I Shot The Gunn?

Apparently I filmed video of Tim Gunn's visit to Austin and don't remember it, because these videos from Austinist are shot from my exact perspective, right next to Friend of Felt Up Michele S. (You can see her cute short hair and glasses every now and then.) Perhaps I was in a blackout, despite not being drunk? Very odd!

Anyway, enjoy--they are in three parts and this is the last section, the Q & A, which is the most Gunn-y. There's more here:

Texans Love Their Gunns!

Yesterday was a red-letter day for us hicks in sticks in Austin, because Mr. Tim Gunn of "Project Runway" and "Tim Gunn's Guide To Style" graced us with his presence!

Timmy G. was here to promote Liz Claibourne's new spring/summer line with a little fashion show at our local Dillard's department store. Friend of Felt Up Michele S. took matters into her capable hands and called Dillard's, reserved a bunch of seats, and got there early to make sure slackers like your humble Felt Up blogette wouldn't get left out in the cold, wandering around lost and hopeless in the Siberia of the nearby Dillard's "Woman" section (ie Fat Ladies' Clothes) without her help, so thanks again Ms. S.!

They had removed a bunch of racks in the middle of the womenswear section of the store and set up a runway and backstage area, plus a photo-op area (you had to spend $100 on Liz Claibourne to get a professional picture with Tim) and a bunch of chairs around the runway and a velvet rope to keep out all the people who didn't RSVP. Oh, such a nice feeling to be on the right side of the rope! Just like being inside Studio 54, except at 5:30 pm on a Wednesday in a mall in Texas.

It was fun to see who would show up for an event like this. Tim Gunn's Austin crowd was a pretty diverse mix of ages, races, sexual orientation, and body types. Everyone had obviously made an attempt to dress nicely, which kind of broke my heart a little. There were some totally awesome big-haired, plastic-surgered older rich ladies who looked like they had flown in from Dallas, and a great many 'tweens with their parents. Everyone was very excited, and when it got close to show time the whole place started reaching a fever pitch; the din was incredible. People were just about to burst with anticipation. I was not immune: I was able to catch a glimpse of a pin-striped arm backstage and I almost peed my pants.

First Tim's female perky co-host came out and blah blah blahed about Liz Claibourne and Mother's Day coming up and whatever; we just wanted TIM! Finally she shut up and he came out and the crowd went nuts. He was EXACTLY like he is on tv: Charming, erudite, a total delight in every way.



The fashion show began and it was nice because they used models of different sizes and ages, and a couple of times Tim and his co-host would come out on the middle of the runway and change up the look with a bag of accessories and Tim would make totally Tim comments like, "We all know that green can be dicey." Swoon! He also tends to get really red in the face which I found very touching, because it indicated nervousness. Or shock in the Texas heat. Whichever, it was sweet.



After the fashion show (which was a bit on the mom side, as expected, but there were quite a few really cute dresses), Tim took questions from the audience, which always makes me a bit nervous because I don't trust my fellow humanity in the slightest and am worried that someone will either be a) a crazy nutball, b) retarded, c) inappropriate, or d) all of the above. But to my relief, the questions were all fine and ranged from "I'm short. Should I wear a belt?" to "How much input to the producers have on the judging on 'Project Runway.'" The answer to the first question was, "It all depends on proportion, and you should try a variety of widths and materials. Try on, try on, try on!" while the answer to the second question was a bit longer but the gist of it was that the only time the producers have a say is when the judges are at a total stalemate/deadlock. He did dish a bit that he mistakenly thought the producers had intervend on Season 3 during the recycled materials challenge because he thought Vincent (loathesome nutty old Vincent! Ugh!) was so obviously the loser and should have gone home that he "burst into the producers' office" and had a fit over it, but it turned out to be solely the judges' decision. He also talked about concealing one's flaws and said of himself, "I'm a bowling pin!" Oh, Tim.

Overall, a wonderful experience and it didn't cost a penny. Tim made it work!

