Yes to Jay's Chrysler Building Dress!

Thanks also for showing your 'almost' choices.

I liked Jay's dress, but I don't really think it was #1. While it is detailed and well-made, I don't really think he 'melded his own style with the challenge' or whatever as much as others do. I can see Jay in it for sure, but it is obviously not a dress you are going to see in Banana Republic (and really, that's probably a good thing). I always think the flower really, really, really dates it. It makes me feel like she should be wearing a ghetto goldtone cursive 'Julia' necklace.

Loved Jeffrey and Rami's dresses for the honorable mentions. The cornhusk dress was nice but I was never in awe of it. I really do not get all the love for Nick's Barbie dress (it's kind of obvious, and a little tacky, even for Barbie), but c'est la vie I guess.

My favorite PR garment of all time. It's still wildly beautiful, and a moment of pure NY inspiration.

Hope, hope, hope you bring on the ten WORST! LOL...thanks again, Guys...always a great start to my day to read your take!

Tom C.

I second the request for the ten worst!

I just knew it, and I so agree with Numero Uno!!! I love that dress, always have!
Ok...on a not so agreeable note, I absolutely HATED Jeffrey's so-called couture glued up tablecloth gown. And not only for the fact that Jeffrey is such a creep.
I totally agree, though, with the other Honorable Mentions, especially Andre's Gutter Gown...gorgeous!
Thanks so much again, TLo, for making another dull day such a fun one!!!

Third request for the ten worst.

Honestly, I am surprised about TLo's honorable mention on Daniel V's flower dress.

If I remember correctly, they praised Kara's and Santino's more than this one. And I thought that either those two or Chloe deserved the win over Danny V. Don't get me wrong, its a lovely and creative dress. But I could tell by then that Daniel was the Judge's pet to take the whole thing.

I was also put off by how much Nina harped on using flowers for the challenge.

Thank goodness all of the ones I loved and missed the top 10 are in the honorable mention.

Great job, guys. This is why we love you!

SisterZip

My only complaint is the inclusion of Nick's Barbie dress as an Honorable Mention. It was nicely made, but I only think it stood out because so many of the other entries were so horrible.

Love, love. love Rami's Hershey's challenge dress and Austin's cornhusk dress (which would have been my choice for #1).

Just wanted to add: Gosh, if you boys do the 10 worst, how can you limit it to 10?? There have to be at least 50 worsts!!!
Also, are you going to do the 10 best finale looks?
We don't ask for much, do we? But that's because we love you!!!

It takes all kinds doesn't it, because I LOVED the plaid couture dress and could never understand Andre's gutter gown, as pretty as it was.

Thanks so much for doing this. Are you going to do a top ten finale moments? Though I think I know what your top two would be....

I think the other element that made Jay's dress so great was that of surprise. It's not the prettiest dress ever to show up on the PR runway, but it was a fantastic translation of his inspiration, beyond clever. If it wasn't exactly BR's esthetic, it was well within bounds. And I think it is indeed representative of Jay's esthetic: it's got quilting, whimsy, and the unexpected.

As for the honorable mentions, I can't believe you got it down to six. There were several flower district challenge dresses I thought were better than DV's (especially Santino's and Chloe's). Fun to see Nick's Barbie dress--I'd forgotten how good it was. Probably my favorite design of his.

"Gosh, if you boys do the 10 worst, how can you limit it to 10? Also, are you going to do the 10 best finale looks?"

StckrShock & everybody else, unless I was hallucinating, they already said they were going to do these.

Definitely my favorite.

Brooklyn Bomber said...
StckrShock & everybody else, unless I was hallucinating, they already said they were going to do these.


LOL. Too funny. Yes, they said they were doing top worst, best finale looks, and best models.

I hated the blue flower thingy even at the time. Everything else, though, is spectacular. As someone who sews I am in awe of those pintucks and quilting details. Most people watching the show don't have any idea how difficult just making a dress without a pattern is, let alone craftmanship like this.

