Pasta Joe and Judy Noodles

Once again, Joe skates in under the radar. It's too early to tell if this is an actual strategy on his part, but for the most part, he makes decent, reliable clothing. Not good enough to be noticed and not bad enough to be, well, noticed.

And once again, we're looking at something that's a little boring, but spiced up with a little tackiness.

Credit has to be given for fully realizing his inspiration. Sure, it doesn't say "night out in NYC" and as a dress, it's way too literal an interpretation, but there's something elegantly simple about being able to draw such a straight line from inspiration to realization.

Silhouette, proportion, fit - all fine. Basic, but fine.

It's the style that loses us. The shiny fabric in that bodice, although it exactly matches the quality of light in the photo, looks cheap. The shirring in the bust kind of bumps up the cheapness effect. And chokers should be used sparingly, if at all.

Oh, did we say we liked the silhouette? We did. Until she turned around. There's just no need for that tulle tail.

Judy Bernly knocks one out of the park by revisiting the design element that almost got her kicked off days before. We have to say, she may be quiet, but little Judy's got balls.

This was a very chic, understated look that was pretty much perfectly presented.

It seemed that she really needed to get those noodles out of her system. We wonder if she felt she needed to prove her vision to the judges since she clearly felt they didn't get it the week before.

Well, there was a difference. The week before, her noodles looked sloppy and half-assed. Now they look well-executed and thought out.

We think it was wise to downplay the top and let the skirt do all the talking. We also think playing around with different fabric finishes to get her effect showed that she's inventive and has a clearly defined sense of understatement.

Also, good job on the styling. Chic and simple.

If we have one criticism, it's that the skirt needed some fine-tuning so that all the pieces could lay correctly. We're willing to cut her some slack due to time restraints, but we were puzzled when the judges were all "It looks like it came right off the rack!" No it doesn't. It's close, but it's not quite there.


More detailed pictures:



[Photos: Bravo/Barbara Nitke - Screencaps: Projectrungay.blogspot.com]
[Additional Pictures: Courtesy of ProjectRunway.com]

Divalert: Tia Shipman

Long time readers know our model worship knows no bounds, so in that vein, we're going to showcase this season's crop from time to time. First up, the gorgeous Tia Shipman.


























[Photos: Various sources including New York Model Management]

Emily Brandle Fall 2008 Collection

Before we bid a final auf Wiedersehen to Emily, let's take a look at her Smoke & Mirrors collection. Her website tells us:

"Smoke & Mirrors manufactures clothes that creative and edgy women want to wear. Whether their customer is a fashionista, entrepreneur, actress or mom, Smoke & Mirror's goal is to make a woman feel beautiful, sexy and powerful. With a focus on luxury fabrics, funky details and trims, women will shine while making a statement."

We have to say, if it's statement-making clothes, then these are barely whispering. Take each piece on its own and there's nothing really wrong with them. Some are quite nice. Looking at the whole collection, though, and it all looks very one-note and simplistic. It's all inoffensive, but there's no excitement or even interest generated by silhouette, fabric, embellishments or color.
















[Photos: Courtesy of smokeandmirrorsclothing.com]

Leanne has something to say to her model

She's totally in the wrong here. Just sayin'.


And here's Karalyn's take from her MySpace Page:

"First of all- Let me set the record straight- I was very confident in Leanne's the dress the whole time. -I am pretty sure the other 14 models can vouch for that!!!

When Tim Gunn set us models loose in Mood Fabrics, I was completely lost. They made it look like there was SOOOO much to choose from. No joke, there were 3 bins of Green Fabrics. All we had to select from was jersey, jersey, jersey (which when I left Leanne in the workroom she said "Make sure you get something with structure!" ) So jersey was OUT of the question… a cocktail dress made solely out of jersey? PLEASEEEE! Anyways, besides the jersey, all Mood had was the satin in brown, champagne and black. Since this episode's challenge was for us to pick something WE would wear, I went with brown- I love earthy tones. (I think Stella confused me with Kendall). I also picked up some beautiful feathers, and zippers (thank God).

When I introduced Leanne to my Mood purchases, she was visibly worried but overall optimistic. Although we were the designer's muses, I decided that I already had enough input in the dress, thanks to the trip to Mood, and I told Leanne that all I really want to see in the dress was pockets and a belt. After all, she is the designer and this show is for her to express her style and skills.

I found it incredibly ironic that the producers chose not to include any of the SEVERAL, positive discussions Leanne and I had over the design. They also made sure to air every "negative" looking face I could have made. (You guys enjoy that face I made in the hair salon… hot right? ;) As we went backstage for the runway, all of the models said how much they LOVED Leanne's dress, and I couldn't have agreed more… I guess when I went into this show I thought (like in past seasons) the judges would be more critical towards the FINISHED product… key word FINISHED."

[Video: Bravotv.com]