Seeya, Kelli!

Aw, we're really gonna miss her.

She's utterly adorable and we thought it was really sweet how torn up she was over having to pick between Stella and Daniel.

But probably not as torn up as she was when she realized what a pain in the ass he is.

Oh, kittens. There was some fighting in the T Lo Home Theater last night over this one. You see, Tom took the almost-certain-to-be-unpopular position that the judges made the right choice last night.

Let's break this one down.

...

Actually, it's a little hard to break this down. The whole look is tacky and unattractive.

And for some reason, she completely re-thought the design. You pitch one look to a client and then make something very different, you're just asking for trouble.

It's one thing to rethink a dress into separates, but belly-baring separates? On a 43-year-old?

Here's the thing with animal prints: you can do them, but you have to be very careful how you do them so the look still retains a certain taste level.

Making that bizarre, lingerie-esque top out of leopard print would be a prime example of not utilizing the print in a tasteful manner. The Duchess nailed it once again: "Slutty, slutty, slutty."

And not just slutty, but obviously not something that Brooke or her character would wear.

It wasn't just the leopard print that was problematic either. All of those fabrics have a cheap, flimsy look to them.

And to top it off, the whole thing wasn't particularly well made.

So of course, Tom and Lorenzo fought well into the dawn over the auf'ing. Lorenzo thought Blayne should have gone home and Tom thought Kelli should have. It was literally only minutes before posting this that Tom won the argument with this point:

Which is the bigger fashion faux pas, to show up somewhere in an outfit that's too casual for the setting or to show up in an outfit that's tacky and cheap-looking?

Don't get us wrong, Blayne's outfit had a lot of problems and we'll get to them, but making something that looks cheap and lacks taste is a big no-no when you're standing in front of Nina. Although to be perfectly honest, we didn't think the auf'ing should have been a choice between Kelli and Blayne.

It should have been a choice between Kelli and Daniel.

First off, his attitude during the entire process was appalling. He claimed not to care about the outfit and once again claimed that he was above doing this kind of garment.

Second, we can understand to a point when designers have time management issues, but he couldn't even complete a fucking pencil skirt correctly? Come ON.

And third, it might have been a bit impolitic for Kelli to come right out and say it, but every one of Daniel's entries have been problematic, while she at least managed to win one of the challenges. We think Kelli had a lot more to offer if she'd stayed while we're just waiting for the inevitable auf'ing of Daniel.

Then again, our good will toward her kind of dried up when we read this on Bravo:

Why did you pick Daniel? How was your collaboration? If you had the pick of anyone, who would you have chosen?

I tried to choose someone that I thought could execute the look that was pitched. It wasn't mindblowing construction work by any means, but I was afraid that if I picked Stella, I would have to possibly send her down the river if I was in the bottom. I should have picked Stella ... less drama, more appreciation. Daniel was pissed from the start because he was picked second to last. "F" him. Other people obviously noticed his insecurity. If I could have chosen anyone from the beginning??? I would have picked Leanne, Stella, or Jerrell.

What happened with the skirt in the end? Were you happy with the final product after Daniel redid it?

When I first the saw the skirt I was like, "Oh, so you are completely giving up? Or is this how you work and that is why your garments are never finished?" I was trying to be nice, but I was pissed man ... to say the least. I felt as if I was going to have to do the entire thing alone, so I had to speed up my pace! In the end it came together, but it took ALL DAY for a pencil skirt. The initial one didn't work because HE chose poor fabrics that didn't hold up. Sorry Mr. Impeccable taste, but just because you look the part, doesn't mean that you can do it.

The judges' comments questioned your taste level -- what is your response to that?

Simple. Our taste levels are different. Mine is on the wavelength of appreciating fashion, but also realizing that the majority of it comes from people like me. My generation is much different than the 50-year-olds judging me, particularly the different subcultures. You might think that you know what the kids are wearing, but you don't. You know what rich kids are wearing, and honey, we aren't all going to the Oscars. So the slam on taste was a joke. Nice try man. We didn't all come from money and weren't able to use that "in" to make us somebody.

Were you surprised by the judges' comments?

Was it wrong and out of line? Yes. Was I surprised? No. You could see it on their faces. They didn't care what I said to defend myself; their minds were made up. Never in the bottom, won the first challenge, but NO!!!! "You are no good now, off with your head!"

Not that we disagree with her points on Daniel, but all that bullshit about "50-year-olds" judging her is ridiculous. Honey, you weren't making a dress for a 23-year-old, you were making a dress for a 43-year-old. And while youth plays a huge part in the fashion industry, the major movers and shakers aren't in her age group. We'd love to see her stand in front of Anna Wintour and tell her she's too old to understand fashion.

Her exit interview:





[Photos: Barbara Nitke/Bravo - Videos: Bravotv.com - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]

The Final Lap

THREE more to go?! Let's knock this shit out so we can all head to the bar.

Kelli:

We don't even remember this one.

Kelli says: "I love it. Maybe not 110% relevant to the Olympics but she looks fabulous." Oh, honey. You're making 3 points here and only one of them is accurate.

This isn't even 10% related to the Olympics. And she doesn't look fabulous. She looks like a '50s housewife running errands.

