Washington's Metro Weekly has an interview up with Tim wherein he discusses (among other things) homophobia, when he got his cherry popped, and gay men vs. straight men.
"MW:Was homophobia expressed in your home?
GUNN: My father was so homophobic that later I thought maybe he was a closet case.
MW:When did the pink light bulb switch on for you?
GUNN: Late. I was in denial for a while -- kept pushing it to the back of my consciousness. I was 22 when I had my first experience. It was the early '70s.
MW:In addition to Runway, you now have your own Bravo series, Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. How did you feel about taking center stage?
GUNN: Terrified, to be honest. You feel really exposed. I felt during the taping of Guide to Style that we were achieving our goals, but I wasn't at all confident that the viewer would have the patience for it, because it's kind of a tedious journey. Are they going to be interested in the underwear drawer? Are they going to be interested in how we shop? Will the viewer watch and come back? So I was living with a lot of concerns about that.
MW:Is there a perceptible difference between the styles of gay and straight men, or is that just myth?
GUNN: Just generally speaking, I think there is a larger percentage of gay men who really care about how they present themselves, who take care in how they present themselves to the world, than straight men. I was just on a TV show in Chicago and the question was put to me, ''Do women care more about how they present themselves than men?'' And I said, ''Well, women, generally speaking, have more experience with this -- they've been brought up this way.'' Yet, there are only two genders on this planet and shouldn't both be concerned with presentation to the world? It's certainly true with other species.
But I think there is a style gene in gay men's DNA that's pretty profound -- and it benefits itself in architecture and product design and graphic design and in all of the areas of art and design."
Tim will be in Washington this weekend to accept "the OUTstanding Individual Lifetime Achievement Award from OUT for Work, an LGBT college student career conference taking place at the Washington Plaza Hotel from Sept. 29 to 30. Gunn is being given the award, says OUT for Work Executive Director Riley Folds, for his 'contributions as an out and open professional in the workplace.' "
Blah blah blah...annoying child woman... aged her ten years ... humorless approach to fashion... restrictive sense of style...underwear drawer... we've already said it all.
Besides... ...who could concentrate on the show when Veronica looked like that?
Seriously, what the hell?
Why would anyone take fashion advice from this woman?
And does anyone else get the impression that Tim's pretending not to notice? (Photos: Courtesy of Bravotv.com)
Bravo announced the Season 4 contestants. Let's play Spot The Gay!
Bravo also announced that season 4 starts on November 14th. Read all about the cast of Season 4 here. Who do you think is going to hate us and send all their friends here to call us fat?
A lot of people have been asking us about the dress Laura gave to the client on Tim Gunn's show last week. We asked her for some info and pictures. The dress will be available soon, kittens, whether through QVC or some other venue. Worry not, you'll be the first to know where to get it. The proceeds for this dress will be donated to Laura's pet cause, Dress for Success and you'll be able to either buy it for yourself or have it sent through DFS to a woman who needs it.
Take it away, Laura!
"I love the ease of wearing dresses. There is nothing simpler than slipping on that one easy piece. I always feel fabulous, confident and put together when I am wearing a flattering, comfortable dress.
My basic dress is flattering for all body types. The subtle A-Line shape provides ease of movement so it is never binding or uncomfortable. It has a V neckline, which looks great on everyone: cut low enough to be feminine, but high enough to wear with a bra. The front is gathered just below the bust, providing a beautiful drape and doing wonders to hide a little tummy.
Women my age love arm coverage. Dresses with sleeves are surprisingly hard to find. This one comes in both a long and short sleeve version for those of us that no longer have stick thin arms. The long sleeve version has a generous sleeve length that gently gathers at the wrist. The short sleeve version is a sophisticated length that comes just above the elbow.
My dress is made out of a beautiful matte finish jersey. Unlike the shiny polyester jersey dresses of the past, the matte finish of this fabric is elegant and modern. The care of this dress couldn’t be easier. Just machine-wash and hang to dry. The fabric resists wrinkling which makes it perfect for travel. The carefully considered fabric weight is perfect year round. Most importantly, there is nothing better than stretch fabric for ease of movement to comfortably get you through another busy, hectic day.