Gunn Control

The plot thickens! Now Victorya from "Project Runway" has responded to Tim Gunn's allegations that she is a crabby sourpuss. Over at Blogging Project Runway, Victorya has lots to say, although none of it responds directly to his charges that she demanded he count out all the Mood money and was acting quite weirdly about Jack leaving due to his illness. Mainly she attacks Tim's qualifications and comes off as--you guessed it!--a crabby sourpuss:

It's no secret that it's been extremely hard for me to take any of Tim's advice to heart, chiefly because I don't think he is qualified to give it. Tim was, for many years, the dean of Parsons,which is a fancy word for administrator. Does that automatically give him the credentials to assume the role of an arbiter of fashion? I can see how he might be capable of teaching say, fashion history, but design?

I do not mean to assert that he's completely unqualified. He seems to be exploring now what he is good at doing. I think he's very suited to educating women on how they should dress based on body proportions--because it's an almost formulaic approach. This dress will flatter your body because of x, y, and z. But again, that doesn't speak to design.

I am the type of person who, professionally, would prefer to work with someone who may not be the most likable, but really knows their stuff. I'm sure everyone has had a horror story about having to work with someone who is extremely nice, but completely incompetent. It's the absolute worst!

I was rather surprised that the comments on this post were not more negative about Victorya; apparently quite a few people are put off by Tim "going public" with his feelings about her. Personally, I think he should go off on contestants in the press more, not less!

Thoughts?

Tim Gunn Dishes Dirt On Crabby Sourpuss Victorya!

Here's some awesome "Project Runway" gossip, courtesy of this interview in the Chicago Tribune with America's sweetheart, Tim Gunn, concerning irritable and irritating killjoy Victorya:

“She was a sourpuss, a crabby apple as I keep saying, throughout almost all the show, other than Days 1, 2 and 3. She became this sour pill. Rich Bye, one of the executive producers, and I had two off camera interventions with her. I said to her, ‘You know what makes me beside myself is the fact that there are thousands of designers who would love to be in your place. What’s the matter with you?’

“She said, ‘I never dreamed the experience of being on the show would be like this.’ We said, ‘What do you mean?’ ‘I never dreamed we’d only have a day for challenges, that we wouldn’t have any breaks.’ ‘But you said you saw the show.’ She said, ‘I assumed it was cheated.’ I said, ‘Then you only have your own delusions to blame.’ She was really angry and bitter.

“On one occasion – they edited this out, I knew they would – we were at Mood [Fabrics], and I’m handing out money. They each have $250 dollars. She collects the envelopes from all the designers and hands them back to me. She said, ‘I want you to count it.’ I just stared at her. ‘You want me to do what?’

“She wanted me to count the money in each envelope. I looked to the producer on site with us, and I said, ‘I’m not doing this, am I?’ and he said, ‘The rules say that if a designer asks for the money to be counted, we have to count it.’ I said, ‘Fine,’ and asked why she wanted it counted. And she had pulled out this sheaf of papers – she had the rules with her – and she said, ‘I don’t believe that we all have the same amount of money.’ Why would we do that? If someone didn’t have the right amount, wouldn’t they come to me? So I counted the money.

“But that’s what it was like dealing with her. She actually said about Jack’s departure that we had engineered him leaving because he wasn’t a pretty face anymore. I just said to her, ‘I fundamentally don’t understand why you can’t understand that he is seriously ill. Furthermore, it’s a MRSA [infection]. We are all at risk.’ But she said we were forcing him out and that shouldn’t happen and we should have a hearing or something.”

MR: That explains what the hostility was about in the reunion special. I think I get that now.

TG: “I still don’t understand [what was going on with her]. She was at the finale party last night. I said to myself, ‘What are you doing here? Why are you here, you’ve disassociated yourself from the show, supposedly, but you’re here?’

“I will say this too, as sour as she is, she is extremely talented.”

Wow. What a weirdo Victorya sounds like! When Tim Gunn hates your guts, you must be a true beyotch. Oh, how I love it when Mr. Gunn dishes! He is a delight and a national treasure.

