"And why did the judges completely overreact to this outfit? Because the crowd of "fashion insiders" did. That's probably our biggest complaint about the show, the judges are forced to restrict their decisions to whichever garments got the lowest and highest scores, which means by definition, the judges are forced to judge their way around other people's decisions and criteria. It's a murky process made doubly so because we have no idea who the vast majority of these people are (except for a shot of maybe 6 or so every episode) and we have no idea what information they've been given about the challenge and what the designers were required to do. "90% of the audience said they wouldn't buy your outfit." Well, okay. Who the fuck are they, then?"


A-FUCKING-MEN, sisters!!!

Love the Chickem Diva coat what else is there to say?.....

OH YEA!! Anna's outfit was totally butchered by ShopBravoTV.com. She shoud sue them.

TampaBay

I'm with you on all counts! I loved Anna's dress (the print, the pleats, the colors). I was afraid they would KILL it with the produced version and sadly, they did. As a side note- I wish Anna would stand up straight!
I loved that yellow coat and didn't understand why it was so completely criticized. From what I could see, Danielle's was a mess-ugly and dark. I'm tired of her mean little eyes. She remids me of the teenage daughter in Uncle Buck. I hope you all have a delightful holiday weekend!

velvetbeet

Anna - great dress for stashing tissues or collecting crumbs. Who is gonna wear this? Really?

Chicken - love the outfit. Judges are boobs.

I'm with you boys all the way, especially now that I've had a better look at Merlin's sweat suit. It's kind of fabulous.

I said in the Preview post that the puffy shit was around the calves. Obviously, it's around the knees. I still don't like it, but it's the only thing I don't like. And now I see that horizontal line that Fern mentioned. Whatever, Fern.

There was no reason to send our little chicken home.

I really loved The Chicken Diva's outfit - it was sleek, stylish, and looked great on the model. The jacket was gorgeous!! What are they thinking??? I don't watch too much anymore, is it true that the Johnny guy is still in?? What???

I totally agree. I thought Chicken Diva's was really cute, minus the puffy knees. That coat is great and, like you boys said, very much like what many, many designers have been sending down the runway lately. And those zip-up sleeves were cool! Besides the coat, the top was cute and the pants were fine until, again, the puffy knees.

I know you'll get to it later, but I thought Johnny and Daniella both did much worse.

I agree about the judging process. The audience's taste completely trumps the judges' authority. Not a good idea for a show that puts so much emphasis on the personalities and credibility of Isaac, Fern and (unfortunately) Kelly.

Good points, TLo.

I remember the "zodiac" challenge from PR, although this seemed 100 times more lame...

And I will say this - if this is a show about "real fashion for real people" why the hell didn't J-P go home this week?

Chicken Diva, I will miss you making me ask "Merlin, what the HELL are you wearing?" to my tv every week.

Boys, I look forward to your interview with him!

P.S. First Keith's clitoris dress, now Anna's vagina dress; is it time to request conjugal visits? ;)

You are so right.

I didn't understand the judges' reaction to Merlin's entry -- at all. Yes, the knees on the sweats were ugly, but they also add a kind of martial quality that connects the otherwise loosey-goosey sweat pants to the heavily-constructed jacket. There's something almost militaristic in all the pieces, helping them (along with the color yellow) relate as an ensemble and not just disconnected pieces.

As for this trainwreck of a show, I say--

- Either ditch the judgment by crowd element or, at least, reassure us that this crowd is consistently a crowd of experts (designers, celebrity stylists, fashion editors, retail buyers, whatev) -- oh, and guarantee that the crowd judgment does apply and is not overridden in back rooms by the show producers.

- Eliminate the reliance on sewing, so that you're less of a knock-off of PR. Go with what seemed the original concept, from the earliest press releases (and, apparently, what they told the contestants), and go with talented and experienced designers, and give them design assistants to do their sewing. The design assistants could be a subsidiary contest, just like the models on PR. And the designers who CAN sew would have an advantage, because that would mean two pairs of hands doing construction and sewing and detailing rather than just one.

- Ditch Kelly Rowlands. Replace with Veronica Webb.

- Ditch the canned and obvs scripted faux-spontaneous bits in the hallways.

- Amp up the creative quality of the challenges, both mini and elimination. This isn't PR; it hasn't earned the goodwill of PR, and frankly has earned bad will from its current poor quality -- so stop doing challenges that would be laughable even for PR. Make this the thinking fan's PR -- have tough, conceptually challenging, well-thought-out challenges. This show, compared to PR, is going to have a boutique-sized audience; it might as well go for boutique-quality content.

Also, it just occurred to me that they kept James-Paul in because he has so much "vision" and so many "ideas" and "concetps" and blah blah blah.

And what do they do to Merlin? Criticize his coat for having too many ideas and not enough editing. Puh-leez.

Hmm...Anna=Leanne! But the dress is so chic! There are also compartments where you can store lipstick, cellphone, leftovers and what have you :)

I'm with everyone else. I don't do sweat suits, but that one was awesome! (weird knee things aside) and the coat? fabulous!

Hated Anna's dress, though the belt "made" the dress, IMO. Looking at the Bravo version, it's missing the belt, which is a big part of the problem. There's no break from all of the crazy clown print. And the skirt needs vents to get rid of all of the crumbs. Could you imagine the lint and detritus that builds up in that thing after time? EWEWEW!

The worst was Daniella's, though. Ugh. Tacky with weird fitting around the shoulders.

"C'est moi, c'est moi Lola said...

And I will say this - if this is a show about "real fashion for real people" why the hell didn't J-P go home this week?"


EXACTLY! I officially don't get this show.

I loved Anna's dress and even said to my husband that I would consider buying it. But then I saw the blue polka-dotted disaster--no thank you!

I thought Merlin's design was practical and chic. As you mentioned, everyone wears an icky matching sweatsuit to travel in--why not have something a little more stylish than having "juicy" in rhinestones across your ass. I still will never love sweatsuits, but I did really love the coat.

On a really catty note, was Fern dressed like the psychic on purpose??

Correction: concepts.

Glad I'm not insane. I really really liked that coat. That color is lovely and I was charmed by the passport pocket. JP's was just a huge disaster. I understand he's trying to do something different and conceptual, but it looked like a futuristic waitress who started to melt. At a certain point, concept shouldn't out weigh aesthetic.

Fo once I think they gave the right person the win. I think it helps that both top looks were complicated, so the judges couldn't default to the simpler garment. Anna's dress is sweet and youthful and I was saddened by how much bravo butchered it.

Penntastic

Looking at this episode, while I think there is soemthing positive that can be said about every outfit, Anna and Reco's were the only outfits as whole that I thought were successful

I am surprise you made no vagina skirt comments. It was like Anna and Johnny were baiting you 2 through the tv..lol

Looking at the outfit from the still photos, Merlin's sweat suit doesn't seem as bad to me as last night. I really responded to the coat regardless. Last night though I didn't feel the outfit came together and understood what Fern was saying about not seeing a design. Merlin sometimes tends to jsut throw stuff on instead of thinking out the design.

To me JP and Daniella's outfits were less appealing. But Daniella even by her own admission lucked out with an unsuccessful outfit. I will say that JP's had soemthing I think could have been better with time and started out with a more interesting POV.

I would have been okay with either fellow being ousted since I have such ambivalent feeling towards both of them. I think both have their good points as a designer but both of them can be exasperating. JP with his self-absorbed over conceptualizations and Merlin with his diva fits.

Honestly if you don't care about the prize what were you doing on the show in the first place? Yes you should take risks and be true to your style but this is a competition with constraints. And you need to play by their rules and try to actually make it to the finals. If you don't want to hampered by them, then don't compete. But both these guys should get off their high horse about their so called intergity. For chrissakes, they entered a reality show contest on tv to further their own careers.

Frank

"Anna - great dress for stashing tissues or collecting crumbs. Who is gonna wear this? Really?"

I'm with KnitWitNurse. I like the print, I like the bodice...I HATE that kind of "look how different I can be" pleats. To me, it looks like the display stand for bunches of flowers at the grocery store. A costume for a futuristic production of My Fair Lady -- Eliza at the Interglactic Garden Opera House where she meets Henry Zyphod Higgins.

Confession: I hated that over-worked thing when Leanne did it to. (sorry, I like Leanne, I don't like 'noodles')

I would buy EPL's coat in a heartbeat. As for the pant, really, I think they'd be cute as kind of knickers -- just take out that mid-thigh seam. There is NO WAY IN HELL that his garment was worse than Johnny, Daniella or JP's pieces of shit.

