Project Runway: The Highs and Lows of Fashion

Do you ever think about how many things are in the world? Think about what you're wearing right now...probably pants, a shirt, maybe a dress or a skirt, some kind of underwear. These are all things we can easily identify, but just think of how many billions of permutations of "pants" there are and have been in the world. Jeans, slacks, trousers, sweatpants...boot cut, skinny, boyfriend, pleated...denim, cotton, wool, linen...beaded, tuxedo, pinstriped, plaid. It could go on forever, and that's just pants. I thought about this a lot during episode three, because my God were the selections from The Met's Costume Institute spectacular...
I want to start this post with some discussion of the pieces that were meant to inspire the designers because even though there's a tendency to dismiss fashion as frivolous, and I think many of these provide evidence to the contrary. Fashion is about making you feel something in your gut, either by looking at it or wearing it, and the way we choose to utilize those feelings can help us proclaim to the world who we are.
This is a Pauline Trigiere dress from 1966, worked in silk, wool and feathers. I'll be honest...I would not wear this, but I can appreciate the workmanship in it and the attention to detail. It's a beautiful piece of art. Wouldn't you get a distinct feeling about the person wearing this?
This is a 1938 Madeleine Vionnet evening gown and what a show stopper it is. The Costume Institute website has some interesting info on the scallopy decorations: "Though there are separate specialists for applied braid and fringe, known as the crépinières, Vionnet chose in this instance to employ an embroidery of individual graduated lengths of silk thread passed and looped through the fabric, with each thread forming two drops of fringe. The scallop arcs constitute the sole decoration of the dress." Think about embroidering every single one of those...to the proper length.
It's too bad that Rami didn't make this trip, because this gown from Madame Gres (Alix Barton) is a masterclass in his chosen medium of draped garments. It's a 1969 piece and even more beautiful up close. The designers got to look at the wine colored one shown, which I think is the most interesting because the rouching and details are so subtle.
I love Dior, as we know - I plan on doing my annual couture show review, but have been sidetracked - and this embodies so much of that love. This is called "Diorama" and was designed in 1951 by Christian Dior himself. The ribbons and beautiful fabrics are just stunning. It looks like magic.
This is another one from the House of Dior but was designed by Yves Saint Laurent in 1958. He called it "L'elephant Blanc." I love the unconventional shape and the lightness lent to it by the fabrics and embellishments.
This dress is by Claire McCardell for Townley Frocks, made somewhere between 1945 and 1955. I love the strong colors and the dramatic bodice. It's quite modern for its period, and even though it lacks a big blowzy skirt or the slithery fabrics used in cocktail dresses today, you just know that the woman walking through the door in this dress would turn heads.
Cristobal Balenciaga has always had this genius for fabric and innovative shapes, and this silk wrap from 1951 is no exception. It takes a certain kind of woman to wear it, but it says so much about the person who takes it on. It's dramatic and simple, and I love it.

