Tuesday, November 20, 2007 by
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Why, good morning, twig and berries! We trust that this will be the first of many appearances this season. Jack strikes us as the kind of guy for whom clothing is only a mild suggestion.
A lot of commenters seemed to like this dress and we don't get it. At most, it's just pretty.
This is another example of a garment where the fabric is doing all the work. Without that bold print, this would be a very plain dress.
And a not particularly well-fitted one. She's kinda swimming around in there.
Plus, he over-accessorized the hell out of that thing. That bag is too big and tying the big sash around it didn't do anything to tone it down.
We're making it sound like we hated it more than we did. We liked it; we just thought that it was boring and a little flawed.
And that model couldn't walk to save her life.
And for the latest in Princess Jasmine costumes, let's turn to Carmen.
We gotta say, Carmen definitely talks a good game. It's all "I'm here and no, my shit doesn't stink, thank you very much."
Unfortunately, well...this kinda stunk.
Y'know, we are all about mixing the bold colors and prints, but there's a point at which it just looks like way too much and none of the elements are "speaking" to each other any more.
AND WHAT IS WITH THAT HAIR? Is it us, or does she look like she's a contestant in a nursing home beauty contest?
Sorry, just can't get behind the crazy, mismatched, genie-out-of-the-bottle aesthetic she's working here.
[Photos: Barbara Nitke/Bravotv.com - Screencaps: Project RunGay]
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98 comments:
OK, Jack is HOT HOT HOT. I knew you guys were going to post that screen shot. so, thank you , poodles!
The dress is pretty in that Robert Best, Barbie doll way, but nothing really interesting or innovative.
Carmen is just a hot mess. The bottom of those pants is insane.
I'll reserve judgement until I see a couple more outfits from folks. The only memorable looks on the runway last week were the ones that landed in the bottom, along with Rami's and Chris'. Other than that, it was a sea of yawn
I loved Jacks dress - I thought it was wonderfully constructed and adorable. The freshest thing on the runway. Are you guys high? Also, he is stunning.
The problem here, I think, is that they had too many fabrics to choose from and somehow a great number of them felt the need to incorporate most of those fabrics into their looks, hence, the excessive bows, strings, peacock tail, etc. Less is more, folks.
Yeah--it is the print that is doing all of the work--but look at how few of the contestants ever even attempt something with a print--I know,I know-there are some very notable exceptions, but that's just it--we all remember the exceptions because they are so rare. His dress stood out in a good way, it was light, bright and I could actually see someone wearing it and not looking as if they had a costume on.
Carmens outfit sucked and Jacks was lovely. I don't think he relies on the material I just think he knows what looks good on the runway and in a sea of black his garment stood out. I hope they show more of him.
OH. MY. GOD. That's so hot. I gotta...I....I'll be back.
Loved, loved, loved this look.
Carmen's outfit looked like something a 1970's James Bond ingenue would wear to the party/crime scene in Morocco.
Jack's model could not walk her way out of a paper bag but his dress was still wonderful. Carmen's on the other hand...ummm..wow.
Note to designers: harem pants are never a good idea.
I want this dress!!!!!! And I want sweetheart Jack to come to my house and give it to me in person.
I agree, T&L. Jack's dress was all about that print. And I'd love to have a yard and a half of that fabric to make a skirt for the little corner sink in our old black & white tiled powder room. It would cover the broken tiles and exposed pipe under the sink and look great against the tile.
Carmen's outfit just screamed The Pointer Sisters and Labelle at me. I started gettin' all "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" as the model came down the runway.
Carmen's outfit should have been in the bottom three and Jack's in the top three with Chris and Christian.
The dress is a Monet. It's cute from far away, but up close it doesn't fit correctly. Had the waste band been higher, she would have looked taller and her legs would have appeared longer. As it is, it hits in an unflattering place. I'll quote Betsey Johnson on this one, "it's a little too wearable, but something I wouldn't want to wear."
