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Baarains.

I Like It When: Website Edition

I like it when the design or function of a website surprises me. Maybe it's because I have no skills, knowledge, or talent that goes much beyond the basics in the area of computing. Recently I've run across two websites that fit into this category. First, there is Built by Wendy. When you get to her site, just slowly-ish scroll down and watch the magnet-like effect unfold before your eyes. It delighted me with surprise. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily a fan of all her fashion, it's mostly just okay. Here's one I like well enough, even though she needs more stabilizer in the pocket flaps.

Second, there is Patrik Ervell. I gasped a little when I first saw this "fidgety" site, based on its fresh, surprising presentation. (And this time I DO like the fashions.) Not only is it visually interesting, but I think that the movement better shows customers how the clothes move and function, and on some level, how comfortable the clothes will be. The tiny repetitive loops of the models' movements are oddly hypnotic.

I wonder if the site designer was inspired by the moving photos and posters in the Harry Potter movies.

Project Runway, Episode 7: A Bully and Some Chaos

I started to watch Project Runway Season 1, Episode 1. Obviously I was attracted to the concept of a fashion competition, and I appreciate the entertainment value of some drama. But this season, for whatever reason, the producers changed the balance of fashion and drama, with much more focus on the drama. In the previous season the show increased the run time to 1 1/2 hours per episode, which I thought would be great because I would see more of the designers' processes and how they make decisions and edit and all that. Nope. It's all dedicated to the absolute drama of, well, Josh M. I don't know what I can say about him except that he is a mega-diva and a ultra-mega bully. And that's all the time I wish to dedicate to him.

Surprisingly, even though there was so much over-the-top drama, this episode produced some of my favorite fashion of the season. Two teams of 5 had to create a concept, their own fabric, and their own fashion show video backdrop. It's a tall order for two days. Of course, one team (Nuts & Bolts) spiraled into...not good. When Tim Gunn came in to critique, he made them all join hands to try and foster unity. Of course it was futile. (Also, I love Tim Gunn so much. So much.) The other team (Chaos) met the challenge with cooperation and grace. I won't bother even talking about the losing team's garments, you can view their hot mess (as well as the winning team's styles) here.

Team Chaos' inspiration came from psychological chaos, which they chose to represent with Rorschach ink blot inspired prints. Anya's bore-fest technically won overall. Barf. I will say that I do like the surprising mix of pattern in her dress, but it was overall a snoozer. I mean, it kind of looks like a jumper with a t-shirt under it.

I loved Anthony Ryan's sweet and sophisticated sportswear outfit. It's so durned polished, yet so playful, and again it mixes patterns so well. Personally, if I were to wear this, I'd make the tie from a softer fabric (and maybe a softer color) to play hard and soft against each other a little more.

But I loved Viktor's dress the most. It is simple yet fresh, and totally red carpet ready. Viktor was completely off my radar at the start of the season, but he has really impressed me the past couple of episodes. I may even hope for him to be in the final three. I'll ruminate and let you know.

(Sorry about the grainy pics, I couldn't get them to work right.)

Giveaway: Dragonfly Fabrics

 
House of Marmalade is helping Dragonfly Fabrics promote their new site with a giveaway, which you can enter here. It is the last day to enter, but Dragonfly has some really lovely things that I have not seen elsewhere. And they ship to the U.S.! I hope to soon add some of them to my horde of fabric.
 

Project Runway: Avant-Gard

I always dread the avant-garde challenge on Project Runway. While I understand the “pushing the limits” aspect of avant-garde, I can’t seem to get behind it. To be sure the techniques and construction skills are incredible, requiring all sorts of innovation and creativity. But to what end? It feels like such a waste of time, especially when no one but Lady Gaga would ever wear it, and I’m pretty sure she has all creative control of her looks. Ultimately I do believe that fashion is art, but to reach its pinnacle, it has to be functional art. And I don’t think the judges really want avant-garde anyway. I mean, they told more than one contest that they weren’t “avant-garde enough,” but then they criticized others for not making it wearable enough. And of course, the winner’s look was probably the most layperson-wearable of the lot. But congrats to Anthony Ryan, who was long overdue for a win. He’s talented (I keep forgetting he’s colorblind!) and sweet and Southern. And I do love me some Southern.

