodice, the gold makes it really beautiful. I also like the mini skirt portion of the bottom, and the way the ruffles overlap. I'd rather they just get rid of the train, but I think it was the only way to even attempt to make it avant garde. Really the failure isn't theirs but the producers. I wish they had known about the avant garde look ahead of time because I think they would have come up with something really amazing.

Worst Project Runway Challenge Ever

This really was one of the worst runway shoes in Project Runway's history and I blame it completely on the producers. I mean, first you should really tell the designers about the avant garde look first. Then maybe we wouldn't have seen piles of crap walking down the runway. Also, it was very unclear whether it was supposed to be a beachwear avant garde outfit or just an avant garde outfit that was related to the beachwear otufit. Personally I think it should have been the second and I think all of the designers (excluding Ramon) did too. Although I don't understand how gowns really qualify as being either related or avant garde. This is probably why Ramon won, even with the cocktail beachwear and illfitting dress.
Ramon (and technically Mitchell's) first dress:

It's a pretty dress, even if it is most definitely not appropriate for the beach. Although it looks like about 30 minutes of work was put into it. Just some twisting and draping of the chiffon and using a belt to get shape. They claimed to Tim that it was going to be sewn down but I kind of doubt that happened.

I mean look at the back. I don't think the uneveness is intentional and if it is that was a bad call. It just looks messy. And not beach messy, just badly designed messy.

Ramon lucked out on this one. First because it was the only one remotely beachy, or even really avante garde. Secondly because this kind of dress can either be thrown together in 30 minutes or carefully draped for hours to achieve the same effect. The only different is that when it's carefully draped you tend not to get the wierd bulges you see from the side:

Even the hooker lace outfit didn't make the model look like she had a penis, plus a saggy butt and boobs.
Overall though it had potential. Plus, I would have given him the win just because of the color in a sea of depressing brown dresses.
Also, Mitchell. Why on earth would you tell the judges you didn't do anything after you know they are just waiting for an excuse to auf you?

The Hilarity Of Mychael Knight's Performance

I'm sorry but after his horrendous Bryant Park collection I'm unsure why they brought him back for this. I know he was a fan favorite but I was not a fan. He seemed to get smug after getting through to the final four and I hate that. And since it seems like he's just been making a perfume line since his appearance, which isn't exactly designing, I don't know why the producers felt that he would have evolved at all. But I was glad they did because so much hilarity came out of his appearance, mostly because of the editing.
First of all, if his name wasn't right underneath his face I would not have known who this was.

Secondly his collection was so so unbelievably bad, especially in comparison to everyone elses. The funniest part was when he was talking to Tim Gunn and they kept trying to keep his hideous yellow top out of the screen. Because if that was seen in full view it would have been more than obvious that he had no chance of winning.

Here is the quick shot of the outfit, which let's face it is amateur and ugly looking.

This is the most of the outfit you see during the Tim critique, and he never actually addresses that outfit. Clearly they tried very hard to hide it from view.
And the look on the runway:

There's really nothing to say. It doesn't fit, it's ugly, you could find it at a cheapo discount store.

To give credit where it's due this dress is cute. I like the origami like effect and the color's nice. It no where near makes up for the hideousness of the last look though. Not sure why she's carrying an oversized envelope though.

This look is so wrong. Especially because Nina actually praised it, I'm so hoping that the producers made her because otherwise she has lost all fashion credibility with me.
It's as basic a dress that you can make, skin tight jersey. Plus the color's hideous, it clashes with that strange yellow belt thing. The little cropped jacket is even worse. It has visible shoulder pads, you can see the outline through the fabric, not surprising considering how thin the fabric is. This would be laughed off of any red carpet, it could be bought for under $20 at one of those tacky stores with the mannequins wearing only jeans in the windows.
I'm not even going to post the restaurant look, it's just ridiculous.

Why Chris Should Have Come In At Least Second

There are many reasons but the main one is he was the one with an actual collection! Yes it may have been repetitive because of his overuse of the same fabric, but that was nowhere near the only reason his collection was cohesive. The styling and shapes all were clearly from the same designer for the same collection. Plus, if the judges were looking for evolution as a designer he unquestionably should the most growth of anyone.