Seriously? I haven't yet seen the show but if Chicken Diva's was the worst I CANNOT wait to see the rest! They must be AMAZING because that yellow jacket is awesome, and the sweat suit is even cute and fashion forward. WTF?

I don't know what the hell these judges are smoking. The producers' pot maybe?

Johnny's outfit was HIDEOUS and Daniella's was a joke. Fuck the audience, the know nothing.

I wanted to add as screwy as the judging can be, the judges did praise some things about Merlin's out. They were very responsive about the color scheme

Personally when all is said and done, I dont really care who make it to the final four since I've already seen the photos TLo have posted of the finale show

Frank

Love love love Anna's dress and really liked Johnny's too...buh bye Chicken...you won't be missed...

I thought Merlin was going to use that tie thing he was messing around with on the model (the legs of the pants). He still had a top design contender but this show is produced in an alternate universe.

I loved the yellow coat! I'd wear it with jeans. The little jacket under it was also cute. I'd save the crazy knit pants for sick days at home. OK -- real clothes for real people!

JP's dress, oh my. Flaccid something or other's hanging off the shoulders? what?

I thought Anna's dress was an adorable Object, but how is a person supposed to wear it? You would look fabulous walking INTO the restaurant and then on the way out your ass would look like an unmade bed.

Reco's was great. I agreed with Heather's comment that women do want something sexy but with coverage.

It really stuck in my craw that the judges said they had to "go with the garment that reflected the Tarot card" -- geezuz!! Just maddening.

I did enjoy, near the end, when Merlin did the bit from Scarface!

"Heidi said...
Love love love Anna's dress and really liked Johnny's too...buh bye Chicken...you won't be missed..."


Speak for yourself.

If I was Anna, I would be embarrassed to have my name on the outfit that's on bravotv.com.

I loved Reco's suit. When I saw the model hit the runway, I said to myself, "that's a bad bitch". That suit had swagger for days. I was surprised that Daniella's outfit wasn't in the bottom 2, it was hideous!!

Elle Boogie

Personally, I think that IM has it bad for JP's talents. As in, Tim Gunn found his genius to mentor in Christian, and now IM wants one of his own. They won't send him home.

I loved Merlin's coat, and would buy it in an instant. There was no contest between those two outfits.

I thought this was total bullshit. When they first came down the runway, I thought the first three were the best (Reco's, Anna's, and Merlin's) and the second three were the worst (JP's and Daniella's for sure, Johnny's to a lesser extent.) I can't believe they let Daniella's big ol' bag of crap off without a word and then let JP stay, even though there was nothing practical, simple, or even nice looking about his garment. I watched last night's episode to give this show another shot, and it blew it with the massive lameness and ridiculous judging. When is PR starting again? I need to get away from this show and fast.

I wonder what kind of questions the audience is asked. How do they figure out who the bottom two is? Is the only question asked - "Would you buy this outfit?" If that's the case...then that is just wackity wack.

I was completely pissed off that Chicken Diva was sent home over this fabulous coat and sweatsuit. One little detail that wasn't the best and they ripped him a new one. I hated James-Paul's dress, so dull and unflattering. You guys said it best in your post. I've always disliked this audience vote thing. Comments, fine. But wouldn't it be great to know what the judges really really think in so many of these challenges?

Congrats to Anna. I loved the print. Dress cute, but totally impractical. Bravo, as usual, blew it.

anna's dress was cute & different. i really loved the fabric. but i also liked rico's.

as for our little chicken. i really liked his design & i thought the judges were complete assholes in their critique.

i will miss him....

Marlyn: From reading Daniella's Bravo blog, I think they might have said something to her. She acknowledged her outfit was not successful and she was grateful she wasn't voted in the bottom. In fact I wonder if all the outfits get feedback but we only see comments for the top and the bottom. At times I have read comments in the past blog entries that suggest they do

Frank

So not fair!...what the hell is Johnny still doing in this competition? I hope he's next.

I don't like yellow but I'd totally buy Merlin's jacket in a different color.
Anna's dress was adorable.

Color me confused! I really liked Merlin's little sweatsuit. During the design process, I was worried, but when his model walked down the runway I was tickled that it looked so cute! My niece would totally buy and wear that and look adorable while doing so...although I do believe I would steal the yellow jacket because I thought it was just so nifty. I was sure the bottom two were going to be JP and Daniella...JP's was so terribly sad looking and Daniella's was just flat out ugly in every way, colors, fabrics, execution. Blech.

I thought the top two were the right choices and I wasn't surprised when Anna won. Her look just screamed "FASHION!!" at me. Practical? Perhaps not, but it really looked like something up there on the runway.

I will miss Merlin.

i want one of those coats for traveling! i'm not young enough for the sweat suit but i'll take the coat in that beautiful yellow.
also, bad bad bad job on the knock off dress. it went from being cute to fug.

" Anonymous said...
Marlyn: From reading Daniella's Bravo blog, I think they might have said something to her. She acknowledged her outfit was not successful and she was grateful she wasn't voted in the bottom.
Frank"

So what is WRONG with the audience? Are they getting blinded by the flashlights? I was certain that Daniella was going to be in the bottom.

Isara on 7/2/09 at 11:09 AM said... I don't do sweat suits, but that one was awesome! (weird knee things aside) and the coat? fabulous!

Isara and all-If you do sweat suits (and I do) you will know that the first place swets wear out (and jeans too for that matter) is the knees do to stretching and pressure on fabric caused by movement. If you have fullness in the knees you will decrease the pressure on the fabric due to stretching and have a longer lasting garment. Longevity makes no difference if you buy at Target because you can afford new sweats each month. However, if you purchase Juciy Couture at Saks longevity matters.

I have no problem with the fullness at the knees if you are small enough and/or young enough for this travel outfit.

TampaBay

i also wonder, why is bravo showing the collections of the final six before the episode is aired? so confused....

The whole time, I couldn't help but thinking that Anna's pleats reminded me of SOMETHING! But I couldn't figure it out - until today.

It looks like a those little bags little old ladies have for holding Bingo daubers.

http://www.bingonoveltyworld.com/shopping/pricelist.asp?prid=1320

Fern and Isaac have lost any credibility they had last night.

Agree with everything you said TLo--thank you for confirming my sanity. I loved the coat and the cute details. Criminal. I would have sacked Johnny straight out, how awful.

TLO said:

It's probably not the most practical dress in the world, what with sitting being so difficult and all, but it's pretty and stylish and trendy.

Since Heather bleats about this being "real" fashion, then it matters that a woman can sit down when wearing a dress. Honestly, guys, I'm not trying to be overly difficult, but if a dress creates a problem of comfort or propriety when sitting down, then it's probably going back on the rack in the store, or in the "WTF was I thinking" section of my closet at home.

The bodice on this dress is cute, love the fabric, but the skirt with those upside down pleats is weird, and not in a flattering or fashion forward way.

I loved Anna's dress and I was ready to buy it until I saw that thing on the Bravo site. That is NOT Anna's dress.

The coat is GORGEOUS!!!! I don't get it, I really don't.

CHICKEN DIVA, I'LL MISS YOU!!!!!!

Big WTF episode. I'm over it.

They should have said bye-bye to Daniella. Now that was some serious fugly.

I'm so glad Merlin took this bye-bye opportunity to go full-out with his talent in the final show.

mjude on 7/2/09 at 11:37 AM said...I also wonder, why is bravo showing the collections of the final six before the episode is aired? so confused....


mjude-Because Bravo is vert desperate to do anything they can do to increase ratings, get some sort of favorable response to this train wreck and win over the TLo bloggers.

There is no such thing as bad publicity only badly executed Reality TV shows.

TampaBay

One thing I wanted to comment on that you touhed upon. You're right there's nothing wrong with usign a taro card for the springboard. It worked great for Anna and Reco

HOWEVER, how about Heather or Fern sitting down with them to discuss their overall progress, strength & weakness rather than using a psychic. There probably would have been much better results.

Frank

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Not El Pollo Loco!!!!!!!!

I'm so sad Chicken Diva left! I gasped "I want!" when his model came out. I love love love that yellow jacket. The goth girl in me fell in love with Rico's outfit, too, but after seeing what they did to that poor dress, I'm almost glad he didn't win. Their interpretations get worse each week.

I've grown to love Chicken Diva (giggle giggle). I can't wait for your interview with him.

I'm so glad that you guys liked the coat too--I love it, would buy it in a second, and wondered what the problem was. The sweatsuit was cute too and I don't mind the knees as much as the judges did.

The cherry blossom fabric was beautiful. The multicolored dots? Not so much.