We believe you when you say you love it, though.

If we pretend that it's not supposed to be an outfit for the Olympics, it's not horrible. The skirt's kind of nice and the blouse isn't bad, but we hate both the bow and the fabric.

And it's at least well-made.

To recap: A little boring and a lot unrelated to the challenge. Next!

Keith:

Wow. This is wrong on a lot of levels. Once again, we're going to have to pretend that this wasn't made for the Olympics because it's so clearly not appropriate for it. Bubble skirts for the Olympics. Honestly.

It's interesting to note that he changed his idea/concept completely. Why, we don't know, because that sketch looks a lot more interesting than the end product.

The proportions are all wrong on this.

That scarf is way too huge, the skirt is way too short and the vest is way too long with a collar way too large.

Tone down the collar and the scarf and turn the skirt into a pair of shorts and he could have had something there. Next!

The general consensus seems to be that Stella doesn't belong here because her aesthetic is so narrow. To be fair, we made that point too. Well, we're prepared to backtrack on that. Stella really does deserve her shot. Why? Because she's actually very good at sticking to her guns while at the same time molding her aesthetic to fit the challenge.

Because y'know? This isn't bad at all. No, we can't really see Olympians wearing this. Not really. But it's still a sporty look that looks like Stella.

Before anyone jumps on us, we have to point out that we really hate the exposed belly button.

On the other hand, we really love what she did with the red, white and blue. Sure it's all a little roller derby, but again, that's a case of her marrying her aesthetic with the dictates of the challenge. She was never going to do simple sportswear and we shouldn't expect her to, but she did make something that fits the challenge a hell of a lot better than most of the others.

Stella says: "This outfit had to be sleek and cool. It represents the country in a bad-ass way."

You know what, girl? Mission accomplished.

It's a strong look and an athletic look and with the metallic strips it's even a patriotic look. Do we love it? Not really. Okay, maybe a little. Full length pants and an unexposed navel would have made a huge difference here.

You wanna hear something else shocking? She reminds us of someone. You'll never guess.

Laura Bennett.

We'll wait for the screaming to die down so we can explain. Like Laura, she works in a narrow range and like Laura, she's very good at making that work within each challenge.

But what really makes her seem like Laura's dark twin is that she has that extremely rare quality of being 100% comfortable and 100% herself on camera. She doesn't give a fuck what people think of her and that's not only refreshing, it's really entertaining. We'll say it again: Bravo, give this lady her own show. She's gold.


More detailed pictures:




[Photos: Barbara Nitke/Bravo - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesey of ProjectRunway.com]

Fauxhawks, Leathuh, Go Ask Alice

Let's tear though some dresses, bitches!

First up: Kelli.

Lorenzo HATED this look; Tom didn't.

The end. Next!

Oh, alright.

Let's just dispense with the idea that she really nailed her inspiration. She took a picture of something black and silver and made a black outfit with silver accessories. Not wowing us with the originality.

Lorenzo thinks it's a LOT of look and a lot of that look is somewhat lame. Tom thinks the garment is fine, but the styling came close to ruining it. That fauxhawk, the overdone makeup, the gladiator sandals - it all took away from the look rather than adding to it.

That top is kind of sharp-looking and we wonder how she made it, although we don't like the fabric she used underneath. And what are those little buckley, strappy things on her torso?

Definitely not a winning look, but with better styling it could be quite chic.

Cheroin is into leathuh and she don't care who knows it.

On the one hand, she is reality television GOLD and Bravo should definitely give her her own show. A sort of What Not to Wear for roadies and Hell's Angels, we're thinking.

On the other hand, as a design contestant, she's a real pain in the ass.

"I am rock-and-roll and I am gonna die rock-and-roll."

That's great, honey. This isn't American Idol. Now go make a dress without using a hammer.

Believe it or not, we think this is very well done. She's not going to step one millimeter outside her comfort zone and that's ultimately going to get her thrown out, but at least she's demonstrating that she's good at what she does.

The proportions are nice and the metallic faux croc leather was a nice touch that dressed the look up a bit.

Although there seems to be minor fit issues around the waist and crotch area and the straps on the top are uneven.

Still, good enough to keep her in the game another week. But at some point the judges are going to have to address the elephant in the room. No matter how good her work is, if this is the sum total of her aesthetic, then she needs to go.

Jennifer always looks like she's late for a tea party through the looking glass, doesn't she?

We've been staring at this picture for ten minutes, straining to turn a "down the rabbit hole" joke into a "the rabbit died" one because for some reason, Alice here thought she was making a maternity dress.

It's just the very definition of "dowdy," from the color, to the proportions, to the fit. Absolutely nothing about this look says "night on the town." More like "formal Lamaze class."

That neckline is awful and her boobs look droopy. The only thing that referred to the inspiration were the "clock face" cuffs, but you'd never know that was what they're supposed to represent.

And multiple hems are fine, so long as they work with each other, instead of looking like she has three dresses of varying lengths on.

And WHAT is UP with that shitastic bottom hem? Poor job, Alice.


More detailed pictures:





[Photos: Bravo/Barbara Nitke - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesy of ProjectRunway.com]