March On!

Cute interview with Felt Up fave Chris March from "Project Runway," here.

Denim Make Her Brown Eyes Blue

Last night's "Project Runway" was a bit duller than I'd hoped from the sneak-peak they gave us last week. The challenge--which began with the contestants gathered in front of a warehouse on a dock--seemed so promising at first! I was hoping that inside was a giant pile of mystery junk under a tarp and that they'd be forced to make couture gowns out of a scrap heap of old tires or electrical tape or tin cans or something. But, alas, it was filled with Levi's 501 jeans.


(all images via bravo.com)

**OK, SPOILERS STARTING**

**DON'T GET YOUR DENIM UNDERPANTS IN A TWIST**

**YOU'RE EITHER IN OR YOU'RE OUT!**

There was a lady from Levi's on hand who told them that the challenge was to create an "iconic Levi's look," and then opened the warehouse to reveal the jeans and jean jackets that were all over the place. Poor Chris was once again at a disadvantage because of his size, since the designers were to run around beserk and grab as much denim as they could and shove it all into laundry bags. Sweet P., who apparently has never watched this show before and wore flip-flops on a field trip, lost a flop during the melee. These races go the swift! There were tons of jeans hanging on clothing lines, along with some white cotton material, but as fas as I could tell, no one used the white stuff, only the denim.

Back at Parsons, there was the usual swanning around talking about his own genius by Christian, who is getting on the others' last nerve with his extreme egomania. He also talks a lot o' trash about his competition, especially Our Lady of A Thousand Sorrows, Ricky, whom Christian thinks should not be there. The producers are clearly trying to position Christian as the "villain," but he's not evil or hideous enough for the job; compared to Wendy Pepper or Jeffy Dahmer, he's like Jimmy Stewart. A really, really young, gay Jimmy Stewart with asymetrical rooster hair.

The only drama this episode was between the Humorless Duo, Jillian and Victorya, who are now working solo humorless. During their team challenge, Jillian had made the awesome equestrian-inspired coat/jacket that wowed the judges, and what do you know? This week Victorya is making a fitted coat out of denim--and so is Jillian, again. For some reason this totally sends Jillian down a hate-filled shame spiral; she loses focus, can't manage her time, and pricks her fingers on the sewing machine so much that she breaks down in Ricky-esque tears. It's too bad she's not Elisa, 'cause then she could have used the opportunity to imbue the fabric with her bloody bodily fluids and become one with the Earth, or whatever the hell she used to go on about (o how I miss you, crazy lady!).

Tim Gunn comes around to do his critiques. He is concerned with the unfinished edges on Chris' dress, and Chris does the classic "Project Runway" mistake of ignoring Tim's advice and saying that he meant to do that and he likes it that way. Chris, you fool! Ignore Tim at your peril! YOUR PERIL, I SAY! You and Sweet P. are the only likable designers left! Please be more considerate of our needs!

Speaking of Sweet P., she is working on a patchwork denim wedding dress, for reasons known only to herself. But unlike Chris, when she hears Tim Gunn and his fears and concerns, she totally takes them to heart and starts ripping that thing up. Now, one time she went a little too far and ditched her entire outfit and almost got kicked off for her replacement dress (during the prom challenge), but this time she seems to know that she should just make some relatively simple taste and length adjustments.

There's hardly any footage of hot gay Mossad agent Rami, about whom we all were wondering one thing: How in the world is he going to do a Grecian drapey dress out of denim?

Christian, of course, is doing '80s puffy sleeves and skintight pants. He's the only one doing an actual pair of jeans, which was a smart move. The pant legs were made out of the arm sleeves of a jacket--that's how skinny they were. Christian thinks his outfit is fierce and he is a genius. Naturally.

Runway time!

Here's Christian's look:



Even though it's totally his usual retro pouffy thing, I have to admit the jacket cuffs open on the ankles are a great touch and I can see how Levi's would be able to sell this whole ensemble right now.