This dress is actually two dresses sewn together. The double fabric allows it to drape beautifully without clinging or riding up. It also helps to hide any lines from undergarments, so the look is always smooth and sleek. The addition of the second layer gives the dress a luxurious weight that hangs just right. Plus, there are no bulky seams. The seams are carefully placed for flattery and comfort and the side seams are slightly toward the back for the slimmest possible silhouette.
Although this dress was thought out and developed by me over many years, it is deceptively simple. You can take this dress from casual to dressy or from the office to a night out, just by changing your accessories. This is truly the perfect little dress."
UPDATE: The pictured photo is Laura's personal dress and the actual neckline is not that low. The real one is bra-friendly. It should be available for just under $100. [Photos: ProjectRunGay]
Alexandra Vidal, that adorable blonde from season one, has a pretty little confection of a collection out for Spring/Summer 2008. Here's what she had to say to us about it:
"Dear Tom and Lorenzo,
Thank you so much for your interest in my new collection. I'm delighted you are putting it on your site!
After Project Runway, I stayed in Miami and sold my clothes to boutiques mainly there, although also to Kirna Zabete in New York City. Then I met the man I would marry and prepared for my wedding. I made my dress myself using 65 yards of silk chiffon! I moved to Manhattan and took two seasons off from my collections and designed for private clients only while I gathered my thoughts about the direction I wanted to move in. The result is the new collection which I think reflects well where I want to go and the sensibility I want to convey.
Again, my gratitude for your interest.
Best wishes,
Alexandra"
We think these looks are chic, cool, feminine and very, very French. What do you guys think? (Photos: Courtesy of AlexandraVidal.com)
Yes, it's Victor/Victoria! And we hate you all for it!
You see, we never really planned on doing many of the latter musicals because they're too self-aware to parody. What was subtext in a classic MGM musical becomes text in anything post-Saturday Night Fever.
Well, you bitches kept asking for this one and as we perused the racks of the local videostore (because NetFlix can't seem to find our address), our eyes fell on this oft-requested musical and we thought "Well, why not?" It's certainly a gay classic and god knows, we've had plenty of fun at Julie Andrews' expense already. We should've stuck to our gay guns on this one because it's practically impossible to make fun of a movie that spends all its time making fun of itself.
So strap yourself in. bitches. We'll give it our best shot, but this looks like it's going to be a very different kind of Musical Monday. Our story starts here as "pathetic old queer" Toddy, played by Robert Preston, wakes up to find his self-loathing gigolo rooting through his wallet.
We have...opinions on Preston's performance and the character of Toddy, but they tend to be a little contradictory, so we're going to try and work our way through them as we go along. Later, Julie, as down-on-her-luck opera singer Victoria Grant, is auditioning for a job that's totally beneath her at Chez Lui, a Parisian gay cabaret where Toddy happens to perform. She doesn't get the job because (as she's told) it's like teaching a nun to be a governess to seven children.
A streetwalker! We meant a streetwalker. It's like teaching a nun to be a streetwalker. We're not quite sure what that means but she's apparently too good for Chez Lui. She shatters a wine glass on her way out. Later, she wanders the cold Paris streets, hungry and bereft. She apparently had the superpower to shatter glass with her voice, so we're not sure why she didn't just hit a high note and reach in to take the eclair away from the fat guy. That night, Toddy, who apparently shares the same hairstylist as Barbara Bush, performs for... ...Joan Rivers, some stone cold bitch, and his money-grubbing gigolo (among others). He says something pithy, a fight breaks out and he gets fired from Chez Lui. He runs into Victoria and tells her he caught her audition and thought she was wonderful. She "buys" him dinner by ordering everything on the menu and causing a cockroach-induced riot when it comes time to pay the bill. They sneak out into the rain. And head back to Toddy's place for some cognac and expositional dialogue while waiting for their clothes to dry. Julie's cheapass clothes are ruined and she winds up staying the night. Toddy is for the most part sexless, so she doesn't give her safety a second thought. The next morning, she dresses like a man and beats up the gigolo while Toddy watches and masturbates. Toddy has a brilliant idea to pass Julie off as a man because - well, just look at her. She's positively dripping with testosterone. He gets her a high-paying gig and teaches her the ancient art of drag queenery. Apparently, it's "lots of shoulder."
