Project Runway - Nightlife Photos

Idea man #1 - "OK, we need to think of a new challenge for the designers" Idea man #2 - "I know, let's send them out with cameras to take photos of stuff, and then have them make an outfit - get this - inspired by the photo!"
Idea Man #3 - "No we did that already in season 2. Remember, graffiti, gutter water, a flower, traffic signs, Paris Hilton & her boyfriend in Greece . . . "
Idea man #2 - "oh, yeah"
Idea man #4 - "hey, I know, how about we have them take photos AT NIGHT?"
Idea man #1 - "Brilliant, good thinking"
Idea man #3 - "Groundbreaking, very innovative idea"
Idea Man #2 - "Why didn't I think of that?"

So this week's challenge sent the designers out at night, in glamorous rain ponchos in one of those city tour buses. It took them to locations in NYC, where they had to take photos that capture the feel of NYC nightlife. Then they had to create an outfit for a night out on the town inspired by one of the photos.

Kinda-Vintage gal Kenley won with the above dress, which was inspired by a colorful ceramic tile. While it's not something that I would wear, there was something striking about it. The tropical-like print was inspired by the tile, although the colors looked very different to me. I am amazed that she managed to wrestle the layers of different colored tulle into a shape that was even/equal with the fabric side of the skirt.

Below are my favorite three, in no order.
1st was a dress by Leanne who made a great comeback from last week's tragic overdone dress. The skirt was really pieced amazingly (of course Bravo's photos are too dark to see any detail) The top was simple but sweet and flirty. Her inspiration was a spiral metal planter.

Next was from Kelli. I think that I like it, I guess I can't commit for sure, because the photo isn't good and of course the runway show is so fast that you can't get a close look at the clothing. It looks very interesting and I'd like to see what is going on there. Her inspiration was a black and silver fire hydrant.

Lastly was a one piece pantsuit by Korto. It looks very chic and comfortable, but we got no details or insight while she was making the outfit. I think it was a halter with an open back. I don't know what her inspiration was.



Below -
Terri's dress over pants was inspired by graffiti and stickers. The dress was backless. Everone loved it. I think it looks a little frumpy from the front, alot of print fabric. But I liked it. Michael Kors remarked that he loved dresses over pants. I remember him telling Kara Saun that he was tired of seeing dresses over pants, way back in Season one. I guess they are back in now.
Jennifer was in the bottom two with her blue satin dress, inspired by a clock. Daniel remarked that it looked like some out of style vintage dress that no one wanted to wear. It wasn't horrible, but something was off on it. Maybe if she had more time to add some more of the clock details on the white bands.




Emily Strange was out this week, with her ruffled dress that was inspired by moving street lights. Blayne's ruffled extravaganza was similar to Emily's dress, but somehow he wasn't in the bottom 3.
Keith from the Salt Lake Hood made a dress inspired by a wet magazine on the ground. He covered his shapeless dress with squares of different print fabric. Oompa Kors remarked that it looked like shreaded toilet paper. I thought Keith was being set up to be the ne out. Because we learned about his background, and heard several times how great of a designer he was. Seemed like the classic Project Runwat set-up for an auffing. But I was wrong.



Sandra Bernhard was the guest judge. I like her, I like her sense of humor. But, why was she the judge? She's not known for having a great sense of style. As far as I know she's not a big fashion fan. Maybe she's just a fan of the show. I think they could have gotten someone more relatable with fashion to be a judge.


Three episodes in, and I'm not sure how to judge this current group. Some of them have some way-out design ideas, maybe because they are a younger crowd. There aren't any real standout personalities in the group either - good or bad. Blayne is a little pesky knat. How cringe-ingly embarrassing was it when he was getting Tim to say 'Holla at cha boy'? (shudder) Please Tim, do not say that again. Stick to what you know. We love your high brow phrases, you don't need to add any street lingo to your vocabulary.
I like Stella, I think she's cool, but other people seem to be bothered by her. Oh, by the way, she got to work with her beloved leathuh this week. Her inspiration was a studded leathuh harness on a horse. I like all of the girls actually. Suede was overworking the 3rd person talk again. We hardly see any of Joe - the token straight guy, and Jerell. But then again, we did learn that Jerell sleeps in a mud mask.


Check out my Project Runway-Vintage related post on the Vintage Bulletin blog

Project Runway - Nightlife Photos

Check out my Project Runway-Vintage related post on the Vintage Bulletin blog

eVintage Blog Tag - Blouses!

Its Blog Tag Wednesday at the eVintage Society!. Separates are an easy way to add a little vintage to your every day casual wardrobe. Lets talk tops!



1) Show us your favorite blouse or top in your inventory!

I really like this sheer Black Tunic Blouse - I like that it's sheer, I like the puffed sleeves, the longer length, and I think it looks really good belted.