From Chris we have the dress that Tim had much furrowed-brow concern over:



It's not a disaster by any means, but it was a bit Gwen Stefani for Hot Topic for my taste. Chris is venturing dangerously back into costume-y territory! Be careful Chris! We love you and don't want to lose you!

Here is Our Lady of One Million Tears, Ricky, and his strapless mini-dress:



Somehow through his tears, he was able to create something nice. I liked the button-fly front details and the model looked cute. It's not the most creative, innovative thing I've ever seen or anything like that, but he did a good job, finally. Michael Kors was peeing his panties over this whole look with the beehive and talked about how Ricky, like him, must love Amy Winehouse. Oh, Michael, trying to talk all hip with the young people!

Rami's dress was not drapey! Huzzah! He did a similar-to-Ricky fitted minidress:



Except he added a Christian-esque '80s flapneck collar, and used zippers as trim (a la Jeffy Dahmer). The judges were just glad they were not transported in a Rami-built time machine back to an ancient Greece where denim togas were the fashion of the day.

Sweet P.'s dress came out great:



She shortened the length and that made all the difference. Funnily enough, this looks more like something that '70s-crazed Shields-and-Yarnell-inspired Jillian would have made. The judges went mad for it; in one of the cutest moments ever on this show, Nina Garcia said that "all of us here--the ladies, I mean--would wear this" and Michael Kors pipes in that he would, too, "with the right shoe!" It was pretty delightful. The only problem was that the Levi's lady didn't like it that Sweet P. didn't incorporate the Levi's logo red tag anywhere, so that spelled doom. You gotta push the brand, Sweet P.! It's too bad, though, because the other judges were in lurve with this dress.

Then the two coats from the Humorless Duo came out. This one is Jillian's:



She had the opposite problem from Sweet P.: The Levi's lady actually thought there were too many Levi's red tags! Jillian used them as a decorative motif on the shoulder and the result was fuuuugly. The whole thing was kind of blah and not up to Jillian's usual standards, but at least she was trying. Which cannot be said for Victorya:



This really looked like a regular ole denim jacket with a weird collar and skirt attached, and the judges thought so, too. But whose denim disaster was worth getting auf'd? Chris? Jillian? Victorya? It was hard to figure out which was the worst. And who would win?

In the end, and much to Christian's obvious shock, Our Lady of Perpetual Drama, Ricky, was crowned the winner through his vale of tears. He felt validated! He finally showed the rest of them that he deserved to be there! He cried and cried like a baby! And cried some more! And one more time! And somewhere in New York, right now, he's still crying! Sweet P. came in second, then Chistian, and ooooh, was he pissed. Hee-hee!

Thank goodness, our beloved Chris was safe. Then it was down to the Humorless Duo...and Victorya was OUT. Can't say I'm sorry to see her go. I think Jillian is way more talented, wears more ridiculous outfits, and sometimes will occasionally let out a teensy, tiny, half-hearted mini-grin. Victorya is physically incapable of amusement. And now she's gone! Huzzah!

Next week's preview was hard to figure out. Would they be designing for a swingers' club? Screaming toddlers? Sheep? All of the above? I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

The Whole Kit-N-Caboodle

**HEY, YOU!**

**BEWARE!**

**PROJECT RUNWAY SPOILERS AHEAD!**

**CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED**

**ALL RIGHTY, THEN!**


Last night's "Project Runway" was awesome. I loved the challenge, although at first I kinda didn't understand it. They had the models come out with some bizarre-o hairdos and then were told that they had to use the hair as inspiration for an avant-garde outfit. I didn't get why they had to use hair as their muse, but actually it worked out pretty well.

The designers were paired into teams: Chris and Christian, Rami and Sweet P., Jillian and Victorya, and Ricky, Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, and Kit. Chris and Christian were dy-no-mite together; they were the yin and yang, the Abbot and Costello, the peanut butter and jelly of gay culture--old school drag queen creative and young hipster egomaniac. They immediately decided on "thousands of circles of organza," and went to town. It was exciting to watch.