Apart from the boots this look is amazing. And the boots couldn't have been entirely his fault as they only had a certain amount to choose from. The plain gray dress underneath is super cute, I love the sleeves especially and could even be worn by itself. I also love the plaid vest like thing over it, reminds me of a Jedi in a good way. Plus the styling is so cool and definitely high fashion. The hood is interesting and orange tights are just awesome always.

I want want want this dress/jacket/whatever. I would wear it constantly. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

This one's definitely not perfect, but I actually liked it better than Korto's. The skirt's fun and is something I'd actually wear. The bust is crazy but no more unflattering than Korto's. Placemats do not make for flattering clothes, there's really nothing to be done about that. It also actually fit in with the rest of his looks with is something that cannot be said for Korto's.

This was the problem of the collection. It's extremely hard and maybe impossible to make a red carpet dress out of wool, but Michael Kors is the one who said there are no rules anymore so shouldn't that count for wool evening dresses as well as Daniel's short dress? Nicole Kidman couldn't pull this off (I think she'd collapse under the weight) but it's incredibly unlikely that she'll actually wear any of the looks. There are several actresses that could pull that off, especially with a little tweaking around the hips.
I so wish that he could have beaten out Korto. He seemed so grateful for all the praise he did get, and never came across as entitled and smug like so many other of them.

Why I'm Excited For This Season of Project Runway

It actually seems like these people are more talented than most have been in the past. There really was only one hideously ugly dress (which didn't get sent home) and the one that did was just because she was being crazy. Also compare Daniel V's dress for the final challenge of season 2, to make a gown for the red carpet to that of Ramon for the first challenge.
Daniel:

Ramon:

Seriously, Ramon's is miles better than Daniels and this was his first challenge! Plus, he didn't even win while Daniel did! I have faith that there will be some excellent fashion on this season, and it won't be the disappointment that season 5 was. (also, my putting down of Daniel's dress has nothing to do with the fiasco of the all star challenge)

Why Korto Did Not Deserve Second Place (and certainly not the win)

I know that I have a personality bias against Korto (seriously I can't stand her) but even so I do not think she even deserved to be in the top. The challenge was to make a collection. What she made was not a collection even in the loosest terms. None of the looks seemed like they went together at all. The shapes were different, the fabrics were all different, there was no real color story. Also, all of her clothes were incredibly derivative of her Bryant Park collection, which wasn't all that innovative itself.
First Look:

It's a cute dress, but that's pretty much it. I like the skirt, but overall it looks exactly like what she did for Bryant Park and with the judges stressing evolution so much I cannot understand how she got to second place.
Second Look:

This look is just ugly. The waist is crazy unflattering, the zipper wasn't put in well, and the vest is just incredibly ill-fitting. When people say that she shouldn't have won because the judges said nothing bad about her I think that they don't realize that we don't hear the entire judging. There is no way they didn't say something about the ill-fitting pants and vest. No Way. Plus the fabric is so blah. And this look has absolutely nothing to do with the previous one. In a collection of only four pieces they have to all be cohesive and yet there was no cohesion between any of her pieces. I refuse to believe that didn't come up in judging.

This dress is pretty if you ignore the breast area (which lifetime apparently decided to do). It didn't actually fit there and made that section look wonky. Like most of Korto's designs, I hate hate hate how she treats the boob area. The dresses either don't fit or the boobs don't match. It's just so unflattering. I mean look at this:

I dare you to say that that's flattering. Also, again this dress has absolutely nothing to do with the previous two looks.
And finally the restaurant look that everyone put on a pedestal even though it really didn't deserve to be there.

The bottom is pretty and doesn't look like it was made from restaurant materials. Although I will say it's just pretty, the judges went overboard praising her for this. It's not that far of a jump to see stones in a vase that look like beads and then use them like beads. Plus the top looks exactly like what it is, placemats. There is no way this could be worn to a movie premiere like Heidi suggested. Also, I'm still not sure which one her red carpet look was.
All in all, she should have been out immediately for not answering the challenge, she did not make a collection, she made four random pieces that did not fit together in the least. My opinion is that the judges wanted to build her hopes up because they knew if she came in second again she'd be just as cranky as she was last time and she did not dissapoint.

