Project Runway - Week Two

I swear, if I hear Blayne saying “girlicious” one more episode, I’m personally gonna find where he works now and beat him to death with a dress mannequin. Give it up already Blayne, you are not Christian!! Yeesh.

Anyway, this episode of Runway centered on “green” fabrics, and for a change, my idol, Tim Gunn asked the models to go out and shop for the designers. Wow, what a bad idea. Don’t get me wrong, the models are beautiful, but most of them aren’t known for their knowledge in designing. So as expected, the materials they brought back were either too little, or a horrible color choice. The designers definitely had their work cut out for them.

So what is with Stella?! She was whining almost through the entire design process that she wants to work with leather. She boasted on what she could do with leather, and what type of outfit she could make with leather, and what accessories she could add, blah blah blah. Leather, leather, leather. Stella, guess what? Have you ever watched the show? There’s a very good chance you will never even USE leather as material, so why did you even bother to apply for the show? As for Suede, he’s growing on me, but still he needs to stop talking to himself in the third person. That’s gonna start grating on my nerves.

Also, revealed this week, Wesley admits to a budding romance with fellow designer on the show, Daniel. They didn’t play it up on the show at all, for professional reasons, and I applaud them for doing so. It should be about individual efforts, not a team. Regardless, I’m happy for them, and according to recent reports, they are still together and the romance is budding. Good show!

Let’s move on to this week’s designs, and my thoughts, shall we?

Blayne – I didn’t thing pink would be able to be pulled off properly, but I’ll give this Christian wanna-be credit, the dress actually looks cute. I like the subtle off the shoulder sleeve, and the black is the perfect accent to break up the deep pink color. All in all, it looks like a cute “Sunday afternoon” cocktail party dress.





Daniel – I was concerned about timing for what Daniel had in mind, and when I saw certain clips of him sewing last minute, etc, I thought it would turn into one of those horrible dresses we’ve seen on seasons past, where the designer uses safety pins last minute to put their dress together. He pulled off a very cute black dress, which to me seems perfect for a quick night out for drinks, or a party or small event. Not sure about the way the neckline drops, but all in all a decent effort.



Emily – Too short. That was my first thought as I saw this frock walk down the runway. I thought the top of it made the model’s chest seem non-existent. (and maybe it was, but this top only accentuated it.) It seemed uneven too, but that was minor compared to the way the short short took all the focus away from the dress as a whole.





Jennifer – I understand, the designer didn’t have a say in the color choices, but this awful baby blue color was just made more of an eye-sore by that completely revealed cleavage center. I’m not a woman, but I have to wonder what woman would chance wearing something like that, when it’s so easy for things to…umm…slip out. I’m not sure about the black fringe below, but I can definitely tell you, that’s not where the eyes go first when first seeing this dress.



Jerell – What happened to the peacock feathers his model brought back? Or am I getting him mixed up with another designer? Whatever the case, this dress didn’t nearly come off as awesome as Jerell would like you to think, but it was a nice dress overall. My first thought was “summer dress” when the model first walked out. It seems like the perfect choice to wear when attending a summer outdoor party, or hobnobbing with guests on a private yacht. (Wow, my descriptions are getting as good as Michael Kors’!) Good dress, well thought out, and it was executed well.




Joe – I really liked this dress, but the whole time I kept thinking “God, I wish it was different color!” The style, execution and fit was perfect, but the color made it so “Ech!”, it just bothered me. Granted the color choice wasn’t Joe’s fault, but he made the best of what he had. The hole in the center seemed a bit out of place though, but all in all great looking dress, drab color.




Keith – Ok, I officially have a crush on Keith. But that has nothing to do with how I’ll judge his stuff. This champagne colored dress could have been a lot better if it was longer. Again, not the designer’s fault, but still doesn’t change the fact. I like the ruffled look of the skirt, but I think the top was a bit too low cut. (still better then the blue dress though)





Kelli – I’m torn on this dress. I like the overall look and style, but I find the colors too distracting. Ugh, I really hate the fact the models pretty much bought the same exact colors, but with a different color, this would have been a very cute dress. The skirt wasn’t too short, and I liked the vest like sleeves covering the shoulders. I wouldn’t say elegant, but I would definitely say “sexy cocktail dress”.