Rami and Sweet P. were not as harmonious; he was arrogant and bossy and fussy, while Sweet P. was laid-back and pushover-y. I felt bad for her. Usually Rami comes off as fairly likable, in a scary-hot gay Mossad agent way, but this episode did not present him in the best light.

Ricky, Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, and Kit decided on a hoop-skirt dress for some unknown reason. Perhaps their vision was blurred by Ricky's vale of tears?

Jillian and Victorya, aka The Humorless Duo, got along well together in their shared love of grim determination and total lack of joy, and came up with a jodhpurs-n-trench coat look that was a no-brainer considering the faux-hawk/tribute to "Equus" hairdo on the model. And all with nary a smile betweent the two of them.

In the middle of all this, Tim Gunn appeared to make the announcement that they would have to come up with a second look--a ready-to-wear interpretation of their avant-garde piece. Much sturm-und-drang! Much talk of suicide and dread and nausea! Many tears from you-know-who! Oh, and the winners of the challenge would have their picture taken for a Tres-Somme Elle magazine full-page ad!

When it came time to put on the runway show, it was clear that Chris and Christian had blown everyone else out of the water. Their design was awesome--weird, fashion-forward, extreme, yet beautiful:



(images via bravotv.com)

Wow. It was the perfect melding of Chris' costume-y/drag super-creative aesthetic and Christian's high-falutin' fashioniness. Guest judge Alberta Ferretti swooned in her impenetrable Italian acccent that it was "important." All the judges were agog. Michael Kors also called it "important."

Let's see another more picture of this amazing outfit, shall we?



So great. This is why I watch this show!

Their ready-to-wear piece was, I thought, a nice, casual, safe interpretation of the Organza Bonanza, which was the point of the exercise, although I think the judges were slightly meh on it in comparision with the main event:



Rami and Sweet P. ended up dividing the challenge in two: He took the avant-garde dress and she made the simplified version. Rami, of course, did a drapey Grecian gown, since that is all ever does. He thought it was avant-garde because a) he made Sweet P. make some pants to wear underneath (UGH! so tired!) and b) he put a corset in there, and he usually doesn't work with corsets, which really doesn't have anything to do with the price of tea in China, now does it, Rami? Also, when Tim mentioned the drapey drapiness of the piece, Rami managed to blame Sweet P. because they "didn't work well together." So, your dress is too much what you always present and that's because Sweet P. has time-management issues? Oy vey!

Here's Rami's dress:



And here's Sweet P.'s:



I really liked this outfit. I thought it was Sweet P.'s best effort yet, and the judges loved it. Of course they told Rami that his dress was the usual Drapey McDraperton thing he always brings them, and, of course, he blamed Sweet P., but the judges simply weren't having it.

Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow, Ricky, and Kit turned out a super-drab hoop-skirted tribute to Gone With the Wind:



The judges hated it. I was trying to predict what Scarlett O'Hara reference Michael Kors would make; I was thinking "It's a little 'this model will never go hungry again,'" but he went for "pulling down the drapes." Oh, of Kors you did, Michael!

Their ready-to-wear was even duller:



The judges were nonplussed by this outfit, as was I. So boring and blah! There are cuter dresses for sale right now at Forever 21 for $19.99!

The only other team to really try for avant-garde-iness was The Humorless Duo, whose equestrian thing was pretty impressive, although not nearly as impressive as Chris and Christian's:



On TV it looked a lot more dramatic, and it seemed really well-made and detailed. The judges were wowed.

Their ready-to-wear was cute:



Again, it read better on TV than in this photo.

The top two teams were obvious, and thank god the judges picked Chris and Christian's as the winner, or I might have rioted in my living room, and my dog is nervous enough already. Christian, as team leader, won immunity. The Humorless Duo came in second. Sweet P. and Ricky were safe.

Who would be auf'd? I knew it wouldn't be Rami, because his dress was pretty and well-made, while Kit's was not only fug, it was apparently rather crappy. Sure enough, Kit was OUT.

