Project Runway Season 12 Premiere Parties for Timothy Westbrook and Miranda Levy

It's funny to think that just two weeks ago, I was slinking around the Pfister and the Intercontinental in search of 98° and John Mayer, respectively; and this time, I was actually a welcome party guest at both. My friend Sabreen and I met right at 6 at the Pfister to check out Timothy Westbrook's event first. We took the elevator to the 7th floor, paid at the registration table, and walked down the hall to find Timothy greeting people as they arrived. We're dorks and got a little nervous at first, but then I got the guts to ask him for a picture for my blog. He said something like, "Sure, I guess so" (but in a very upbeat and energetic way), and I got my pic. I almost forgot - when we were approaching him, he also said, "I don't know who you are, but you're both fabulous."

He knew the people before and after us, so we just kind of shuffled in to check out the scene after that. A delicious appetizer buffet was set up in addition to a small bar where guests could trade in their drink tickets (one each) or purchase the signature cocktail of the night, which was unicorn-themed and made of Orangina and champagne, I believe. Sabreen and I filled our plates and then went to find seats in the adjoining room where the fashion show was going to take place.

While we waited, I found Corleen (Barely Practical), who was wearing the most amazing dress; ran into Colleen (Flee Fly Flown), whom I used to work with; and also had the pleasure of meeting a few more Milwaukee fashion and personal style bloggers throughout the night! Aimee from Bows & Beau-Ties came up and said hi after she found me on Instagram.

Corleen's fabulous outfit - this dark cell phone picture doesn't do her dress justice, but you can kind of see what I mean. I'm sure she'll post better pictures on her blog. Sabreen really wanted Timothy's T-shirt, so he should definitely sell those if he's not already!

The fashion show was great, of course, but Sabreen and I only had camera phones (bad planning on my part), and mine died right after the show started. Keep an eye on Corleen's and Aimee's blogs for better pictures.

Before the show began

My favorite dress, obviously because it's yellow. Aren't cell phone pictures the best...

Our original plan was to leave halfway through the fashion show and take the free shuttle over to the Intercontinental to catch some of "Road to the Runway," the casting special which they were showing at Miranda's event before the premiere, but we didn't end up making it there until a couple minutes after the premiere episode started at 8. While the shuttle was a great idea, we kept just missing it and ended up driving over.

Miranda's event was held in the bar off the lobby. There was some seating right outside the bar area with a couple monitors set up to watch the show, and then every TV in the bar was also showing Project Runway. Just inside the bar was a raffle table set up with beauty items and jewelry that Miranda wore while on the show, and her dress that she wore for the promo pics also stood on display. Miranda looked gorgeous in a red floor-length creation of hers, and she was very sweet when I asked her for a picture for my blog.

These pictures are from Sabreen's phone.

Pretty Miranda with hot and sweaty me

I also recognized a couple more bloggers at Miranda's party. I approached a familiar-looking petite blonde girl and said, "Street Lily, right?" Funny how we remember the name of the blog but not necessarily the name of the blogger. As I was introducing myself to Julie, I looked up at who she was with and was like, "Hey, I know you, too!" Of course, in my head, I knew her as Heart of a Blonde until she introduced herself as Molly. The third girl of their trio was Chelsea, who just recently started her blog, This Grand Adventure!

Sabreen and I only stayed at the Intercontinental for about 15 or 20 minutes because we're old and wanted to sit down and watch the show outside of a bar setting, plus it was really hot in there, so we took the shuttle back to Timothy's party to catch the last half. Needless to say, I missed quite a bit of the show, and I'll be re-watching it on my DVR at some point, but I did see the runway portion and the judging. ***SPOILER ALERT*** The atmosphere in the room became pretty tense as Timothy landed in the bottom three for his design that week. A hush fell over the ballroom filled with a hundred or so people when Heidi delivered his fate and said, "Timothy............." And then, "You're in." Everyone cheered and applauded and breathed a sigh of relief. It was such a cool moment. Both Milwaukee designers were safe for now.

Going into the night, I didn't expect to do much networking, but when both the organizer of Milwaukee Fashion Week (who was gorgeous and super nice) and Miranda Levy told me to let them know if I needed anything, I was really regretting not having some business cards made up for my blog. Not that this is a business for me, but it was exciting to see how receptive industry people are to bloggers! Yes, by the way, Milwaukee Fashion Week. It's going to be a thing. Stay tuned.