The twig and berries are nice ... but I prefer that succulent melon patch out back! As for his outfit, it looked better on the runway than in the screen caps -- and I like the fabric less. As for Carmen, it looked something Erin Grey would have worn on Buck Rogers ... or perhaps a refugee from a lesser 80's music video
Agh! Waist, not waste. Although...
fantastic post guys! I thought Jack's was ok-ish in a BR kind of way but not well fitted and the sash on the bag was unforgiveable. I have no words for Carmen. Thankfully she has been a model so she understands EVERYTHING.
CP
Jack: the proportions around the waist are all wrong. He made her look wider than she actually is. The fabrics look cheap. It also doesn't help that the model can't walk.
Carmen: Who the fuck wants to wear that? Is that a joke? But I'm not surprised, just take a look at what she was wearing.
Neither of those outfits did anything for me.
"Carmen's outfit just screamed The Pointer Sisters and Labelle at me. I started gettin' all "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" as the model came down the runway."
ROFL!
" Anonymous said...I have no words for Carmen. Thankfully she has been a model so she understands EVERYTHING.
CP"
What's with the models having no taste? Heidi, Veronica Webb, Carmen...you'd think that with all the exposure they get to beautiful things, their taste level would be a little better than that. Is that some sort of rebelling against all things pretty and aesthetic pleasing?
Y'know most of the models this time had fugly hair in the bed head milieu. But the "I Nightmare of Jeannie" 'do was especially hideous, like a tumor growing out of her head. Paging Dr. House.
Jack's dress was pretty but I don't see where there is a whole lot of difference between his simple dress and Ricky's. Maybe it was the fabric that got Ricky into the bottom 3.
Jack = meh.
Carmen = hmmm?
T&L - Please, please discuss the models. The walking! It's terrible! One girl had her shoulders hunched so far forward I thought I had inadvertently flipped the channel to a Disney movie. Ugh.
I used to thank models were really just clothes hangers...oh, how far I have come....
I wanted to hate Jack but he was so sweet on the show and his dress was adorable. I thought the construction and fit were superb.
Alas, I will have to turn my hatred towards Jillian because I love Jack.
"Why, good morning, twig and berries!"
In England, I believe they'd say 'meat & 2 veg', or the more delicate 'dangly bits'.
But could this be the year that PR goes full frontal? Jack is just the man for the job. Or he could go full backal. He's just that versatile.
I agree with the assessment of the dress, but about the big bag, well, that's what I'm seeing EVERYWHERE. I'm starting to think that the handbag industry is being lobbied by the Chiropractor's Union.
You think that wave of banning too-skinny models is about their health?? No. It's about them being to hungry to lift the damn handbags & shlep them down the runway.
The next designer must-have will be a Birkin that comes with it's own uniformed baggage handler.
--Gotham Tomato
I want Jack's dress and I want him to be my new gay boyfriend.
Two more from a lame field. I really didn't care for this lot of garments at all. Jack's styling is just frightful, but I've never understood the giant granny bag craze anyway. And certainly not with a dash of Stephen Tyler. The dress looks like something on the sale rack at White House/Black Market. And Carmen...not even sweatpants should have a gathered ankle. Anonymous poster was dead on--Erin Grey in Buck Rogers.
I'm going to hang in there with Jack because the initial visual impact of that dress (plus his three Preview Runway outfits) was fab. He's clearly got an eye for color as a happy-making accent, and a feel for prints in a way that says he understands the female form, so I have hope for him.
As for Carmen...pffft. All talk, no action.
Hi T&L, I love these posts but I have to disagree re: Jack's outfit. I don't think I can separate the print from the outfit in a critique. It was a fantastic print and he used it very well. The bright blue also took out any boring qualities the dress might have had. I do agree that the fit leaves something to be desired, though, and the accessories are screwy.
Jack knows more than Jack. Yes, the print does all the work, but that's what it's supposed to do -- make an impact. It's well utilized.