In any case, you should all go to the Costume Institute AND their website, and from here it's on with the runway! The challenge this time was to create a signature look, then a pret-a-porter outfit on the cheap inspired by one of the other team's creations.
Mila's win really gave my burgeoning hope for this season a boost, because this is not what I think of as Lifetime Viewer Friendly, but it is a true piece of fashion. I thought it was very Balenciaga in its cut (though I appreciate the lack of PVC-adjacent materials...sorry, Balenciaga) and I liked the sporty styling. The jacket-cape was really gorgeous and I loved the unusual cut. Some of the first styling I've really gotten behind, too. Brava, Mila!
Ping was going to go in the next episode or two and even though I thought this was interesting, it was more of the same drapey, cluttered looking stuff we've seen from her. I truly believe that Ping is capable of making some beautiful stuff, but I do NOT think this is the competition for her, and the judges were recognizing that. I liked the lacy under-bodice and the draping, but no one is going to walk around with their dress looped around and held over their arm. There's a reason I stash my phone and wallet in my bra on a frequent basis, and that reason is a violent desire to avoid holding crap for extended periods of time. Bye bye, Ping...I liked your funky glasses and know you'll do well.
Amy produced this little piece of fabulousity, and I was really diggin' on it. The body of the dress was well made, with a nice overlay, but the real wow factor is in the shoulder treatments. I love that they hint at the idea of a ruff but don't feel antiquated. Cool, solid piece.
Anna
Anthony got called out for being kind of deb-y, and I think that's probably fair. I actually liked this and thought the bodice in particular was very nice, but the skirt was problematically lifeless. The funny thing was that it looked very energetic and fluffy when it was standing still, but when it was moving down the runway, it looked like a freaking Cylon motoring towards you! Close, but no cigar - came off too prommy.
Ben made a dress that fit really well and a kind of Members-Only-adjacent jacket that I sort of hate. Schlumpy and weird. Dress is nice, but it's a simple black dress. Not good enough for this competition.
Emilio's dress was gorgeous! I would buy this in an instant and wear the hell out of it. I love the stripe and the accents, and the cut is beautiful. What a knockout! More of this, please. (Less scary model, though. Yikes.)
Janeane Marie didn't take too much crap for this, but I mean...this is your signature look? This is Macy's, is what this is. I honestly kind of tuned it out because it was so boring. I expected her to get booted, or at least last-threed for a total lack of getting it, but apparently it was not a problem for the judges. I mean, it's fine, I don't hate it, but it's totally basic.
Jay Nicolas basically made the same dress. I have nothing else to say.
Jesse almost made the same dress as the previous two. It was pretty and I liked the quasi-keyhole neckline, but it's A BLACK DRESS. I COULD BUY THIS RIGHT NOW.
Jesus made something that would be really wearable for someone who is not me. I don't like this particular style (and the color is a total snooze) but I get it. That's kind of all I have to say about it, which isn't really good enough if Jesus wants to go further in this competition.
Jonathan should have left the feather off of this. It just clutters up the bodice, and I THINK there's some really nice detailing edging the bodice. The babydoll silhouette doesn't usually do much for me, but the movement on this was awesome. Not terrible, but it could have been much better and didn't capitalize on the opportunity. Better luck next time!
Maya's dress was cool as hell...I loved the crazy ridge things and thought they looked like mushrooms or some kind of coral. The texture was fabulous and I think the choice to make the rest of the dress a column of well-cut black made the most of the beautiful detail.
Seth Aaron maintained the lacy feel of the inspiration, but still managed to make an independent, pretty dress that I would totally wear. It's not revolutionary or anything, but it fit the challenge and came out really well.

Project Runway: The Fashion Farm

The challenge! Actually make a model look great in a burlap sack. This necessitated a trip to a farm, which...I guess is okay. I get the sense that many of these throwaway trips are opportunities to put Tim Gunn in unGunnlike situations, and I don't like that because Tim Gunn is not a novelty item but a brilliant, wonderful advisor who provides terrific guidance to these designers. Shouldn't that be enough? Isn't he hilarious enough in that context? Isn't that why everyone loved him so much in the first place? It may also be a change in audience; some people don't settle for wit, and just want to see some cheap, slapsticky laughs. NOT WITH TIM GUNN!
Jay won the challenge and I thought it was well deserved. There's an argument to be made about dyeing the burlap being a circumvention of the challenge - it dramatically changes the look of the fabric - and this dress is probably the height of said argument, but man...what a great looking outfit. He really took advantage of the way burlap unravels in the skirt, and the tailoring is amazing. This was a really sophisticated, pretty look - well done, Jay!
Pamela decided to take a trip to the mid-nineties to apply the "Everything Is Awesomer In Denim!" theory to her dress, and was rightly ousted. I think I knew a girl who HAD this dress. I think I hated her. Normally I can understand where an outfit is coming from even if I don't like it, but I don't know what possessed Pamela. The acid-wash-y finish, the too-mini minidress cut, the weird slit...oof. The judges really had no other option.