So...can we watch every episode with one of the designers? 'Cause that would be great. I think Timothy or Miranda should switch off having viewing parties weekly. Or I can host them all in my newly carpeted theater-room basement, hehe.

What I wore:

Bustier Top: H&M (old); Skirt: MICHAEL Michael Kors; Shoes: Prabal Gurung for Target;
Necklace: World Market; Bracelets: Mexicali Blues, Target, and Charming Charlie;
Clutch: Melie Bianco via Fred Boutique

Casual Hamptons-ish Style

This outfit ended up being kind of a tribute to my most popular post, the one from two years ago about Divya's style from Royal Pains. I guess I should've started a blog series following along with her fashion choices, but now I'm behind three episodes for this season because I've been waiting to watch them with my husband. Also, our friend said there was a Royal Pains movie on TV around Christmas? I don't know.

Top: RACHEL Rachel Roy; Shorts, Bracelet, and Sandals: Target; Watch: Zing Accessories;
Necklace: Etsy; Sunglasses: Hanson.net

Yeah, laundry room selfie. I thought this outfit looked better with my hair down.

Maybe once I catch up, I'll do a follow-up post on more Divya Katdare style, but for now, here's a preview featuring Divya looking chic as usual and wearing a necklace I MUST HAVE FOR MYSELF!

SAG Awards Red Carpet Superlatives

I didn't have as many reactions to the fashion at tonight's 19th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards red carpet as I did during the Golden Globes, but there were a handful of standouts. Let's start off with a few positives:

Most Improved

Jessica Chastain in Alexander McQueen (source)

After her oddly fitting Golden Globes gown, this was perfection.

Best Surprisingly Edgy Dress

Jane Lynch in David Meister Signature (source)
Um, I kind of love it, and I kind of want it.

Best Dressed Kid

Kiernan Shipka in Oscar de la Renta (source)
I've only watched a handful of episodes of Mad Men, so I'm not terribly familiar with her, but I think she looked adorable and age appropriate.

And now for the not so positives...

Most in Need of a Good Bra

Michelle Dockery in vintage Chado Ralph Rucci (source)

Side boob. That is all.

Julianne Moore in Chanel Haute Couture (source)

Her choices are always hit or miss for me. With a different neckline, this may have worked.

Weirdest Length Dress

Kaley Cuoco in Romona Keveza (source)
Seriously, how short does this dress make her look?

Worst Hairdo

January Jones in Prabal Gurung (source)
David Bowie? Er...Ziggy Stardust?

Worst Makeup

Claire Danes in Givenchy (source)

I'm not anti dark lip, but the dark lip on her with that weird eye makeup was not a good look.

Worst Accessorizing

Amanda Seyfried in Zac Posen (source)

Beautiful dress. It looked plain from far away, but the details are really great. The necklace? Not so much.

Honorable Mention...just because I've included her in all my other red carpet recaps.

Mayim Bialik (source)

She and Kaley both went with lace, but the shape and proportions are just better on Mayim's dress. I like the red color of Kaley's dress slightly better, but as a whole - Mayim.

What do you think? What were some of your favorites or least favorites?

Golden Globes Red Carpet Style - Likes and Dislikes

Yikes, I had trouble cutting down my list, so here are a lot of gowns to look at. And one tuxedo.

Likes

Claire Danes in Versace (source)

She just had a baby. She looks amazing!

Amy Adams in Marchesa (source)

It's Marchesa! And blush! And lace! 

Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Vera Wang (source)

If I remember correctly, she usually picks really nice award show gowns, and this was no exception.

Lucy Liu in Carolina Herrera (source)

I have a feeling this is one people are going to either love or hate. I loved it.

Julianne Moore in Tom Ford (source)

It was sharp looking, and it had the black and white trend going on. Plus, she was probably comfortably warm while all the other ladies were freezing.

Kristen Bell in Jenny Packham (source)

And that's how maternity style is done. Adorable.

Dislikes

Jessica Chastain in Calvin Klein (source)

This was my least favorite look of the night. The top was weird; her hair was weird. The color's nice.

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior Haute Couture (source)

She's gorgeous, and I love her in general, but what was with those boobs? Her hair and makeup looks nice, and most of the dress is fine, but it was very weird in the chest area.

Rachel Weisz in Louis Vuitton (source)

Here's another gorgeous woman whose dress I didn't care for.

Alyssa Milano (source)

She can do better, right? I'm just always disappointed when I see a yellow dress I don't like.