2)Tee shirts or blouses, whats your personal style?
I prefer pullover tops over blouses.

3)Favorite tee shirt EVER?
When I was a kid, I had a t-shirt with cartoon images of Laurel & Hardy. Later I had a t-shirt with a Kewpie on it, that our neighbor gave me.


4)Favorite era for a vintage blouse? Think 40s rayons with nipped waists, sheer ruffled 50s nylons for layering, perky 60s cotton prints…..
I love the pretty, sheer, fancy, lacey nylon blouses from the 1950s. Especially in pretty colors.


Check out the eVintage Blog Tag every Wednesday.Follow the links to read the posts from all of the participating blogs. I was tagged by Vintage Joy and now I'm tagging Diary of a Mad Vintage Addict

6 weeks old!

6 weeks old! We are set to get her August 5th. I can't wait!!!
We aren't set on a name yet, I'm still liking Harlow.

What name does she look like to you?

Project Runway - 'Green' challenge

So this week's challenge was to create a 'Green' Cocktail dress. Green meaning they had to use organic fabric that's good for the environment and stuff. Kinda boring. So to make it more challenging, the models got to buy the fabric (Mood Fabrics has a limited section of organic fabrics, some were surprisingly shiny, but I didn't see any prints) and the designers had to work with whatever the models got.
The winning dress (left) was made by Suede. I wonder what the tulle was made of that made it organic?


Suede cut strips of fabric and then Suede wrapped and stitched the strips of fabric that Suede cut, to create the dress that Suede invisioned.
Suede really needs to stop talking about Suede as if Suede was not Suede himself.
'Suede' doesn't really suit him anyway. He doesn't look like a Suede. Not like Leather Tuscadero. Now her name suited her, and that sister of hers, Pinky.
Back on track . . . Carol didn't really like Suede's dress.




Project Runway's own leather queen Stella, wished that she was working with leather instead of satin. In fact, she wished that every challenge had them working with leather. And when she caught Blayne making fun of her leather-love, she gave him a 12 years old spanking. She created this one shoulder dress with laces on the sleeve and the sides. hhmmm. Shiny.

Keith - what 'hood' is he supposed to be from with the bandana tied around his head? He made the coffin lampshade dress to the right. ehhh.





The judges made a fuss over Kendel's dress on the left here. It wasn't a favorite of mine though. The collar reminded me of Daniel's Orchid Blouse from Season 2. This model actually has breasteses, and they looked smooshed in this dress. Plus the dark belt made her seem shortwaisted. It would have looked more sleek without the belt.
Korto created this inside-out looking dress with tailfins, that the judges ripped apart. Korto ended up in tears. But It seems like the judges really like her, and there were dresses worse than hers, so she was safe.



My favorite three - Blayne, darn I liked it. I think it's more of a Club dress than Cocktail, but I thought it was cute. Made of a hot pink jersey. And I didn't hear any silly catch phrases with this dress, so that made it easier to like.

Daniel made a black satin dress with pockets. He made the model walk down the runway with her hands in the pocket, which I think threw off the look of the dress. It looks much cuter here. I mean, I like pockets in a dress, but I don't walk around with my hands in them all day. I've got things to do with my hands. I'm not sure what is going on at the back of the skirt though - I need to watch the show again.

Lastly I liked the look of Jennfier's peach and grey dress too. Simple and cute. Not really cocktail-y. But I liked it.




The bottom two were Leanne and Wesley. Leannne's dress would have been ok without the pockets and without all the loops of fabric on the back. Maybe a longer length. Leanne sells her garments on Etsy. Check her out here - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5249055

Wesley had too many details in too small of a space with fabric that shows flaws too easily. Bye-bye to Wesley and his shorts and nerd-boy geekyness.



Phrase of the days was 'Remnant Nonsense' uttered by Jerrell while he was worrying about what type of fabric his model was out buying for the challege.
Laugh of the night was provided by Heidi talking about Suede's dress - "If I were ten years younger, I would wear it too." What does she mean? She always wears short, strapless, shiny tacky clothing.

Senator Padme Amidala from Naboo was the guest judge.

eVintage Blog Tag - Tropical Tease!

Its Blog Tag Wednesday at the eVintage Society!. Summer is the perfect time to take a holiday to a tropical locale! Meanwhile, wearing Hawaiian and exotic prints in vintage can tide you over til you can afford that plane ticket. Let’s get tropical!


1) Show us your favorite Hawaiian or tropical print in your inventory!
To the left here, I have a Green, Pink and Yellow Tropical Dress - that I tried to keep for myself. But it was just a little too big and too long on short 5'2" me. So it's available for sale at the website. It's not a basic straight maxi, it does have a little shape to is and the sleeves are wide on the ends.