 

Poor, poor, Josh C. He was brought back into the competition during the last challenge, only to be sent home once again. He definitely has some serious skills, but he simply has not found his point of view yet. Not only do his looks feel recycled, but he seems to pick the worst fashion to recycle. At one point Viktor called Josh C.’s look (before he edited for the runway), “Carmen Miranda meets vampire.” Which was a little mean, and a lot funny, but in reality the most accurate description of anything I’ve ever heard. The guest judge, Kenneth Cole, called the finished product "generic dominatrix," which is the best thing he said all night. (He was generally a terrible judge because he simply struggled to put together complete sentences.)

 

Oliver really did give Josh C. a run for his money, though. He uses the same washed-out and depressing color palette for every single garment. Plus he tried to glue part of it to his model so it wouldn’t “flap” while the model was walking. Get real. But Tim busted him, so Oliver put his model’s hair over the offending part of the garment as a cop-out. Hopefully he will be out soon.

 

I do have to say something about Becky’s look. I was frightened by her choice of denim for an avant-garde look. Denim? Really? But I was surprised by how her dramatic hemline really made the dress stand out in a good way. I think she really “made it work,” as it were. Not my favorite look, but she definitely made me take a second look.

 

 As to my favorite look? I did like Anthony Ryan's, but I was surprised how much I liked Laura's look. I don't feel that it's truly avant-garde, but it is dramatic, energetic, strong, and sweet all at the same time. Not an easy thing to accomplish. I can see her in the top three.

Don Kenn

I'm not sure if I would consider myself an artist, but I am quite the doodler. My mom said to me the other day, "You may be a doodler, but you raise it to an artform." I'm not sure if I exactly believer her, because moms have to say stuff like this; it's their job. Then I see someone like Don Kenn who has AMAZING doodles done impeccably in pen (I do all mine in pencil. Erasers.), then I really don't believe good ol' mom. Don Kenn creates and directs children's shows in Denmark, but in his spare time he draws monsters and creepy scenes exclusively on Post-It Notes. And you know I gots nothing but love for the creepy. Here is a small and quick sampling:

Side note: I especially like the floating monsters, mostly because they remind me of "Hush,"my favorite Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. The villains are called The Gentlemen, and they are made extra creepy because they float silently and slowly as they "politely" hunt you and kill you.

Project Runway: The Horror

I don't know why I didn't think to blog about Project Runway before. I watch it every week and I definitely have STRONG opinions about what happens. But this week was a drama doozy that has hefted me onto a Project Runway soapbox.

For the sake of full disclosure, I'll admit was on team Bert from day one. His story broke my heart and the garments he brought to the audition were simple and elegant and beautiful. But I am not longer on team Bert. I suppose it was naive of me to think that because Bert has been through so much heartache and loss in his life he would have more compassion and empathy for his fellow human beings. Nope. Uh-uh. Not even close. I was shocked and disgusted by his petulant and childish behavior toward his team during the challenge, but especially during the runway critique where he fist-pumped and laughed his way through his teammate's critiques. It was a disgusting display.


Moving on, Bert was not the only one who chose to be awful to his fellow contestants. Josh M. gave Bert a serious run for the money by being dismissive and cruel to his fellow teammate Becky. He basically used and abused her sewing skills and didn't let her contribute to the the design aspect of the team design challenge. It was awful to watch. Unfortunately his behavior was rewarded when this boring 90s reincarnation co-won the challenge. I mean, boxy knitwear with a racer stripe? It wasn't great in the 90s and it's even worse in this supposedly "fashion forward" seeking reality show. Barf.

Josh M.'s "winning" look.


But I did think that the other co-winner deserved his win. Viktor treated all this teammates with respect, they communicated well, and they made a cohesive and sporty collection. Viktor's winning design has a nice balance of hard and soft and is casual enough to wear with tennis shoes (which was part of the challenge), but could be worn with sandals or heels to change the look a bit. He should have won outright, but unfortunately for the world, I don't get to decide these sort of things.

Viktor's winning look.


Last but not least, there is Anya. Anya was cast on the show even though she claimed she had been sewing for only four months. And for some reason the judges LOVE her, even though she consistently sends the same thing down the runway. I respect Anya for her determination and her vision and her hair, but I am angry that they are glorifying the fact that she has no sewing skills. True, you can be a designer without sewing skills—it happens every day—but Project Runway REQUIRES that their contestants sew their own designs. Turns out Anya has had sewing help from her fellow contestants on almost every challenge. If those judges can't see that Anya's a one-trick pony (she uses the same racerback design on everything), I'm not sure if I can trust their "authority" as judges. (P.S. Josh M.'s dress that won was actually Anya's design and, of course, the back has her signature racerback.)


Until next time, rant done.