Emily Mortimer (source)

OK no. Even if I liked the dress, which I don't, the hair is just so messy.

Undecided

Kerry Washington in Miu Miu (source)

I know most people probably loved this one, but the length was weird for me. Otherwise, she looks great.

Lena Dunham in Zac Posen (source)

OK it's not great, but it's better than some of the other things she's been wearing at events lately. I think the style thing will click one for her of these days, and she'll wear something spectacular. At least I hope.

Zosia Mamet (source)

Here's another Girls star. I feel like I should hate this, but...I don't? I like the trendy leather accents. Maybe it's not right for this event. I think had she smiled and sold it a little more, I might be on board.

Michelle Dockery in Alexander Vauthier (source)

I love, love, love the top of this look. Everything about it. I don't know how I feel about the all-white bottom, though.

Rosario Dawson (source)

The dress is OK, but the color is divine. It makes me want a whole wardrobe in that color.

Honorable Mentions

Mayim Bialik (source)

She's going to show up an all of my red carpet lists just 'cause I love her.

Jennifer Garner in Vivienne Westwood Couture (source)
I've been watching Alias lately, and I always see her in super casual mom-on-the-go paparazzi photos, but she cleans up NICE. She looks stunning.

Dev Patel (Getty Images)
Whoops, I accidentally deleted my explanation when I published the post. I adore him, and if my novel is ever made into a movie, I'm going to cast him in it.

Phew, that was a long list. What'd you guys think of the fashion tonight?

Girls

Have you seen the TV show Girls? I finally gave in and added HBO to our cable plan, and I'm so excited to watch some of these shows that I've been wanting to check out for awhile now. My sister-in-law, her husband, and I have really gotten into Girls this week. It's HBO, so it's pretty raunchy – comparable to Sex and the City; we've been reserving it for when the parents are away. It's pretty addicting, though. I recommend checking it out if you can.

Speaking of girls, my mom- and sis-in-law and I have been having a good time shopping while they are here visiting. On New Year's Eve, we hit up the mall with the two kids (Bridget, of course, and my nephew who is three months old). Bridget was a bit of a handful, but once we settled down in the kids' section of Barnes & Noble for a little bit, she did a lot better. Plus, she seemed like an angel compared to the other little girl who was hanging out there. On New Year's Day, which is when the outfit below is from, we left the kids at home and just checked out Kohl's to try to find some boots for my sis-in-law. Well, we didn't find boots, but we found plenty other things to spend our money on, including another pair of flats I don't need. But they're soooo comfortable, which not all flats are. I also bought this Rock & Republic top (I think it's that one...but the one I bought is black) to wear to the next concert I go to, whatever that ends up being, and this top that my mom-in-law picked out for work. Darn clearance racks. They get me every time. Sis and I also bought these fancy headbands basically just to wear around the house while drinking wine or tea.

Top: Old Navy; Dress: Gap; Belt: New York & Company; Headband: Kohl's

Um yeah, my lens is dirty or something.

Leila's Back!!

I slacked on the ANTM recap last week, and I'm not sure if I'll do any the rest of the season, but I had to celebrate the fact that Leila came back!! At the end of the last episode, Tyra left us in suspense by telling us that one of the eliminated was going to come back, but we didn't find out until yesterday who it was.

I actually didn't watch the episode until this morning since I had plans last night, but my friend texted me and told me Leila was in. Woohoo!!! Now Kristen needs to go. Laura and Leila for the final two, I say!

America's Next Top Model: College Edition Episode 7 Recap

Source

Within the first few minutes of the episode, it was pretty obvious that Allyssa would be eliminated in the end. In past episodes, she was practically invisible; but Friday, she was talking nonstop about how she had to win.

As the preview showed, we also got to see more of Victoria's antics throughout the whole episode. She explained in the confessional how she can't taste food while she's there and that she's just not hungry. Many of the other girls sounded off about it, too.

But then who should show up but good ole Bryanboy with the new challenge assignment. I still don't know why he rubs me the wrong way, but he does. Bryanboy was joined by Marissa Montgomery from Nylon TV. The models were going on a ROAD TRIP in two RVs, and they were challenged to take pictures of themselves doing random acts of modeling and also do video segments for Nylon TV.

As the challenge progressed, we got a better idea of what "random acts of modeling" were and were not. Posing next to a statue - not a random act of modeling. Pretending to hail a cab while looking fierce - random act of modeling. Basically, they had to do a random act while modeling, but some of the girls struggled with the concept.

