Thursday, July 31, 2008

Sew Out of Time

I unfortunately didn't get to work on either of my two costumes last night, therefore I didn't get any pictures of them to post.


However I did of course watch my lovely Project Runway....


But before I move onto last night's episode, I do want to mention that I just read over at Perez Hilton that it has come out that Tim Gunn didn't get paid a dime for the first season and that he was only paid $2,500 per episode for Season 2.....if that is true, that is total highway robbery, as Tim is just plain awesome and really makes the show. Sure, Heidi, Michael and Nina always add some, but Tim is the MAN!


Onto the show:


I was much happier with last night's designs than the previous challenges so far. I thought that overall the designs were much better than the others and they all showed some innovation.


The Challenge: Tim took all of the designers for a night out on the town. They had to go out and take photos (in the rain) of images from New York and create an evening look that was inspired by New York at night. Interestingly enough this was their first trip to Mood to get their own fabrics.


Notable Moments:


  • Jennifer thinks that Suede is crazy. Jennifer doesn't like people who talk in third person. Jennifer wonders what crazy reasoning that anyone could have to start talking in third person. Jennifer wonders if Suede had a horrible issue with pronouns in elementary school that has scarred him for life.

  • Blayne, staring bug-eyed "I will eat you". Very odd.

  • Can I just take a moment here to say that I love it when Stella says "Leatha"?

  • Tim learning to say "Holla at yo boy". (And did anyone else think that stupid poll about Tim making it his catch phrase was ridiculous?)

The Designs:


Blayne - Out of all of the photos that were taken, Blayne's was the best. It was so interested and had a lot of potential. However his execution was pretty bland. With all of that color and intrigue that he had in the photo, all he did was make a black dress with a rainbow ruffle on it. (BTW are ruffles in now?)


Daniel - This dress was so not memorable. I am pulling up the pictures from "Rate the Runway" on Bravo's website. I just pulled up the dress and thought, "I don't even remember that." Not a good thing.


Emily (Auf'd): I hated this dress. I agree that it had to go. That ruffle was so misplaced and disproportionate. I agreed with the guest judge Sandra Bernhard (odd choice) and thought that the streak of color should have been flush against the fabric and better placed. It would have indicated "movement" better.


Jennifer: I didn't think the dress was quite as matronly as they kept saying. I think it depends on who is wearing it. I do agree though that while she tried to pull it off as being "surreal", it wasn't. You have to push the envelope a little more to be surreal.


Jerell - A very underrated dress. I was amazed this didn't go a little further than it did. The train was gorgeous.


Joe - His dress was pretty interesting. I liked it, but it wasn't stand out for me. I did think it looked like his hanging globe picture though.


Keith - I hated this dress. Even though he was inspired by magazines, the dress didn't meet my expectations. I agreed with a combo of the judges comments. Heidi thought it needed to have a better shape. Sandra thought the colors should have had more of a grey muted tone (less white), and Michael said it looked like toilet paper flapping in the wind.


Kelli - This was the shredded top/skirt combo. I didn't like this. It looked too distressed - like a sweater that an angry cat got ahold of.


Kenley - I wasn't into Kenley's winning dress. I mean, the color scheme was great and I got where she was coming from, but the tulle was just too poofy on one side. Had it been a little more symmetrical I would have liked it.


Korto - The black one piece jumper was really neat. I didn't see it having anything to do with the photo that inspired it, but I really liked it.


Leanne - This was a cute look. I think it was modern without being too in your face. I agree with Heidi that it looks like you could go get it in a store today. Leanne did a great job editing and not adding extra stuff (no loopty loops).


Stella - Her "leatha" outfit was ok. I get the look that she was going for, I am just not a big fan of it.


Suede - I think that Suede needs to put less attention into his third person talking and more attention into his design. Didn't I see dresses like this at Old Navy last season?


Terri - My favorite (to the right). I thought the whole look was very put together. I loved the colors and the fit. I liked that it was a dress with pants (think about the comfort there!). It didn't show too much, but I liked that it had the backless part to show a little skin. This outfit looked fun and trendy - and I could really see people in New York going out dressed like this. When she came down the runway, I saw a PR exec going out after a day at the office with the girls for drinks!



Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Last Night



Last night I began making my costumes for Dragon Con. In case you don't know what Dragon Con is, it is a comic book/sci fi/fantasy convention in Atlanta, GA, one of the biggest "cons" out there for nerds like myself. This is the first time that we are going to any of these and I'm excited.




Cons are known for people dressing up in crazy costumes like their favorite characters. Even though I'm a huge fan of wearing costumes (I heart Halloween) I wasn't going to wear one to my first Con so that I could just be an observer.




However my plans to be an onlooker have been thwarted. My husband convinced me to make/wear a costume.




I have some personal rules when I wear costumes that I've established. Here are my four personal costume rules:






  1. Sexy is cliche. Yes, I know many a girl uses Halloween/costume parties as an opportunity to dress like a $10 hooker and parade around in their most lingerie-looking attire. I don't ever like going this route because its too easy. It's cliche. And frankly, I've found that by going in the opposite direction you actually stand out more! (ie, if you are dressed in a silly/funny/cool costume amid a sea of slutty nurses, skanky cats, and sexy devils you actually stand out!)


  2. Say no to stores. You will probably never see me in a costume bought from a store. I may get bits and pieces, but for the most part everything I do is original/handmade. Buying from a store is the easy route. Plus you do limit yourself to what is in stock.