Also, is it me or is the styling this season just completely wack? I usually see one or two outfits that are helped or saved by styling but man, it has been a hot tranny mess all over the place. It looks like they're getting styled in a homeless shelter.
Seth Aaron made this funky little thing, and though I am starting to find his personality seriously repugnant, I like this. I am not usually one for hoods, but the way he attached it made it one of the more interesting elements of the design. The bodice is kind of unfortunate, but it coheres with the skirt and that saves it a little bit. I love the skirt...I suspect it was a bit revealing from the judges' vantage point, but the structure and the piping looked great, and the bell-like movement actually worked for the dress, where normally I would hate it.
Ping should be counting her blessings after this one. I think she banked a lot of her good will and curiousity on this one, because the poor model's whole butt was on display. The IDEA was certainly interesting, but the execution was disastrous. The bodice is actually fairly cute, but the skirt is...not.
Mila made a club dress for Mars and I fucking loved it. I was glad the judges took note of her amazing construction, because the fact that that model's breasts stayed locked and loaded in that dress is a display of serious genius. The neckline was so dramatic but the way it changed depending on your perspective was what made it truly special. Very, very cool. I liked the treatment of the fabric too; the purply-charcoal tone is gorgeous and the band of striping makes the whole thing look sleek and sophisticated. Nice work, Mila!
Maya was one of the people who kind of missed the point of the challenge, but I will admit I loved the colors she used. The actual structure was problematic. I basically felt like she needed to either take it way over the top with the ruffling OR choose the top or the bottom to embellish. In its current state the ruffles just look kind of anemic. Promise, unrealized.
Jonathan's was another one that fell a little short for me. I liked the idea of the contrasting textures and the overall shape, but something just wasn't there for me. I wish I could explain it better, but I genuinely do not know what the problem is. Maybe the neckline? It was perfectly nice and totally boring.
Jesus made a fairly boring dress that missed the point of the challenge. I love the vibrant green, but the cut of the dress is a snooze and frankly not very flattering. If that kind of neckline is going to look good on ANYONE it's going to be that model (i.e. flat-chested and willowy) but it doesn't. Boring.
Jesse made a cute little riding outfit type thing that I really enjoyed. I thought that the vest was really well-fitting and the pants were very sweet. I liked what he did with the texture of the fabric, too...it acknowledges the roughness of the burlap, but makes it looks more like linen. This was a creative, interesting look, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Jesse.
Janeane Marie also did some nice dyework, but the cut of the skirt falls short of what it could be. I like how it looks like it swirls around her hips - it adds the illusion of movement even though I don't think there is much - and the bodice is very sweet, but it's not blowing my mind. It's solid though...definitely worth our continued attention!
Emilio created the kind of interest that I think Jonathan was shooting for. The skewing of the blocks of lace and the outlining in red really adds something to it, and I like the modern effect it creates. Cute! Not revolutionary but cute.
Ben's dress was a little too formal for the weight of the fabric - can you imagine how lovely this would have been in a cotton blend or a satin? The scalloped hem is really pretty and the shoulder is lovely, but the overall effect is one of weight and dragging. I think he was on to something, it just manifested in the wrong challenge with the wrong fabric.
Anthony did a much better job of taking advantage of the fabric. (Still annoying as hell though.) I would like to know more about the dyeing process because I do like this soft red, but it seems an unusual color to see repeated in a challenge. I kind of wonder if they were going for a strong true red and the burlap just refused to tune up properly. I like the drape of the skirt and the bodice is very sweet. Again, it's not reinventing the wheel, but it's perfectly cute and saleable.
Anna's potato printing was a great idea, so I wanted to like this, but it really left me cold. I don't know if it's the length or the size of the pleats, but the skirt is screaming "BORING SCHOOLGIRL SKIRT DESIGNED TO REPEL BOYS!" at me and I can't get past it. She certainly gets As for both effort and innovation, but the end result just doesn't do much for me.
Amy's dress was cool, and I loved the treatment of the skirt - I think it's the first handkerchief hem I haven't wanted to set on fire - but it wasn't my particular thing. Combine the skirt with the shape of the bodice that Anthony put together and we're in business!

Makeup Is Easy: Rah-rah Ra-ah-ah-ah, Ro-ma, Ooh-la-la

I loved Lady Gaga's Space Program Get Up so much that it leached into my morning makeup routine.
I used the color palette from her look to create this effect, all with my beloved She Space colors. I used Dance With The Devil for the light purple tones with Moonlight Whimsy - a nice soft silvery glitter - over the top of it. It didn't seem right to leave her insane yellow hair out of the mix, so I added a blaze in Aphrodite Screams over my inner lid.

