Friday, September 08, 2006 by
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Let's get this out of the way first, Bitches. We likednotloved the dress. We'd love to say that Laura can do no wrong, but this was a misstep. Ninabitch was a little hard on her but the fact of the matter is, she was right. This is not new, fresh or young in any way.
It was, however, very striking, very French and very Laura all at the same time. When we saw her sketching what looked like a black sheath with yet another plunging neckline, we were concerned, and rightfully so. This challenge required more than Laura's standard clean lines and classic styling. It needed a bold statement and more intricate detailing.
"This is Cherie. She's our most popular girl with the members of the Cabinet. Cherie, turn around and let this nice man get a good look at you. "
The collar almost saved it. We thought it looked gorgeous and appropriate in Paris. Unfortunately, looking at the whole dress, we could think of only one word and that word was "dour." Where was the chic playfullness of the bathmat coat or the "For Nuts Only" dress? Yes, the collar was, in Tim's words, "exuberant," but it was offset by the funereal dress. The two elements were fighting each other and unfortunately, the dress won.
It is to the fabulous Camilla's eternal credit that even though the collar went limp during the trip back, the dress still looked better on her than the Parisian model. Great styling! Loved the extensions!
But yeah, it looked like something Cruella DeVille's maid would wear.
48 comments:
ROFL, LOVE LOVE Cherie...Can I hire her?
Laura has elegant clothing and I like her style, but that creation, you guys are right, looked like something Cruella would wear.
Loved the Cruella comments.
When I saw it, I was thinking more along the lines of Elvira's wedding gown - or maybe something that (Tim Burton ex-gf) Lisa Marie would wear to a premiere.
What a neckline! You do have to have a great clavicle to slip into Laura's frocks.
Morticia Adams.
But, but . . . have y'all nothing to say about Laura's assertion that she's "always cold?" Always nearly naked, but always cold? Criminitly, put on a sweater, cover up that chest!
I thought the collar was a bit predictable, but I actually thought it looked fine on the French model. It seemed appropriate in Paris, but dead on arrival in New York. Part of it was the collar fell flat in travel, and completely destroyed anything couture about the dress. I didn't like the black fabric. Not sure what it was, but seemed like velvet or something heavy.
LOVE you Laura!
I thought the dress was semi-fabulous in Paris, but it did not look good in New York. Laura always said (and Tim agreed) that it was all about the collar. The dress was largely a negative space for the collar to jump out of, and it did that very well in Paris.
I suspect, by the way, that Catherine Malandrino gave that dress pretty high marks. The show was very carefully edited to exclude both her written comments on the dress and any defense by Laura about how the collar had died on the flight.
I'm not sure that there's anything wrong with a fabulously glamorous woman designing only things that she'd want to wear (I think that's what her remark about not being able to design for the Olsen twins was about), but I do wish that her wardrobe had some color in it. She had some color in the first challenge and some in the dog challenge, but that's about it.
The preview really has me worried that she'll be out next week, and then there will be bitter tears in the anapestic household. I just hope that the producers are messing with me, but what she was making in the preview was black and white.
"The show was very carefully edited to exclude both her written comments on the dress and any defense by Laura about how the collar had died on the flight."
"...I do wish that her wardrobe had some color in it."
You're absolutely right, anapestic. Great comments.
Ooh, spot-on! Loved the cherie comment. Laura's dress was very Madame. It reminded me of an old 70s tv show (hell, I think it was 1st season Charlie's Angels, and the girls were undercover... or lack thereof) where they had a closet full of evening gowns for the new girls to wear when they got 'presented' to new..erm...prospective clients. It was also very jolie Madame. Laura's dress looked chic like an old Rene Gruau Dior drawing. Operative word? Old. Enough with the plunging necklines. We've seen enough sternum for a season.
How did the French model end up with Heidi's bangs?
To me, it was a nice dress but not a great one. Everytime I think of what she could have done differently, I get another French designer's image in my head. YSL, Ungaro, Chanel, it's maybe too dirivative.
I think Vincent wishes he designed that dress.... well, when he's having a lucid moment! If he had he'd still be in the running.
Off topic, did anyone see "Signe Chanel" on Sundance Channel last night? What a hoot! From the breathless voiceover to the synchronized coffee drinking, I loved it. The real stars of the show are the seamstresses, but don't tell Karl that! Of course it will never replace PR!
Brian
Would earn a big 10 on the Robert Best Boring-O-Meter.
BTW, anonymous, the dress was wool, so it was heavy. Laura was explaining to the model that it was going to be very hot because it was wool, but the model said she didn't mind because it was beautiful.
