To use Steven's favorite phrase, "Sweet merciful crap." As adorable as we think he is, we can't really argue with the judges' decision last night.
Did he have the worst garment with which to work? Absolutely. But Steven honey, on Project Runway, that's your cue to really pull out all the stops because the judges lap that shit up when you take crap and make something fabulous out of it. They even admitted that this look was the one they were most looking forward to.
He made 3 major mistakes. First, he got a little high-falutin' about the materials. Honey, we're right there with you looking down at poly satin and acetate lace. We can understand declaring that you don't work with those materials. Thing is, most designers don't work with corn husks or leaves or garbage either. This is Project Runway, girl! You're expected to work with crap!
Second mistake: going with black. Dull, dull, dull. We still had hopes that he was going to something dramatic, like white lace laid over black, but no such luck.
Third, making a dress. This was supposed to be everyday wear. Sure, plenty of women wear dresses every day, but this was a little too "cocktail" for the office.
Which isn't to say it looked sophisticated, because (sorry Steven), it didn't.
The very definition of "dowdy."
We'd love to do our patented nitpicky dissection of the garment, but there's really not much to say. It's a very basic department-store black dress. He just didn't do anything interesting with it.
We're so gonna miss his dimples and facial expressions. Buck up, Dimples! You can have consolation sex with us, okay? Call us!
And on that note...
"Does being on the show get you laid more? You know, in a perfect world, it would. I have never had so little sex as the last four weeks. It’s just crazy. … It feels like I get to eight parties every seven days. And it’s just nuts. And maybe part of it is just me going, “Oh I gotta keep a low profile." Because God only knows what the tabloids are ever going to pick up if they ever care what anyone’s doing in Chicago (which I highly doubt). Can you imagine? "It’s cold there and some guy’s screwing his way through the Northside!"
Read the rest of OUTzone's interview with Dimples here.
Watch his exit interview:
[Photo: Barbara Nitke/Bravotv.com - Screencaps: Project RunGay]
I have to say, I understand that on PR you have to work with what you get, but this challenge seemed grossly unfair to Steven. There's no way the producers should've allowed one woman to have a "favorite outfit" that's anything but "everyday."
Wow, I guess everyone has different tastes because I didn't think he was cute at all. He's not ugly, but not do-able. His dress was hideous.
What I don't understand is why it took him so long to make that basic dress? Why couldn't he finish this? There was nothing to it. No intricate work that took up his time. I guess he was just mulling over what to do and never got started.
I won't really miss him because he was kinda nerdy and boring. I will miss Jack.
He could have done many things with the wedding dress. A fitted blouse or jacket, paired with a black skirt or cocktail dress, immediately lept to my mind. I thought he was going in that direction when he bought the black fabric, but no, he went in a total "waitress" direction instead. He panicked. Instead of trying to be innovative, he played it safe, and it failed.
I love him and will miss him, but, really, he deserved to go.
Too bad, I really liked Steven. He did have a bad shake, but as stated, this is PR. He could have done just about anything with that dress and impressed the judges enough because of the challenge.
I would have thought that he could have made some easy navy slacks and fashion the dress into a cute little jacket or something similar. Even a navy dress with the lace overlaid would have been preferable than the pilgrim chic.
BTW Steven, I'm a Chi professional single guy if you're still not getting any lately. ;-)
I am sad to see Steven go, and will miss him, but if I'm really honest with myself about the quality of his work in every challenge up until now... well, maybe he wasn't bringing a competitive level of quality to the table.
Actually, I thought the dress had possibilities -- I'm thinking retro, "Peyton Place"/"Best of Everything" vibe that the model totally could have worked (she seemed to be trying to). But it still wouldn't have met the needs for this challenge, though. Steven, hot as he is, needed to let the fabric bigotry go and make a silk purse out of the acetate sow's ear. Like anon 1207 said, a fitted jacket would have really livened this up and made for a nice contrast with the black. But once I saw the glue come out, I knew Squinty was a goner.
Here's what Steven was thinking: Vincent won an Everday Woman Challenge with this same dress! And I get auff'ed? What in God's name is that about, princess?
Love to him. He deserved the auf, just for execution. (and how about Mr. Straight helping him out, huh? Looking for a walk on the bi side again, Kev?).
I think his fabric bigotry was a little much. Even though it may not be something he would have used, he was supposed to use it. However, Jillian didn't use her fabric either, although she used a similar fabric it wasn't right. It was very Kane of her and him.
Good idea, juniorgoddess, about the robe set. Too bad Squinty didn't think of it. Although I can't really blame him since that fabric would've sent me into convulsions, too.
Didja know they *still* sell shit like that at David's Bridal? I went there once to see what they had and the girl kept bringing me that kind of garbage.
DanielDC said... Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
That is a very mean-spirited thing to say. This lady may not have been rich and may not have been able to afford something better. But as long as she liked it you have no right to dis her that way. That is really just cruel and hurtful.
Since I'm so ga-ga over Chris, I never quite got the Steven love. I thought Steven totally disrespected the client's choice of starting garment in this challenge, and deserved to go.
I haven't really liked anything he's made all season and won't miss him. But I was SO hoping Ricky would get tossed anyway. Ricky is this season's Vincent as far as I'm concerned. (shudder) Please make him go.
Poor steven. He wouldn't be the first man to be completely freaked out and left catatonic (& not in a good way) by the sight of a woman in a wedding dress.
After last week's karate-astrophe, we knew Steven was moving to the front of the egress line. He seemed like a nice guy, but I just don't think he had the competitive thing going.
I though that, all told, last night was pretty darn good episode. Most of the outfits were well-executed, if a little boring, and some were flat out great.
But Steven's material snobbery was a red flag from the get-go. (Imagine if Chris had gotten that dress? His Vegas instincts would have made something insane and awesome, I'm bettin'.)
Sure, Jeannie Bueller didn't really use her material, but she produced a sharp little outfit, and totally admitted that she bailed on the original fabric.
That is a very mean-spirited thing to say. This lady may not have been rich and may not have been able to afford something better. But as long as she liked it you have no right to dis her that way. That is really just cruel and hurtful.
And I bet she felt like a princess that day until she watched herself on TV last night (maybe threw a party so all her friends could see it too?) and heard Mr. Fabric Snob's comments about the dress.
Thank you Sam, I thought some of the comments up until now have just been over the top.
It's a good thing Chris is back, because losing my two favorite talking heads in two weeks would just be too much. Still, I would have hated to see Elisa go just yet, and it would have been horrible to bring Chris back just to boot him again. As much as I enjoy listening to Steven, I did not enjoy looking at that dress. He panicked, plain and simple, and so he deserved to go.
Anne and Sam, I agree that was very cruel. Don't people think that other's have feelings and she was probably really proud of that dress. People's snobbery is amazing sometimes.
I was never a huge fan of Steven's designs and this was NO exception. To make matters worse, his incessant bitching about the fabric was almost as BOOORRRRing.
Awww, what a class act! He will be missed, I'm sure.
I thought the collar was rather witty, in a nice, understated way, but it was otherwise not a great dress. I wonder if this isn't the point in the competition where fatigue has started to set in, and what excites the imaginations of a well-rested viewing audience was starting to induce creativity comas with some of the designers. You have to remember this phase of the competition really is a marathon of sprinting, and it has felled many a talented designer.
I don't think dissing the dress makes anyone a big bad meanie. It was an ugly dress. When I saw that dress, it brought to mind 2 commercial jingles: 'You'll love David's Bridal', and 'Beautiful Mt. Airy Lodge'.
The second thing that came to mind when I saw it was; if her gown looked like this, what must the bridesmaids have been wearing?
Which would actually be a fun challenge: make-over hideous bridesmaid dresses (and aren't they all hideous?)
It wasn't just dissing the dress, it was his whole comment that was mean.
DanielDC said... Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
WHOOOAAA-enough about the lady's wedding dress. Really. She was a big woman when she bought it, there probably wasn't a ton of selection in her size range. Maybe she wasn't nuts about it when she bought it. Maybe she was upset and in tears when she bought it. You don't know these things and neither do I.
She brought it in to be used and Steve did nothing good with it.