I completely agree! This was the look that made me sit up and notice the show.

Okay, when are we getting the 10 Worst????

nycowgirl said...
As someone who sews I am in awe of those pintucks and quilting details. Most people watching the show don't have any idea how difficult just making a dress without a pattern is, let alone craftmanship like this.


I'm glad someone brought that up. It is an amazing dress considering the amount of time, money, stress, and no help of patterns or anything like that, to make something like this.

Can't argue with number 1.

But I have some quibbles about the honorable mentions. I'm in agreement with Bailey about Uncle Nick's Barbie dress. Didn't really do anything for me. I really loved Jeffrey's Paris dress, it was an exuberant happy concoction from an unexpected source. Hated him, loved that dress.

DV with the flower district challenge? That dress just didn't wow me. I went for Kara Janx's and Santino's more than this.

all that having been said, thanks, guys, for bringing the Project Runway memories!

Oh my god I miss this show so much, you guys are going to make me cry. Season 1 is my favorite by far. I love this dress. Every time I talk about this show with anybody, they always mention this dress and Jay.

I just want to say that even though I don't comment a lot, I LIVE for reading your blog(s), T.Lo! And I couldn't agree more about your pick for Numero Uno! a gorgeous dress that, indeed, has never been rivaled.

I was a little disappointed, though, to see Andre's gutter dress as only an honorable mention. That dress is definitely in my top 10. It's just so beautiful and came from such an unlikely source (both inspiration and designer).

And, to be completely honest, I never understood the love for Austin's cornhusk dress. I thought it looked great before it wilted overnight, but after that... it just looks droopy and dreary to me. I also HATE Danny V's flower dress, mostly because Kara was completely robbed of the win by that dress, only because of the freakin' flowers!

I never realy had a chance to get a good lood from certain of the angles that you show. In the first one there appears to be something funky going on at the hem (everyone complains about using the fabric that is on the skirt, and the shine and the ability to make perfect seams).

Nice dress and I can see why other's love it. Overall I was not really a Jay fan, but this was one of, if not the best of his looks.

oh and I thought Daniel's and Jeffery's HM went good choices.

disappointed the Angela's B.R. dress didn't make it .... ;)

In full agreement about # 1. This dress met the conceptual level of the challenge and was executed brilliantly. That fabric doesn't even look like it has been handled.

I had forgotten about Daniel's dress; I would have put it there over LB's.

Though I loathe Jeffrey as a character, his dress I think deserved a spot in the top ten.

I'm glad corn husk didn't make it on the list. It was a failed experiment, however creative.

"tlo said: We don't think we're overstating it when we say that this was the dress that launched Project Runway."



I don't think you're overstating it either. That dress legitimized the show.

What was missing from the list though, is Uncle Nick's Hilton dress. That shoulld have been IN, in place of Jeffrey's Scottish picnic table mess.

--GothamTomato

i forgot how truly fab jay's dress was.

how sad that we dont know when the next season will start. boo hiss!

thanks as always boys :)

Brooklyn Bomber said...
"Gosh, if you boys do the 10 worst, how can you limit it to 10? Also, are you going to do the 10 best finale looks?"

StckrShock & everybody else, unless I was hallucinating, they already said they were going to do these.

----
Sorry, I had some extensive dental work done yesterday and I am under the influence of some very nice painkillers, which tend to cloud the memory...LOL

In total agreement about Jay's Chrysler Building dress.

I would have included Austin's corn husk dress in the top ten. It totally got the spirit of the challenge, was pretty and showed Austin's aesthetic (though we couldn't have known that yet). Most of all, it's the dress that got me to say--hey this show has potential.

I'm one who is hoping for a list of Top Ten Bryant Park runway looks from across the seasons.

StckrShock, I hope you feel better. I only wish I had that excuse for my increasingly-poor memory!

There is not going to be a top 10 list where everyone agrees but I think this list effectively captures what is good about PR.