One challenge the judges want ridiculous coats that perform other functions, and now a coat with cute and useful details is too much? I thought it was very elitist of the judges to condemn Chicken's outfit to the bargain bin. Just because you can buy a sweatsuit at a department store does not make it bargain bin. I could see our diva's outfit being sold at Macy's. It may not be the most fashion forwad, but it was well-made and attractive. The yellow jacket was fantastic. The overall styling might have been better with sneakers instead of heels, but it is doubtful there are sneakers on the accessories wall. I was glad Merlin was able to defend his outfit during judging, including the details harped on by the judges.

Daniella's was hideous and should have been in the bottom. She used the same sheer fabric as before and the model's hair was even styled the same. Weak.

I didn't mind the tarot card inspiration, but the whole reading bit was uncomfortable. I felt like leaving the room or switching channels.

I'm sorry guys, but the dress to me is just OK.

We've seen this dress thousands of times before, when Project Runway Season 5 was on.

Leanne did two dresses very similar to this one:
The black short dress made out of elements find in a car and one of her runway final show with all those wave patterns. To me is something I've seen before but in a more girlie fabric.

Now, regarding that coat, it's a masterpiece!!! I love it, he should call and team up with Jillian and make wonderful coats for the world. It's simply amazing.

Sometimes as you said guys, judges "are forced" to vote someone out but not because they want to, but because they are ought to, by the producers. I hate that!

No, Chicken Diva is gone. I'll miss him. I want to take a polaroid : )

I shall meese the leetle cheeken.

I actually like this outfit. I think the coat is great. The pants, however, make me think that Miss Merlin had a childhood crush on Shabbadoo. But that's not enough to derail the outfit for me. His look is a new take on a dull staple.

I agree about the audience. Who the hell are they anyway? When they say 'fashion industry insiders' or whatever it is they're calling them, that COULD just mean the knuckleheads who buy close-outs for discounters. It doesn't mean they are creatives or have any kind of taste level that matters in the bigger scheme of things. Having them involved in the decision making is a big mistake. I don't see hem as being any different than the general public.

--GothamTomato

I'm a bigger girl, and I would TOTALLY WEAR MERLIN'S OUTFIT (sorry to capslock this early in the morning, but I feel strongly about this!). While the pants are atrocious (they really could have been plain, well-made and detailed Juicy Couture-type sweatpants and the outfit would have been stylish and wonderful. The rest of the look was so fab that the pants could be plain), I love that top and coat so much, and they are so flattering to a lot of body types. I am really sick of the shenanigans of this show.

While I see how it is fashionable and very well-made, I do not love Anna's cocktail dress, and the Bravo version nauseates me, such is the power of it's ugly. I just can't see how anyone who isn't a size -2 could wear all those pleats balooning at the belly.

KJ said... Daniella's was hideous and should have been in the bottom. She used the same sheer fabric as before and the model's hair was even styled the same. Weak.

I cannot for all the calculation in me figure out and sum up why the producres want to keep Daniella around for the final show and I am probably the most over analytical person that I know. I understand the producers' favorable bias towards JP but not Daniella.

TampaBay

My husband sat down with me,expecting Top Chef Masters and was annoyed to see the low-rent fashion show. He was there for the opening though, and said, "Merlin's going home" Why, I asked.

"Look at him," he said, "he's wearing a Star Trek red shirt. The red shirt guy always gets killed"

Sure enough, he was right. T and Lo, any chance of doing a side by side of a red shirt Star Trek guy and Merlin's shirt in the mini challenge?

Also, blondie's comment to Daniella in the mini challenge, "You sleep in that? ...We have nothing in common." Freezing cold.

Tampa Bay said, "If you do sweat suits (and I do) you will know that the first place sweats wear out ... is the knees do to stretching and pressure on fabric caused by movement. If you have fullness in the knees you will decrease the pressure on the fabric due to stretching and have a longer lasting garment"

Thanks for the info, TB. Let's just say that I had some traumatizing fleece/sweatpant accidents as a child and have only just re-introduced a fleece hoodie to my closet ;)

Anyway, when I saw the previews, I was actually kind of digging the knicker-like ties at the knees. I think Merlin could have done something a little better than what he ended up doing, whilst keeping fullness at the knees. As it was, it kind of looked like what I've seen some parents do to their child when their kid grows too tall for their pants.

I didn't actually find it too distracting, though. The treatment at the hips and waist, the top, and the jacket were all super-cute.

<3 EPL

i hate that the judges don't decide who stays or goes. i think having the audience decide is totally stupid. i just think that having the audience decides makes having the judges redundant.

Agree with you guys totally. I actually liked Merlin's outfit except for the pants from the knees down. I adore the detailing on the back of the sweat pants.
JP's garment was just sad, sad sad. I thought it would have been him and Daniella but what do I know?

I have to echo the WTF's and WTH's all over this board.
I absolutely salivated over that yellow coat when it appeared on the runway. The pants were ridiculous, but the styling of the coat and the under-jacket surely would put Chicken Diva in the top two or at least three, right?
WRONG...The so-called audience and so-called judges were absolutely the saddest last night. Embarassingly sad. Even Fern.
Anna's dress was cute, and I really liked Reco's outfit.
JP should have been given the "We're not buying it heave ho".
The rest were awful,too, but we will dissect those later!!!

I missed the show (will try to watch tonight), but who cares when I can read TLo??

The fabric of Anna's dress is gorgeous. It reminds me of a Japanese paper that I've used for bookbinding. And the dress itself is adorable!

Merlin's coat is fabulous! They didn't like it? They're nuts. As to the sweats, well, I never wear sweats, I think they look sloppy, unattractive and unflattering, but I would wear that. And I have to say that I think even Tim Gunn wouldn't complain too much about it (and we know how he feels about sweat suits)!

Where is the love for Reco around here? I can't be the only one who was yelling, "Pick Reco!" at the TV, hoping against hope that I could buy that outfit.

Anna's is gorgeous and such a sure-fire winner, but I thought taht as usual they'd bypass it because it's too difficult to reproduce. Well, I was right about the second part--clearly it was too difficult for them to reproduce.

I'm gonna miss the little magician. I grew quite fond of him with his charming accent and syntax. And I agree -- his outfit was cool. I honestly thought Reco and JP were going to be in the bottom two. Or maybe Daniela. Go figure.

Merlin's coat is fabulous! I would buy that in a second. Anna's dress is too Alice in Wonderland. Not my taste.

"bitchybitchybitchy said...
Since Heather bleats about this being "real" fashion, then it matters that a woman can sit down when wearing a dress. "

Fabulous women don't sit down.

Anonymous 11:10 said, As you mentioned, everyone wears an icky matching sweatsuit to travel in . . ."

Not everyone. Some of us prefer to channel our inner Eva Marie Saint (in the vain, yet futile, hope that we'll snag Cary Grant).

I hated this episode because of the ridiculous judging re who to send home. Merlin's outfit was cute *and* superbly executed. I just sat there shaking my head. I haven't been all that excited by TFS at any point in time, but I think that was the final straw and I'm done.

Oh my lord, the Bravo dress looks like it has suspenders. Clown costume, indeed.

I already bitched in the preview thread, but this was bull. JP's Stern Nanny dress was far, far worse than Johnny's which was far worse than Daniella's, which was far far worse than Merlin's, Reco's, or Anna's, all of which I thought could win.

I thought maybe it was just me. I loved the yellow coat and even the sweatsuit, minus the balloony part of the pants. El Pollo Loco was totally robbed. I couldn't believe the way the judges pecked that coat to death. Call it "junior," call it "way too much"--I would buy it and wear it proudly.

It should have been Daniella who went home on this one--her outfit was hideous in every way.

Vaya con Dios, Chickie. You're better than this show.

Anna's dress was pretty and all, but this is the second garment in a row that blatantly rips off Leanne's two-toned pleating style from PR! It's so obvious! But I guess it's trendy right now, and Anna executed it very well so I'll give her that.

Merlin's coat was UNBELIEVABLE. He is a true artist! He has the passion and creativity needed to be a good designer. He is true to his heart and not afraid to take risks. He totally hit the nail on the head when he said that the other designers make garments that the judges want to see and only have money in mind, whereas he actually makes keenly executed pieces of art.

John Paul Douchebag's outfit was terrible. He can drape, but when it comes to fitted garments his lack of skill and design really shines though. He should have gone home last night.

Last night's episode was good, but I have realized that this version of PR is all about marketing and NOT about creativity. Boo hoo.

The problem with the "audience of fashion insiders" who vote is that they haven't seen what these designers are doing week after week. Daniella's work is all very similar. She is not going outside her comfort zone at all, and if the audience gives her a pass, she's safe, even if someone should call her on her lame pants and transparent navy blue jackets.

