CARRIE freaking BRADSHAW?!?! Shut UP!!!!!!

As soon as she walked through that workroom door - and how dramatic was that moment? Even though we were already pretty sure she was the guest judge, we could feel the excitement of the designers, who were clearly beside themselves. Anyway, as soon as she walked through that door, Lorenzo turned to Tom, clapped his hands, and said "Now we can blog about her!"

We're calling it now: one of the best guest judges the show ever had, right up there with Diane Von Furstenberg and Fern Mallis. She not only really knows fashion, she really LOVES to talk about it. Adorable Andy Cohen has a great interview with her where she talks about her experience on the show:

"WE WERE HOLDING OUR BREATH WAITING FOR THE DESIGNERS TO SEE YOU. TELL ME ABOUT WAITING BEHIND THAT DOOR TO WALK IN AND THE RESPONSE YOU GOT?

Waiting behind the door was so scary because I have seen every episode, some more than once, and it's too much. It's too weird.... The whole time I was thinking I was gonna disappoint them when I walked in like, "Oh great...." There were things I had to say that I didn't want to mess up or make sound silly like "May or may not be sold" and try to be clear with them when i described the line. My ideal would be to walk in there and chat for an hour and a half... figure out who they are and where they come from and all that -- that would've been the dream. I would've like to spend more time with them even in the pitches. I wanted to say more to each of them. The welcome and reception was so, you know, sweet and amazing. And I wish Pat Fields had been there because I feel like a lot of that is for her...."

See, part of the reason Lorenzo's so excited is because now we can talk about her slightly controversial line of clothing, BITTEN.

"The idea behind the line is about creating high-end American sportswear at affordable prices, so giving every woman what she needs. I believe that fashion shouldn't be a luxury and quality shouldn't be a privilege."

Fabulous Cathy Horyn of The New York Times interviewed her about the line:

Cathy - "A number of blogs have expressed disappointment with the label and the idea. One said it’s the sort of thing that Carrie Bradshaw and her “Sex and the City” friends would have mocked. My own feelings about the label are that the basics are solid, especially the jeans and the striped T-shirts and cropped hoodies, but that it needed more surprise. That may come with time."

SJP - "What was most satisfying to me on the opening day was to see the preponderance of plus-size women and women of color. That’s what made me cry, and I’m not being treacle-y about it. People may have been disdainful about our clothes—well, it’s not for them. They have access. They have the financial or the geographical access to clothes. This is simple American sportswear, and we made the decision to size from 0 to 22, from 5 to 11 in shoe sizes. What resonated for us on the first day is that women really got the point we were trying to make—which is you should have access to well-made, affordable clothes regardless of your size or where you live. It’s not this rarefied thing. Are we trying to do couture and red-carpet, to be Narciso Rodriguez and Nicolas Ghesquiere, for 20 bucks? Absolutely not.

We’ve had some criticisms, even before the line was launched. And I say, “Great. Bring it on. And tell me what troubles you about women in this country having affordable, well-made clothes. Let’s talk about it."

Then Cathy Horyn followed up with Howard Schacter, the company’s chief partnership officer about the lines somewhat ridiculously low prices.

"Of all the topics raised by the Sarah Jessica Parker interview, the one that stirred the most debate was how Steve & Barry’s can deliver Bitten at such low prices, and does this mean the company employs sweat shops and other unethical manufacturing practices. The subject came up during my conversation with SJP at the store — and, according to Parker, she asked similar questions of Steve & Barry’s during her due diligence. But since a lot of people on the blog are concerned about this issue, I decided to explore it further with Howard Schacter, the company’s chief partnership officer, and we spoke this morning.

Here’s what Schacter said: “Most brands that we consume as shoppers — the car you drive, the pen in your hand — are priced on a market system. What can the market bear? We price our products on a cost basis and then add a very fair, small profit to it. We’re O.K. making a little bit on a ton of items rather than a big profit margin on a few items.

Now to the manufacturing part, I asked Schacter if it follows that a $14.95 pair of jeans means that it was made in a sweatshop. “Absolutely not,” he said. Steve & Barry’s produces clothes in 20 to 30 countries around the world. “We have a very strict foreign sourcing policy when it comes to legal and ethical business practices,” he said. “We have people around the world who are diligent about determining who we’re going to conduct business with, and then monitoring them as closely as we can.” One labor rights group, cited on the blog, noted that Steve & Barry’s took aggressive action in 2005 with a Kenyan factory that had subcontracted work to a sweatshop."

So! Now that you've got the whole backstory, let's judge her ass! BITTEN's Fall 2007 Collection:

Kimono Sleeve Sweater $19.98 Crew Sweater $19.98 Jeans $14.98

Houndstooth Coat $19.98 Sheer Turtleneck $10.98

Jacket 19.98 Bib Front Shirt $12.98 Square Neck Top $10.98 Jeans $14.98 Scarf $7.98



Ruffle Shirt $12.98 Suspender Pants $14.98 Jacket $14.98

Babydoll Top $10.98 Tribeca Cardigan $19.98 Cotton Jodpher $14.98 Striped Scarf $7.98

Ruffle Shirt $ 12.98 Crewneck Sweater $19.98 Trouser Chinos $14.98 Basic Pea Coat $19.98


Knotted Close Toe Shoe $14.98


Parachute Bag $9.98

What do you say, girls? Cheap crap? Chic and affordable essentials? Vanity project?

And don't worry, we'll get to the actual episode tomorrow.

[Photos: Bittensjp.com - Screencaps: Project RunGay]


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