NO matter the constraint in terms of time, budget, materials or circumstance, a good designer can create something beautiful, creative and fashionable.

Who thought a skater's outfit, a postal uniform, a dress made from recycled trash or car parts could be glamourous or appear wearable. The other dresses show how inspired a designer can be from any concept (a hairstyle, the cryslar building, a icon, your mom).

And as much as people loathe the team challenges, Jillian/Victorya and Christian/Chris are proof that when the right people team up, they can each bring something to the creative process to help conceive and design something breathtaking. Yes I am including Victorya. We all know Jillian sewed the coat but interviews with Jillian indicate that both contributed to the concept and design.

BTW I would have prefered Kara's garden dress over Daniel's. Beautiful and she, unlike him, covered all the muslin.

Frank

Yes Jay does deserve the number one spot. It is amazing the amount of detail he was able to put on the dress. Kara Saun and Austin Scarlett also had extremely good entries for this challenge.

I wasn't crazy about Rami's candy dress, but is so impossibly neat and tidy, I think of Alex! joke involving a sledge hammer and stick pin ;).
Daniel V's garden dress is very pretty, That challenge also had a number of excellent dresses, Chloe's, Santino's and Kara's included.
Andre's gutter dress was by far the best for that challenge, but I would have placed Daniel Feld's cup dress ahead of it.
Agree with you about the Couture dress Jeffery did, maybe I would have put it in the top 10, but I also loved the dress Laura did for that challenge, which the judges hated.

I still think Austin's corn husk dress should be in the top 10 but the Chrysler dress is definitely near the top so I'll give you one. So much great fashion on this show!

Excellent choices! I love all of them.

Sewing Siren said...
Andre's gutter dress was by far the best for that challenge, but I would have placed Daniel Feld's cup dress ahead of it.


Daniel's cup dress is my very favorite of all of the 'innovation' challenges, just because he took the most abstract materials of all materials and really made it work.

What the hell - where is Leanne's wedding dress? Not even an honorable mention? Quoting you directly, "This is definitely among the top looks ever produced on the show." I concur.

I would've picked Kara's dress from the plant challenge over Dani V's

I still love the Chrysler dress. But the flower is so big it looks like she could serve drinks on it.

Anonymous said...

What the hell - where is Leanne's wedding dress? Not even an honorable mention? Quoting you directly, "This is definitely among the top looks ever produced on the show." I concur.


They said, at least twice, that they were NOT going to include finale looks. Read people. Read.

I love love love this dress, always have. It's a shame Banana Republic could not mass produce this dress.

I was very glad to see that Jeffrey's couture dress got a mention, though I personally think it is number one. Handsewn! Ugly plaid makes pretty dress! I like Jay's dress, and it should definitely make the list, but not necessarily number one.

Another honorable mention candidate? Laura Bennett's "Jet Setter" dress. That thing was gorgeous, and if she could produce it in 8 colors, I'd buy it in each.

Also, crazy florette lady's "Audrey Hepburn" dress. That was shockingly attractive.

I'm glad Jeffrey's couture dress made the list too. Marilinda worked the shit out of the dress, and it was perfect for the challenge.

Also the Top 10 worst must be like 5 Wendy Pepper and the other 5 spots Vincent Libretti, right?

Jay's dress is awesome and deserves the #1

I totally agree with your #1 choice, that one always blew me away. But for the other top choices, I also thought that scalloped pleated dress that Daniel Vosovic did was so underrated and had insane detail.

Krista M said...

I was very glad to see that Jeffrey's couture dress got a mention, though I personally think it is number one. Handsewn! Ugly plaid makes pretty dress! I like Jay's dress, and it should definitely make the list, but not necessarily number one.

I liked the dress as well, but people who have both seen the dress and former contestants on the show have all said that most of it is glued, so I can hardly see how it is couture or even handswen.