Merlin has been adventurous and daring, and while parts of his outfit failed, overall, it was an interesting attempt. The judges had to choose between him and James-Paul because those were the bottom two in the audience's mind, so they went for the person they thought had less potential. That's how it seems to me.

I disagree with their decision, because James-Paul's construction was horrendous. Does that count for nothing?

Anon said, As a side note- I wish Anna would stand up straight!

Yes!! At this rate she's gonna have osteoporosis by the time she's 40.

Donny B said, Also, it just occurred to me that they kept James-Paul in because he has so much "vision" and so many "ideas" and "concetps" and blah blah blah.

I think they have this idea he's got a brilliant mind and that they're too dim to get it, but they keep him around so no one will know.

Re Fashion Insiders, Gotham said, I agree about the audience. Who the hell are they anyway?

Well, the founder of the Cinema Society for one.

I'm getting tired of Anna's one-note pieces. She's always doing some ruffled inspired thing...over and over and over again.

Hand wash, line dry, do not eat soda crackers while wearing....

Oh dear. I am two (or no, THREE) weeks behind on the show and now I find Merlin went home.

I don't always love his clothes, but they are usually fun or striking and (relatively) well made. And his exuberance, while it would annoy the sh-t out of me in real life, is such a joy when the producers show it. And a welcome contrast to much of the rest of the show.

And I LOVED his decoy finale collection. It was over the top, but it was joyous.

sigh. Seriously doubting I will even attempt to catch up.

Am I imagining things or is JPs stuff not as original, futuristic, whatever as he keeps saying? I keep thinking it's not that I don't get his vision, it's just that I've seen it before.

As much as I hate the audience judging thing, I think last night they gave the judges the clear winner and the clear loser. And in both cases, the judges made the wrong choice. While Anna's dress is interesting, I can't say I love it. Reco's suit was fabulous.

And as for Merlin, he did everything right! He had (and defended) an inspiration, thought about his client, and made a nice outfit. With a fabulous coat. (Seriously, I want that coat...)

How ridiculous that a few weeks ago, coats were multi-functional things. Yet, Merlin's was too much? Whatever, judges.

I am soo glad I don't watch this anymore. Reading the recaps is fun, but it does spike the blood pressure a little bit.

Luckily, I am not having the full apoplexy that I would have, actually watching TFS.

TLO, take that cute little Andy over your knee, administer a spanking hard enough to make him pay attention (I would totally get at least one hard smack on that cute little ass), and then give him an earful.

If the show is improving, then next season could improve as well. Yes, and the judging is one of those things that need to be fixed ...

And removing the LAME-O-ness and the other sucky production stuff would help too.

Just sayin-

"Brooklyn Bomber said...

Re Fashion Insiders, Gotham said, I agree about the audience. Who the hell are they anyway?

Well, the founder of the Cinema Society for one."


I know. Eyerolling.

I turned to my friend and said: "No wonder HE liked Johnny's"

BettyDraper said... "Well, the founder of the Cinema Society for one."

What the hell or Who the hell is
the Cinema Society?

TampaBay

"It's a murky process made doubly so because we have no idea who the vast majority of these people are (except for a shot of maybe 6 or so every episode) and we have no idea what information they've been given about the challenge and what the designers were required to do. "90% of the audience said they wouldn't buy your outfit." Well, okay. Who the fuck are they, then?"

I can tell you who they are... 18 year old beauty school students!
My roomate is in school at the Long Island Beauty School, and they were invited to be the audience for a taping of the show earlier this year.
I'm not sure what they tell the audience because she did not attend (she's not 18 and has a full time job), but she did tell me that some of her classmates said that they had to rate the designs.

There you have it... "fashion insiders" is not exactly what I would call a room full of girls in leggings and UGGS.

Add tme to the list of those who liked Merlin's outfit. I loved the color and the detailing. In fact it would make a great travel outfit if the pant lgs went straight down instead of ballooning atthe knees. J-P's oufit in additon to being porrly constructed, came perioulously close to poo'ing fabric. Daniella somehow managed to be part hooker and part old lady at the same time.

Jess, that's hilarious!

I loved Reco's suit, but the blouse under it was not flattering. I still think it should've won, even though Anna's dress was lovely and very well-executed. But those pleats are just not practical, and would not be flattering on many body types. Merlin's coat was wonderful and the sweatsuit was very cute. I think the judging on this show is completely dictated by the producers, because JP's dress was absolutely hideous and unflattering and poorly-constructed in every way. I don't see genius in his stuff at all.

I haven't watche the show yet (having been in a Nyquil-induced stupor last night), but looked at the designs on Bravo's website.

Who was the audience, and what were they thinking when they kept Daniella over our little Honduran chicken? Her outfit was lame. Am I the only person who is tired of the sheer blouse over bra look?

Let's talk about the "Psychic"....

Isaac Mizrahi sounded like Donald Trump when he called this psychic the most well known of our time (or some such hyperbole). But she works out of some hole in the wall?

I think it is certainly true that Issac uses a psychic to destress, and how funny is that?

And finally, is that woman psychic or did the producers tell her what to say.... Umm, I think I know that answer and I am not psychic!

Cinema Society; he does have fashion industry creds of some kind, but still:

www.newyorksocialdiary.com/listpopup.php?tid=84

Love your story, Jess, but wouldn't 18 year old beauty students be likely to vote for Merlin's entry? Maybe the unwashed masses' votes are weighted differently (less) than those of fashion insiders like "Bravolebrities," the founder of the Cinema Society, and the occasional actual designer.

Didn't watch the show this time. Don't care for Merlin personally, but that yellow jacket is great! I could totally see Rihanna or Pink or even Posh wearing it right now. Looked really well made to me. And right on trend. The rest of the outfit? I didn't love it, but I certainly don't think that was the losing outfit. At all.

" Anonymous said...
Who was the audience, and what were they thinking when they kept Daniella over our little Honduran chicken? Her outfit was lame. Am I the only person who is tired of the sheer blouse over bra look?"

Yup. Merlin was right, she's 22 dressing like a 44 year-old woman. Her stuff is always matronly-looking.

"Jess said...

"It's a murky process made doubly so because we have no idea who the vast majority of these people are (except for a shot of maybe 6 or so every episode) and we have no idea what information they've been given about the challenge and what the designers were required to do. "90% of the audience said they wouldn't buy your outfit." Well, okay. Who the fuck are they, then?"

I can tell you who they are... 18 year old beauty school students!
My roomate is in school at the Long Island Beauty School, and they were invited to be the audience for a taping of the show earlier this year.
I'm not sure what they tell the audience because she did not attend (she's not 18 and has a full time job), but she did tell me that some of her classmates said that they had to rate the designs.

There you have it... "fashion insiders" is not exactly what I would call a room full of girls in leggings and UGGS."



LOL. There you go. Now we know who the "fashion gods" are. Unbefuckingbelievable!

Who in hell was the man in the audience captioned as "Fashionista?" Maybelline eyebrows drawn out to his hairline? That guy was scary looking -- I'm not cutting in front of him in the Safeway line!

I too liked Chicken Diva's outfit. I particularly liked the detailing at the top of the pants. If only he hadn't made those ballooning knees, the pants and top would be an adorable workout outfit that I'd be proud to wear to a fitness event.

Fern slammed him for the horizontal line on the pants, saying that no woman wants that. Speak for yourself, girlfriend -- my favorite workout pants from Bebe Sport have a low-slung belt and horizontal detailing across the rear, and they look great.

All that criticism over a jacket that was "more than just a jacket" after they had a challenge about making jackets that do other shit and how great and practical they are? How hypocritical of them. I'm no fan of El Pollo Loco, but I call shananigans. NOT FAIR.

I really hope this show doesn't get a second season.

Brooklyn Bomber said "Love your story, Jess, but wouldn't 18 year old beauty students be likely to vote for Merlin's entry?"

Perhaps...BUT, if the 18 y.o. beauty school chicks were there one week, and then they invited the Piscataway First Presbyterian Championship Bingo League the following week...that would account for some of the inconsistencies.

"Tamarama said...

Brooklyn Bomber said "Love your story, Jess, but wouldn't 18 year old beauty students be likely to vote for Merlin's entry?"

Perhaps...BUT, if the 18 y.o. beauty school chicks were there one week, and then they invited the Piscataway First Presbyterian Championship Bingo League the following week...that would account for some of the inconsistencies."



ROFL. Yes, we're rolling here.


Merlin is gone. It's a very sad day.