Y'know, we were just tiny little baby fags when this movie came out, so it's fun to watch it as the jaded old queens we've become. It's true, there really is a lot of shoulder in drag queenery. During rehearsals, Toddy spends his time feeling the taut little asses of the chorus boys while they pretend not to notice. On opening night the DIVINE Lesley Ann Warren - the true STAR of this film - attends with her boyfriend, King Marchand (James Garner), a Chicago gangster and nightclub owner along with his bodyguard (Alex Karras). If you are a gay man over the age of 35, you won't get far telling us that this was not an iconic performance for you because we simply won't believe you. Hit it, Julie:
Fabulous. Lorenzo admits that he used to perform this number behind closed doors as a teenager. Tom is not quite ready to admit that yet.
After the show, Lesley Ann is thrilled to meet the man who gave her man a hardon. Look for her in The Dina McGreevey Story on Lifetime this fall. Jim Garner, not so much. He doesn't believe "Victor" is really a man. Where'd he get a crazy idea like that? Julie Andrews is TOTALLY butch! She's practically a lumberjack! Later, Lesley Ann taunts Jim in their divinely appointed art deco suite. He tells her to fuck off. So she gets to redecorating. No gay man would lay on satin sheets with an open bottle of champagne fully dressed in expensive clothes. Jim tries to sex Lesley Ann but she doesn't have a penis, so he can't get it up. Take a good look: Tom and Katie in 20 years. Later, she takes to openly masturbating on public transportation. Katie, if you're reading this, this could be YOU. Get out, now!
The other iconic performance from this film. Although Tom can state definitively that he did NOT perform this behind closed doors. Ever. The jury's still out on Lorenzo. That night, Jim hangs out in the linen closet and masturbates while Julie takes a bath. He's a bit disappointed that her penis is apparently very small.
Okay, okay. Maybe it's not iconic but damn if that girl didn't deserve an Oscar for this number alone. Fucking HYSTERICAL. Tom once rode in an elevator with Lesley Ann Warren many years later and he wanted to mention this scene to her but chickened out. Anyway, she goes crying to Jim's business partner that he's turned gay on her in Paris. Meanwhile, Christopher Atkins gets some work on the side. Just a little reminder that normally, it's not that hard to tell when a "woman" has a penis, y'know? Later, Julie beats up an old woman. And the Stonewall riots break out. Jim and Julie finally do it and she can't understand why he keeps insisting on doggie-style. Finally, she tells him that she is penisless. Meanwhile, Toddy and Alex are doing that thing that all gay men do in bed. Having tea.
Look, Robert Preston did a great job in the role and it was certainly a forward-looking take on a gay character for the time. It's just that he's so sexless and too often portrayed as pathetic and world-weary that we have a hard time with his character.
Plus, the hair. It drives us nuts. No one went around with blow-dried hair in Paris in the 1930s. Anyway, Jim and Julie decide to go public with the love that dare not speak its name but he's a top and he always wants to lead.
Later, his business partners kidnap him because they think he's gay. The plot's kinda speeding along like a train out of control at this point. So, Lesley Ann finds out that Julie has a vagina and apparently that solves everything. Julie is now free to do that thing that Julie Andrews is contractually obligated to do in every one of her films: wear a hideously unflattering dress. It really says something that her character dressed better when she was a man. And then, for no reason whatsoever, Toddy gives a drag performance so awful that there's no way in hell he's gay. Why the film ended this way, we have no idea.