I think that it was the overall episode that launched the show, everything flipped: Wendy going from near elimination to winning the challenge and getting such a huge prize (the dress being sold by BR); Nina showing her effusive side, after we saw her be tough and Jay showing refinement after we saw his rocker side.

Except for the flower, the dress was pretty, but what made it special was that we witnessed the thought process that led to the creation of the dress.

Totally agree with the #1, of course. Slightly dissapointed not to see Leanne's wedding dress as an honerable mention, because honestly I found it more striking and memorable than Jeffreys couture dress. Still fun to see your list and I agreed with most of it.

Joe S - do not remember Blanye and Jerrell. Jerrell had a couple monstrosities, like the one TLo's whole post was laughter? blayne's one legged freak "thing"..Starr, the "leatha" trash bag? oh, gosh too many others to count.

I agree with all your points "a said 12:31."

The treasure from trash (or plants, food or carparts) episodes, I think, are by far the most entertaining.

Jay's dress is a dream and I love that you put it at #1. Seeing the details again...its just so impressive that he did that much work in such a short time.

And I also loved Jeffrey's Paris dress...glued or not.

Where's Robert Best's Wall to Wall dress? I thought for sure that'd get an honorable mention.

With all due respect to Ms. Bennett, I would put any of those honorable mention dresses ahead of Laura's nut sack. The creativity, level of difficulty and construction were superior to that simple dress.

wannabe said...
Another honorable mention candidate? Laura Bennett's "Jet Setter" dress. That thing was gorgeous, and if she could produce it in 8 colors, I'd buy it in each.

I'll second that.

Honestly, the more I see of Jay's dress, the more my first impression is reinforced: it's just not special.

Not necessarily my number 1 but still a great dress. For the honorable mentions I am surprised you picked Danny V's over Kara's which was so much more intricate and beautiful. And I love you Nick but the barbie dress as honorable mention? feh

Well, we can quibble over whether we think certain dresses deserve an HM or be in the top 10, but I can't say I hated any of the looks.

I probably would not have put in Laura's dress in my top 10, or Uli's. but both were great looks,

Glad Uncle Nick's Barbie dress made it in. I always thought it was fabulous.

TLo, of course I totally agree with your #1. It's a brilliant dress that has never been matched in terms of execution, IMHO. It's also as timeless as the Chrysler building, since it was created a few years ago.

I haven't seen '11 Minutes' yet, and I'm dying to, but I wish Jay could find someone to collaborate with on the business end so that he could go as far as his potential provides. He may not have been 'the next great American fashion designer' but he's still a damn good one!

Your post also makes me miss the 'Jay & Austin Show' that was season 1. If this was the dress that made the show credible, those two were the personalities that made it even more watchable.

I don't even sew and I'm still blown away by the craftsmanship on Jay's dress. That is a tour de force of the needle, beechez.

I miss Judy Noodles AND Korto's DVF dresses...I am not a fan of the whole short-in-front-long-in-back thing, so I could pass on Nicks and Jeffrey's....

The challenge for the 10 worst will have to be to distribute the selections to represent the full Range of Awful that some of our more illustrious failures came up with.

That said, if Blaine's fabric poop doesn't make the list, I'll be SHOCKED!

OT -- did anyone have time to review the Costume Desgners Guild Awards?

This slide show at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer site mostly shows "arriving actresses" (of whom I recognized maybe three) wearing their red carpetware, but does mention a couple of the winners: "Mad Men" and "John Adams" for TV design.

I think Santino's 'deer underwear' should have #1 on the Worst list.

SisterZip

This can't be -- No Vincent!?

That was fun. Now you should do the top 10 worst looks.

I will always be entranced by Nick's Barbie dress and I was praying it would be included in the honorable mentions. My house could burn down but if somebody showed me that dress on that day, I wouldn't care.

I agree with another laura; "Jeffrey's Paris dress, it was an exuberant happy concoction from an unexpected source". When I think of his dress I smile.