Oh yes. I didn't mean to imply that they were at the taping of this episode. I have no idea which one they went to, but if that is a group that they consider "fashion insiders", I can only imagine the other equally qualified groups they invited.

Well, Merlin went home 'cuz he had the six of swords--journey.

So, according to the deck--Johnny's the next to go.

Of the remainder:

Reco will play to his strengths, but won't break through his limitations.

Anna (four of cups) will get kind of burned-out.

JP has the most interesting card--the High Priestess, which is actually a card of inward illumination--so possible stroke of genius coming out somewhere, though possibly in a completely impractical way--again.

And Daniella? Sorry, guys, the other name for the six of pentacles is Success. She was the only one who had a "winning" card.

That said, Anna's collection looks a lot better.

I foresee no Season 2 for this show.

Please don't waste your precious time and talents, TLo, with an assessment of what works and doesn't work with this show! Use that time to instead get your Nina-cap muscles in tip-top shape!

Doesn't anyone else think Anna's work is a bit derivative of Leann Marshall's designs? I always want to call her Petals Jr. with her 'pleating' details. I thought Reco should have won. But then again, what would it have cost the Brave Sewing Elves to recreate that stunning ensemble?

Merlin's outfit was one of the top 3 for me. The jacket was fabulous and I even thought the knees of the pants had a practical element for traveling (which was his Tarot theme) as that detail allowed for expansion and ease when sitting in a plane seat for a long period of time, with no constriction of the stretch knit. Seemed truly comfy to me as my knees do swell when flying long distances. The styling also looked young and fresh and original. I would buy both pieces.

James-Paul's dress totally sucked; it was hideous in fabrication and styling and he should have been sent home. It was all puckery along the front seaming from poor construction, as well. I was really annoyed by the judge's decision.

By the way, did you catch Daniella's facial expressions when Merlin completely ignored her as he said his good-byes? She looked surprised then wounded then eased into her patented slow burn. Hers was the second look that should have been up for elimination, NOT Merlin's.

Anna's dress is really pretty. She lucked out, I'm surprised the audience didn't hate it.

My reaction to this episode: WTF? Look, if the producers are going to axe Chicken Diva because they think Daniella and Johnny would do a better job in the finals, then don't pretend this is a competition - it's more like an exercise.

OK - now I feel I have to vote -just to get the numbers up and the point across.
Bravo destroyed the dress.
I would have spent my Social Security money on that Yellow Jacket.

And what is with the weird subtitles appearing out of nowhere?
Both the guest judge and Merlin
suddenly had subtitles appear - like someone just noticed that maybe they could not be understood.

What we do not understand is the judging on this show. And Fern - I started out with great respect for her but now - as the children say..."not so much."

"Maybe he should have added some compartments for holding her shoes. The judges love that sort of shit."

LOL. Love you boys!

Forgot to add: Here is the quotable quote from the psychic on the show last night (from the New York Times):

With chaos the defining concept of the age, approaches once derided for their non-rational base seem less dubious. "Science is turning out to be as much of a psychic game as anything else," said Nancy Stark, who reads palms at Raoul's Brasserie, a restaurant in SoHo.

HUH????? Whatever...Ms Stark is a Palm Reader, not even a Tarot card reader....HUGE difference. I wondered when she gave the most elementary, one word textbook meaning of each card. I have been reading Tarot since I was 14 (for over 30 years) and her assessments were 'meh' at best.

Reco should have won. That pantsuit was killer, especially the blouse.
He does fabulous blouses and tops. He knows how to accentuate a woman's bust without making her look trashy. And he actually fits the blouses and even makes his model seem curvy.
He may not do win TFS but he's going to be a winner in real life.

I can't believe Merlin made that coat in what two days? that's insane more power to him.

I feel so much better now!!! I actually liked Chicken Diva's outfit, knees and all, and I loved, loved, loved his coat. I momentarily thought I was crazy, based on the judges' decision, and am relieved to find out that maybe I'm not. Agree with you totally, too, about ShopBravoTV butchering Anna's dress. Maybe they are the ones who are crazy....

I have to disagree with TLo (I'm surprised too) about the blush gray belt. I loved it and I was upset that something similar was missing for the (horrible) reproduced version of the dress. I would have paid $150 for Anna's dress (and actually went straight to the website after they said she won) but not for the mass-produced atrocity.

Merlin was killed for no reason. He should have been safe. I loved that coat and although the knee detailing was funky I loved that suit. The colors and the details were so nice.

they should sent JP and merlin home together.. their clothes looks like sh!t...

love anna's and reco's pant and coat, but i hate the top..

Merlin was robbed! There was nothing wrong with this outfit and it was actually quite nice. =(

Sad to see him go--unsure if im gonna watch the rest of the season w/o him

Anna and Leanne Marshall both like to use pleating in their designs, but can all Leanne lovers take a deep breath and recognize that Leanne did not invent or patent pleats as a design element?

Seriously, how can you send someone home with that outfit after seeing Johnny's and Daniella's go down the runway? I'm over Fern and have been over Isaac for a while now.

" Anonymous said...

Anna and Leanne Marshall both like to use pleating in their designs, but can all Leanne lovers take a deep breath and recognize that Leanne did not invent or patent pleats as a design element?"


As soon as Anna recognize that she didn't event them either.

I am so glad I stopped watching this trainwreck. Unless they take heed of your suggestions for improving the show, I won't watch a 2nd season of it either. PR can't start soon enough.

Anon/Frank wrote "I wanted to add as screwy as the judging can be, the judges did praise some things about Merlin's out. They were very responsive about the color scheme" AAAACCKK

I HATE Yellow and grey together; and IM's LOOOOVEE of that combination explains a lot. But agree that the yellow coat and the grey jacket were actually pretty good. But Chicken Diva's Diva rant was sad.

So Daniella = Sarah Palin, because the OTT hate is disgusting. From the fleeting glance, I liked the skirt and a sheer blouse is kind of a classic - although "real" woman wear a cami most times (out in public). While this was not her best....

WTH is with the JP love - I wrote on the preview blog - it's like the Emperor's New Clothes - and some elitist BS - where all he has to do is spew some inane nonsense and the judges are afraid to look like they don't know WTF he just said (which is the reaction that his babble deserves), so they proclaim him a design Genius, despite the crap he keeps throwing out there. Geez. I'll say it - HE IS NAKED!
(And I just shuddered at the thought.)

Let's start with that coat, which we think is amazing, but the judges nit-picked to death.

A-frickin'-men! That coat was great. My only quibble was that goofy ruffle on the left sleeve. Other than that it was right on current trends with both the color and the detailing.
The top was pretty a basic zip-up, with some nice detailing. The pants were great til you got to the knees, but I'd say the same thing about Rico's and he didn't go home.
And i think chicken diva did a nice job of color selection too.

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the pacing of this show is driving me insane. The judging process is especially tiresome. We have to wait painfully as they drag out each model, who slowly clomps from the curtain, up the stairs, across the stage, until she finally desperately hides behind her designer. Then we get to watch the designers whose models are not present to go sit the f*ck down in the detention center as they trade pissy looks with each other. And then we're treated to a couple of minutes of dead air and blank reaction shots from everyone, before the judges finally begin their arbitrary critiques. Aarghh! Well at least I record the show and can fast forward through the whole thing.

Aaron

"Isaac Mizrahi sounded like Donald Trump when he called this psychic the most well known of our time (or some such hyperbole)."



I'm thinking that being the most well known psychic is a little like being president of the Anarchy League.

--GothamTomato

ASK said, "So Daniella = Sarah Palin, because the OTT hate is disgusting. "

Wow, what a ridiculous statement. First of all, wtf does Sarah Palin have to do with anything? Second, lay off the hyperbole. Disgusting? Many of us dislike a mean-spirited, jerkish reality show contestant. You may find it inexplicable, or annoying, but do save "disgusting" for something worthy of the description.

Daniella is not a nice girl or a great designer. I think we should be able to say so without the granny-ish finger-wagging.

"Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but the pacing of this show is driving me insane. The judging process is especially tiresome. We have to wait painfully as they drag out each model, who slowly clomps from the curtain, up the stairs, across the stage, until she finally desperately hides behind her designer. Then we get to watch the designers whose models are not present to go sit the f*ck down in the detention center as they trade pissy looks with each other. And then we're treated to a couple of minutes of dead air and blank reaction shots from everyone, before the judges finally begin their arbitrary critiques. Aarghh! Well at least I record the show and can fast forward through the whole thing.

Aaron"


LOL. It's so true.

Isara said: Let's just say that I had some traumatizing fleece/sweatpant accidents as a child and have only just re-introduced a fleece hoodie to my closet ;).