Kenley – I like this girl’s style. One of the judges described her as stepping out of the 1940’s, and I’d have to agree. This is the way a champagne colored dress should be pulled off. The black belt perfectly broke up the dress and accentuated the elegance of the overall style of the dress. The high collar, while a great addition to the top of the dress, was too high, and seemed very constraining to the wearer. If Kenley would have pulled back a little and made the collar a bit smaller, I think she would have pulled off a win. Elegant and classy is the best way to describe this piece.



Korto – Oh dear Lord, where do I begin with this one? The dress looked inside out, even when it was being designed! Tim Gunn thought it was inside out too! I’m sorry, but when Tim talks, you should listen. On top of that, you are given a drab, boring yellow color, and you add “wings” to the skirt? Are you kidding? What possessed you to add wings. This would have been a decent dress, if all the “folds” weren’t all over it. As it stands it looks like a dress that a woman accidentally put on backwards when hastily getting dressed after a night of drunken “naughty”, and about to make that “walk of shame” in the early morning hours……wow, I really got specific didn’t I?



Leanne – How did this mess of a dress make it down the runway? I agreed with the judges when they said this dress was all over the place. It had pockets, it had pieces, it had loops….where did it end? Let’s forget about the color for a moment, and just look at the design itself. There were far too many pieces attached to the dress to begin. On top of that, the pockets in the front were completely out of place. She honestly looked like a drunken flapper from the 1920’s. (lots of drunken analogies I notice….hmm…) She was one of the bottom two, but of the two, I think her dress was the bigger mess. She should have been the one to be “auf’d”.



Stella – Yes, Stella we get it. After you said it for the tenth time, we all knew this isn’t “what you do”. But isn’t that the point of the show, to step outside your design comfort zone, and use your design skills? Apparently Stella didn’t read the guidelines to the show. But, you know what, darn it….she churned out a pretty decent dress. Like guest judge Natalie Portman said (not sure why she’s a judge, but whatever…and what is with those lips? Eeewww.), it isn’t my style either. I’m not a fan of the long/short look of dresses of this type. True, it does showcase the type of designer Stella is, but I thought the sleeve was a bit too long. I will give her props for creating a decent design with what little she was given, and with all the whining she gave us.



Terri – I actually liked this dress a lot. The color choice was the best in the whole bunch, and the dress designed was executed beautifully. It wasn’t too short, and just elegant enough for a night out on the town, or an afternoon dinner party. I think the model made the dress though, because she was gorgeous. Should have been one of the top three in my opinion.





Wesley – Well, besides being a horrid color (that awful shiny brown again), the dress was VERY ill-fitting. But Wesley knew it from the time he first saw the materials he had to work with. You could tell he was worried, and he had good reason. The model didn’t buy enough fabric, and what little of it she did, was a material that was very hard to make form fitting. I felt bad for the very soft-spoken Wesley, who I didn’t think was given enough of a chance to show his skills. Let’s try to forget about his own poor fashion choices (school boy shorts and shoes? REALLY?). His dress was a mess, but except for it being very ill-fitted, it was still better looking then Leanne’s schlock frock. Wesley, alas, was “auf’d”, for his design, but hey, at least he got a boyfriend out of his experience on the show. (Daniel)



Suede – Besides being annoying with his talking to himself in the third person, I really didn’t know where Suede was going with his design, while he was putting it together. Then I saw what he was planning for the skirt, and I was already picturing him in the bottom three. But you know what? He pulled it off. A very very cute, short dress, which actually used the horrible champagne color, but turned out to look elegant, yet fun. He really did “make it work”, because all the effort showed in his design. While not flawless, it still impressed the judges (and Natalie Portman) enough to win this challenge. I have to say I agree with the judge’s choice for the winner. Suede’s dress was different, utilized a different design pattern, and it came off as fun and hip.


So what did you guys think? Agree with my assessments? Am I off the mark? Would some of my female readers wear some of these designs? Let me know! Chat it up!! Until next week…..auf wiedersehen!