Steven deserved to go. Yep, the fabric wasn't the best. Lots of lace, beading, etc. But so what? She felt beautiful in that dress 100 pounds ago. Make her feel beautiful! I found his moaning about the fabric as annoying as Christian saying, "This challenge is SOOO not me." And Victorya saying, "They aren't the "ideal" model size." Fuck off, both of you. You looked at your clients like they were going to infect you.
Jeannie Bueller is -- and I'm sure that I'll be corrected if wrong! -- a reference to the character played first by Jennifer Gray and reprised by Jennifer Aniston in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Sorry but this episode was a total disappointment. I think back to Season 2 "The Clothes Off Your Back" and think about the wonders they did with what they had. Much more inventive. As for the wedding dress, he could have done a halter dress (enough fabric) and used some of the lace to make a bolero type jacket over it.
And Jillian (whose work I love) SHOULD have used the clothes given her. Creativity was key and though she's a great designer, I'm wondering if she fits into this contest.
Sorry Jack is gone, but, I LOVE that Chris is back!
VictorYA's comment about the models not being "ideal" size was highly offensive. What the fuck does she mean by that? I could think of several things about her that aren't ideal either, but I am too polite to say them.
This was the best episode yet. Steven absolutely deserved to go, and I second whoever questioned what possibly could have taken him so long about this dress. If he had tried even a little bit, he would still be in, but he got all huffy about it instead.
As for the comparisons, give me Bradley over Steven any day.
He complained about having to use polyester and acetate. But what kind of fabric did he buy for under $10? He needed at least 3 yards of that black fabric, so whatever he got for $3 a yard could not have been the most high-falutin' fabric!
I'm going to miss him. It was such a tough challenge.
And I'm sorry but that dress was HORRID. The original wedding dress I mean....
But I have to agree with the judges - he deserved to go, could see it coming a mile away. And he could have gotten over the whole this material sucks thing and well, made it work! heheheh
Anything was better than the choice to go with black fabric. I think with more imagination and less "I can't work like this" - he might have even made a nice white sun dress perhaps?? I guess we'll never know now!
She brought it in to be used and Steve did nothing good with it.
That is so true. She brought that in, in good faith and he didn't use hardly any of it. I think that was a waste of her wedding dress and a slap in the face to her.
You know, as soon as I saw the dress, I thought "Ooohh, I would DYE THAT!" Then later, when he said it was polyester and acetate, I realized the problem: those kinds of satin are extremely difficult to dye, and hard to work with. That's why, unless it's vintage, you don't see a lot of reworked wedding dresses.
I loved Steve (gotta love that NAME!) and am sad to see him go, but his look was the worst. Very sad. :-(
Never a fan of Squinty Stephen and his flat, monotone voice, or even what he passed off as "wit, let alone his (admittedly) limited range, so *meh* on his departure. Dude gave me the major creepy-McCreepersons. Sorry, my table for one is now ready. :-)
I don't sew, but I do know that squared-off necklines only work on 18 year old girls with clavicle showing.
FWIW, Vincent's dress had a v neck and totally different collar, and something else I would have added here, a BELT. Something like Michael did for Robert's sister in the white satin may have not made the final result look so sack-like.
Apparently the lady wanted another wedding dress made from that material and the Producers said "no, make something for everyday". They owe her a dress. I'm sure if she knew that, she never would've volunteered that dress.
Poor her & poor Steven for just.not.getting.it.
There was sooooo much that could've been done with that dress.
Hutchlover, you are right. She did want another wedding dress. Perhaps to renew her vows after her weight loss. They do owe her a dress and someone that knows how to make it (not stephen). Talk about not listening to your clients. The Duchess talked about that in her blog.
I'm sorry, but if you want to renew your wedding vows in a retooled version of your original gown, go to a seamstress. Project Runway is NOT the place to go to get beloved clothing tailored. It's a reality show, folks. Any one of those women last night should have known what they were in for.
Asian Spices, no one knew for sure if that is what she was going to do(renew her vows) that fact is she asked for another wedding dress and he gave her funeral dress. No matter where she had it done, it wasn't what she asked for.
Yes, the dress was hideous and wrong on many levels.
But--- she did not look like a "French maid!" She looked liked a member of the hotel housekeeping staff, maybe. I'm so tired of dowdy dresses being "mother of the bride" and black-and-white dresses being "French maid."
The judges would be a whole lot more entertaining if they would come up with more appropriate critiques, especially when trying to be funny. Even Heidi couldn't save it with "She's a French maid at a funeral."
Amen Junior Goddess, Amen. As a big boy myself, looking around my closet my favorite outfit is nothing special compared to my more slender friends. Our choices are more limited, and we do what we can with what we have. Vera Wang doesn't make gowns in size 26.
Steven, I love ya darling... but it was time. Team PocketGay!
I loved Steven's great sense of humor and his "oh dear crap" sort of comments, however, the comments about the wedding dress were really mean. All of these women lost a great deal of weight and were really excited about getting a new outfit out of their favorite clothes. I think the wedding dress was hard to have to change into every day clothes, but the snotty comments were really out of line (Victorya, Christian, I'm looking at YOU!). I still remember what Fern Mallis said to Santino's group about success in the fashion industry..."be nice! No one wants to work with a bitch."
Danieldc and Moira, go back and look at the picture of that woman in the wedding dress. Look at her face and the smile on it. Would you, could you say those harsh, mean things to that woman's face? Without hiding behind the internet? She looks so sweet. She could be reading this now. Why would you want to hurt that nice lady's feelings? Unbelievable. That is what is wrong with the world today. People are just so mean to one another.
It did look like a maid's outfit in the black & white and the construction was awful, but the design of the sleeves/neck/bustline could've been really flattering to his client in other fabrics.
Actually, I think she looked cute!
Dowdy is the latest trend (see Prada Spring 08) and Steven needs to own it.
I think the poor fellow just doesn't quite have the oomph (& gumption!) to triumph in this kind of contest.
Danieldc and Moira, go back and look at the picture of that woman in the wedding dress. Look at her face and the smile on it. Would you, could you say those harsh, mean things to that woman's face? Without hiding behind the internet? She looks so sweet. She could be reading this now. Why would you want to hurt that nice lady's feelings? Unbelievable. That is what is wrong with the world today. People are just so mean to one another."
Zak, I don't think so. TLO said them selves yesterday,
TLo said... Guys, one rule we have always held true to is we're bitchy, but we're not nasty. We do not make fun of people's looks here. Clothes, yes. Hair, yes. Perceived physical shortcomings, no.
I don't know where they are today and why they are allowing this type of behaviour today, but they don't condone people being mean to another person. Talking about the clothing, yes.
yeah, dimples had to go. the dress was just all wrong & didnt satisfy the challenge. i have to agree with the duchess. there were more possibilities than stephen was willing to see. he had all those buttons and beading and lace and used none of it. and if he so strongly felt the need for new fabric, he could have gone with an actual color, instead of just black. or dyed what he had, or at least cut it in such a way as to add texture and flow and flattering detail. at the very least, a more interesting (and less pilgrimy/nunish) neckline. something!
at the end of the day, the blame always goes back to the designer and not on the materials handed to him. we've seen genius come from garbage and plants and food. stephen had actual fabric and still fell short. i cant imagine he would have faired better with anything less.
i have to also agree with the sentiments about victorya's outfit. dull as dirt and totally unflattering. should have been in the bottom three. and jillian should not have been in the top three. her dress was nice, but did not fully meet the requirements of the challenge. rami should have been top three. his outfit fit like a dream and was perfect for everyday wear.
stephen coulda done a lacy late-60s shift, something like this: http://tinyurl.com/yvzos7 or this: http://tinyurl.com/2ymqxq (with white stretch cotton lining instead of the black stretch cotton he bought). for some reason i suspect the persimmon princess would love it.
and jillian: FEH. hi, how is using only the old outfit only for a tiny bit of PIPING fair play? no wonder tim said the judging would drive us bonkers this season.
DanielDC said... Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
If that isn't a personal attack, I don't know what is.
steve, i had the same reaction as you did -- as soon as he got the dress, i was wondering if he could dye it.
probably polyester or nylon lace wouldn't take dye too well, but black dye might come out a muted taupe, which he could line with a similar color.
but, given time constraints, i think anyone who got this dress would have been screwed.