Speaking of struggling, Victoria and Kiara made quite the dysfunctional team (Nastasia was the third member of their team). Although Kiara said she felt like she needed to be a mother to Victoria, it came across more as nagging most of the time. It only made matters worse when Victoria mistakenly didn't record one of Kiara's video segments and they had to pull over again.

With all the dysfunction in that RV, it was no surprise that a member of the other team won the challenge, and it was even less of a surprise that the winner was the seemingly unstoppable Laura. When they arrived at their hotel in Palm Springs, Johnny showed up and told them that there would be no need for showers. The photo shoot happening immediately would work with their dirtiness.

Source

When I saw the setting for this photo shoot, I was reminded of a couple notable past ANTM shoots that happened on the toilet. I don't know what it is with toilet shots, but Michelle from Cycle 7 and Marjorie from Cycle 11 worked it.

Source

Again, we saw Victoria's method modeling when she created a backstory of a Baptist girl who had lost her virginity and needed to take a pregnancy test. The look on Johnny's face was priceless. His jaw dropped, his head snapped in the photographer's direction, and he was like...what? But it worked well for Victoria, so who are we to judge.

Kristin had to chug a gallon of milk, and this time I actually don't blame her for complaining. I probably would've complained about it, too. She ended up doing pretty well in spite of it. Kiara's setting in the dumpster hit home and reminded her of her past life being homeless. I felt bad for her, but she took it in stride. Allyssa had to lie on the floor with the cockroaches while soda sloshed out of a two-liter bottle. While most of the other girls did pretty well, Allyssa couldn't find an angle that worked, and she ended up just licking the disgusting floor in most of her shots.

Back at the house, after a frenzied phone call Victoria placed to her mom, the girls confronted her about her erratic behavior and lack of eating. It actually seemed like they were coming from a concerned place; and although Victoria denied it, it didn't turn into a big explosion of drama.

In panel, the judges gave most of the girls fairly high scores. I didn't notice any crazy outlier scores this time except that Bryanboy did say he hated Kiara's picture although the judges scored her well. The two weakest were Laura and Allyssa. When Victoria's picture came up, Bryanboy mentioned her lack of confidence. Tyra noticed some of the girls in the back shaking their heads and asked them about it. The girls told her about how they never see Victoria eat, and Tyra gently told Victoria that she'd be keeping an eye on her. Hopefully that'll help Victoria chill, but we'll see about that next week.

Callout order:

1. Nastasia (Hooray, she didn't look short this week!)
2. Brittany
3. Kristin
4. Victoria
5. Kiara
6. Laura

Eliminated for now: Allyssa, to Tyra's dismay. She actually started crying when saying her closing words to Allyssa.

Previews:  Go seeeeeeeeeeeees!!!!!!!!! They also showed Victoria arguing with Kristin, which means one of them must be gone next week. For the photo shoot, they're visiting a prison and doing fierce mug shots.

Predictions:
Eliminated next week: Kristin
For the win: Leila

America's Next Top Model: College Edition Episode 6 Recap

I'm so late on this recap that I'm just going to leave you with the notes I took while watching the show.

Source

- Yvonne called home. Never a good sign.
- Why is Victoria always exercising? Is that what it takes to be skinny? If so, not interested.
- Chrissy Teigan
- Challenge: do a sequence in a video game where they grab the camera and jump over a couple obsatcles including a high jump.
- Laura did well.
- They liked Kristin
- Yvonne was eh.
- Victoria was awkward.
- Brittany did well.
- Laura won.
- Brittany's talking a lot this episode.
- Victoria called home. Girlfriend needs to get out more.
- P'trique is back with Tyra Mail.
- Steam punk photo shoot
- Victorian style with 19th Century mechanics
- Brittany, stop saying Disney; it's freaking me out. Not even my Disney fanatic BFFs like Disney that much.
- Yvonne is bitching about life and got snippy with Bryan Boy but later apologized.
- Kristin was scared of the owl.
- Kiara did eh, and Kelly finally said what I said in Week 1 - Kiara looks old. Rob and Tyra liked it.
- Victoria did eh; Tyra didn't like it; Kelly kind of did.
- Kristin's face was strong, boring pose.
- Nastasia - Kelly hated it; Tyra loved it, but they all agree she looks short; Rob hated it.
- Yvonne sucked.
- Allyssa was OK.
- Brittany - Kelly hated it, Rob loved it, Tyra loved it. For the love of god, Tyra brought up Disney.
- I wonder if they have to pay Disney royalties or something every time they bring it up. They should.
- Laura awesome of course, three 10s.