Next week it looks to be another kooky materials challenge, my fave! I know other people hate on these challenges, but I find them delightful! Huzzah! And kudos to Christian-n-Chris!

Promtourage

***SPOILER ALERT! "Project Runway" discussion ahead!***

***LAST CHANCE TO LOOK AWAY!***

***OK, THEN!***


Last night's "Project Runway" challenge was to design a prom dress for a bunch of teenagers in private schoolgirl outfits, and I couldn't have been more delighted! Well, that is until Humorless VictorYa asked her client why she "thought we could work together" (in a nice twist, this time the models got to choose their designer) and the girl replied, "Uh, I got the last choice." HEH!

The girls' moms came in midway through the design process to give their opinions, and ranged from typically over-protective to completely clueless to sweet-n-supportive, just like in real life!

Sassy egomaniac Christian got picked by sassy egomaniac Maddie, who not only had big ideas for her dress, she also had the temerity to grab the pencil out of Christian's tiny hand and start drawing on the design herself! Hee hee! Christian was not pleased. Her mom wasn't exactly thrilled with his efforts, although the daughter ran the show. Surprisingly to me, though, he ended up a) letting himself get bulldozed by his client, b) getting all down and sad on himself and his design and showing the audience how reaaaaally young he is (21!), and then c) mustering up some chutzpah on the day of the runway show.

His dress had a lot going on, with mixed results:


(all images via bravo tv)

Maddie demanded the color and the accent pieces of lace and goo-gaws, but when he blamed the whole hot mess on her, Nina Garcia got very offended and told him he had to take control of his vision and not blame the client and blah blah blah. I actually don't think it came out quite as bad as I feared it would; sure, 'tis a bit tacky, but it's very prom-y and Maddie looked pretty cute (although the dress rode up over her backside in a very weird way). I also think Christian can't really design for non-stick-insect-type bodies.

Poor Sweet P. thought she had a shot of winning with this dress:



And it is definitely a pretty dress and her best effort thus far, but it came in second place. She seemed pretty upset about that.

The winning dress belonged to Humorles VictorYa:



I have to admit, it's cute. And young. And yes, it deserved to win, dammit. I just don't like Humorless VictorYa because she's, you know, so humorless. For some reason, she was the only one who figured out that a bright, bold color would read "youthful" on the runway. Everyone else did stuff that was boring, too sophisticated, too old...

...Or too tacky:



Oh, token straight dude Kevin. Why did you pick this fabric and make the dress so short that you couldn't safely hem the fabric? It looked unfinished and sad and yuck, and so you were auf'd. (Oddly, Nina Garcia kept harping on the color, when she herself was wearing the exact same color!) Your prom picture was super-hilarious, though!


Kevin's prom pic. (this and the following prom photos via project rungay)

That was a great touch from the show, by the way, putting up the contestants' actual prom pictures. Sweet P. had the greatest: It was totally '70s California and looked like she and her surfer dude date were actually living inside an O.P. t-shirt. Awesome. Poor Chris didn't go to his prom and stayed home and got drunk! (And how cute were the mom-and-daughter team that picked him despite his all-drag-queen portfolio?) Hot Rami is Israeli and they don't have a prom there (who knew?). Blonde hipster Kit was almost unrecognizable from her staid prom photo--she sure has changed her whole persona since high school, and she's only 26.


Kit's prom pic.


Christian's prom pic. Hee hee!

Overall, the dresses were disappointing. Nothing really blew me away...this is where a Santino Rice or Jay McCarroll would have come up with something really interesting, at least, and where an Austin Scarlett would have shone so brilliantly! These were all pretty dull and to that I say, HARRUMPH.

No One Wants A Visit From The S**t Fairy

***Ahoy, matey! Project Runway spoilers ahead! Avast! Avast! (I have no idea what "avast" means, but I like shouting it around the house now and then to keep the Corgi on his toes--or paws, as it were. But I digress.) Go away if you're ascared of spoilers!**

OK, then!