(by the way, anyone notice that sweet p's button was stuck to the bottom of the bag yet again? at least the wedding dress was the last one to be picked).
Does anyone else think the "button bag" in rigged. I think the wedding dress was deliberately placed in the line up just to make it really hard for one designer. I don't think it would be particularly hard to re-make a wedding gown , after all there is a lot of fabric to work with, but to make it an everyday outfit would be pretty challenging. I wonder if they would have accepted some sort of nightwear? In past times it was pretty common for women (even royalty) to remake their wedding gowns into evening dress or layettes for the first baby. The dress he made looked like a maids formal attire. I think the judges were correct to auf him. You have to wonder if any of the others (including Christian) could have survived this round if they had the wedding gown.
I don't think he could have dyed this fabric successfully and if he could have what would he have done differently? He didn't do anything with it being white, I don't think he had the imagination to do anything with it had it been another color. Steven just could see the possibilities with this. He couldn't see past wedding dress. His downfall.
I can't complain about Steven's auf'ing. His design just wasn't good. As difficult as that poly satin and lace were to work with, they weren't as TLO said, cornstalks or flower petals.
Yes, why is it that Sweet Pea is always drawn last out of the bag? I think the bag is rigged. Perhaps in braille and Heidi can read braille and it trying to screw the designers? NOT! I don't think they are rigging the button bag.
That wedding dress had more fabric than anyone else had to work with, and he came up with THAT? He could have come up with anything, and used any other color for accents, and he didn't. I realize that it's hard to think clearly when all that is thrust upon you, but that poor woman could not have been thrilled with that dress. I have to say, for the "most talented group yet" there have been more misses than hits with this group as far as designs go. This should have been a great challenge. Look what season 2 did with the clothes off our backs challenge. How is this one different? It's just different backs! Do the challenges just really suck?
DanielDC said... Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
12:13 PM
You may find it cheap and ugly, but that wedding gown obviously had real meaning for Steven's client. We can snark at it, but I suspect that there are quite a few viewers out there whose favorite outfits aren't exactly fashionforward, or couture quality.
The designers had better get over any feelings they may have about the taste level of the general public, because, sweeties, damn few of you are ever going to be designing solely for women whose wallets and lifestyle allow you to work with high end materials.
I think Steven's aufing was deserved, even though his challenge was the most difficult. I think other designers (maybe Kit or Kevin) would have come up with a more innovative design.
As far as his model and her dress, all I have to say is that I would feel terrible if my wedding dress was made fun of that way on national television (by fashion designers, no less!).
I still think Stephen was a little creepy in that Third Rock kind of way. But I have to say that I am THRILLED that we don't have to watch him do his pathetic imitations of Santino immitating Tim. YEAH! The witch is dead.
Personally that outfit should have taken 2 hours to produce - there is no excuse for gluing on the collar.
But....it was nice to see the fellow contestants help him out.
I wondered what it felt for Chris to go through that emotional rollcoaster of losing? Was he in the mad phase or was he still feeling a little embarassed? I wonder what time they brought him back? Can you imagine how he felt about replacing Jack and having to pull something out of his ass in a few hours. God for him. The top looked well made - the skirt was sheer panic.
"(by the way, anyone notice that sweet p's button was stuck to the bottom of the bag yet again? at least the wedding dress was the last one to be picked)."
of course i meant "at least the wedding dress WASN'T the last one to be picked."
when i was comparing notes on that episode with my friends, that was the unanimous theme, how pathetic and embarrassing it was to watch steven's tim impression.
if he had done it on the first season, maybe not so much. but, he had to have been familiar with santino's impression. it was so much worse than just lame.
For those whining about how that wedding dress must mean so must to that woman & the oh-so big meanies should stop dissing it:
Well, it couldn't mean THAT much to her if she was willing to turn it over to a reality TV show. As far as I know, all of the looks become property of Bravo, so if she cared about it so much, I doubt she'd hand it over.
Maybe she dumped the slug she'd married, when she was wearing it, and figured that this was a better option than burning the thing.
A word about Steven's model: She had to be a little disappointed that he only used her wedding gown to be the collar and cuffs of the re-made dress,but she was completely gracious and showed the dress to its best advantage. Cheers to you wedding dress lady.
GothamTomato said...
Well, it couldn't mean THAT much to her if she was willing to turn it over to a reality TV show.
I was wondering about that too. I would never allow anyone to cut into my wedding clothes. Save for me doing it for my daughters wedding or if I was really really pissed off at the husband(and that would me doing the cutting too).
the only redeeming quality about steven's dress last night was the model's huge smile as she strutted her stuff down the runway. she looked like she was having a blast!
I thought all of the women were tremendously good sports. They seemed like the types to be the first out on the dance floor; more interested in having fun than looking like a fool. In that vein, darlings, they probably aren't going to care what strangers write about them on the internet. Whatever they are doing right now, they are probably having more fun than we are anyway.
madam ovary, don't be so sure of yourself. My friend was one of those ladies on the show. I am not saying which one, but she is very sensitive about how other people view her especially since her weight loss. She would be devastated if she read negative things about her and I would strangle anyone who dared to hurt her feelings. It hasn't happened yet, but her outfit has not been discussed yet.
bitchybitchybitchy, I couldn't agree more with you. The general public is all Prada and fine fabrics. Most regular women shop at Walmart and would love that wedding dress. These designers need to get over the elitist attitude and design to please the customer.
here are steven’s comments about the dress from the “burning questions” section on bravotv.com: Tell me about the dress. “The thing of it is, we didn’t have a terribly long time to design the dress in the first place, because the client came to me and said, “I want you to take this dress and rework it into a new wedding dress.” And we started working that way, and then we learned that it needed to be something they could wear on an everyday basis. And I went: crap. This woman works 12, 13 hours a day, and I have a white polyester dress that cannot be dyed on my hands.”
Overall, what did you learn from being on Project Runway? In that particular instance, I felt like the judges weren’t really getting the idea that not everyone can run around in very fashion forward looks. Not only because of their body type, but also because of the kind of work they do. As an accountant and working at the doctor’s office, wearing something strapless is just really not appropriate. It certainly isn’t something that’s going to carry her from seven o’clock in the morning until nine at night, and so I just felt that was the one option that was going to carry her through the longest part of the day.
not to justify steven’s design or execution, but I just thought these comments provided some interesting insights.
If you go on TV and proclaim your wedding dress (or anything) as your favorite outfit, you're open to criticism. If you don't want the criticism, don't go on TV.
And it's the ones attacking those being critical who need to lighten up a bit. It's a TV show, people are entitled to their opinions.
Had he tried to have a more positive attitude, I think he could have done something really fun out of her old wedding dress. My 1990 wedding dress is basically the same style. I would have loved to have seen something really cool made out of it.
Actually if you flip that shiny white fabric over the reverse side is just a plain matte white fabric. I would have used the back side of the fabric and made a white garden party dress with maybe a little purchased organza trim.
I will miss Stephen. I had just watched a rerun of the Team challenge, and he & Sweet P were up stairs at Mood, he came running down the aisle like the wind with a piece of fabric, Sweet P says " Oh I love that " and as he is sprinting down the stairs, he says without skipping a beat " He hates it! Says it looks like his Grandma's goddam couch " it was so cute! Happy Holidays Everyone...
"sam said: Most regular women shop at Walmart and would love that wedding dress. These designers need to get over the elitist attitude and design to please the customer."
Most 'regular women' would be too smart to shop at Walmart.
And even for those who do, who don't get that they're being ripped off there, it's not an aspiration.
I thought it was Steve's time to go. That dress wasn't successful on any level. Several of his outfits have had a staid look to them, very reserved. Even for Tiki. He's right that not everyone can or wants to wear strapless to the office, but that doesn't mean they want to dress like Mrs. Danvers in 'Rebecca.'
As for the wedding dress debate, lots of fashion compromises are made in the name of wedding attire. Size, budget, and what's in fashion. Everything is strapless now, but the big pouffy look was all the rage at one time and it was hard to avoid if you wanted a different look. Probably even harder for someone who was on the larger size.
I thought the harsh comments by VictorYA and Christian were worse than any attacks on a wedding dress or a particular fabric. To critique the size of the women so harshly and lament that they aren't "normal" sized models was very irritating. More reason to dislike the two Princesses -- Puffysleeves and Ice.