-Iris

I just don't get the love for this dress. Compared to the avant garde creation of Chris and Christian, it is a cute little dress with some lovely details. I don't see how this is the best, and i DESPISE that silly flower, yeech, i would never wear that, at all.

As much as I liked Jay's dress, I hadn't looked at it in a while and I had forgotten how much I loved -loved!- the detail and how it all came together. (Except the flower, I think I see how it works here, but my unreasoning hatred of fabric flowers attached to clothing gets in the way.)

Glad to see Andrae's gutter dress and Austin's corn husk in your honorable mention. Of *course* we can quibble (at least one of Austin's other efforts would have made my HM list) but that way lies madness. There were, over the seasons, a lot of amazingly good efforts considering the constraints.

I really feel like I am coming to terms with the loss of PR through these lists. It may be back, there's money to be made, after all, but I am getting that "it'll never be the same again" feeling. Sniff. sniff. The thought of those poor unaired-season designers being shown at BP without their due of hype and chance to really seize the moment - how sad for them.)

First time I saw this dress of Jay's, I had to stop and REALLY think about how little time he had to work this up. Truly amazing what some of these designers can do with so little and in such a short amount of time. Bravo!

I also loved that yellow number of Jeffrey's!


Another vote for the 10 WORST!

Wholeheartedly agree. I've been watching since the beginning and I still remember this dress. I'd loved Jay's wit from day one but this is what stood up and make you take notice. I swear the only reason it didn't win was because the production value would have made it above BR's price point. Nice choice.

"anon said: We all know Jillian sewed the coat but interviews with Jillian indicate that both contributed to the concept and design."




Jillian had an almost identical coat in her pre-show portfolio/show.

--GothamTomato

Nancy Lee said...

I just don't get the love for this dress. Compared to the avant garde creation of Chris and Christian, it is a cute little dress with some lovely details.

There is as much technique and detail in this "cute little dress" as in Chris and Christian's. The difference is, it's subtle.

I loved the Chrysler dress and if I had seen that in BR I would have snatched it up. I love the colors and the elegance of it.

I never shop at BR because I feel their clothes don't have enough personality for my taste. This dress would have stood out and commanded my attention.

BTW: I HATE that f'ing flower. It just looks stupid and amature.

LOVE IT! That dress is a dream!

I agree about the flower, but years later Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City immortalized the look on the show. Not for everyone, but certainly visionary.

Yeppers, that was and is the dress to beat. And of all the "almosts", it's Andrae's dress that makes my heart beat just a little faster when I see it. Every time. Every damn time.

Definitely #1 at least on my list.

We want the 10 worst.

Nancy Lee said...

I just don't get the love for this dress. Compared to the avant garde creation of Chris and Christian, it is a cute little dress with some lovely details.

Anonymous said: There is as much technique and detail in this "cute little dress" as in Chris and Christian's. The difference is, it's subtle.

Well, color me stupid or dense, because the "subtle" dress goes right over my head.

I'm very happy you had Nick's Barbie dress somewhere in your list, even though it wasn't Top 10. :)

You know; I love the Chrysler dress. As a member of a drag-fundraising organization; I've already spoken to someone to make that for me in white and silver, but to the floor when I become QUEEN. I adore it.

Laurent said...

I agree about the flower, but years later Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City immortalized the look on the show. Not for everyone, but certainly visionary.

Uh...Jay made that dress in the summer of 2004, when the show was filmed.

Sex and the City ran from 1998 to 2004. They had already done the big flower thing to death and back before Project Runway even filmed.

Jay was referencing Carrie (and rather lamely), not the other way around.

Vienna - I'd think that Jay's dress would not look as good on a gal with a bust. Are you a rather - um, modest queen?

I thought most times the prefered look is more over the top.

But regardless Good Luck and if you wear it...WORK IT! :)

Appreciate the trip down memory lane. Second (or third or fourth) all those praising Jay's dress.

My own person tweaks to your list would include:

1. Nora's lawn chair dress from the first challenge as an honorable mention - forever the bridesmaid to Austin's cornhusk dress.