When I had used those three colors, I stopped to look at the effect and it still didn't have the pop that I felt looking at that dress, so I added some Twisted Psychic as a liner. Obviously, that color isn't in the outfit, but I think it does add the right Pow Factor. I love how it came out! I also think Gaga would probably enjoy the combination of shadow names, don't you?
You can see here that I used a minimal amount of the Twisted Psychic, but the impact was huge. It also worked REALLY well as a liner and stayed on all day...yet another testament to Heather's skill and great products! I like using small details that add depth once realized; since we're on the Gaga page, I'll use her hand movements in her music videos as an example, particularly in the Bad Romance video.
Also, I got bangs! My hair is so now. It's just as short as it looks, but I love it.I originally had a sparkly lipgloss on - Get Rich Quick Dazzleglass from M.A.C. - but I had just had my coffee and thus removed my lipstick when I took this picture. Whoops!

Project Runway: Back to New York

Okay, here's the situation. Lifetime makes it an enormous pain in the ass to get photos off their site. I used to be able to copy photos directly from Bravo and paste them into emails to The Lucy, which provided the fun commentary you used to enjoy on this blog. As it is now, I need to screencap the photo, edit it in Paint because I am ghetto (you cannot change this, please do not give me the Learn Photoshop Already Lecture), upload them into the Blogger site, publish the post, copy the pictures into an email, and then unpost the post. Needless to say, by the time I finish that, I have gotten wildly distracted or apathetic. SO! First of all, I will simply be commenting on my own here and The Lucy can swing by and comment accordingly, at which point I can edit the post. Secondly, if anyone has figured out a better way, please let me know.