Steven's complaint about the dress materials were harsh because this was the woman's wedding dress. It was the best she could afford at the time and I'm sure she loved it when she chose it. Obviously, he was panicking and blathering. Too bad.
Victorya's comment was bizarre. As a designer, I would assume that she'd be working with a variety of women. But from what I've seen, she's kind of stuck on her own body type --flattened bust lines, puffy sleeves, flouncy skirts. Maybe she still thinks of herself as a little girl.
Loved Christian's shirt. I think it was the best thing he's done. And I agree --his client needs to get out of jeans and into skirts.
THANKS and PROPS to those people who pointed out some of the very mean things said about the lady with the wedding dress. You're right, the personal attacks were uncalled for.
I also said that the dress was horrid BUT she obviously loved it. So, shame on me for being mean too and not thinking of her feelings.
So - wedding dress lady, if you are reading this - I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. You're a lovely lady and I don't think you need brain surgery at all =)
When you think back to episodes when the designers had to make clothes out of grocery store items I wanted to smack him for whining about the wedding dress. I had zero sympathy.
Seamstresses out there: Can you turn that fabric inside out and make it look like something?
I thought it showed a lack of class on Steven's part when he was complaining about how cheap his materials were in front of his client. It's one thing to gripe about how (seriously) ugly the original dress was in confessionals/producer interviews, but it was tacky and mean to say the same about this woman's dress - which obviously held a lot of sentimental value - right in front of her.
Had he embraced, rather than evaded the challenge, I think the judges would have been a little bit forgiving of his unlucky fabric assignment. As it were he made a shit-tastically boring dress and deserved to go home.
Man, I didn't want ANYONE in the bottom 3 to go home, but I have to admit, I can't disagree with them picking Steven. I really will miss his delivery of those dry, "we're screwed" sorta lines, but that really wasn't much of a dress. (And as someone else pointed out: it's Project Runway! MAKE. IT. WORK.)
Also, I just want to point out that I shop at Wal*Mart. If you have less than $100 for a clothing budget and are fat, it's Wal*Mart (or similar stores) or spending 15 hours going over thrift store clothes hoping to find the 3 things in your size. Maybe I don't qualify as an ordinary woman, but looking around I notice that there's an awful lot of women who are a) fat and b) broke, so I'm pretty sure I'm not exactly unusual.
[As an aside, I realize that these days 'fat' is used mainly as some sort of pejorative, but I just mean it descriptively. I'm fat, calling it something else won't change that.]
Ok - based on Stephen's exit interview about his client working in an accountant office etc., Stephen could have made a blouse or top with some lace and a skirt. The skirt could have been any material like the cheap $10 black material he made out of the dress. NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!
susu said... the only redeeming quality about steven's dress last night was the model's huge smile as she strutted her stuff down the runway. she looked like she was having a blast!
She was fun and fabulous and was working that dress like a millenial Joan Blondell from Desk Set.
Isn't it remarkable, that so promptly on the heels of the model discussion, as if they were listening in, Bravo gives us an entirely new and unexpected and, in their own unique way, completely fabulous bunch of joyfully lively models, as if to replace the poker-faced Clydesdales eveyone outdid themselves in dissing just a few short posts ago?
I loved this challenge. I loved the ladies who brought their big old clothes to be remade for them on national tv. And I especially loved Steven's model, who, despite the seeming drabness of the dress Steven was scrambling to glue together for her at the very last minute, strutted down that runway as proudly as a freshly minted PhD, and with a smile as glorious as the rising sun over Yosemite valley.
Or something.
Somebody come up with some better metaphors, please, as my mental confections are getting entirely away from me, so caught up am I in pure love and admiration for these awesome models and their fabulous attitudes.
Yeah, Steven's dress was pretty much deserving of the auf. But you would never know it from the happiness radiating from his model.
Hey, no burlap, freshly minted Ph.D.s are usually jaded, burnt-out souls who are just happy to have gotten the fuck outta there. Like me and my husband... :)
I actually expected all the designers to be secretly wishing and hoping for the wedding dress. It should have gone to Elisa; she wouldn't have cared about the cheesy material; she'd have just been all about the "essence" and she would have actually used the material. I think if she had picked the dress, she would have won the challenge.
I was hoping Steven would buy some demin and make her a pair of jeans and then use the dress to do a white satin cami for her (trimmed with some of the lace) and also do some sort of jacket incorporating a lot of the bodice and sleeves of the original dress. It might have been a bit Nashville but I think it would have been a darned sight better than what he ended up with.
And juniorgoddess, a PJ and robe set is a kick-ass idea. I wish I had thought of it!!
My poor little Steven, you could tell his brain just sort of froze there, and he couldn`t think of anything else except for all that horrible white fabric. Which, you know, he could have used if his brain was not frozen...
I keep thinking that the dress could make a great lacy top, sleeveless, something versatile, that would look great under a suit or with jeans. Obviously, that matched with a white skirt would be too much, but I think he could have made a cute skirt with the black material, maybe with some nice white detailing (i.e., using some of the white buttons or white beading), and I might line the skirt with the white satin stuff. I'd like it even better if the skirt were done like this but in a pearly blue-gray color. Anyway, I'm not designer, but my point is mostly that I can imagine so many interesting things done with the dress--things that would actually evoke the wedding dress-ness of it, and remind her of the wedding day, while still being appropriate for daily wear (in fact, more appropriate than the hotel maid outfit). Steven clearly dropped the ball here.
For the challenge, I would have turned the fabric inside-out, used the matte side, and made long flared pants and a cute short swing jacket. $10 worth of blue-grey jersey for a basic knit top underneath. The beaded part: well, I'd just have to make an adorable handbag from that, dah-lings.
Now I'm almost sorry I threw away my 1980 wedding dress last year.
it's a shame Steven crashed and burned on the wedding dress... he got so caught up in hating the fabric instead of just having fun with it. you know the judges wanted to see him use as much lace and pearls as humanly possible... oh well... bye stevie...;(
Steven shouldn't have dissed his fabric so vocally. That was a woman's wedding dress, after all.
His garment... Ugh! My mother had a dress like that at the end of the '50s, except it looked good on her and -- to quote Heidi -- "it was better made". He fully deserved his outing. Elissa lucked out though! Fugly garment number two!
I'd have loved to see Chris's take on that fake lace. Methinks poor Chris would've gone home twice in as many weeks. He barely scraped by as it was.
123 comments:
I'm going to miss him. He was a cuter, gayer version of Bradley.
Ah! So sad!
I have to say, I understand that on PR you have to work with what you get, but this challenge seemed grossly unfair to Steven. There's no way the producers should've allowed one woman to have a "favorite outfit" that's anything but "everyday."
I wish RICKY had gotten her. And made a robe and PJ set. NOT expected, but VERY every day.
As it is, that woman had her WEDDING dress cut up to do NOTHING with. BLECH.
B
Wow, I guess everyone has different tastes because I didn't think he was cute at all. He's not ugly, but not do-able. His dress was hideous.
What I don't understand is why it took him so long to make that basic dress? Why couldn't he finish this? There was nothing to it. No intricate work that took up his time. I guess he was just mulling over what to do and never got started.
I won't really miss him because he was kinda nerdy and boring. I will miss Jack.
GOOD bye!
His bitchin' about the fabric was tiresome 2 minutes in.
"Wow, I guess everyone has different tastes "
Do ya think, cupcake?
He could have done many things with the wedding dress. A fitted blouse or jacket, paired with a black skirt or cocktail dress, immediately lept to my mind. I thought he was going in that direction when he bought the black fabric, but no, he went in a total "waitress" direction instead. He panicked. Instead of trying to be innovative, he played it safe, and it failed.
I love him and will miss him, but, really, he deserved to go.
Do you think the word cupcake is a little 1999? Smartass.
Too bad, I really liked Steven. He did have a bad shake, but as stated, this is PR. He could have done just about anything with that dress and impressed the judges enough because of the challenge.
I would have thought that he could have made some easy navy slacks and fashion the dress into a cute little jacket or something similar. Even a navy dress with the lace overlaid would have been preferable than the pilgrim chic.