Last night's Project Runway was very very sad, because Elisa, the Little Crazy Lady Who Could, was sent packing.

The challenge was to make a dress out of things found in the Hershey's store in Times Square; only one designer, Debra-Winger-circa-1979 lookalike/rainbow suspenders enthusiast/apparent mime Jilian, decided to use actual candy in her outfit (she went for Twizzlers). The rest took craploads of candy wrappers, tissue paper, pillows, and other candy-themed items for their material.

One would think this kind of whimsy would suit Elisa to a T, but alas, 'twas not so. Her brown velvet dress with detachable silver Hershey's kiss/pool floatie armwarmers was not particularly whimsical, nor particularly good.

The gays over at Project Rungay said it best:

Ironically, we thought this challenge would have been right up her alley. We're pretty sure she lives in a world full of candy and unicorns anyway, so she just could have stared off in space for awhile and eventually some candy fairy would float by and let her sketch her dress.



Apparently, a shit fairy flew by.

Genius. Project Rungays, I salute you! Mwah!

Sweet P., who scrapped her original dress (which featured an actual ceramic mosaic around the waist) in favor of a shiny metallic dress that somehow managed to be boring, was a close contender for auf'ing, but the judges reaaaally hated nutty nutball Elisa's brown velvet nightmare, so she was OUT.

Rami, the Invincible Israeli, won with his very well-made, super-cute, vaguely anime-esque pink and red shiny halter dress:



For once, I agreed with the judges on who should win. Speaking of judges, guest Zac Posen was quite the little bitch, wasn't he? And him with that sweet face!

With Elisa gone, what little fun was left on this show has been sucked out, too, but hopefully imperious egomaniac Christian and sweet, portly Chris (who did a great job this episode, despite what the Posenator said!) will balance out the endless trail of self-obsessed tears left by unfortunately behatted Ricky to bring some interest to the remaining episodes. We'll see!

It Is Time For You To Stop All Of Your Sobbing

A rare moment of composure.

I don't want to spoil anyone who didn't seen tonight's Project Runway, but this part I'm about to talk about has been alluded to ad nauseum in the previews so I don't feel too bad. Stop reading now if you're terrified of spoilers. Go read something else!

Anyway, I am compelled to point out that the ONE TIME that Ricky, Our Lingerie-Designing Lady of the Terrible Headwear, didn't bawl his eyes out was the same moment that everyone else on the show--even ridonkulous hipster Christian--was crying rivers of tears! The early departure of Jack due to a nasty-looking facial staph infection brought on by his HIV caused much sadness at the Parsons workroom--with the exception of Ricky. He shed nary a tear while all around him was sobbing and shock and sorrow and verklempt-ness.

But later in the show his model gives him some praise--and he weeps. And she gives him a little more encouragement--and he sobs. The man has cried on every single episode of this series--sometimes several times throughout--but only when the situation has to do with HIMSELF.

It's entirely possible might actually be more of a monomaniac narcissist than Christian, albeit with a much less annoying voice. Or I could be completely wrong. Stay tuned!

PS
That dress of Steven's looked more like Wednesday Addams than a French maid, but what do I know? I am but a simple bloggette... I also thought token not-gay Kevin's design should've won...And why didn't the judges give more crap to Gillian for not using any of the original outfit she was given? I thought that was a complete cop-out. Boo, hiss! But I did love Dame Michael Kors' "it's a little Shirley MacLaine as a hooker with a heart of gold" comment about Chris' "French '50s"-by-way-of-Hot Topic outfit. Yay, huzzah!

My Reality Show Worlds Colliding AGAIN!

OMG. Apparently Jack, the buff HIV-positive contestant on the current Project Runway, is dating be-fauxhawked ex-contestant from Top Chef, Dale! OutZone provides this rather breathless report, starting with a quote from Jack:

"It's very baby steps. I really like him a lot. And geography is a bit of an issue, but we'll see where it goes. I like him a lot. I assume he likes me a lot. Unless he's lying...(laughter)... He's adorable. I like keeping it incestuous, keep it in the Bravo family."