Hooray! Project Runway is back and seems to suck MUCH less than last season did! Good job, Lifetime et al., keep it up. The challenge is simple: Make an outfit that represents you as a designer. There was also a dumb "scramble to get your fabrics" in Central Park, but that wound up being mostly inconsequential.
Emilio was the winner of the challenge, and I have to say it was a good choice. This isn't overwrought or even that fancy, but the amount of work he put into it and the creativity behind it was phenomenal. I love the fabrics he used and the patterning he created really takes advantage of them. I also really enjoyed the swingy movement in the skirt. Good shootin' from the judges!
Christiane got the boot, and I guess if something was going to go, this would be it. Most problematic was the way the ruffly wraparound thing ended mid-butt - it just looked really awkward and disrupted the flow of the dress. I didn't think any of the dresses this week were really horrid (one was certainly weird, more on that later) so I'm not too amped up about this aufing. It wasn't great by any stretch, but it wasn't eyeball-searingly bad, either. I actually kind of liked the fabric combos.
Amy's dress had a very sweet skirt, and I liked the use of the harlequinny, floaty fabric. The top was a little problematic. The one breast is covered with a very, very pale blue fabric, but the lack of contrast pretty much just limits you to a double-take and isn't as interesting as it could be. I get the visible boning in the rest of the bodice, but I don't really like it. It's just too much translucence for me. All in all, a pretty average outing, interesting enough for me to want to see more.
Ben's dress didn't make a hell of a lot of an impression on me. I think the fabric was a problem and the finishing was kind of sub-par, but I get the idea. Not a bad idea but the execution was a bit of a snooze.
Anthony is extremely annoying and I have a feeling I will have trouble coping with his existence this season, but I did like this dress. One of the judges took issue with the loopy thing on her hip but I think it's kind of cool. I wish the judges would get off the whole "women want to look slim and have a very standard shape" thing they do, because some of the most interesting fashion tinkers with traditional silhouettes and turns them on their head. I realize that people want classic or fairly bland silhouettes from RTW options, but this is supposedly runway fashion. I liked the fabric too; you'd usually see these kinds of springy flowers on a lighter background but the forest green really makes a beautiful contrast. The top was just okay, and I don't like the shoes or the model's styling.
I am actually pretty sure that Anna's dress is very cute, but the fabric choice is terrible. I can't even see that well what's going on. It's sweet, but I suspect that there is some really lovely detailing I'm not being allowed to see. I wish she had used a black model or different fabric so there was better contrast between the model's skin and the fabric.
Jonathan's dress was very intriguing. I liked the detailing and the swishy skirt. I have mixed feelings about the belt, but they're mixed-to-positive so I think I'll stop worrying about it. It would have been nice to see this in another color; although the black is striking, it might have been more interesting in a strong purple or something similar.
Jesus definitely suffered from some fabric issues. I liked the look of this...when it was standing very very still. Unfortunately the fabric made it look extremely stiff, which took away from the whole thing. I know there was the whole But Should It Have Stayed Short drama with this and I think that was justified, but NOT because of the seam at knee level, which I could hardly see, but because the extended length added that stiff feeling to the
Jesse blew it on the top, if you ask me. I think it was an okay idea but it made the whole top look really schlumpy and gross. The fabrics were really lush and everything but man, that top was a hot mess. It was a cool idea but I think it needs some kind of structural help. If it managed to kind of float up and hold a firm line at the shoulder it would have been a really fascinating, sexy design, and instead it's frumpy. Too bad, hopefully he will continue to be interesting and execute better.
Jay Nicolas' dress prompted me to yell "oh my god, the tumors RETURN" at the TV. At the time, I was thinking of that Season 1 challenge to create a dress on the theme of envy (that produced some REALLY glorious things that I forgot about until just this moment) and someone did this weird dress with little tumors of fabric on it that was kind of Comme des Garcons-y. However, now that I am looking at it anew and the shock has worn off a bit, it's definitely more Angelaesque. I kind of get what he was going for, but between the visual static of the fabric and the unfortunate locations of the rosettes, it's just not that great. The fit appears to be lovely, but that's about it.
Janeane Marie definitely went kind of...Angelina Jolie resortwear here. I don't like it but I get it in theory. It's a look that makes sense and I can imagine a customer for it, but I wish she would have gone a little nutsier (or followed through with her initial idea) since she had carte blanche. I love the shoes but the problem is that they're more fun than the entire rest of the outfit.
Seth Aaron's straps were kind of a problem - they added a very weird shifting boomp to the torso when viewed head on. That being said, I liked them every way BUT head on, and they made sense in the context of the very cute dress. I liked the airiness of it and the teeny touches of red at the back. It's funny to look at the dress from the ankles up...the dress is actually almost picnic-in-the-park-ready without the edgy shoes! That really gives you an appreciation for the versatility of the dress.
Ping is kind of a nut but I love her...................okay she's a LOT a nut but I love her. I actually was intrigued by this look, even as I hated the weird way it hitched up in the back. In the front it's kind of like an extreme Chico's type look. I'm pretty sure my aunt who' a shaman would wear this, you know? I liked the colors and the movement, and after I read that one interview with Tim Gunn where he pointed out that Ping specializes in knitwear, it made a lot of sense - think of how lovely this would be in knits. I'm certainly interested in seeing more.
Pamela's dress was very sweet and 50sish, and I love the color. It's not a frippy, frilly pink, and I like that on a dress that's SO aggressively feminine. That being said, it's not really setting my world on fire and again I wish the designer would have gone totally nuts on this since they had such free rein.
Mila's jacket was an aesthetic problem for me because it kept flapping open as the model walked. The look itself was nice and I think I would like it a lot when it's standing still, but the jacket thing was SO distracting! I really enjoyed her mix of patterns here, too. Cute separates, pretty average.
Maya should have gotten more props for this. I really like the pop of detail with the ebullient ruffle up there, and the actual dress is flattering and pretty. The color pallette isn't all that thrilling, but I thought the execution would have warranted more praise. I'm definitely keeping an eye on Maya.

Makeup Is Easy: NeoPreppy

TRUE LIFE: I like wearing black, but I wear it more than my like level because sometimes I leave myself no other option.

I have never seen the TRUE LIFE show so I don't know if I'm using the reference properly - from what I understand, it is lacking at least a controlled substance and possibly prostitution - but the fact is certainly true. I have a mental block about makeup where I convince myself that good makeup is good makeup regardless and goes with everything. This is often true but not always true, because sometimes said good makeup is aggressive dark pink.

*Please see bottom of post for important makeup-based announcement*
I basically finished this look, started thinking about clothes, realized I was stuck and went looking for a black shirt. I figured I could play off the traditional prepster pink/green combo by throwing this Stormy Sea necklace from Anthropologie over it. It also turned my eyes super green all day.
I used She Space pigments for this whole look: the darker pink is Valley Girl (I think), the lighter pink is Takes the Cake, and the white highlight at the browline is Snow Capped. I finished it with Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes mascara. I also took special care to keep the pinks off my lower lid and lashline to avoid the consumptive look. It's not the Victorian era anymore, people.
I am very sad to inform you that The She Space is discontinuing its eyeshadow pigments. Heather, the awesome woman who runs The She Space, wants to focus on one section of the business, something called Hope Quest which deals with quads of eyeshadows for a cause. I really hope she doesn't completely stop making eyeshadows, because they are without question the best ones I have ever used. All of her inventory is on sale for $2.50 a color, which is essentially free, especially for the quality of the makeup. Head on over and get yourself some. Best of luck to Heather on her new project!