BTW Steven, I'm a Chi professional single guy if you're still not getting any lately. ;-)
He just reminded me way too much of French Stewart on Third Rock. But yeah, the outfit sucked.
Awwwwwww, I'm going to miss him so much. They're sending all the good fairies home. WTF??
Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
I am sad to see Steven go, and will miss him, but if I'm really honest with myself about the quality of his work in every challenge up until now... well, maybe he wasn't bringing a competitive level of quality to the table.
Actually, I thought the dress had possibilities -- I'm thinking retro, "Peyton Place"/"Best of Everything" vibe that the model totally could have worked (she seemed to be trying to). But it still wouldn't have met the needs for this challenge, though. Steven, hot as he is, needed to let the fabric bigotry go and make a silk purse out of the acetate sow's ear. Like anon 1207 said, a fitted jacket would have really livened this up and made for a nice contrast with the black. But once I saw the glue come out, I knew Squinty was a goner.
Here's what Steven was thinking: Vincent won an Everday Woman Challenge with this same dress! And I get auff'ed? What in God's name is that about, princess?
Love to him. He deserved the auf, just for execution. (and how about Mr. Straight helping him out, huh? Looking for a walk on the bi side again, Kev?).
I think his fabric bigotry was a little much. Even though it may not be something he would have used, he was supposed to use it. However, Jillian didn't use her fabric either, although she used a similar fabric it wasn't right. It was very Kane of her and him.
Good idea, juniorgoddess, about the robe set. Too bad Squinty didn't think of it. Although I can't really blame him since that fabric would've sent me into convulsions, too.
Didja know they *still* sell shit like that at David's Bridal? I went there once to see what they had and the girl kept bringing me that kind of garbage.
DanielDC said...
Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
That is a very mean-spirited thing to say. This lady may not have been rich and may not have been able to afford something better. But as long as she liked it you have no right to dis her that way. That is really just cruel and hurtful.
Since I'm so ga-ga over Chris, I never quite got the Steven love. I thought Steven totally disrespected the client's choice of starting garment in this challenge, and deserved to go.
I haven't really liked anything he's made all season and won't miss him. But I was SO hoping Ricky would get tossed anyway. Ricky is this season's Vincent as far as I'm concerned. (shudder) Please make him go.
Poor steven. He wouldn't be the first man to be completely freaked out and left catatonic (& not in a good way) by the sight of a woman in a wedding dress.
He just never imagined it would happen to him.
--GothamTomato
Yeah, if he had gotten over the synthetic snobbery he might have been able to focus on creating something fabulous. That's too bad.
Even just a white blouse, dark skirt with a little hint of pearly lace trim would have been very crisp.
God, can you imagine what Laura Bennett would have done with all that frippery?
After last week's karate-astrophe, we knew Steven was moving to the front of the egress line. He seemed like a nice guy, but I just don't think he had the competitive thing going.
I though that, all told, last night was pretty darn good episode. Most of the outfits were well-executed, if a little boring, and some were flat out great.
But Steven's material snobbery was a red flag from the get-go. (Imagine if Chris had gotten that dress? His Vegas instincts would have made something insane and awesome, I'm bettin'.)
Sure, Jeannie Bueller didn't really use her material, but she produced a sharp little outfit, and totally admitted that she bailed on the original fabric.
Oh, Jeannie. You scamp, you!
That is a very mean-spirited thing to say. This lady may not have been rich and may not have been able to afford something better. But as long as she liked it you have no right to dis her that way. That is really just cruel and hurtful.
And I bet she felt like a princess that day until she watched herself on TV last night (maybe threw a party so all her friends could see it too?) and heard Mr. Fabric Snob's comments about the dress.
Thank you Sam, I thought some of the comments up until now have just been over the top.
Anne
What a great idea to make the wedding dress into a pair of lounging pajamas!
Anne
It's a good thing Chris is back, because losing my two favorite talking heads in two weeks would just be too much. Still, I would have hated to see Elisa go just yet, and it would have been horrible to bring Chris back just to boot him again. As much as I enjoy listening to Steven, I did not enjoy looking at that dress. He panicked, plain and simple, and so he deserved to go.
Anne and Sam, I agree that was very cruel. Don't people think that other's have feelings and she was probably really proud of that dress. People's snobbery is amazing sometimes.
I was never a huge fan of Steven's designs and this was NO exception. To make matters worse, his incessant bitching about the fabric was almost as BOOORRRRing.
BTW, I've been meaning to mention this:
You boys are truly becoming the Cartier-Bressons of screencaps.
--GothamTomato
Awww, what a class act! He will be missed, I'm sure.
I thought the collar was rather witty, in a nice, understated way, but it was otherwise not a great dress. I wonder if this isn't the point in the competition where fatigue has started to set in, and what excites the imaginations of a well-rested viewing audience was starting to induce creativity comas with some of the designers. You have to remember this phase of the competition really is a marathon of sprinting, and it has felled many a talented designer.
" DanielDC said...
Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet?"
If it's what you wore on what was probably the most wonderful day of your life, then yes, it might well be a favorite.
Your comment is just a little mean. Lighten up.
i'm with the other commenters. that is one of the ugliest wedding dresses i've ever seen.
-moira-
I don't think there is a Jeannie Bueller in this competition.
I don't think dissing the dress makes anyone a big bad meanie. It was an ugly dress. When I saw that dress, it brought to mind 2 commercial jingles: 'You'll love David's Bridal', and 'Beautiful Mt. Airy Lodge'.
The second thing that came to mind when I saw it was; if her gown looked like this, what must the bridesmaids have been wearing?
Which would actually be a fun challenge: make-over hideous bridesmaid dresses (and aren't they all hideous?)
--GothamTomato
It wasn't just dissing the dress, it was his whole comment that was mean.
DanielDC said...
Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
That was a personal attack on the lady.
Awwww, dammit! Steven was my Tresemme pick to win, too!
WHOOOAAA-enough about the lady's wedding dress. Really. She was a big woman when she bought it, there probably wasn't a ton of selection in her size range. Maybe she wasn't nuts about it when she bought it. Maybe she was upset and in tears when she bought it. You don't know these things and neither do I.
She brought it in to be used and Steve did nothing good with it.
"alex! said: Oh, Jeannie. You scamp, you!"
LOL. Hmmm...but so far, she's been more Baby Houseman than Jeanie Beuller.
--GothamTomato
GT, I love the bridesmaid makeover idea.
Steven deserved to go. Yep, the fabric wasn't the best. Lots of lace, beading, etc. But so what? She felt beautiful in that dress 100 pounds ago. Make her feel beautiful! I found his moaning about the fabric as annoying as Christian saying, "This challenge is SOOO not me." And Victorya saying, "They aren't the "ideal" model size." Fuck off, both of you. You looked at your clients like they were going to infect you.
At least it was an entertaining episode!
Jeannie Bueller is -- and I'm sure that I'll be corrected if wrong! -- a reference to the character played first by Jennifer Gray and reprised by Jennifer Aniston in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Sorry but this episode was a total disappointment. I think back to Season 2 "The Clothes Off Your Back" and think about the wonders they did with what they had. Much more inventive. As for the wedding dress, he could have done a halter dress (enough fabric) and used some of the lace to make a bolero type jacket over it.
And Jillian (whose work I love) SHOULD have used the clothes given her. Creativity was key and though she's a great designer, I'm wondering if she fits into this contest.
Sorry Jack is gone, but, I LOVE that Chris is back!
VictorYA's comment about the models not being "ideal" size was highly offensive. What the fuck does she mean by that? I could think of several things about her that aren't ideal either, but I am too polite to say them.
LOL. Hmmm...but so far, she's been more Baby Houseman than Jeanie Beuller.
Hahaha... good point!
"Nobody puts Jillian in a corner!"
This was the best episode yet. Steven absolutely deserved to go, and I second whoever questioned what possibly could have taken him so long about this dress. If he had tried even a little bit, he would still be in, but he got all huffy about it instead.
As for the comparisons, give me Bradley over Steven any day.
He complained about having to use polyester and acetate. But what kind of fabric did he buy for under $10? He needed at least 3 yards of that black fabric, so whatever he got for $3 a yard could not have been the most high-falutin' fabric!
I'm going to miss him. It was such a tough challenge.