SO we immediately had to call Dale, who told us,

"Yeah, we randomly met over Myspace. And then we bumped into each other at the OUT100 party and clicked. He's hilarious. We're just gonna roll with it and see what happens. And he's cute as %&#@. We have the same sense of humor. We giggle a lot, and you know, anytime you end up going through the Bravo-reality-show...we just looked at each other and said, 'yeah...'"

The above picture was described to us, by the way, as "it was the first time we met. All starry-eyed and stupid."

The only thing that makes me nervous about all this adorable Bravo-related-incest is that last night's preview for the next episode of Project Runway made it seem like they were about to reveal some terrible, frightening news about Jack and his HIV status. He'd already been very forthright about his illness, but there have been some rumors afoot about some kind of controversy with "the HIV guy" since before the show started airing, so who knows what it could be? Knowing Bravo and their devious editors, probably NOTHING, but you never can tell.

Now if only they could get the Flipping Out guy to pitch woo with Carson Kressley, all would be right in the world...

Project Runway Star to Be At STITCH Tonight Along With Every Other Cool Person In Town!

I would be terribly remiss in my duties if I did not pass on some info about Friends of Felt Up Jennifer P.. and Tina S.. and their amazing STITCH Fashion Show and Guerilla Craft Bazaar which happens tonight here in Austin.

This is the fifth amazing year for Stitch, and it just keeps on getting bigger and more fabulous. The new venue is the Austin Convention Center at 500 E. Cesar Chavez, in exhibit hall one. The doors open at 4pm, and the fashion show starts at 9:30.

Entertainment will be provided by such luminaries as:

Prince Klassen
DJ Ian Orth
BIGFACE
DJ Jennifer
Double Dutch WIll Take You Higher
Uber MC Matt Beardon

AND extra-special guest Bradley Baumkirchner from "Project Runway"! OMG!

Tons of great fashions will be strutted down the runway, including designs from local superstars Chia,Hot Pink Pistol, Naughty Secretary Club, Tina Sparkles, and more, more, MORE, plus a ginormous craft fair that is a perfect place to pick up some Christmas gifts and meet-n-greet the elite of Austin's ever-growing DIY scene.

Get thee to a craftery, people! Support local businesses and artists! DO IT! Tickets available for a mere $10 right here.

Smug Alert!

I do so hate to gloat and smirk, but if you could've seen the look on my face when I read this fascinating article chronicling the trials and tribulations of that guy who won that reality show I used to watch in New York magazine, it might have looked something like this:



Best quote in the piece:

His first post-Runway deal? Not exactly Marc Jacobs for LVMH. “I’m almost afraid to admit what I’m doing,” he says, “but it’s costumes for a movie. It’s a live-action movie for the Bratz.” Those slutty dolls? “Yeah, those slutty dolls.”

Tee-hee-hee! Tra-la-la!

Stalking By Proxy!

Your humble Felt Up blogette is stuck in the sticks, but when her friends jet off to other places they like to report back to her (aka, rub in her face) all of the fabulous, exciting things they have seen and done. Currently, Friends of Felt Up Michele S., Stevie M., Robert A., and Joe E. are in glamorous New York City to attend the Radio City Music Hall performance by spaghetti western (and other great movie music) composer Ennio Morricone.

Last night the group swears they spotted Kurt Vonnegut while they were engaging in witty repartee and downing untold gallons of alcohol at the Alogonquin Hotel, but since they were a) away from a computer, and b) drunk as skunks, they weren't sure if he is actually alive or dead. (Answer: Alive! Huzzah!) Then today Joe E. (whom I had no idea was a fan) apparently squealed like a deranged kitten when he saw adorable Bradley Baumkircher, a contestant from the last season of that reality clothing design competition show I don't watch anymore. Bradley was wearing a "man-cape," FYI.



My weekend plans entail doing laundry and babysitting my nephew. Sigh...