Hodge-Podge

Don't you hate it when you have a good idea of something to blog about, and then you forget? You'd think with all the little notebooks I have lying around I'd have the sense to write something down now and then. You know, since my job involves creation and whatnot.
So, without further ado, a mish-mash:

Project Runway:
I must say, I was underwhelmed by the skating costumes created by our designers this week. I mean, seriously: Sasha Cohen! She's beautiful! She has a gorgeous figure; what more of a muse do you need? I grant you, stretchy fabrics are difficult and if you don't have experience with them, it's a bummer, but designwise, I just didn't see a lot of sense. No delicacy. That's what skating is. Is it a tough challenge? You bet--I agree with Tim Gunn wholeheartedly that this is the toughest. But I think a lot of them forgot about how the garment would look on the lovely Sasha. (As a side note, I was appalled that none of the designers knew what their costumes were until they got to the rink. Ballroom dancing? Are you serious? Do you even watch, say, the Olympics?)
I'm glad the winner was between Chloe and Zulema. That was a good choice. I was annoyed by some comments about the fringe on Kara's, as supposedly being inappropriate for a skater; difficult, perhaps, but many skaters have worn fringe in the past. I agreed with the overall assessment of her design, however, in terms of Sasha's look. I was also confused by some of the discussion of Andrae's design...some of it seemed innovative to me, but also parts were a little trashy. The shoulder plume was especially unbelievable in the context of Sasha. It was interesting, but not wearable for the client.
Santino...well, I will say that I've warmed a little to Santino as a person; his Russian fur hat on those ears, with that white shirt...he reminded me of nothing so much as Fievel the mouse. His vulnerability emerged more realistically this week, and it was he who pointed out the bonding experience of their skating together. But he depressed me because his concept, the phoenix, was (perhaps cliche but) realistic for a skating costume, but his design execution was awful. No waist silhouette, and no glamorous, exquisite tail...the tail was basically centered in the small of the back and sat there, poofy chickenlike, rather than ph0enixlike. Where is the delicacy? Adding, as Santino does, may have been a nice thing, had the adding gone somewhere, but it just sat there in a clump. What about a nice *delicately* pieced skirt with some color to it? Come on, pal. You can do better.
None of the designers really innovated anything that went below midhip. That was surprising to me, because if you look at some of the more common costumes, they're longer, reaching to midthigh, with perhaps a tail or a handkerchief hem. Most of Cohen's dresses are short, (hello, Anne Slowey) but it might have been interesting to see a little something extra. They all went safe this week. I'll be interested to hear Jay McCarroll's wake-up bitch-slap next week!
P.S. Tim Gunn on ice skates? Priceless.

Invasion of catalogs; or, how to ensure that I will not buy from you right now:
So, for some inexplicable reason, I received at least eight catalogs in my tiny mailbox yesterday. EIGHT. One of them was a Vicky's Secret V-day catalog that will probably get tossed immediately. Hey, Vicky--real tactful. Way to remind me I haven't had anyone on V-day for four years. What, do I buy myself a present? As if i don't do that all the darn time anyway?
The upside is that there was a new Victorian Trading Co. catalog, and a new catalog from a company I like and can't remember the name of, but similar to Delia*s. And a new La Redoute.

Nonsense:


This picture bears a strange resemblance to an Edward Gorey picture from The Hapless Child, "When she could bear it no longer she fled from the school at dawn."
I grant you, at this point I'm climbing up the tree, but the feeling is the same.