Heh. Sounds like me and plaid, except I'll never recover. Eight years of Catholic grade school uniforms has turned me off plaid forever.

I got the distinct feeling that the judges were not in agreement with some of the results from the audience. Of course, I can't remember any examples at the moment, but while I was watching it seemed as though they were trying to come up with ways to back up the audience's opinions.

I love the dress Anna made, but I'm not so sure about what she was wearing. Her own style is so incongruous with how she designs.

I'm so bummed that Merlin is gone. Unfair, I say. Unfair.

Go out and kick some fashion ass, Little Chicken.

Thank you! I actually thought Chicken Diva deserved to be Top 2, along with Reco. The two sitting in safety were horrendous.

Also, blondie's comment to Daniella in the mini challenge, "You sleep in that? ...We have nothing in common." Freezing cold.


Yep. Like they said in Pretty Woman -- you could freeze ice on that chick's ass.

I don't understand the judge's decision at all. Send home one of the most entertaining designers with the most interesting one liners, and keep the boring, quiet, cerebral one? That's so un-TV like.

While I will agree that JP has talent, our little Chicken Diva's outfit was wonderful. I'd buy that coat in a New York minute. Yes, the pants had issues, but it was an interesting, wearable outfit. Who would wear JP's dress? And the color was so blah.

And yes, I would've chosen Reco's outfit over Maggie Gyllenhaal's vagina dress, if only because it's more wearable. Maggie's was just NOT wearable, though I did like the color palette.

Those judges need to step away from the crack pipe. Merlin will be sorely missed.

No way was Chicken Diva's outfit the worst. I loved the coat! And that sweatsuit? Even with the knees, it's by far the nicest sweatsuit I've seen in a long time. I thought for sure ChristianLite was going home for poorly fitted droopy shoulders and a droopy ass in an extremely dull color combo.

As for Anna's lovely dress being made unattractive in translation, whoever did that should be fired.

The Bravo version of the dress; the fabric graphics and styling looks like the designer used bedsheets or matching curtains from a hip teen's bedroom, c. 1975.

And it wasn't even done with irony in mind... . Boggle, boggle, boggle.

Torrent downloaded and waiting for viewing at home tonight! Wheeee.

Want to dress up models according to the typology of Tarot cards? Sure, okay.

Want to pretend that Tarot reading is something other than complete bullshit, and that anyone over 16 should do anything but laugh hysterically when told that they should take it seriously? Umm.....no.

Jesus Christ, I think I lost 30 IQ points while watching this episode.

I just think that, as a general rule, bitchy men wearing floor-length kilts should always be eliminated.

I'm not too worried about that pronouncement ever being used against me. I would certainly never go with more than a cocktail-length kilt.

I got a little tired of the high school drama last night.

I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a floor-length kilt. Kilts stop a little bit below the knees, and that's it. Merlin was wearing a freakin' skirt-- let's call it what it is.

Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on. I just got in from literally driving half way aross the country. Isn't this show supposed to be on at 10pm tonight? Did I drive though some kind of time warp? It feels like it. My ass hurts.

Did no-one else find Chicken Diva's rant against Johnny to be immature, catty, rude and unbecoming?

"Sewing Siren said...
Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on. I just got in from literally driving half way aross the country. Isn't this show supposed to be on at 10pm tonight? Did I drive though some kind of time warp? It feels like it. My ass hurts."

They showed the episode last night because of the holiday (4th of July). They will show it again tonight.

I LOVED Merlin's coat, the color, the details, the fit. And the sweat suit, with the exception of the lower saggy-baggy-elephant pants, was adorable. This show is so frustrating.

Anna's dress--cute silhouette, pretty fabric, but what a crumbcatcher. And the Bravo version looks hideously cheap. I agree with whoever said she should sue them. For fashion crimes against humanity.

Diane

Thank you! I didn't really see anything that horribly wrong about El Pollo Loco's outfit. Granted the knees were weird but the coat was great! Ugh, I hate this show but I've made it this far I might as well finish it...

" Kathryn Noelle said...

Anna's dress was pretty and all, but this is the second garment in a row that blatantly rips off Leanne's two-toned pleating style from PR! It's so obvious! But I guess it's trendy right now, and Anna executed it very well so I'll give her that."

I'm going to assume that your only point of reference when it comes to fashion is Project Runway. That's the only explanation for your comment above.

Many designers have done that type of pleating, petal detail; Leanne was not the first one.

So, the judges are reacting in accordance to the way the audience reacted, to clothing shown in poor lighting. Am I getting this right?

This problem stems from people making poor clothing decisions due to poor lighting?

Why exactly did they decide to make the lighting as dark as a over-perfumed Hollister store, anyway?

By the way, I loved Pollo Loco's outfit, that's the best I've seen from him. I'd freaking wear that in a heartbeat (minus the ballooned knees).

I don't get the judges' hate on Merlin's jacket and sweats. The jacket is cuter than anything Issac has done for Target. How bad is the lighting that Issac looked as if he might vomit if he had to stare at it a second longer? Luckily, he would have had JP's bustle to hurl into ...

JP's dress was a sad, sad color, and the diaper-bustle? Ugh. Glad they kept him around, collections considering, but still, that was poor, poor construction.

Daniella's retread see-through blouse and badly fitting skirt were not so good, either. I bought a blouse just like that at Express back in the 90s. I really wish the judges weren't restricted by the so-called "fashion-experts" b/c it deserved to be up there for Issac to gag over.

Anna's dress was OK, worthy of a win out of the remaining designs. (I liked Reco's suit and am glad to see him back on track.) I agree that they killed anything good about Anna's dress in the interpretation being sold on the site. Dots? Why purple dots?

Just curious, Johnny has admitted on screen to being a knock-off artist of Erin Fetherston (Seriously doubting his ham-hands could create something worthy to be called even a knock-off Fetherston). I also thought his dress last week threw in every single element of the Versace bondage collection (only one of the most fabulous shows ever; I'll never forget Linda in that show - Gorge! Whoever posted the links to it last week, thanks. I forgot how much I miss the glory days of the Supermodels.) Back to the dress, even the straps across the back that he added as "his touch" were a feature of the collection. And the skirt was a terrible knockoff as well.

This week, he did a dress similar to the dresses designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier in The Fifth Element. I swear there was a cage dress in there that looked very much like Johnny's. It makes me want to dust the DVD off and put it in. He certainly got the colors right for it.

I just wonder if Johnny has any idea how to design or if he chooses to call himself a designer to get laid (he admitted as much) and cribs his designs from the 90s fashion greats?

"Did no-one else find Chicken Diva's rant against Johnny to be immature, catty, rude and unbecoming?"

Not really. Mostly because I find Johnny to be immature, catty, rude and unbecoming.

And why did the judges completely overreact to this outfit? Because the crowd of "fashion insiders" did. That's probably our biggest complaint about the show,

TBH, I don’t think he deserved to go home over that outfit. It wasn’t that bad and it certainly didn’t make me think “vaginapagina” It wasn’t some of his best work but I’ve seen others put some pure CRAP on that runway and stay so, that over the top dragging him over the coals was DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA and what this show does not need is more useless drama.

Anna’s dress is ugly. I can’t imagine who would wear that dress and where unless they were trying to sneak food out of a garden party.

Reco’s was nice. It wasn’t WOW amazing but it didn’t resemble sexual objects or make anyone’s ass look big. It probably should have won just for that. I guess the audience wasn’t paying attention or perhaps it was too difficult to manufacture? Maybe the pleats on Anna's dress looked easy as in repetition equals money and the audience went “ooooh me likely”

Tamarama said...

Brooklyn Bomber said "Love your story, Jess, but wouldn't 18 year old beauty students be likely to vote for Merlin's entry?"

Perhaps...BUT, if the 18 y.o. beauty school chicks were there one week, and then they invited the Piscataway First Presbyterian Championship Bingo League the following week...that would account for some of the inconsistencies.

Hahaha!!

Been waiting all day to post my comments. Merlin's outfit was 100% NOT THE WORST!!! When they retool the show for next year, please STOP, STOP, STOP letting the audience decide top and bottom. You can continue to use random comments, but that is all. JP, Daniella and Johnny all had worse outfits than Merlin did.

The Bravo version of Anna's dress is horrible. The best asset of her dress was that gorgeous print. I wasn't crazy about the pleating, and think it's pretty impractical in the real world, but the overall presentation was pretty.

I seriously think James Paul should have gone home over the Chicken Diva. Merlin's coat was terrific, in a fashion-forward color, and though the sweats outfit wasn't the best it could be, it was nicely made. The same can't be said for James Paul's sloppy dress. There's only so much draping you can do before that stuff starts looking like overkill. I don't know a single woman who wants her ass to look bigger. And what was with that dull pastel blue-gray color?