In the second number there, it looks like Princess Leia got messed with by her pals after the big tequila party. She hates it with they cut off just one side of that 'do, ya know. Ick.
Well, Jack's was my other favorite (alongside Chris M.'s), so I guess we disagree. But... saying it's the print that does all the work seems like simultaneously acknowledging the point and missing it. Part of designing is knowing how to use fabric, after all, and a lot of what I liked about this dress was that he paired a nice print with a great, eye-catching solid.
Anyhow, about Carmen we agree more. I will say that I thought the pants were fine, but that top part is just... too much much on top of more much with much on the side.
...and YES, what was with that lopsided bun on Carmen's model?
I would have liked to see her take the absurdity all the way and pair the lopsided bun with a lopsided hem and turn the model into a full trapazoid.
Carmen though, from what I saw in this episode, (as well as what I saw when she strutted the runway at that preview), is one of those people who possess the kind of delusional self-confidence that I wish I had myself.
Her outfit though, looked like what Rhoda Morgenstern would wear if she lived in a bottle.
--Gotham Tomato
GothamTomato said...
Carmen though, from what I saw in this episode, (as well as what I saw when she strutted the runway at that preview), is one of those people who possess the kind of delusional self-confidence that I wish I had myself.
ROFL.
GENIE PANTS?
GENIE PANTS?
Bill, darling, I love you; but my former boss Patti LaBelle or her fab cohorts Ms. Nona Hendryx & Sarah Dash would NEVER be caught dead in Carmen's flibbity gibbet fiasco.
Hideous.
Emma P.
Re: Jack. His beauty blinds me to the flaws in his dress. I loved it. Thank you, T-Lo, for having the objectivity I choose to lack where Jack's concerned. He's purty!
In all the pictures of Carmen as a model, she has such a nasty expression on her face. She's a very pretty girl, but perhaps a smile once in a while?
Her outfit sucked.
As for Jack, the dress bored me. And really, he doesn't strike me as particularly attractive. Whatever floats yer boat, I guess.
Jack's dress is cute...for Target.
It seems like someone who makes $35,000 a year and sits in a cublicle would come up with to mass produce and sell for $30 a piece.
Jack knows more than Jack. Yes, the print does all the work, but that's what it's supposed to do -- make an impact. It's well utilized.
But... saying it's the print that does all the work seems like simultaneously acknowledging the point and missing it. Part of designing is knowing how to use fabric, after all, and a lot of what I liked about this dress was that he paired a nice print with a great, eye-catching solid.
The two best comments today....his outfit was absolutely one of the best. It's a halter dress and is supposed to fit like that - very well constructed - one of the only dresses that looked finished.
As for Carmen - she might want to go back to modeling.
My FAVORITE dress and designer is JACK. Hands down. Anyone can design a wacky costumey piece made of human hair and Ostrich feathers but I want to see something I can wear.
Anon 1
Anon 2
Anon 3
Anon 4
Anon 5...
Where do I sign up for Jack's team?
Agreed on thie issues with fit on Jack's dress- it was a beautiful concept but it just wasn't particularly flattering on the model. The accessories were just meh. If it had fit better than I would have seen as a contender (I LOVED that print).
Carmen's was just....horrific. I hate her clothes but want to defend her somewhat, simply because I am slightly offended by all the folks who insist that she is Zulema redux. We have yet to see any real bitchiness from her and her clothes are completely different (ugly in their own special and unique way).
I get what you guys are saying...I think Jack's dress was my favorite because it was something I would actually wear. It was more relateable I guess.
As opposed to Carmen. There are just no words.
Yeah, I thought both those outfits deserved to be lost in the middle of the pack.
Jack's dress is pretty but pretty doesn't cut it in the world of high fashion.
Carmen should credited all the people with bad taste out there for giving her a career.
But hey, if Wendy Pepper made it to the finals, anybody can, it all depends on what the judges were smoking that particular day.