Not that I hang on her every word, or anything.
Love Laura, yawned at the dress.
For me, it looked like something that Mrs. Danvers would throw on in an attempt to look frisky when Jack Favell came to visit the second Mrs. de Winter in 'Rebecca.' But that's just me.
Pregnancy seems to be helping Laura's chest a tad. She might have to send out for a bra before this is over.
I am concerned for Laura ... very concerned. She is beginning to feel like a bit of a Johnny-one-note. Like Oscar said, "can she do much else? What could she do for men's clothes?"
Actually, I mentioned to my boyfriend that I wanted her to design my wedding clothes. To which he coldly replied that I wouldn't look good in her clothes. It was almost a deal breaker ... LOL! A fabulous Laura tuxedo? I'd sell my mother down the river for it!
But seriously, can she make those sophisticated clean likes translate to anything else? The couture dress she made was all about the collar (yes, fabulous and turgidly erect in Paris ... wilted and in need of some viagra in New York). But what else was couture about the garment?
Granted it was an unfair challenge; 20 hours to create couture after it was clearly defined as a licensed French art that usually takes hundreds of hours with many seamstresses involved. Side note ... what is the masculine noun for a seamstress? Seamster? Tailor? Are a seamstress and a tailor the same thing?
I love Laura, and I think she has it in her to do more that what we are seeing. I would trust her to dress me anyday, based simply on her own personal style. But, I do worry. Kayne keeps taking abuse from the judges for being all about the pageant. When are they going to take a strike at Laura for being all about the exposed clavicle?
She has to stay in the game. She alone can make the Peanut scared. She needs to be there to show her stuff (imagine being way way pregnant and showing a collection at the same time ... FABULOUS) and to give some moral support to Michael who I think is going to go to the top three.
Brian in KY
Does anyone else think that dress looks like a huge Swiffer Duster?
Hey guys? I have an idea - can you move on to top chef when this is done? I can't bear being without you guys until the next run of PR! Or, if Bravo shows season 1 again, maybe you can rip that? Show's getting exciting now, but I'm getting sad about missing you guys. BTW, I'm posting anonymous because I can't remember my logon/password/username, because I'm Uber Lame!
Anywho - Laura's gonna have a case of preggers melt down next week, but I'm still worried about Kayne more. He has not been able to hit the mark in the last few weeks at all. And I am so pissed that Allison and Milan were off before Angela and Vincent. WTF?!?!?! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Love, love, airkiss, airkiss
E.-
bigassbelle, I found Laura's comment about always being cold especially funny, as she said while standing on the deck of a boat in a sleeveless dress. Love her, though.
briane, I was just saying to someone yesterday that I would love to see Laura do menswear (her apparent aversion to color wouldn't necessarily be a drawback). A Laura Bennett tux would be fierce!
I'm hoping her breakdown in the previews is just a red herring. She needs to be in the final 3.
I am absolutely sick of the AA flasher.
Here's her inspiration for this episode.
http://www.bobbydene.com/40-70-p3.htm
(Middle of the page)
And next week's
http://img.nextag.com/image/Oscar_de_la_Renta/1/000/000/880/953/88095363.jpg
Just scan the flat-chested Skipper doll and Photoshop an old Oscar de la Renta on your doll...KaBAMMM!
Although I love Laura -- her comments are often among the highlights of each episode, IMO -- oscar is right, the show is about design and Laura needs to step it up.
Just wondering ... When in NYC, couldn't she have used some of that super-hold Tressemme hair spray -- or spray starch -- at the base of those ruffles to postition them better and liven them up a bit? I doubt if they would have looked any worse and, so long as the top was left free-flowing, she may have been able to restore the collar to its former glory. She may not have been judged any differently but at least the NYC judges would have had a better understanding of her original vision.
ROFL about the hairspray-was it on the Macy's accessory wall?
Does anyone else think that dress looks like a huge Swiffer Duster?
LOL! Yes, it did.
I was completely underwhelmed by the dress, and Laura's lucky that the judges finally saw the light (re: Vincent).
As far as her being auf'd next week, I don't see it happening. The producers are giving us too many hints about it. I fear the auf'd one will be my beloved KayneBow. And, if that happens, the show will have lost its last bit of fun, I fear.
And, yes, I know being fun isn't the point, but, come on, the show needs to Lighten up. It's just fashion! :)
Think about who'll be left if KayneBow is gone. Michael is sweet and wonderful, yada, yada, yada, but aside from the occasional "Ho in church" remark, he doesn't give me the giggles.