2. Chloe's Clothes off your Back dress also as honorable mention - if for no other reason than successfully clothing Grace with what seemed like two square feet of fabric.

3. Kara's Garden Party dress for the Top 10. Terrific dress and a bit of a redemption for Kara - who would go on to completely knock it out of the park with her decoy collection.

I do hope you keep the Top 10 lists coming!

Anonymous 9:32 AM said...If I remember correctly, they praised Kara's and Santino's more than this one. And I thought that either those two or Chloe deserved the win over Danny V. Don't get me wrong, its a lovely and creative dress. But I could tell by then that Daniel was the Judge's pet to take the whole thing.

My recollection is the judges liked Kara and Chloe's dresses. Heidi was the only judge who liked Santino's; I agreed with her and, IMO, it was one of Santino's best looks.

Yeah, I don't get DV's Flower Power dress, how does 6 or 7 purple flowers offset exposed muslin? Kara's, Chloe's and Santino's dresses were better.

The first sentence should be:
My recollection is the judges liked Daniel's, Kara and Chloe's dresses.

Okay... the sewer dress certainly does not deserve to be there. Either the corn husk dress or jeffery's yellow gown would have been best. I didn't even remember the dress you chose for Number 1. Try not to let your predjudices get in the way of chooseing. Jeffery should have gotthen Number 1.

@ Bailey
"I liked Jay's dress, but I don't really think it was #1. While it is detailed and well-made, I don't really think he 'melded his own style with the challenge' or whatever as much as others do. I can see Jay in it for sure, but it is obviously not a dress you are going to see in Banana Republic (and really, that's probably a good thing). I always think the flower really, really, really dates it. It makes me feel like she should be wearing a ghetto goldtone cursive 'Julia' necklace."

I think you're right perhaps in that it wasn't the best dress for the challenge, but you'll recall it didn't win. I still think it's one of the most stunning dresses EVER on PR, EVER.

Jay's Chrysler dress is pretty great (minus the flower), and even more so given that it was his breakthrough moment.

So, three looks from S3, one from S2, and two each from S1, S4, and S5.

I'm curious as to the method you used for these selections. If you put all the PR looks side by side without knowing the designers or the episodes, I wonder how this list would change.

Thanks, TLO. This has been a ton of fun.

JoeS. said...
Also the Top 10 worst must be like 5 Wendy Pepper and the other 5 spots Vincent Libretti, right?
12:07 PM
---
Oh, if it were only that easy! I see Marla Duran, Suede, season 1 "tumor" dress... Oh, the humanity.

Narrowing down the worst seems like a much harder task than the best. Good luck boys!

Anonymous said...
Okay... the sewer dress certainly does not deserve to be there. Either the corn husk dress or jeffery's yellow gown would have been best. I didn't even remember the dress you chose for Number 1. Try not to let your predjudices get in the way of chooseing. Jeffery should have gotthen Number 1.

11:18 PM


Sure thing, Jeffrey. LOL!

BTW, your Madonna dress sucked.

Washington Post did a column on PR - about how they are at Fashion Week, but the legal battle...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/18/AR2009021803756_2.html

Totally agree - this was the first episode I caught - I think during one of the repeat marathon's before the finale and I took one look at it and decided whoever made it was the winner. It certainly did make me sit up and take notice of the show!

I'm sorry Jeffrey's Papper Mache dress(sorry I can't remember the challenge) was absolutely Amazing! I wanted to wear it! I will never forget that dress. It was def better that the other dress in the honarable mention, IMO of course.

Hmm... Interesting list. I've surprised that nothing from the S4 jeans challenge was selected. Maybe I'm just biased because that was the first ever episode of the show that I saw (prior to watching loads of reruns), but even in comparison to other excellent looks, some of my faves came from that Levi's challenge. Rami's zippers? Genius. Christian's jean jacket skinny jeans? I wanted a pair of those before I decided that I looked good in skinny jeans.