2)Favorite era for Hawaiian? 40’s exotic gowns, 50s bombshell sarongs, 60s printed shifts or 70’s Hawaiian halter maxis?
I love the 1940s and 1950s for Hawaiian clothing.


3)Favorite exotic destination if money were no object?
To be honest, I have no desire to travel anywhere exotic. I'm a hermit. I don't travel well, I try to avoid crowds. I like to stick to familiarity.

4)Favorite exotic destination on a real-world budget?
I love Exotic Strathmere NJ! For me, there's no place that I'd rather be.

5)Best vacation ever?
Every Summer, for the past 26 years in Strathmere.


Check out the eVintage Blog Tag every Wednesday.
Follow the links to read the posts from all of the participating blogs. I was tagged by Vintage Joy and now I'm tagging Diary of a Mad Vintage Addict

Project Runway - Supermarket Challenge

The first challenge of the new season took the designers back to the supermarket where the first challenge of the first season took place. Tim mentioned that this brought them 'Full Circle' which struck me as a strange comment. Don't you usually say that at the END of something? We've come Full Circle to the END or is that to a new beginning? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it seemed odd. One good thing was bringing in the lovely and delightful Austin Scarlet, winner of the Supermarket challenge from Season 1, to introduce the challenge and to be a guest judge. Seeing Austin float across the street was a joy. I still adore him.
At first I thought repeating this challenge was a bad idea, have they run out of ideas for challenges? But it still turned out to be fairly challenging. This crowd of new designers all knew the original challenge, but most of them went for the unispiring and easy idea of using tablecloths. Tim gave them a verbal spanking for not being more innovative.
Kelli won with the dress above. The skirt was made from vacuum cleaner bags that were dyed and bleached to create the print. The top was made of coffee filters with strips of tacks on the waist and the spiral spine from a notebook was used to make the closure on the back of the dress. The skirt, the tacks and the back closure were really cool. I wasn't a fan of the round top though for some reason. Kelli is cute and seems pretty cool. She used to sell the clothing that she made on ebay until she was chosen to go on PR.
Kenley also seems pretty cool and she has kind of a vintage look. Stella is a cool rocker chick from Queens, and she kinda reminds me of oldschool Cher. She used garbage bags to create a dress. I guess she forgot the negative reaction to the garbage bag dress in the original challenge. Plus the bags she bought turned out to be those really cheap thin ones that tear when you lift them. She might have done better with the really thick and shiny ones. I felt bad for her, and was glad that she wasn't the one to go.

Shayne is my current pick for most annoying, which isn't really a horribley bad thing for a reality show. He is an admitted tanning addict and apparently likes the knit hats too. I'm not sure what it is that he made here. But he thought it was fabulous. It certainly was not 'Girliscious' which was what he was calling it (and saying over and over again) even writing it on the model's leg for the runway show. Tone down the attitude and the catch phrases Shayne, you are no Christian!

This crowd of designers is mostly younger. Out of 16, only 6 are in their 30s or older. I'm guessing from the looks of this crowd that we're going to get alot of attitude this year. Awesome! last year's crowd, while very talented, were kind of tame. I like the drama and attitude, as long as it doesn't distract from the creativity.


Designer profiles on Bravo - http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/season/5/bios/index.php

My Project Runway post on the Vintage Bulletin blog

The elusive grey turkey

A few weeks ago we spotted a light grey turkey out in the yard, and today I finally managed to get a few snaps of her and some of her gal pals.
Pretty cool. I wonder how rare a grey turkey is? These gals had 1 baby turkey with them too.



I know, fascinating. We love our turkeys. There's been a deer visiting lately too. She'll probably bring her baby for a visit too, if she has one.

VINTAGE OR BUST!~Blog Tag Wednesday~ Hot in the City

Its Blog Tag Wednesday at the eVintage Society!. The temperatures are climbing, Summer has set in and the heat is on. Show that summer sun who’s boss and turn up the heat in your own wardrobe. Hot colors are cool!

Let’s see what you’ve got!
1) Show us your favorite hot hued vintage in your inventory! Think summer sunsets, bonfires on the beach….reds, oranges and yellows.

Let's go with Sunny Yellow, here is a dress to brighten Summer nights and a Sweet yellow gingham one for day -
Bright Yellow Gown w/Chiffon Shoulders
Yellow Gingham Button Front Dress w/Brown Details






2)Favorite thing to wear to ward off summer heat?
Vintage cotton sundresses

3)Favorite warm weather activity?
Sitting in the sun, sipping iced tea, doing as little as possible. I don't get to do this very much.

4)Favorite warm color?
Sunny yellow.

5)Favorite season, warm or cold?
Warm! I get tired of wearing pants, being covered up in cold weather. Plus I wear more vintage in the Summer/warm months.