The Chicken Diva will be missed!

Chicken Diva - most wearable outfit, even the knees. Extraordinary design packed into that sweat suit and jacket combo. I actually liked it.

Anna's was more conventionally "designer," and rightfully won. But Merlin's more "diva RTW" was fascinating. I think it would have had a lot of takers on the Bravo web site.

Seriously folks - I mean Chicken Diva's "yellow jacket" was pretty good but to the few who rated his the sweats as great?
I thought of this company and the metallic trimed outfit specifically, after Johnny's insult to the jocks in that prio episode.

Now more of these would have been very very nice for both jock and traveller (sp?)

http://www.bostonproper.com/category/sport/69/pc/47.uts

ok fine - the knees were odd, but the rest of merlin's outfit - love. it was my favorite of the week. cute comfy practical and cheerful. more than you can ever expect in a travel outfit. the show will only be far more boring w/o the chicken diva.

daniella's outfit was so dark and boring and drab. is this really what she has inside of her? yikes.

james paul. love the kid. love his ideas, but this was one sad friggin droppy dress. i want him to go farther, but between him & el pollo loco, he should have gone home.

and johhny. when the hell are they gonna get rid of this wannabe hipster whineypants? everything he does is so butt ugly, and he complains and derides everything. get rid of him!

goddamn, i hope reco wins the whole damn thing in the end, just to justify this crappy show.

thanks for making me feel a lil' less crazy over EPL getting the axe. Anna winning, I could get, her dress was visually striking and carried through the tarot card reading (serious eye roll now) into fashion. I thought Reco's outfit was jest a tad too close to the outfit he made for the previous coat challenge.

But James Paul's outfit???? please!! that shoulda been booted out tres pronto - there was NO element on that piece that seemed to work - poor design, poor execution, poor color choice, etc, etc. Whereas EPL's outfit had some style to it, was fitted really well (albeit for a size 0 body) and struck me as being within the scope of the challenge. I was also sure they'd keep him around for the drama but my dh who walked in for the last bit correctly noted that the feedback that was presented to JP vs. EPL made it clear we'd be soon missing one lil' rooster.

my frustration with this series, i think, comes from the fact that we're getting very close to the end and yet we're seeing some serious crap on the runway. Danielle's mess? ugh....she should be happy that the audience hated on JP & EPL more. Whereas by this point with PR, the strength of the designers was not in doubt (not to say that i always liked the designs but they were typically much more competent).

this show has been serving as a faint substitute while the legal gremlins hash out the future of PR...but i will be VERY happy on August 20th, as even on lifetime i can't imagine PR being worse than this....

srq

"Perhaps...BUT, if the 18 y.o. beauty school chicks were there one week, and then they invited the Piscataway First Presbyterian Championship Bingo League the following week...that would account for some of the inconsistencies."


I think I peed in my pants. ROFLMAO.

Oh... Oh.. I've figured out what all those pleats can be used for! Didn't someone call Anna the catlady or something?

Those pleats are a built in cat carrier/kitten holder! It's... it's... so practical!

How many times have you thought "Oh my gosh, I wish I could carry my cat/kitten in my dress? I have that vet appointment after work and I have to go ALL THE HOME!" Now, you can just bring them to work. You can even keep the food in a different pleat. Got a litter that needs weaning? No problem? Bring mommy and kittens into work.

I knew she had to have been inspired by something.

"There's a pocket and a compartment for every possible item one could conceivably leave the house with."

Well, exactly. And why were the SAME judges, earlier this season, soiling themselves with excitement at the thought of having all of the designers make coats with a secret? Please.

That coat is GORGEOUS. It's not a color that would work on me, I'm too pasty, but in another color? I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Ananymous 5:50, that is hilarious!

When I looked at the pictures, I thought that Merlin's must have been another contender for the win! He does beautiful work, and his ideas for a travel outfit were great. I can even live with the puffy knees: yeah, they're silly, but you know that leggings can get stretched out at the knees, so maybe this is a good idea. Besides, you barely notice them in the full body picture.

Anna's dress is cute but way less practical and flattering that Merlin's.

I think the fix is in for Daniela, Anna and Johnny to be the top three, with Daniela the winner. Totally lame, but mark my words.

Anonymous
7/2/09 5:50 PM Didn't someone call Anna the catlady or something?


I'll take credit for that, thank YOU!

Merlin's coat was ADORABLE, and the only thing fair about his ouster is that TLo's readers are that much closer to an interview with El Pollo Loco.

I'm so relieved that everyone else liked Chicken Diva's design! I completely inderstood what he was going for! He did ruin the pants with the puffy knees, but take that off and you have a cool travel outfit! Did they not see Johnny's outfit? I thought he was going home after I saw it! Whatever judges!!!

Echoing what everyone else has said- Chicken Diva's coat was fab and Daniella's, from what I could tell, was hideous. My husband and I were flabbergasted at the decision last night.

I guess I'm alone here (or almost) but I thought Merlin's outfit was so hideous, so clearly the worst (and yet well sewn) that there was no drama in the elimination. I am stunned to find so many defenders. JP's was no great shakes (the atrocious execution made it worse, and the color choice didn't help) but it was better than Merlin's. Danielle's was a bad 90s retread and a retread of her own bad 90s retreads, so I could make a case for that being bottom two. But Merlin's was so outstandingly hideous, so completely wrong that I thought they had to manufacture some suspense as it was clear from early on he would go home for his crimes against taste.

You two hit the nail on the head. They got the Anna part right, but then absolutely DESTROYED her dress in the shop. What happened to the colors? What the &*(^ are those dots?!? I actually was going to buy this dress, and then was fortunately saved the $145 I shouldn't spend online shopping anyway by the hideousness they created.

I also LOVED LOVED LOVED Merlin's coat. Are they on crack? I would wear that yellow coat every day and twice on Sundays.

Daniella's was beyond awful. Truly terrible.

How many times have you thought "Oh my gosh, I wish I could carry my cat/kitten in my dress? I have that vet appointment after work and I have to go ALL THE HOME!" Now, you can just bring them to work. You can even keep the food in a different pleat. Got a litter that needs weaning? No problem? Bring mommy and kittens into work.
ROTFLMAO!!

I have finished my consultation with our personal feline fashion guru, aka Genghis kitty, who viewed this design and indicated that while he might pee in a pocket, he'd be damned if he'd be caught dead riding in a flowered vagina.....

I'd buy Chicken diva's coat any day of the week, its awesome. Take that fashion insider snobs!

Merlin can sew! I hate to see him go.
Anna- she needs to visit the hair salon. What is with her thrown together do? It distracts me!

They ruined Anna's dress. The polka dots make it look like a bunch of paper Snocone cups stuck together.

I LOVED the Pollo's outfit. Really. I am 49 years old, and if we could just change those poof knees into regular gauchos, I would buy the traveler for any one of my three daughters. The coat-well, I live in the south and don't require one, but I liked that it had a lot of pockets and bits, yet still looked cute.

Reco's was nice, Jonny's ok, but who has an ass small enough for Anna's? Can you sit in it? Will your mother miss her Marrimeko sheets?

Daniella's was just bo-ring.

I like JP's IDEA, but that execution was a tragedy. Still, I think Daniella's should have been outta there. Nothing interesting at all.

Note to Marlyn: Beat you to it. Had to cut cable off til PR & did so after the Angel-judges diatribe/fugfest.

I had this show sized up to an inch of its life the first episode & got sucked in anyway. The ep to ep disbelief over the arbitrary unfairness of the turn of events at the time kept me "hooked". I am just watching the trainwreck from a comfortable distance now, and you TLo bloggers are amazing. I vote for all of you!

p.s. I LOVED the yellow coat. I got used to that crazy Merlie Sue and loved his psychedelic collection. Someone is going to cash in on his mojo. I firmly believe JP is a joke, and not a funny one.


BarbH

@Anna's outfit:

Since when does sakura translate into polka dots?!

Merlin wuz robbed.

I was surprised at liking Johnny's. But that's for another post by beloved TLo.

I call bullsh*t producer interference that JP didn't get sent home.

I thought I was losing it as I actually agreed with the top two choices. Hated to think I agreed with the "industry insiders" which according to this show calls my taste level into question. Fortunately, my faith in my sanity was restored with the idiotic decision to put Merlin in the bottom rather than Daniella. Honestly, I gagged when I saw Daniella's outfit on the runway. I have to say that I hated the knees on Merlin's outfit but the other sweat details and that absolutely incredible coat outweighed that flaw. The bottom two should have been Jean Paul and Daniella - and the one booted off should probably have been Jean Paul whose outfit was a complete failure both in concept and execution.