I thought Jack's dress was very pretty, I can see its flaws, but I still think it's a nice dress. Besides, he's hot as hell. We want him to stay as long as possible for a few more shots of his crotch.
Jack's dress was my absolute favorite! It's actually something I would pick out for myself. Those color choices were amazing.
Jack's dress looks like something you can buy at Forever 21. Carmen's outfit was hideous.
Carmen's Fall 2007 collection was named Cosmopolitan Goddess. Need I say more?
"macasism said...
In all the pictures of Carmen as a model, she has such a nasty expression on her face. She's a very pretty girl, but perhaps a smile once in a while?"
That is the thing about models; they've hit the genetic lottery & make tons of money simply for being, and yet, they so often look angry, bored or miserable.
It's because they are HUNGRY.
--Gotham Tomato
ha ha ha
When they showed Jack in his underwear, I was all, "Hello, Package!"
Can you tell that Bravo has a gay audience?
I like Jack's dress. Hated Carmen's outfit. Carmen is the new Zulema. It's so obvious, it isn't even funny.
"terri said: Carmen's was just....horrific. I hate her clothes but want to defend her somewhat, simply because I am slightly offended by all the folks who insist that she is Zulema redux."
I second that emotion.
--Gotham Tomato
I hate to say it because I like it, but Jack's dress reminds me of something you might find at Ann Taylor. I'd certainly wear a dress like that- but generally something being something I would wear doesn't make it PR fab.
Is it me or does carmen made her model look plus size?
I liked the way Jack worked the dress. It's very commercial.
Carmen, Carmen, Carmen-that was not good. Not. Even. Close. Step it up or move over.
Its so funny to me... in season one or two, I think Ricky's and Jack's would have been in the top 3. Maybe not winners, but top 3.
Wait-wasn't that Labelle, and not the Pointer Sisters??
"Why, good morning, twig and berries! We trust that this will be the first of many appearances this season."
LOL. Well, if we're getting THAT in the first episode, what's next? Full monty? I hope so :)
Remember Robert's butt shot?
Jack's model walked like they had tossed her into the arena with the lions. She looked scared and lost on the runway.
"PinkPrincess said...
Jack's model walked like they had tossed her into the arena with the lions. She looked scared and lost on the runway."
Well, Nina does roar a little, doesn't she?
Jack's dress was sort of cute. It reminded me of something I picked up at TJ Maxx last summer to wear to the pool over my swimsuit.
Oh, Miss Emma, I love you right back.
And I defer to your personal experience with Patti LaBelle and Nona & Sarah.
It's just that after seeing pictures like this, I mistakenly assumed that there was a time long ago when the ladies of Labelle would be caught in just about anything.
I really thought Jacks dress was one of the best and I feel sorry for Carmen because (although her outfit was marginal) I would have liked it better if she didn't seem so overconfident in the promos. Of course, the producers tell them what to say - I'm still willing to give her a chance.
I'm curious to see if Carmen can do anything other than a puff sleeve jacket. She used to appeare on some silly shopping show on the Style network, and that is all she ever wore.
Jack with his 2 beans and a stalk.
I did like the dress; it was wearable. But I have seen it before about 4 or 5 seasons ago and now it's on every clearance rack at TJ Maxx or Ross. It certainly wasn't innovative.
Carmen, girl: Did you just watch the E True Hollywood Story for MC Hammer and weren't able to get the image out of your head? If this is any indication of what is to come, please reconsider modeling.
Watched PR3 DVD last night - They show Austin's Wedding Dress challenge, Teal Blue with a Choo Choo train to Texas......sound familiar??
I believe the purpose of Carmen's outfit was not necessarily to be wearable, but simply to show her design philosophy. She likes to make bold statements with amazing construction. Look at the volume she creates. It's genuinely impressive, and for that I really enjoyed her work.