And I'm sorry but that dress was HORRID. The original wedding dress I mean....
But I have to agree with the judges - he deserved to go, could see it coming a mile away. And he could have gotten over the whole this material sucks thing and well, made it work! heheheh
Anything was better than the choice to go with black fabric. I think with more imagination and less "I can't work like this" - he might have even made a nice white sun dress perhaps?? I guess we'll never know now!
Good luck Steven! I'll miss you!
junior goddess said...
She brought it in to be used and Steve did nothing good with it.
That is so true. She brought that in, in good faith and he didn't use hardly any of it. I think that was a waste of her wedding dress and a slap in the face to her.
You know, as soon as I saw the dress, I thought "Ooohh, I would DYE THAT!" Then later, when he said it was polyester and acetate, I realized the problem: those kinds of satin are extremely difficult to dye, and hard to work with. That's why, unless it's vintage, you don't see a lot of reworked wedding dresses.
I loved Steve (gotta love that NAME!) and am sad to see him go, but his look was the worst. Very sad. :-(
Never a fan of Squinty Stephen and his flat, monotone voice, or even what he passed off as "wit, let alone his (admittedly) limited range, so *meh* on his departure. Dude gave me the major creepy-McCreepersons. Sorry, my table for one is now ready. :-)
I don't sew, but I do know that squared-off necklines only work on 18 year old girls with clavicle showing.
FWIW, Vincent's dress had a v neck and totally different collar, and something else I would have added here, a BELT. Something like Michael did for Robert's sister in the white satin may have not made the final result look so sack-like.
Seth said....What I don't understand is why it took him so long to make that basic dress? Why couldn't he finish this?....
I agree. What took so long to make this piece of shit? Was he too busy bitching about the fabric? See where that got him.
Apparently the lady wanted another wedding dress made from that material and the Producers said "no, make something for everyday". They owe her a dress. I'm sure if she knew that, she never would've volunteered that dress.
Poor her & poor Steven for just.not.getting.it.
There was sooooo much that could've been done with that dress.
Hutchlover, you are right. She did want another wedding dress. Perhaps to renew her vows after her weight loss. They do owe her a dress and someone that knows how to make it (not stephen). Talk about not listening to your clients. The Duchess talked about that in her blog.
Anon1:12 Said...
"But what kind of fabric did he buy for under $10?"
I think in the episode he said it was cotton jersey.
BARF! So dull!
I like the comments about a jacket, I had thought the same thing. And his model was kinda cute! Major props to their combined weight loss!
I'm sorry, but if you want to renew your wedding vows in a retooled version of your original gown, go to a seamstress. Project Runway is NOT the place to go to get beloved clothing tailored. It's a reality show, folks. Any one of those women last night should have known what they were in for.
Asian Spices, no one knew for sure if that is what she was going to do(renew her vows) that fact is she asked for another wedding dress and he gave her funeral dress. No matter where she had it done, it wasn't what she asked for.
Sad Steven is gone-- he's adorable.
Yes, the dress was hideous and wrong on many levels.
But--- she did not look like a "French maid!" She looked liked a member of the hotel housekeeping staff, maybe. I'm so tired of dowdy dresses being "mother of the bride" and black-and-white dresses being "French maid."
The judges would be a whole lot more entertaining if they would come up with more appropriate critiques, especially when trying to be funny. Even Heidi couldn't save it with "She's a French maid at a funeral."
Meh. This season is a bore.
Amen Junior Goddess, Amen. As a big boy myself, looking around my closet my favorite outfit is nothing special compared to my more slender friends. Our choices are more limited, and we do what we can with what we have. Vera Wang doesn't make gowns in size 26.
Steven, I love ya darling... but it was time. Team PocketGay!
Yeah, if the Duchess says mother of the bride one more time I am going to scream. My mother looked beautiful at my wedding.
I loved Steven's great sense of humor and his "oh dear crap" sort of comments, however, the comments about the wedding dress were really mean. All of these women lost a great deal of weight and were really excited about getting a new outfit out of their favorite clothes. I think the wedding dress was hard to have to change into every day clothes, but the snotty comments were really out of line (Victorya, Christian, I'm looking at YOU!). I still remember what Fern Mallis said to Santino's group about success in the fashion industry..."be nice! No one wants to work with a bitch."
He was cute and will be missed. H
is outfit was a frightening 1940's film noir night nurse getup.
Michael Kors did make a good call on Chris's outfit, Shirley MacLaine, Irma la Douce.
Just to clarify...I thought Steven was a sweetie...it's Victorya and Christian that I think were really bitchy.
Danieldc and Moira, go back and look at the picture of that woman in the wedding dress. Look at her face and the smile on it. Would you, could you say those harsh, mean things to that woman's face? Without hiding behind the internet? She looks so sweet. She could be reading this now. Why would you want to hurt that nice lady's feelings? Unbelievable. That is what is wrong with the world today. People are just so mean to one another.
Aw. Steven's dress wasn't impossibly awful.
It did look like a maid's outfit in the black & white and the construction was awful, but the design of the sleeves/neck/bustline could've been really flattering to his client in other fabrics.
Actually, I think she looked cute!
Dowdy is the latest trend (see Prada Spring 08) and Steven needs to own it.
I think the poor fellow just doesn't quite have the oomph (& gumption!) to triumph in this kind of contest.
-- desertwind
" Anelisa said...
Danieldc and Moira, go back and look at the picture of that woman in the wedding dress. Look at her face and the smile on it. Would you, could you say those harsh, mean things to that woman's face? Without hiding behind the internet? She looks so sweet. She could be reading this now. Why would you want to hurt that nice lady's feelings? Unbelievable. That is what is wrong with the world today. People are just so mean to one another."
Girl, you are on the WRONG blog.
ALEX-
"Jeanie Bueller" --- That's what we call her, too! What say we call her "Shauna?"
ok --- really ---- back to work.
really....
profp
Zak, I don't think so. TLO said them selves yesterday,
TLo said...
Guys, one rule we have always held true to is we're bitchy, but we're not nasty. We do not make fun of people's looks here. Clothes, yes. Hair, yes. Perceived physical shortcomings, no.
I don't know where they are today and why they are allowing this type of behaviour today, but they don't condone people being mean to another person. Talking about the clothing, yes.
yeah, dimples had to go. the dress was just all wrong & didnt satisfy the challenge. i have to agree with the duchess. there were more possibilities than stephen was willing to see. he had all those buttons and beading and lace and used none of it. and if he so strongly felt the need for new fabric, he could have gone with an actual color, instead of just black. or dyed what he had, or at least cut it in such a way as to add texture and flow and flattering detail. at the very least, a more interesting (and less pilgrimy/nunish) neckline. something!
at the end of the day, the blame always goes back to the designer and not on the materials handed to him. we've seen genius come from garbage and plants and food. stephen had actual fabric and still fell short. i cant imagine he would have faired better with anything less.
i have to also agree with the sentiments about victorya's outfit. dull as dirt and totally unflattering. should have been in the bottom three. and jillian should not have been in the top three. her dress was nice, but did not fully meet the requirements of the challenge. rami should have been top three. his outfit fit like a dream and was perfect for everyday wear.
anelisa,
We are talking about the clothing. That wedding dress was horrible. It's not like anyone said the woman was ugly.
stephen coulda done a lacy late-60s shift, something like this: http://tinyurl.com/yvzos7 or this:
http://tinyurl.com/2ymqxq (with white stretch cotton lining instead of the black stretch cotton he bought).
for some reason i suspect the persimmon princess would love it.
and jillian: FEH. hi, how is using only the old outfit only for a tiny bit of PIPING fair play? no wonder tim said the judging would drive us bonkers this season.
DanielDC said...
Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
If that isn't a personal attack, I don't know what is.
steve, i had the same reaction as you did -- as soon as he got the dress, i was wondering if he could dye it.
probably polyester or nylon lace wouldn't take dye too well, but black dye might come out a muted taupe, which he could line with a similar color.
but, given time constraints, i think anyone who got this dress would have been screwed.
(by the way, anyone notice that sweet p's button was stuck to the bottom of the bag yet again? at least the wedding dress was the last one to be picked).
Wait...
"screwing his way through the North Side of Chicago"?