Project Runway All Star Challenge

This was the biggest disappointment I have ever watched. It's really a good thing I saw the first episode of the new season first or I may have just sworn off PR all together. First, I totally wanted Santino to win because he is my favorite contestant of all time, really the reason I started watching the show as well as my fiance. Plus he was the only entertaining one in the entire show, everyone else was soooo boring. So on the basis of personality alone I wanted him to win. Also, on the basis of personality alone I wanted Korto to lose. She was just as whiny, self-centered, and entitled as always. I'm sorry, but her Bryant Park collection was boring and not innovative at all, she absolutely did not deserve to win.
The real reason I was so upset about the show was based on the what the designers actually produced. Ok, Santino definitely did not deserve to win based on his collection. But the people in the top four? I would say 3/4 of them did not deserve to be there.
First of all, how in the world did Sweet Pea get into the top 4 over Uli. The only reason I can see is manipulation by the judges to get a certain story. Even Tim said her color story was matronly. So Uli vs. Sweet Pea:

This dress is super pretty, and slightly unusual with the way the the skirt drapes. The only problem is the model. I swear that the producers colluded with the judges to sabotage Uli in the model department because they wanted Sweet Pea in the top four, for some crazy reason. This dress does not at all go with this model which makes the entire look just look wrong. This dress needed romantic styling which is impossible to do with a model with no hair. Also, it doesn't match with the models skin tone. Compare this to Sweet Pea's dress.

It looks like an ugly nightgown especially with the sorry wilting flowers. It's also completely shapeless. But imagine Uli's dress on this model (also with better hair), it would have been gorgeous and the judges would not have been able to keep her out of the top four.

This was my favorite Uli dress, unfortunately there were no flattering pictures of it on the lifetime website, especially of the unique detailing on the side. Again I think the model ruins it. She looks angry, and honestly if you were wearing this dress you would not be angry. It's incredibly innovative and beautiful, especially her ability to make a spectacular dress with muted colors. She was beat down in her season for doing the same thing over and over again, yet now she is beat down because she evolved as a designer, complete bullshit.

This was the only dress I liked of Sweet Pea's but again it doesn't stand up to the most comparable dress that Uli made. It's a pretty basic one shoulder dress, the only things that make it different are the materials (leather)and the shoulder detail. Again, it doesn't look like she even attempted to make the top fit the actually body of the model (even skinny models have breasts) and she ended up lucking out with a much better model more suited for the dress.
For the next two there's really no competition whatsoever.
Uli's Red Carpet:

This wasn't my favorite outfit of Uli's. It is gorgeous, but a little too mature for my taste. But if you think of where it was going to be worn, Nicole Kidman's movie premiere it's prefect. Definitely something I could see her wearing.
Compare to Sweet Pea's Red Carpet:

Unfortunately they didn't post a picture of the entire dress, which I'm sure was purposeful because it disguises what a horrendous dress it actually was. Again it looked like a nightgown, especially with the ruffle around the bottom. And again it was completely shapeless. The only shape was created by the sash, which is really not acceptable. I could have made this dress in a few hours, I'm not surprised that Sweet Pea kept talking about how she was completely finished before anyone else.
Uli's restaurant challenge:

This is absolutely gorgeous and the only restaurant challenge look that did not look at all like it was made of unconventional materials. Nothing more to say. I would wear that in a heartbeat.
Sweet Pea's restaurant challenge:

This would be cute for either someone on a float in an Easter parade (if they even have those) or a costume for a 6 year old girl. Not a grown woman. It is the epitome of costumey. How in the world did the judges let this go? This alone tells you that the judging was decided well before they saw the actual collections. I would love to hear Tim Gunn's opinions on this challenge.

The Sadness that is Project Ruway

I am a huge Project Runway fan so this whole legal mess has been very depressing. What made it even worse was that the sixth season designers still had their fashion show, but without showing themselves so no one has any idea who designed these collections. Plus, they weren't very good.
So I thought I would get my Project Runway fix from the fashion shows of past contestants, but this was also a disappointment. I really liked Christian's collection from last season but this season it seemed like he was running out of ideas. Both collections featured lots and lots of skinny pants with one pair of massive wide leg pants thrown in. They both also featured almost the exact same dress.
This season:

Last season:


Tell me that is not the exact same dress in a different color fabric. Can't really blame Christian though, he needs time to mature as a designer and Project Runway puts a lot of pressure on him as he's the only real success the show has produced. And it doesn't look like season 6 is going to give him any competition.