Laura's exhaustion is showing, which probably accounts for the fact that she's not producing much to smile about, either.
Love Uli and her clothes-you-can-wear-to-get-wasted-in, but she's not exactly a knee-slapper.
Which leaves Peanut, whom I love, but his humor isn't any more mainstream than his clothes. And I think he'll be getting more and more serious as we get closer to the final.
So that leaves only KayneBow as our little ray of sunshine. To paraphrase Berlin: What'll I do
when Kayne is auf Runway?
OMG! My officemate and I were just saying this morning that Laura's dress would have been awesome had it been in a really bright color or even in a metallic knit. Anything to make it pop a little more.
A misstep for sure, but I agree that I think Malandrino gave it good marks and that Laura no doubt pointed out about it losing it's volume on travel.
What? No comments on the fact that if this were to be a true couture challenge, the dresses would be flying on a chartered jet all by themselves [okay, I'd let Laura's luggage give them some company] back to New York?
Laura has got to step up and stay in . . . because someone's got to be there to slap Neckly McFugson down during Fashion Week. Oo-rah!
Laura would have been better off taking that hand gathered ruffle effect and doing layers of it down a slender column of fabric, but then Michael already did that...with coffee filters.
I would very much like to see Laura design a formal gown with a proper bustline, maybe even..gasp..darts to show that she knows how to design a dress for a woman with breasts. Her outfits are designed for the seriously pancaked woman a la Kate Hudson or...herself. A woman who's cup size is a -A.
Argh, Laura bores me. It's the same exact cut dress every single time!!
I liked not loved the dress too. Classy but, yes, too safe.
The thing that slayed me was when the judges were all- "It's so YSL...snore! Oh that's just and OLD YSL! yuk!" etc as if YSL is bad. They truly seemed disgusted! by YSL and that's just insane!
I was wondering, too, if she couldn't have just steamed and scrunched that collar!
I would love to see Laura take that dress and cut off the sleeves and cut out the sides, almost as far as the hip. That would have looked cool - a conservative couture view from the front and a flash of skin from the side.
But I'm sitin here in Levis and Pumas, so what I do know!
You're right about the design being old. Katherine Hepburn wore something quite similar in a 1930's movie.
If Kayne gets auf'd before Laura, I am going to be seriously ticked off.
Kayne, while he IS over-the-top at times, understands a woman's body, he understands what women want, and he understands PRETTY. He is versatile and his designs are always intersting. It's fun to see what he will come up with.
Laura does the same damn thing week after week, she is afraid of color, and her clothes would only work on one very particular and unrealistic body type. To me, that's not a designer, that's someone who can sew really well for themselves.
I HATED the French maid dress. Fugly in the extreme. I liked Jefferey's monstrosity better than that. (Kaynes was STILL the prettiest - BOOO judges!)
OK, I am confused. I thought the challenge was couture? Laura's garment looked couture to me whereas Jeffrey's looked like a bunch of picnic blankets thrown together and you could see the model's panties when she walked. Not couture in my opinion, but what the hay. I am a HUGE Laura fan so maybe I am biased.
i've been waiting since i saw the dress to post this here:
http://plaza.ufl.edu/asarkees/pix/donalddasher.tiff
laura made a dress for donald dasher! hopefully you gays get the reference.
I love Laura's sense of style, personally. I would never wear this dress but I thought the collar looked pretty wonderful in Paris. I can't help but wonder if Laura could have helped the collar stand up more in NYC had she turned the binding to the inside to force the ruffles to turn toward Camilla's face a bit. (I would have hung the thing upside down and sprayed that collar with some heavy starch - even hair spray!) I did not think she should have been in the bottom two. As much as I LOOOOOVE Michael, I thought his dress was pretty bad. But, happily, the only thing that mattered is that Vincent got the boot. He just gives me the creeps. Happiness is loving 3/4 of the remaining designers. :-)
I adore Laura and think she is the only one in the group who can truly be a big time designer and put together a complete collection. That said the dress was a bit of a dissapointment. However, I do not understand the people who are saying she is a one note designer. If you go to the official PR website and look at the auction of the designers clothes, you can compare,side by side, everything they have done thus far. I have the feeling that she is more than capable of producing just about anything but an 'Ulli' dress or a 'coat-of-many-colors-flap-a-thon' like Jeffery's dress.
The real problem I am having is the sense that these designers each have a pretty specific demographic market that they design for and the contest ends up being an apples to oranges to mangoes to blueberries comparison and how do you judge that with any consistency? Perhaps that is why the judging has bothered me so much, thus far.