Wait...
*checks calendar*
I'M moving to the North Side of Chicago on Saturday!
I HAVE A NEW GOAL!
Does anyone else think the "button bag" in rigged. I think the wedding dress was deliberately placed in the line up just to make it really hard for one designer. I don't think it would be particularly hard to re-make a wedding gown , after all there is a lot of fabric to work with, but to make it an everyday outfit would be pretty challenging. I wonder if they would have accepted some sort of nightwear?
In past times it was pretty common for women (even royalty) to remake their wedding gowns into evening dress or layettes for the first baby.
The dress he made looked like a maids formal attire. I think the judges were correct to auf him. You have to wonder if any of the others (including Christian) could have survived this round if they had the wedding gown.
I don't think he could have dyed this fabric successfully and if he could have what would he have done differently? He didn't do anything with it being white, I don't think he had the imagination to do anything with it had it been another color. Steven just could see the possibilities with this. He couldn't see past wedding dress. His downfall.
correction, Steven could NOT see the possibilities with this dress
I can't complain about Steven's auf'ing. His design just wasn't good. As difficult as that poly satin and lace were to work with,
they weren't as TLO said, cornstalks or flower petals.
Yes, why is it that Sweet Pea is always drawn last out of the bag? I think the bag is rigged. Perhaps in braille and Heidi can read braille and it trying to screw the designers? NOT! I don't think they are rigging the button bag.
That wedding dress had more fabric than anyone else had to work with, and he came up with THAT? He could have come up with anything, and used any other color for accents, and he didn't. I realize that it's hard to think clearly when all that is thrust upon you, but that poor woman could not have been thrilled with that dress. I have to say, for the "most talented group yet" there have been more misses than hits with this group as far as designs go. This should have been a great challenge. Look what season 2 did with the clothes off our backs challenge. How is this one different? It's just different backs!
Do the challenges just really suck?
DanielDC said...
Your cheap, ugly wedding dress is your favorite piece of clothing in your closet? Seriously, she didn't need a new outfit, she needed brain surgery.
12:13 PM
You may find it cheap and ugly, but that wedding gown obviously had real meaning for Steven's client. We can snark at it, but I suspect that there are quite a few viewers out there whose favorite outfits aren't exactly fashionforward, or couture quality.
The designers had better get over any feelings they may have about the taste level of the general public, because, sweeties, damn few of you are ever going to be designing solely for women whose wallets and lifestyle allow you to work with high end materials.
I think Steven's aufing was deserved, even though his challenge was the most difficult. I think other designers (maybe Kit or Kevin) would have come up with a more innovative design.
As far as his model and her dress, all I have to say is that I would feel terrible if my wedding dress was made fun of that way on national television (by fashion designers, no less!).
I still think Stephen was a little creepy in that Third Rock kind of way. But I have to say that I am THRILLED that we don't have to watch him do his pathetic imitations of Santino immitating Tim. YEAH! The witch is dead.
Personally that outfit should have taken 2 hours to produce - there is no excuse for gluing on the collar.
But....it was nice to see the fellow contestants help him out.
I wondered what it felt for Chris to go through that emotional rollcoaster of losing? Was he in the mad phase or was he still feeling a little embarassed? I wonder what time they brought him back? Can you imagine how he felt about replacing Jack and having to pull something out of his ass in a few hours. God for him. The top looked well made - the skirt was sheer panic.
just reread my post:
"(by the way, anyone notice that sweet p's button was stuck to the bottom of the bag yet again? at least the wedding dress was the last one to be picked)."
of course i meant "at least the wedding dress WASN'T the last one to be picked."
k.
oh -- and friend o' daniel. you're SO right!!
when i was comparing notes on that episode with my friends, that was the unanimous theme, how pathetic and embarrassing it was to watch steven's tim impression.
if he had done it on the first season, maybe not so much. but, he had to have been familiar with santino's impression. it was so much worse than just lame.
For those whining about how that wedding dress must mean so must to that woman & the oh-so big meanies should stop dissing it:
Well, it couldn't mean THAT much to her if she was willing to turn it over to a reality TV show. As far as I know, all of the looks become property of Bravo, so if she cared about it so much, I doubt she'd hand it over.
Maybe she dumped the slug she'd married, when she was wearing it, and figured that this was a better option than burning the thing.
--GothamTomato
That's my theory too GothamTomato - she lost her weight and dumped the bastard!
LOL
A word about Steven's model:
She had to be a little disappointed that he only used her wedding gown to be the collar and cuffs of the re-made dress,but she was completely gracious and showed the dress to its best advantage. Cheers to you wedding dress lady.
GothamTomato said...
Well, it couldn't mean THAT much to her if she was willing to turn it over to a reality TV show.
I was wondering about that too. I would never allow anyone to cut into my wedding clothes. Save for me doing it for my daughters wedding or if I was really really pissed off at the husband(and that would me doing the cutting too).
the only redeeming quality about steven's dress last night was the model's huge smile as she strutted her stuff down the runway. she looked like she was having a blast!
I thought all of the women were tremendously good sports. They seemed like the types to be the first out on the dance floor; more interested in having fun than looking like a fool. In that vein, darlings, they probably aren't going to care what strangers write about them on the internet. Whatever they are doing right now, they are probably having more fun than we are anyway.
madam ovary, don't be so sure of yourself. My friend was one of those ladies on the show. I am not saying which one, but she is very sensitive about how other people view her especially since her weight loss. She would be devastated if she read negative things about her and I would strangle anyone who dared to hurt her feelings. It hasn't happened yet, but her outfit has not been discussed yet.
bitchybitchybitchy, I couldn't agree more with you. The general public is all Prada and fine fabrics. Most regular women shop at Walmart and would love that wedding dress. These designers need to get over the elitist attitude and design to please the customer.
here are steven’s comments about the dress from the “burning questions” section on bravotv.com:
Tell me about the dress.
“The thing of it is, we didn’t have a terribly long time to design the dress in the first place, because the client came to me and said, “I want you to take this dress and rework it into a new wedding dress.” And we started working that way, and then we learned that it needed to be something they could wear on an everyday basis. And I went: crap. This woman works 12, 13 hours a day, and I have a white polyester dress that cannot be dyed on my hands.”
Overall, what did you learn from being on Project Runway?
In that particular instance, I felt like the judges weren’t really getting the idea that not everyone can run around in very fashion forward looks. Not only because of their body type, but also because of the kind of work they do. As an accountant and working at the doctor’s office, wearing something strapless is just really not appropriate. It certainly isn’t something that’s going to carry her from seven o’clock in the morning until nine at night, and so I just felt that was the one option that was going to carry her through the longest part of the day.
not to justify steven’s design or execution, but I just thought these comments provided some interesting insights.
I meant to say the public is NOT all prada...
Wow, such treacly, delicate flowers here.
If you go on TV and proclaim your wedding dress (or anything) as your favorite outfit, you're open to criticism. If you don't want the criticism, don't go on TV.
And it's the ones attacking those being critical who need to lighten up a bit. It's a TV show, people are entitled to their opinions.
That dress (the original) was a monstrosity.
"wheresandrae? said...
He just reminded me way too much of French Stewart on Third Rock. But yeah, the outfit sucked."
Hilarious!
He seems nice, but he bored me to death. The outfit was bad. Time for him to go.
Oh, and if he could return the phrase "Sweet Merciful Crap" back to Homer Simpson, I'm sure he'd appreciate it.
I think it's entirely fair to express the opinion that the critiques of the wedding dress are pretty harsh.
Aunt Bea called and she loves that dress..
Had he tried to have a more positive attitude, I think he could have done something really fun out of her old wedding dress. My 1990 wedding dress is basically the same style. I would have loved to have seen something really cool made out of it.
Actually if you flip that shiny white fabric over the reverse side is just a plain matte white fabric. I would have used the back side of the fabric and made a white garden party dress with maybe a little purchased organza trim.
Someone needs to tell Steven that neither women who still have some weight to lose nor accountants are legislatively required to wear black.
The one good thing is that the black is probably the only thing that saved us from another Michael Kors MOB comment.
