Make It Work

PROJECT RUNWAY IS BACK!

Looks like there's an interesting group of designers on this season of PR, chock full of people I want to get to know. Unfortunately in such a short space of time, we only got a smidgen of who was who and what they were about. Tim said that they are "the most diverse group" ever to be on the show. So far, I love Kelli (who won this week's challenge) and Kenley who looks like a 1940s pin-up girl.



The challenge, which featured Austin Scarlet from Season One as a judge, was to go to the grocery store and grab stuff to design something out of. Back at the workroom, Tim let everyone know that he was disappointed by the amount of people who chose to work with easy materials like plastic table clothes. It seemed like at least six or seven people chose them to design with.

Despite the predictable material, there were definitely some interesting get-ups, particularly the awful "duck suit" made my too-tan Blayne. Everyone kept saying it looked like there was a diaper on the front, which I agree with, but what about that awful netting around the bodice? It looked like it could physically hurt someone. I don't know a single girl who would want to wear that.


Another really bad outfit was made by Stella - the rocker chick who looks like Cher. I love her personality and I'm glad they kept her, but her trash bag dress was beyond boring and looked really cheaply made (should've gotten Glad!). This oversight put her in the bottom two.

But it was Jerry who went home. He made an outfit out of paper towels that looked like something a serial killer nurse would wear. He even paired it with yellow plastic cleaning gloves and galoshes. I was sorry to see him go. While it was kind of weird, at least it was interesting! I would have loved to see what he could have come up with during the season. Maybe a whole line of serial killer wear? Isn't that what this show is supposed to be about? Fashion? Imagination?


Kelli won the challenge with her very clever and innovative dress made from vacuum bags (which she pleated and dyed with coffee and bleach) and burnt coffee filters. She left no detail overlooked and even made a belt decorated with silver thumbtacks and the back closure of the dress out of a spiral notebook binding.


The runner up, Daniel, was also very imaginative He took blue plastic tumblers, ironed them, and fused them together to make a really fashionable "cocktail" dress. I thought the fit was a little off (it made the model look like she was wearing an actual plastic cup), but it was so smart and off-the-charts whimsical that he could have easily won the challenge.

I Love Barbie!

PLASTIC PASSION

I've always been a huge Barbie fan. When I was a kid, I had Malibu Barbie, Beauty Barbie, Skipper, Ken, and several outsiders like The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man, Donny and Marie Osmond, Cher, Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and the good witch, Glendela.

I was walking through Toys-R-Us today with my 17-month old son and passed a whole wall of new collectible Barbie Dolls. Since I'm still drawn to her plastic pulchritude and tiny stylish outfits, I had to stop and gawk. If I were a collector, I'd be in heaven. There are some really interesting dolls out there now, including a "Barbie Loves Elvis" Barbie, a Badgley Mischka Barbie (Live from the red carpet at an E! event), Kimora Lee Simmons Barbie, Juicy Couture Barbies, a whole line of fashion model Barbies, and a Bob Mackie line of dolls. You can find it all here.

LIMITED GLITZ AT THE GRAMMYS

The Grammys were almost too dull to comment on. But as a style blog, I have to address the dressed - i.e. who hit a high note and sour note in fashion.

Looks like a lot of boring, ugly outfits dominated the show and cobalt blue ruled the red carpet. Beyonce looked like she was half-swallowed by a tin foil and taffeta fish; ever the bad dresser, Yoko Ono looked a little Tom Petty with the white top hat; and I don't even want to speculate what was going on with Cher.


Do I have anything nice to say about anyone? Well, Beyonce's little sister, Solange, looked gorgeous in a little black dress (and those shoes!), which appeared in stark contrast to big sis' cheap-looking get-up.


Prince's classy red suit stood out in a sea of tacky and dull.


Mark Ronson sported hipster-chic in a Dolce and Gabanna suit and skinny tie.



Amy Winehouse looked equal parts rock-n-roll and glam, reminding viewers what the Grammy's are supposed to look like.




(all photos from virginmedia.com and beyonce-k.com, and style.com)