Check out the eVintage Blog Tag every Wednesday.Follow the links to read the posts from all of the participating blogs. I was tagged by Vintage Joy and now I'm tagging Diary of a Mad Vintage Addict

Cute sundress from Target

I ordered this dress online from Target recently, and I love it for the Summer. It is a very lightweight cotton, great for super hot days. The fabric of the skirt is sheer though, which you can see in the photo and the reviewers on the sale page mention it too. So you need something under it if you wear it out anywhere besides just around the house. I wear nylon taps under my Summer dresses, and an ivory pair worked fine to cover the see-through view.
The bust and straps are smocked. It's pullover and comfortable. It's only $19.99, so don't expect high quality, just a super casual, super lightweight Sundress.

Is that DT or a 12 year old boy?

Let's giggle at this outfit a little.
I'm glad to get a glimpse of his legs, but those sneakers? and those blue socks?
Hey Ho Let's Go?
The fly is unbuttoned too.




Really geeky, nerdy and goofy, But you gotta love it.

The return of Project Runway - yay?

Project Runway returns this Wednesday night! So of course I will probably be forcing you to read my take on the episodes every Thursday. In case you haven't heard, this will be the last season that the show will air on Bravo, next it will be moving to the Lifetime channel. ehhhhhhhh. Guest judges the Golden Girls, Fran Fine, Kelly Martin, Melissa Gilbert and other movie of the week actresses are thrilled, but I'm not. Hopefully they won't kill it over there.

Anyway, it's kind of obvious that Bravo isn't thrilled about the move either, and who could blame them. I just wonder what they are going to give us this season. Usually they are whoring the new season hardcore, but so far we've only seen commercials with scenes from previous seasons. They didn't put photos or bios of the new designers up on their website until yesterday. But they also posted a list of all of the guest judges and challenges on the site too. Usually spoilers don't bother me. Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Heroes, geek that I am, I LOOK for spoilers about them. But I like being surprised about the challenges and judges on Project Runway. Why did Bravo do that?
I'm excited for the new season despite the controversy. The designers look like an odd bunch, I can't wait to see what happens this season!

Puppy - 4 weeks old

Let the sqealing begin -

Pink toes . . . .
Freckles on her ears . . .

Puppy - 4 weeks old

Let the sqealing begin -

Pink toes . . . .

Freckles on her ears . . .

Blog Tag Wednesday~ Summer Sparkle!

Its Blog Tag Wednesday at the eVintage Society!. Its hot!! What better time of year to shimmer like the ice cubes in a vodka-lemonade? Refresh those who admire you with some summer sparkle!


1) Show us your favorite vintage sparkling stunner in your inventory! Rhinestones, sequins, beads….show us your shimmer!
I've got this Light Blue Faille Party Dress by Claudia Young with silver trim and faux pearls on the Sweetheart neckline.




2) Rhinestones on daywear? Yes or no?
Sure, a little daytime sparkle never hurt anyone!

3) Favorite beaded bag or jewelry in your inventory or personal collection?
I like this White Beaded Clutch -



4) Colored rhinestones or clear, which do you prefer?
I like clear on clothing, colored on jewelry


5) Cubic zirconia, costume rhinestones or REAL diamonds? Be honest!! Which will you wear?
Whatever is pretty, looks good and is cheap!

Check out the eVintage Blog Tag every Wednesday.Follow the links to read the posts from all of the participating blogs. I was tagged by Vintage Joy and now I'm tagging Diary of a Mad Vintage Addict

Doctor Who (no spoilers)

OK, so yes, I cheated and watched the season finale of Doctor Who on youtube today, the last 2 parts actually. We still have a few weeks until they air here. I won't give away any spoilers. Some things made me happy (handsome men always do) some things I could have done without, and my feelings are mixed about the end. I thought part was dumb, and part was sad and disappointing. I guess I need to watch it a few more times before I come to my final opinion.
I was disappointed in a few episodes this season, the Titanic/Poseidon copycat, the Doctor's daughter - please - I smell another spin-off show there. But I'm not disappointed enough to stop watching! As long as DT is there, I'll be there too.

4th of July Parade

Here are some photos from our parade. For a little seaside town, we have a great parade with nearly 30 fire and rescue vehicles, kids on decorated bikes and floats based on current issues in town.

Strathmere is trying to separate from Upper Township and join Sea Isle City. So this float was a Wizard of Oz theme - 'Toto - I don't think we're in Upper anymore' Complete with guys in braids and red shoes.






I'm not sure what the safari was for, but it was cool -





Cool truck - My Dad didn't put any of his cars in the parade this year.




Borgata is a casino in Atlantic City -




And finally, during the Winter the water tower was painted and there was a big fight over having a name painted on the tower. Some people didn't want any name on it, because they want to keep the town a secret (hence the shhhh) they even have bumber stickers with shhhh printed on them. These clever people made their own water tower for the pararde. You can see the real one in the left corner.