I'm glad you guys agree with me that Jack's dress was bland. I think everyone is blinded by his good looks and are judging those and not the clothing that he produces. His work looks like you could get it off the rack at K-mart. The colors are done and the print isn't even that cool.
jack's dress wasn't bad. and there's nothing wrong with a print doing all of the work...and you can't dismiss the print really, because it's part of the design, and that's why the obviously chose that fabric. i really liked the silhouette, and i agree with everything else that you guys said. :)
I loved Jack's dress and the colors he chose.
Love the print and fabric choices for jack's dress, but the way made that sash it looks like she has aqua fat rolls.
I can't friggin stand Carmen's ensemble...hideous!
Honesty.not.pc
Jack is pretty ripped, but too Chelsea-y for me. I like Kevin's ruggedness. His dress was pretty but not memorable and I think you need that to stand out as a designer.
Would Jack be on this show if he didn't look the way he does?
And does it even matter?
"dangly bits"?
I think I just peed a little.
Is it us, or does she look like she's a contestant in a nursing home beauty contest?
Well it's not you! Seriously, that's the best description I've heard yet- when she came down the runway I was thinking "What happened?" Then I remembered what the designer's hair looked like...
WHAT IS WITH THAT HAIR? should be the theme for this whole season, methinks.
I agree that Jack's dress isn't all that great. It looks like a dress you could find anywhere....Banana Republic anyone?
Hmm... twigs, berries and melons...
That picture of Jack did make me kinda hot and hungry. Yummm.
Agree on the dresses and the bitchery ... just waiting for more pics of Jack showing of his birthday suit.
Love the tailoring on that boy.
Just sayin-
So... what's wrong with it being the kind of thing you could find at Banana Republic? I mean, didn't this show have at least two challenges to design FOR Banana Republic?
Personally I'm over the idea that the purpose of the show should be to reward someone for designing something only 3 people in the world would wear. Maybe Jack's dream is to produce a midscale ready-to-wear line, and wouldn't it be nice to have someone who has some taste producing such?
Jack's dress is GORGEOUS!
" J Random Blogger said...
So... what's wrong with it being the kind of thing you could find at Banana Republic? I mean, didn't this show have at least two challenges to design FOR Banana Republic?
Personally I'm over the idea that the purpose of the show should be to reward someone for designing something only 3 people in the world would wear. Maybe Jack's dream is to produce a midscale ready-to-wear line, and wouldn't it be nice to have someone who has some taste producing such?"
Nothing wrong with that, but I can hardly picture the "next great American fashion designer" doing that. That's all.
Jack - hunky, gay, seemingly talented and representing Seattle. I love him! Go, Jack!
I agree that Jack's dress isn't the most innovative, but if you see that kind of dress at TJ Max then damn, I need to start shopping there because the few times I've been in there, I've seen some ugly shit.
I still argue that his use and placement of fabric made a pretty, if not wildly original, statement. If I saw that in the store, I'd go straight to it and immediately try it on. I don't think it should have won the challenge, but it is one of the prettiest on the runway.
I must admit, though, that the screen shots showed some flaws I didn't catch on tv.
I still say Chris's should have won.
There's NOTHING wrong with a pretty dress, not everything has to be haute-couture.
Jacks dress is devine and if people would stop bidding on it I could have it..just saying...please.
I don't even remember these two outfits. But Jack's dress is pretty, albeit in a 'I wouldn't pay over $50 for it' kind of way.
I like Jack's dress. In the real world, it's fine if the print does all the work--as long as it does a good job. And this one does. Not earth-shattering, but nice.
As for Carmen's, just no.
Oh, well, see, since none of the designers has actually gone on to be America's next big-name fashion designer, I tend to not think of that as the point of the show. Rather, I think of it as "exposure for the designers and money for the winner to throw into a business", because that's pretty much all it is.
And, to be honest, I'd love to see a PR winner go on to start up their own mass-market line... design some really nice, pretty stuff that could be affordable to, say, me. It's a perfectly valid segment of the fashion market, and there's absolutely no reason it shouldn't be done by a good designer... nor would it be the first time.
I usually am in agreement with T & L. For instance I think Barbara Eden's bottle is spinning with the insult that is Carmen's outfit.