In rality, Laura is the one who is designing for the widest age range and for the highest average price point per garment. There have been some pretty snarky things said about 'old lady' styles...if we are all very lucky, we will get old. If not, we won't be needing clothes anyhow. I do find it a bit chaffing that it seems that 27 is considered old. Women over that age unfortunately do have to appear in public, which requires that they cover their person with something.
Angela's dress for Laura's mother was slammed for being 'too young', Kayne's design for Michael's mother was 'too old and dowdy', Vincent's design for Ulli's mother was 'youthful'...
Women over 35 control more than 50% of the money in the US, and those over 50 control more than 65% and the trend is growing. These women have the money and the right to look fabulous. Isn't it kind of silly to say that the only good design is that which is only appropriate for a size 0-2, 6 foot teenager? And I am not talking plus models here. I have to say I am pretty damn sick of seeing Chanel ads with 16 and 17 year olds wearing $50,000 in clothes. To me THEY look silly, like they are playing dress-up in Mommy's clothes while she is out of town. I say let's hear it for a real woman who is designing for real women...I would gladly put myself in her hands. God knows any of the judges would look better if they did, too.
I was a bit worried there that I was the only one who didn't hate that dress! It wasn't a great dress, but I didn't hate it. She really tried with the collar and I kindasorta liked it when it was in Paris.
I agree with sewhat who articulated it much better than I ever could have. I have thought for some time that PR and the rest of the fashion industry is pandering to the wrong demographic.
Thanks for clearing that up for me Oscar. Somehow I knew that tailor was not the masculine counterpart for seamstress. And I have never heard the word seamster before.
In KY the women do all the sewing ... :)(just kidding, I can sew a button on a shirt when the need arises!)
Still loving Laura; I am keeing her in my prayers. May she rise to squash the Angry Little Peanut into a smooth buttery spread.
Brian in KY
**SNARK**
ROTFLMAO from the Donald Dasher pic.
I just spit all over my DH's laptop on that one!
***TRES SNARK-UMS!!!***
Beyotches, seriously now! I have orgasms over Laura's creations every week, but my gawds, last week's Paris challenge gave my freakin' knees convulsions... Eek! Tres horrible with overblown ruffles!!
Now here's a thought... of all the remaining designers, LAURA IS THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT A SINGLE 'WALL-OF-FAME' WIN. Does that tell us something, children, about what we can look forward to?
Also, Laura is exasperatingly well-to-do... watch her audition bio if you're sitting there beyotching at me (to paraphrase: 'I don't cook, clean, or open my own mail')... and as much as I adore the woman, I think she considers this more of a HOBBY than an actual CAREER... in short, ma petit chat, she does this for shits and giggles... she doesn't need the money and doesn't have the drive that the other contenders do, thus the 'I'm-designing-for-bony-ol'-me' same-old same-old patterns each week.
I'm cranky and hungry right now so maybe my opinion is skewed... but I don't think so!
--Love,
The Eternal 40-Something Diva
oh ... my ... god ... i just spent the last 2 hours reading your blog ... one of the doctors at work recommended it ... and i am seriously full on in love with you boys ... love you love you love you ...
let me share my opinions (not that you need them, because you are fabulous on your own):
laura: enough with the sternum ... its not a sexy part of the body ... show something else ... go risque ... show the shoulders or *gasp* the leg every now and then
michael: LOVE YOU ... seriously, im single marry me and design me hot shorty shorts and sexy couture gowns (as long as the sea-shell boob cups are tucked in)
jeffrey: plaid couture gown, who knew ... but seriously, the neck??? you could write the tale of two cities on it, in english and french, but why draw attention to it with the crazy tattoo
vincent: so glad he is auf'd so i dont have to hear his tacky, weird, avant garbage clothes get him off/turn him on
kayne: love the sequins and beads and sparkles, but take it from vegas showgirl to macy's showroom
uli: really, she has one style as well, the crazy rope shoulder dresses ... seen it every time, even the couture dress looked the same
anyway, love you guys, love your attitudes toward the designers, and thank you for saying what everyone else is thinking, but not daring enough to say
I disagree with some of sewhat's points. I find Laura's vision attractive, but narrow. One note? Pretty much so far.There's nothing wrong with having a signature look. It's definitely recommended to distinguish oneself as a designer. And Laura's got her own style, there's no doubt about that. But fashion (not to be confused with lifestyle) is about constant change, and a range is necessary to last more than a season in this business. Your big hit one season can not remain that way the next - people constantly want something different. I hope Laura has more design freshness up her fur-cuffed sleeves, but so far I'm seeing only mutated clones from her. Look at every design she originated by herself, and you'll find deep decollete, empire waists, collar and wrist trim, or some combination of the above. And when you see her wearing it as well, its thematic repetitiveness gets old fast.