I will miss Stephen. I had just watched a rerun of the Team challenge, and he & Sweet P were up stairs at Mood, he came running down the aisle like the wind with a piece of fabric, Sweet P says " Oh I love that " and as he is sprinting down the stairs, he says without skipping a beat " He hates it! Says it looks like his Grandma's goddam couch " it was so cute! Happy Holidays Everyone...
"sam said: Most regular women shop at Walmart and would love that wedding dress. These designers need to get over the elitist attitude and design to please the customer."
Most 'regular women' would be too smart to shop at Walmart.
And even for those who do, who don't get that they're being ripped off there, it's not an aspiration.
It's not elitist to want to attempt fine quality.
--GothamTomato
I thought it was Steve's time to go. That dress wasn't successful on any level. Several of his outfits have had a staid look to them, very reserved. Even for Tiki. He's right that not everyone can or wants to wear strapless to the office, but that doesn't mean they want to dress like Mrs. Danvers in 'Rebecca.'
As for the wedding dress debate, lots of fashion compromises are made in the name of wedding attire. Size, budget, and what's in fashion. Everything is strapless now, but the big pouffy look was all the rage at one time and it was hard to avoid if you wanted a different look. Probably even harder for someone who was on the larger size.
I thought the harsh comments by VictorYA and Christian were worse than any attacks on a wedding dress or a particular fabric. To critique the size of the women so harshly and lament that they aren't "normal" sized models was very irritating. More reason to dislike the two Princesses -- Puffysleeves and Ice.
Steve is a cutie and a sweetie. That dress was an embarrassment, but I don't hold it against him. It was obviously a case of brain freeze.
I wish him the best!
Steven's complaint about the dress materials were harsh because this was the woman's wedding dress. It was the best she could afford at the time and I'm sure she loved it when she chose it. Obviously, he was panicking and blathering. Too bad.
Victorya's comment was bizarre. As a designer, I would assume that she'd be working with a variety of women. But from what I've seen, she's kind of stuck on her own body type --flattened bust lines, puffy sleeves, flouncy skirts. Maybe she still thinks of herself as a little girl.
Loved Christian's shirt. I think it was the best thing he's done. And I agree --his client needs to get out of jeans and into skirts.
THANKS and PROPS to those people who pointed out some of the very mean things said about the lady with the wedding dress. You're right, the personal attacks were uncalled for.
I also said that the dress was horrid BUT she obviously loved it. So, shame on me for being mean too and not thinking of her feelings.
So - wedding dress lady, if you are reading this - I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. You're a lovely lady and I don't think you need brain surgery at all =)
When you think back to episodes when the designers had to make clothes out of grocery store items I wanted to smack him for whining about the wedding dress. I had zero sympathy.
Seamstresses out there: Can you turn that fabric inside out and make it look like something?
I thought it showed a lack of class on Steven's part when he was complaining about how cheap his materials were in front of his client. It's one thing to gripe about how (seriously) ugly the original dress was in confessionals/producer interviews, but it was tacky and mean to say the same about this woman's dress - which obviously held a lot of sentimental value - right in front of her.
Had he embraced, rather than evaded the challenge, I think the judges would have been a little bit forgiving of his unlucky fabric assignment. As it were he made a shit-tastically boring dress and deserved to go home.
I thought this challenge was awesome, though.
Man, I didn't want ANYONE in the bottom 3 to go home, but I have to admit, I can't disagree with them picking Steven. I really will miss his delivery of those dry, "we're screwed" sorta lines, but that really wasn't much of a dress. (And as someone else pointed out: it's Project Runway! MAKE. IT. WORK.)
Also, I just want to point out that I shop at Wal*Mart. If you have less than $100 for a clothing budget and are fat, it's Wal*Mart (or similar stores) or spending 15 hours going over thrift store clothes hoping to find the 3 things in your size. Maybe I don't qualify as an ordinary woman, but looking around I notice that there's an awful lot of women who are a) fat and b) broke, so I'm pretty sure I'm not exactly unusual.
[As an aside, I realize that these days 'fat' is used mainly as some sort of pejorative, but I just mean it descriptively. I'm fat, calling it something else won't change that.]
Ok - based on Stephen's exit interview about his client working in an accountant office etc., Stephen could have made a blouse or top with some lace and a skirt. The skirt could have been any material like the cheap $10 black material he made out of the dress. NO EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!
susu said...
the only redeeming quality about steven's dress last night was the model's huge smile as she strutted her stuff down the runway. she looked like she was having a blast!
She was fun and fabulous and was working that dress like a millenial Joan Blondell from Desk Set.
Isn't it remarkable, that so promptly on the heels of the model discussion, as if they were listening in, Bravo gives us an entirely new and unexpected and, in their own unique way, completely fabulous bunch of joyfully lively models, as if to replace the poker-faced Clydesdales eveyone outdid themselves in dissing just a few short posts ago?
I loved this challenge. I loved the ladies who brought their big old clothes to be remade for them on national tv. And I especially loved Steven's model, who, despite the seeming drabness of the dress Steven was scrambling to glue together for her at the very last minute, strutted down that runway as proudly as a freshly minted PhD, and with a smile as glorious as the rising sun over Yosemite valley.
Or something.
Somebody come up with some better metaphors, please, as my mental confections are getting entirely away from me, so caught up am I in pure love and admiration for these awesome models and their fabulous attitudes.
Yeah, Steven's dress was pretty much deserving of the auf. But you would never know it from the happiness radiating from his model.
you know, he could have won,
if the challenge had been to update a pilgrim costume.
honestly, i found him boring no matter what he tried, even when he tried to be funny, he was boring.
Hey, no burlap, freshly minted Ph.D.s are usually jaded, burnt-out souls who are just happy to have gotten the fuck outta there. Like me and my husband... :)
I actually expected all the designers to be secretly wishing and hoping for the wedding dress. It should have gone to Elisa; she wouldn't have cared about the cheesy material; she'd have just been all about the "essence" and she would have actually used the material. I think if she had picked the dress, she would have won the challenge.
I was hoping Steven would buy some demin and make her a pair of jeans and then use the dress to do a white satin cami for her (trimmed with some of the lace) and also do some sort of jacket incorporating a lot of the bodice and sleeves of the original dress. It might have been a bit Nashville but I think it would have been a darned sight better than what he ended up with.
And juniorgoddess, a PJ and robe set is a kick-ass idea. I wish I had thought of it!!
My poor little Steven, you could tell his brain just sort of froze there, and he couldn`t think of anything else except for all that horrible white fabric. Which, you know, he could have used if his brain was not frozen...
Kzspot
I keep thinking that the dress could make a great lacy top, sleeveless, something versatile, that would look great under a suit or with jeans. Obviously, that matched with a white skirt would be too much, but I think he could have made a cute skirt with the black material, maybe with some nice white detailing (i.e., using some of the white buttons or white beading), and I might line the skirt with the white satin stuff. I'd like it even better if the skirt were done like this but in a pearly blue-gray color. Anyway, I'm not designer, but my point is mostly that I can imagine so many interesting things done with the dress--things that would actually evoke the wedding dress-ness of it, and remind her of the wedding day, while still being appropriate for daily wear (in fact, more appropriate than the hotel maid outfit). Steven clearly dropped the ball here.
For the challenge, I would have turned the fabric inside-out, used the matte side, and made long flared pants and a cute short swing jacket. $10 worth of blue-grey jersey for a basic knit top underneath. The beaded part: well, I'd just have to make an adorable handbag from that, dah-lings.
Now I'm almost sorry I threw away my 1980 wedding dress last year.
Oh, god. The judges had no choice.
If he had done anything - ANYTHING - with that wedding dress the judges would have been impressed. But he just skipped the whole challenge. Too bad.
it's a shame Steven crashed and burned on the wedding dress... he got so caught up in hating the fabric instead of just having fun with it. you know the judges wanted to see him use as much lace and pearls as humanly possible... oh well... bye stevie...;(
Steven shouldn't have dissed his fabric so vocally. That was a woman's wedding dress, after all.
His garment... Ugh! My mother had a dress like that at the end of the '50s, except it looked good on her and -- to quote Heidi -- "it was better made". He fully deserved his outing. Elissa lucked out though! Fugly garment number two!
I'd have loved to see Chris's take on that fake lace. Methinks poor Chris would've gone home twice in as many weeks. He barely scraped by as it was.
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