So said: Ditch Kelly Rowlands. Replace with Veronica Webb.



YESSSSS!

Veronica gave great constructive critique.

Pollo was robbed. I'd buy that happy travel coat in a heartbeat. The show is too scripted, too catty and totally a fraud.

JP's diaper ass dress should have sent him home.

Pollo and Reco made bootilicious pants. That is not an easy task. These two have what appears to be superior sewing and construction skills. Granted the sweatsuit was for the teen crowd (I've seen jeans with a similiar knee detail in recent fashion mags) but teens are real people.

I gave up on finding any likeable personalities (this show is geared towards nastiness and drama ala the trashy housewives sagas that Bravo is smitten with)as everyone has been edited to demostrate the worst.

How could the pile of fug that Daniella created not be in the bottom two?

Merlin's outfit was aweful.

This is a *fashion* show and he opts for grey sweatpant material... knowing what kind of audience is sitting out there doing the first round judging? And then makes the whole leg part of it hideous?

The legs (and choice of fabric for a *fashion* show) killed the nicety of the jacket (and the non-hoody underneath - simple design with great punch of green on the pockets).

He should have gone for a more yoga stretchy material and concentrated on colour and paring down his doodaderie - *colour* and construction skills are his real forte.

I liked the colour of the jacket and some of the construction but he overdid (as is his want) with the extraneous frillthing on one of the shoulders and some seemingly unnecessary seams and construction.

I hate to say it but the judges were right. His outfit was Junior-oriented and the show's not looking for that. The biggest shame, I think, is his vacillating between high end and low end design since I was very impressed by his Madame Gres-inspired dress.

The rant at the end was unbecoming and graceless, too. And I like the character of Chicken Diva! But that was sad and disappointing to watch because it was pretty obvious a lot of the venom was aimed at the other designers and not just the judges. He came across as a poor loser.

Daniella's was sufficiently chic-banal to skate this week.

James Paul's was freaking bad, too. But just slightly worse than Merlin's missed opportunity. But James Paul's forte is promising the judges he's cerebral and different and can/may surprise them. He offers potential, Chicken Diva offered rather unfocused hit-miss designs.

I don't particularly like the guy, but, yeah, I can easily understand why he'd stay.

I'm going to say that I LOVE Chicken Diva's jacket! But that's it about that outfit. I hate sweat suits and only wear the pants.. and these pants well.. seriously they didn't stroke me the right way. When the jacket was taken off of the look i gagged!

Oh, love Annas outfit, and hate Bravo's take on it... thanks chica... I'm still behind you though!

TED said...
I just think that, as a general rule, bitchy men wearing floor-length kilts should always be eliminated.


but....
Bitchy QUEENs with talent should not.

WORD to this whole post!

Ok, JP's outfit was probably the worst this week... but Johnny's was so cheap looking. I can't believe that dress got praise from someone. It looked so crafty... I thought for sure Johnny and JP would be bottom 2.

chicken shouldn't have left based on the color palette and that coat. JP's was unflattering and ridiculous as much as Johnny's was cheap.

Other than that, I agree with rankings this week. Daniella was middle of the pack and Reco's and Anna's stood out.

I liked Anna's better because it was riskier and more innovative. The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. she nailed it.

Honestly, I gave up on this show episodes ago, but I love your write-ups. Sounds like I didn't miss anything by not watching last night. But you made my day today when you said:

"But sitting them down and subjecting them to a reading? EL LAME-O GRANDE. Super-lame. Lame to end all lameness. Embarrassingly lame."

SQUEEE! I loved The Lame List on Almost Live! Thanks for the flashback as well as the hysterically funny write-ups!

-=J

I have to say this before reading the rest of the comments: the "insiders" aren't paying attention to what a large segment of the population are wearing. While I wouldn't be caught dead in the pants Merlin designed this week (love the waist, dislike everything below mid-thigh), probably half the women under 40 in Copenhagen (Denmark) would (along with the massively unflattering "must-have" baggy gray harem pants *shudder*). I haven't been home to SoCal in a couple of years to see what people are wearing, I'd be surprised if the current aesthetic is that different. Anyway, it's a great joy reading your blog, TLo.

BZZZZT.

Miss Honduras's garment(s) were pretty good, and he deserved to stay -- far more than, say, Daniella did. His coat was terrific. James-Paul's was a piece of crap, full stop. It had zero elements of interest or style; it was HORRIBLE CRAP.

This is the worst show that's ever been on television.

PS: Tarot is a load of crap. Just like James-Paul.

I miss PR more each week. I am done trying to predict. I thought Merlin would be in the final four and I would love his yellow coat (even tho I'm an old lady). I am always amazed and kind of touched when people are aufed and show grace under pressure - and so was sad and embarrassed to see Merlin melt down in a bitter rant however expected. Is this group more cliquey then any group you've ever seen or is it just me?

Agree with the concensus of comments here. Just wanted to add that Fern was a judge on the TV Land show "She's Got the Look," which competes with the TFS time slot. Watched 11 pm re-run of SGTL and Fern did a great job judging, apparently using her own thoughts, rather than those of the producers as she apparently does on TFS. BTW, SGTL also has some self-delusional characters, especially drama queen Shelley. Check it out if they do a marathon!!

I would love it if you would post a series of pictures of all the winning (and second place) designs. I believe I've 'cracked the code'. The judges/audience always go for the BLACK outfit. This time, as soon as I saw Reco's outfit I knew it would be in the top. Not based on the look, but solely on the color. Take a look, see for yourself!

Okay, now I know what's what.

I watched the show last night with two friends. One of which is an flight attendant. She thought Merlin's was going to be in the top two! I guess she knows a little bit about what people wear when they travel.

I agreed with the win. Love Anna's dress, especially the cartridge pleats and fabric choice. The Bravo version of the dress i an abomination.
I actually thought James-Paul had 2nd place. I like bustles.

Merlin was right in his rant against Johnny. The way they have the audience participating it almost guarantees the least innovative will remain in the competition. At least we got to see his collection, even if it was somewhat reactionary to his auf'ing.

Everything in this show is wrong.

I hated the mini-challenge. If they can't do it properly, they should get rid of the mini-challenges. It's not much fun to watch the designers make a sloppy 90 minutes outfit.

The psychic was a dumb idea for an inspiration. I can't take any show serious who has competitions like this.

And then there is the judging which is just wrong. Anna's dress is very cute and it was a good choice as a winner. But other than that, everything went wrong. Anna should sew them for what they did to her design.
I love Merlin's yellow coat and I would wear this coat anytime. Ditch the crowd judging or let us know who judges the designs and why they judge them the way they do.

I am not sure I can stand another week with Kelly. She has to go.

I've figured it out with James-Paul. He's Bunthorne, from Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience. To wit, Gilbert puts these words in Bunthorne's self-revelatory song:

And everyone will say, as you walk your mystic way,
"If this young man expresses himself in terms to deep for me,
Why, what a very singularly deep young man this deep young man must be."

I think James-Paul has fooled the judges in the same way Bunthorne fooled the public.

Ellen M on 7/2/09 at 6:15 PM said...

I think the fix is in for Daniela, Anna and Johnny to be the top three, with Daniela the winner. Totally lame, but mark my words.

I was watching TV last night and saw a teaser for TFS. If I heard and understood correctly, the winner of the fianl collections will be decided by TV audience voting just like the first season of MMASM.

If this true (and I could be 100% misunderstanding what I think I heard) then I predict Reco as thr grand slam winner if he makes it to the final four.

TampaBay

I agree, I liked Merlin's outfit a lot more than the judges did. I don't think he should have went home. Personally, I think James-Paul should have went home for his disastrous outfit.

What made my mind explode was in that opening segment where they tried to make West 29th Street - "the hood" - seem like the worst ghetto in New York. West 29th Street! Sure, that stretch isn't the hippest or most scenic, but it's a long way from East Harlem or the South Bronx or East NY. It's like 4 blocks south of Macy's, 4 blocks north of Madison Sq. Park, just east of Chelsea and just west of Madison Ave!

Was I the only one who saw a bit of Siriano in Reco's suit? The ruffled shirt reminded me at once of him.

CB, I was thinking the same thing! Was that Merlin who said he thought he was going to get murdered? In frigging Chelsea? Um, right. That part of Manhattan is probably the safest neighborhood in the world these days.

Love love love Anna's dress. I would buy that in a second, NOT the Bravo's version.