  3. Be unique. Ideally, I never want to show up at a party, costume event wearing the same type costume as someone else. I try not to go for the expected or the costume of the day. By not shopping in a store, you tend to avoid it anyway. Like for example, I probably wouldn't show up to a comic book convention dressed as Wonder Woman - you will be sure to see a ton of Wonder Women all around. I'd pick a lesser known comic character - and maybe not even a female one (to avoid the skank factor).


  4. Less is more! No, I don't mean clothing/coverage wise - that would break rule number one. I mean that I like to spend as little as possible on a costume! I get fabric from clearance racks, use scraps of things, etc. For example, this past Halloween I was Pam from the Office, complete with my own receptionist desk attached to me. I used clothing that I already owned (button down, black skirt, sensible shoes). I made an Office Olympics medal out of paper clips (that I already had) and a yogurt lid (I just opted to by Dannon that week instead of store brand). I made the desk and all of its accessories out of some leftover foam board that we were going to throw out at work. I salvaged it and made the desk as well as the pieces. I try not to spend a lot of money on the outfits simply because I will wear them once. Not to mention that my $10 home made costumes have ended up being a much bigger hit than $40-$50 store bought ones! And I guess in a way I'm doing my part by recycling items.


That being said, I'm working on two costumes now for the convention. It took me a long time to come to a decision over my first outfit. I thought about all types of comic characters, etc. I debated over She-Ra and a GI Joe character (to match Mac) but eventually settled on a costume that I just loved and wanted to make anyway - which is the "By the Sea" montage red stripe dress that Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) wore in Sweeney Todd, pictured at right. I'm very excited about this costume. I bought the fabric for it already ($2 per yard at Walmart) and a couple of the other supplies and have begun cutting the pattern. So far this outfit has cost me about $24, which isn't too shabby considering I saw a ready made version on Ebay for well over $100 - and I may in fact auction it off after I wear it since this one will be put together very nicely (sometimes my costumes are only good enough for one wear).


The second costume idea came from my husband. He joked around that I should dress up at Nibbler from Futurama (left) and all of a sudden my mind started churning. I'm really excited about this - especially since I looked around on the internet and saw no other Nibbler costumes. We saw lots of Fry, Bender, and Leela - but no Nibbler. So I have definitely gotten to work on this project as well. I made the body suit (essentially a basic jumpsuit) out of felt, which will be hot. I made the tummy part of the outfit and have begun planning the head. I'm going to try to construct an actual wearable head (using paper mache and other items).

I'm going to take some pictures tonight to sort of diagram/journal the process in the event that it turns out as awesome as I think it will.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Weeds



Who else loves WEEDS?

Last night's episode was yet another good one. I was really hesitant at the beginning of this season regarding the new "set up" of the show. However this season has truly grown on me and I am really liking the new opportunities that have been presented for the show (but I still maintain that I do miss the "Little Boxes" intro/song, even though its not exactly a match for the new set up).

Could Andy and Doug be any cuter/funnier? They are so endearing! I love that they are going to be "coyotes".

The relationship with Celia and Isabelle is fantastic. I loved the little speech that Celia gave to Isabelle about coming into her very unglamorous world.

So Silas and Cheese-shop lady - HOT! Silas has always seemed a little young in my eyes and I never saw him as a hottie until last night. Woah. "You can hold onto me." (sigh)

Shane, Shane, Shane. How disturbing! That grosses me out, however, I will say it is an interesting, primarily unexplored plot line so I have to give the writers kudos for delving into such a touchy (pun intended) subject matter.

I'm not sure how I feel about the mayor character yet, and I guess it is supposed to be that way.

Project Run-Lame

I feel that I should start my first blog post about a show that is near and dear to my heart -
Project Runway.


I have watched this show from day one. I think I saw some promotions for it and thought "meh - maybe I'll watch it." But I vividly remember flipping through the channels on the premiere night. I remember Austin Scarlett catching my eye and I though to myself "this guy is a character!" I started watching the now infamous grocery-store challenge and just fell in love with this show. Of course I was enamored with Austin's corn husk dress - the beauty and the creativity. I've always had an interest in all things crafty and creative and I especially love objects made out of unexpected items (seat belt purses anyone?). This show has appealed to the creativity inside of me and has event inspired me to make my own creations (see my Runaway Runway grocery bag dress pictured to the left - I did this for a charity fashion show. It is made out of grocery bags from Publix and Kroger and the jacket is made of bubble wrap and electrical tape)
Since the first episode, I have been a true fan watching every episode and recording the ones I could potentially miss. I hang on to every moment, every design, every scrap. I love it. I have an unending love for Christian Siriano from last season as well, however no one will ever top my all-time fave Daniel V.
I say all of that to emphasize that I'm not just a passerby through Project Runway-ville . I have bought property there!
However, is it just me or is this season just blah? The creativity is not at the level it has been at. Table cloths in challenge 1?!?!?!? Have any of these people seen previous episodes? That's the easiest route possible, and we all know the judges don't like easy! And the second challenge wasn't much better. The dresses were all way too short and not flattering at all. I could have done a better job, and I don't normally say that! Yuck! I'm really hoping these designers up their game because so far this crop is starting off as the worst bunch yet.
I'll give a more in depth review following Wednesday's episode.