Lady Gaga and the Dangers of Equality

Everyone's high school experience is different. I never really felt the extreme pressure to fit in that movies and TV tell us we should have. I think it's partly because my parents taught all of us to be ourselves and to not worry too much about other people's petty opinions, and partly because my high school was a great one whose student body was generally accepting and positive. None of this is to say that I never yearned for some thing that would let me fit in better or that I never questioned myself because my decisions didn't match the majority of my classmates. I also measured myself up against the magazines I read, because they promised to speak to some universal girliness. As with most people, the older I got, the more I realized the pointlessness of trying to be like everyone else, particularly at the expense of things I actually liked.

We tend to think of politics as a hobby and not as something that involves us all equally and requires our attendance. Your level of participation is variable, but we're all involved in politics because it sets the parameters within which we live our everyday lives. In America, we have a particularly dangerous political system because it empowers all of us, and this requires that even more attention be paid in order to hold up the greatest possibilities of the system and quash the hazards. We learn the Declaration of Independence early in our lives; we learn that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Americans cling fiercely to their equality, but it is frequently taken to mean that even nature must endow us equally, and that is unrealistic. It's also the kind of hyperequal state of mind that leaves us with only majority opinion to guide us, and while that has some legitimacy in politics, it's damaging in society at large. We understand that the majority is to be conformed to - whether or not we decide to do so is our choice, but there is significant large-scale pressure pushing us towards majority social rule. This is why we have cross-generational types. Cheerleaders do this. Nerds do that. Punks do another thing. Each type tends to fit a mold because it's what is expected by the majority. It's given us an emotional and social shorthand for understanding human relationships. I believe this is to our immense detriment, because a lack of pressure to understand each individual qua that individual leads us to lose our ability to do so.

I think fashion is important for many reasons, but mostly because it is a way to show our personalities and to show what we think is important. When it's done thoughtfully, it can remind us of and comment on our pop cultural traditions and make us think about what they mean.

And that's why I nearly peed my pants when Lady Gaga showed up on the red carpet dressed like the Soviet space program.

Lady Gaga at the Grammys (Image from Getty, via Jezebel)

I love Lady Gaga, and I love her for many, many reasons, not all of which are explainable, but chief amongst these is her declaration that she is a performance artist and the zest with which she sets about living up to that name. She takes insane risks, not only with fashion or politics (she is an outspoken activist for many causes, not least gay rights), but with her principal source of fame, her music. When she showed up on American Idol, a glorified karaoke show, watched by people who enjoy hearing reasonably competent karaoke, and completely broke down and restructured her biggest current hit, "Poker Face," she risked weirding out a major section of her audience, but she did it anyway. That takes serious balls. I just love that she's willing to play with every social norm she can get her little monster hands on, and I think it's possibly the healthiest social experiment that has come along in ages. She's talented, but focuses on an often-disposable genre. She's pretty, but she's not classically beautiful, and she changes her look so often with glasses and makeup it hardly matters. She has a great body but her fashion choices dramatically shift the shape of her body (see exhibit C, the Snow Miser outfit she rocked after this one).

Maybe it's a stretch to say that Lady Gaga could be great for a healthy American democracy, but I hope that people can take cues from her and experiment with the way things are, have been and should be. Dispelling some of our long held stereotypes and rickety beliefs could go a long way towards restoring our ability to discuss the state of America productively and clearly.

And that's why I'm proud to hold my little monster hand high.

Darn Bookstore Screwed Up My Book Order

The Cat Book of Cats is NOT on any of my classes' reading lists.

By the way, I have found the Assumption College Bookstore to be unfailingly competent and efficient. I have always received my books promptly and the staff is friendly and helpful. I would like to see a larger "fun" book section - I was spoiled by American's two floor bookstore - but having great customer service makes everything better. High five, Bookstore! (And the cat thanks you for the bonus toy.)