However we part company with Jack's. I LOVED this. I loved the fabric, the colors, the accessories.
I agree the fit of the top could be better and that dairy cows on the way to the milking shed walk better than his model.
It is not a bad thing to let the fabric do the heavy lifting once in a while. At least when Jack did it (as opposed to several other designers this time around) the outcome was wearable,sale-able and attractive.
As for the over-sized purse, have you looked at the suitcases passing as purses in any fashion magazine lately???
And the twig looks rather, um fragile, Boys...
I didn't like Jack's dress when I saw the show and I still don't. That print really does belong in Bill's bathroom and the Chloe blue seems like a mismatch. Plus the volume of the skirt is a bit too June Cleaver for me.
Carmen's outfit is a joke and a costume. I'm not sure how being a former model pays off for her if that's what she thinks should go down the runway.
-- rain brain
Everybody keep saying that Jack's dress is "nice", "pretty", "wearable"...yeah, it is a garment so it has to be wearable, and nobody wants to wear something ugly, so I think being pretty - however you define that - is a must; might as well shop at Target if those are your only criteria to buy clothes.
Bill said...
Oh, Miss Emma, I love you right back.
And I defer to your personal experience with Patti LaBelle and Nona & Sarah.
It's just that after seeing pictures like this, I mistakenly assumed that there was a time long ago when the ladies of Labelle would be caught in just about anything.
LOL!
But I must say at least there's a method of '70's fabulosity to LaBelle's madness. There's nothing remotely fabulous in Carmen's look. N.O.T.H.I.N.G.
Emma P.
Carmen's outfit looks really p-funkadelic to me, like the mother ship touched down in Jeannie's bottle.
PS: Carmen is nothing like Zulema, who, by the way, definitely got a raw deal on editing. She's an out lesbian, and was open during the taping of the show, but it was edited out in the creation of her "character." So you have to wonder how else she was manipulated.
Anonymous said...
Love the print and fabric choices for jack's dress, but the way made that sash it looks like she has aqua fat rolls.
If it is indeed Jack's sash that "makes" the models waist look like that, he will be very successful indeed. I only wish I had that magic aqua sash.
Jack's dress is very wearable(if he fixed the loose top)...I would definately buy it if I saw it in the store.
And he's smokin' hot...
I thought Carmen's entire "design" was very, very dame de bag. In fact, the judges seemed to me to be waaay off base with this first show. The dresses that would have benefited from some real critique didn't get any at all. The interesting dresses that would have been even better with some critique didn't get any at all. And Jack, honey? I'd shtup you, but I wouldn't buy your clothes.
Hey guys, there's nothing wrong with a pretty dress!
jack seems like he's going to be fun this season. and the fact that he started off half naked only adds to the entertainment factor.
his dress was so robert best. it was the first thing i thought of when i saw it. and i dont think that's a bad thing. the dress may not have been perfect, but it was totally cute & wearable. i want to see more from him.
carmen... well, i give her credit for all the little details she put into her outfit. it definitely fulfilled the brief and defined her style. puffy sleeves and too many mismatched fabrics are clearly part of her aesthetic. doesnt mean i liked it, or would ever wear it. but i have a feeling that all of her technical details & talking heads will keep her around till at least mid-season.
Uh... was Barbara Eden a secret hidden celeb guest judge??? 'Cause that's the only way to explain Carmen's outfit. The last time I saw pants like that was in a belly dance competition.
Jack's dress was cute and wearable but not special. I like that he worked with the print on the fabric and let it carry the look. It was perfectly wearable on a range of bodies but not a "designer" look, if you know what I mean. I don't want to sound too harsh, because I think its a pretty and wearable dress, but it kinda looks like the dress I made this past summer.
I was really surprised Carmen wasn't a contender for the "Wall of Shame" with that awful thing.
As for Jack, I absolutely hated his whole look. 1950's in a slightly more modern print. Pew!
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