Speaking of old, I mention 'jolie madame' with regards to her 'couture-detailed' gown because it doesn't look or feel modern, like an older socialite bringing out one of her old designer pieces from the archives. It's perfectly nice in that referential way ( I happened to like it for that reason), but there's nothing fresh about it. Not only did it look too vintage (I wish she would have ditched the sleeve style), but we've also seen variations on it from Laura herself in the past nine weeks: it has the same collar, deep neckline and wrist treatments as her 1st & 3rd designs, making it three times we've seen this look this season. (Uli suffers from a similar repetitiveness)
This is not to say that I feel Laura designs for an older woman. I think she designs for a woman with a very clean, sophisticated look. regardless of age. But I seriously doubt ANY woman, whether she's 24 or 42, would want to look old in physical appearance or in style. While I think Laura's other dresses were chic and fresh (even if they did tend to be repetitive), this 'couture' challenge dress did not look modern, and in that sense, looked old.
Laura IS loaded. In her audition video it looks like she lives in a pretty large converted loft-type space. Even is she and Mr. B bought it a few years ago, it doesn't come cheap.
Not to mention you KNOW her kids are in private school. In Manhattan that's like $30K a year per kid. Like private college prices.
So yes, as a Manhattanite who knows people who make a million+ a year who complain about being broke (for real) I can tell you Laura's got some scratch.
Vincent was obviously bitter about her wealth, telling her to shove diamonds up her nose (the Harry Winstons). You know she didn't cash out shit to be there. She might have sacrificed a few dinners at Jean Georges...
Drive? Debatable. Talent? Proven fairly extensively. Love her or hate her, she does have good construction skills. Better than Vincent, for sure.
I still love the bitch and her clothes though. She rocks.
Laura may have more money than all the known dieties combined, but would money be a reason for her not having more heart in it? I'd like to not think so. I think she's there all the way for it.
For her, selling a dress won't make a difference between raman noodles or rice-a-roni on the table tonight ... so what?
I think her heart is really here in the fashion. She has a sophisticated, clean look. I seriously believe in "Bad Mommy."
Brian in KY (as in the state, Oscar)
Neckly McFugson?!?? LMAO! That's a good one!
I adore Mrs. Bennett, but man, oh man, did she disappoint here.
Laura, this IS a competition. Ramp it up babe and step out of the box for ONE challenge.
The dress was fit only for a french maid, complete with tickler.
I like Laura, but the dress she made in Paris is nearly identical to a pantsuit worn by Karen Carpenter to the Grammies in the 70's. The neckline was not as deep, but the colors, collar and sleeves were otherwise identical. Here's a picture: http://www.leadsister.com/gallery/details.php?image_id=419
I thought her dress looked great in France. Very alive, elegant and distinct, exactly what Tim said needed to be done to make it good. When it got back to NYC, the drooped ruffles made it made it look dead, cheap, like a maid's outfit. And the lighting in NYC did it no favors either.
The publicity available to PR contestants is worth more than any publicity one could buy. It's pretty clear to me that this is why Laura is on PR. There are plenty of wealthy ladies who can afford to show at fashion week, but without fabulous publicity, it doesn't always get them anywhere. There is a long history of talented socialite designers, Carolina Herrera, Carolyne Roehm and I think Tory Burch might fall into that category as well. They know the needs of their customers. I think Laura falls into this category. I think the last thing she wants to do is design for the likes of the Olsen twins, that had to be a cynical quip coming from her. I say more power to her! Finally, how, as a natural redhead, having given birth to five kids, with #6 on the way, at the age of 42, can you exhibit a belly free of stretch marks? Belly-baring is more the province of the Britneys of this world, but I think Laura does it with more class!!
ok... i know that a lot of us that watch PR also saw the movie "The Devil Wears Prada" so here i go with my comment. This dress looks exactly like the dress Jacqeline Foley wore at the party. that's all i could think about when i saw laura's dress come down the runway.
One other thing I would like to mention. When Michael Kors says something is "dull" or "boring" or "we've seen it before"-who is he kidding? He dresses like a "maudlin" Miami Vice reject and he wears a uniform. With his Ralph Lauren/Tommy Hilfiger inspired men's line, you would think he could find something besides a black tee shirt and matching blazer to wear. That really is the pot calling the kettle black. Lay off Laura!
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