Iconic Denim

The challenge: Offically, "to create an iconic look that captures the spirit of the Levi's 501 legacy." I have a couple issues with this - a.) you can't really DESIGN "iconic"...it becomes an icon because of its reception and also (I think) in the way that it meshes with the situation its worn in and the person wearing it. That little black dress with the pearls didn't become iconic because it was a little black dress with pearls, it became iconic because of Audrey Hepburn, her character in the movie, and the mood it all tapped into. Fine. b.) isn't the legacy of 501 jeans "dirt"? I mean, yeah they're comfy and fabulous and newly hip apparently, but if we're talking legacy aren't we talking gold rush? And dirt? Which fits with the grody warehouse they were grabbing jeans in? Once again the terminology of the modern world defeats me.

WINNER: Ricky
LOSER: Victorya WOO

Chris - I actually liked the idea of this, but god, would it have KILLED him to clean up those edges? Or, as one of the judges said, taken it all the way to a bona fide detail? I personally think it should have just been a clean edge, given the smooth, sort of mod-y design of the s-straps. I also would not have chosen these shoes which do give it a bit of an air of le prostitute. While I like both pieces separately, the combo is not what I would deem awesome. I actually liked the idea of this - I always like a princess neckline that's been rescued from the Land of Twee - and thought the S detailing was cool, but I did find the unfinished edges to be distracting and un-great. I am happy to see him making some violent lunges in the direction of sophistication though, so I'll take it. The first thing I want to say here is that I absolutely HATE this model. She has a stupid face and I actually think she destroys any kind of vibe an outfit might have. That being said, I think this outfit is pretty cute, although he should have finished the edges. Frayed is ok, but if you're supposed to be making an iconic or classic piece, there's absolutely no reason for it to be there. The shoes are hookery and would make anything look hookery, so yeah, they cheapen this look quite a bit. Points to Chris for editing himself though. I was scared that he was going to make some stupid outfit. I'm also pumped to see him doing well because I like him and would LOVE to see his runway show. Can you imagine?

Ricky - boy, Ricky just really wants to dress Amy Winehouse, eh? I will say, though, this beehive has NOTHING on Miss Winehouse's beehive. I never really appreciated the out-of-control-ness of Winehouse's hair until I saw a side-view of it, and...just wow. Anyway, I though this was okay...well made, cute I guess, the buttons were a nice touch, but this still has a touch of the hoochie to me. Just okay. Hahaha! Amy Winehouse indeed. I liked this one and I thought he did an awesome job. I don't think he deserved to win though. I'm tired of his hats too.

Rami - I am really having issues with the collar on this, and that's what makes or breaks it for me. I love it in this pic but I hated it at various points during the actual episode. However I like the overall shape and what have you, and I usually hate sleeveless stuff in this vein. I just wish I could decide how I feel about the collar...it's just SO Members Only sometimes!! I'm seriously bored with Rami. I just don't really think he's all that inspiring. This is cute...but it's just...there. I don't know how to describe it but I look at it and think, "Meh." Plus, Rami's a dick so anything he makes is looked at with a lot of scrutiny from me these days.
Victorya - This episode was the most angry I have been with her. That coat last week was somehow just inarguably, 100% Jillian's sensibility, even though it's not like she's been designing all punky fabulousness, all the time, it just spoke so clearly of her. So NEEDLESS TO SAY, Victorya, who has not a single independent thought in her head, decided that she would grab the literal coattails and do another coat. Well you know what, Victorya? Your coat looked like ASS. ASS! I didn't even know what the hell was going on with the inside-out jeans...with the exposed stitching! Dude! They put the inside seams on the inside because they are UGLY AND GLARING! Whatever I'm glad she lost. Oh, Vicwhoria, I am SO GLAD you are GONE. This look sucks, just like the designer who made it. Unoriginal, boring, stupid and shitty. Now guess whether or not I'm talking about the outfit or Vicwhoria.
Sweet P - This is still a little hippie for me, but it's a HUGE improvement over the long version and it's very cute. I would certainly picked this over Ricky's. I don't generally like when waists are a disruption in pattern like you see here, i.e. there is a line that has different pattern above and below it, rather than each panel running smoothly from top to bottom, but this is okay with me and over all I think it's pretty cute. The shape of the...scales? Panels? Leaves? is really nice and interesting...not just boring perfect circles/arc, etc. If she stuck with the long version, she may have gone home. I don't think it's hippish, simply because it's too structured. I think that if she had more dark fabric and used lighter fabric as the accent pieces, it would have been really pretty. It's made very well too. I think it's cute.

Jillian - Ohhhh I really wanted this to be more fabulous than it was. I was concerned about the second coat in a row, but I also kind of hate the idea of all-denim outfits so I think I probably would have gone the coat route too. I think this is cute but I would have done a couple things differently - 1.) found some matching denim for the sleeves, even if I had to shank someone for it, 2.) extended the epaulet type thingie on the shoulder, and 3.) really amped up the tags on said epaulet so it looked really dense and textured. This was cute but it really needed to be over the top to be 100% fabulous. I think the fact that she had to use light denim is what made this look so bad. I really did not like this at all. I don't know, I usually love Jillian's stuff but this was boring. Meh.

Christian - I'm amazed that he hasn't been labelled as a one-note yet...maybe the outliers he's had have broken it up enough to keep him under the radar. I like the jean and the way he made it out of the sleeves was really innovative and cool but it's a Christian Outfit, AGAIN. I actually found the white shirt and the way the jacket hem seems to sort of curve upwards to be distracting, and I didn't love the belt with it, ESPECIALLY on the runway. I don't know. I guess the answer is that I like the jean and not much else. I think Christian should have won this challenge. I love the jeans so much it's not even funny. He made a new style of jean. Wow. The jacket does leave something to be desired though. I'm really not a fan of the ever present poofy sleeve, although the curved hem doesn't really bother me. Wearing it with a white shirt only draws your eye to her midsection. I understand they only had white cotton but yeah, a big white waist isn't exactly pretty.

Bonus cool Lucy Story!

By the way, I had the extreme pleasure of being in the ultra-famous MOOD fabric store. All I can say is WOW. I have no idea how the designers can ever make up their minds in there. It's 2 floors of every kind of fabric you can imagine, piled high to the ceiling. Their prices were pretty reasonable, and for the quality of the fabric...it's a steal. The place was swamped and it was really cool to be there. Unfortunately, my friend had to be somewhere at a certain time so we really couldn't look around that much. He goes to NYC frequently because he's a puppet builder and a puppeteer (how fucking cool is that?) so we'll be going back soon and spending more time there. So fun!