Callout order:

1. Laura
2. Brittany
3. Allyssa
4. Kristin
5. Kiara
6. Nastasia
7. Victoria

Eliminated for now: Yvonne

Previews: Road trip?? Wind turbine. Victoria is spazzing out on the phone again. Someone said, "I never see you eat."

Predictions:
Eliminated next week (today): Victoria
For the win: Leila, oh she'll be back. Or maybe Laura.

Best and Worst Emmy 2012 Red Carpet Looks

Last night, I had the pleasure of watching the red carpet coverage and the first hour of the Emmys with my husband. Although the only TV shows he watches are paranormal crime dramas + old-school sci-fi + The Big Bang Theory, he still stuck around to hear me yammer on about every single celeb that showed up on the screen while he interjected and asked why I didn't wear revealing red carpet gowns more often. Like, just around the house apparently...OK... It was fun educating him on who's on what TV show and who he might recognize from certain movies. Plus, there were enough Big Bang Theory cast member sightings to keep him entertained for awhile.

While schooling my husband on pop culture, I also compiled a list of my favorite and least favorite red carpet looks from the night.

Best

Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen (source)

Her dress matches her hair! And she looks gorgeous and skinny! And she's wearing a trendy dark lipstick! This dress may have been a tad boring on someone else, but the styling is what really made this one of my favorite looks of the night.

Sarah Hyland in Marchesa (source)

I do love Marchesa. That is all.

Emily VanCamp in  J. Mendel (source)

I don't have much to say about this one either except I liked it right away. Her bow bracelet is pretty cute, too.

Julie Bowen in Monique Lhuillier (source)

She wasn't on my original list, but the more I saw pictures of her entire look, the more I liked it. The dress fits her perfectly, the bright color looks nice against her skin, and I like how she kept everything else simple.

Worst

Portia de Rossi (source)

I've gotten on board with jumpsuits on some people, and Portia could definitely pull off the jumpsuit look, but not this one. I hated it.

Ashley Judd in Carolina Herrera (source)

There was nothing good about this look - the hair, the style of the dress, the fabric and color of the dress, all bad. I take that back. Her clutch is cute.

Lena Dunham in Prada (source) 

I love lace, but not here. Her dress just looked too dark and too heavy. I still do want to see "Girls" on HBO someday, though.

Christina Hendricks in Christian Siriano (source)

OK, putting this on a "worst dressed" list is a little harsh, so maybe this would belong on a "could be better" list for me. From what I've read so far, this one's getting mixed reviews. Christina Hendricks is gorgeous and sexy, but there was something about this dress that didn't work for me even though I love Christian Siriano. Maybe it was the belt, or the color.

Yellow dresses that I should've liked but didn't

Julianne Moore in Dior Haute Couture (source)

I'm seeing on blogs that most people loved this look. As much as I love yellow and full skirts, I think there was just too much fabric here. If it were sleeveless, or if the skirt was slimmer, I would've liked it better. I may be alone in my principles on this one.

Claire Danes in Lanvin (source)

Having been pregnant once, I don't like to criticize what pregnant ladies choose to wear. Being pregnant is hard enough. But I think the gorgeous Claire Danes could've dressed her bump better in this case. Maybe if the fold were a little higher it could've worked. I don't know; I wasn't a fan.

Honorable Mention - people I was excited to see

Anna Chlumsky in Christian Siriano (source)

I don't know why, but I thought it was fun to see Anna Chlumsky aka Vada Sultenfuss from My Girl all grown up and in the public eye again.

Mayim Bialik in Pamella Rolland (source)

Oh hey, Mayim! Come to Milwaukee again anytime! It did not escape me how she was strategically holding her one arm behind her body in most of the photos. She broke her hand in a car accident and was wearing a black brace on it.

Kaley Cuoco in Angel Sanchez (source)

Oh hey, I saw you in real life, too! And you're wearing a yellow dress I like! 

Melissa Rauch in Oliver Tolentino (source)

Not done with the Big Bang stars quite yet! Now for some men...

Jim Parsons (source)

OK now I'm done with Big Bang people. I also got to see a couple of my favorite male actors:

Tom Hanks (source)

I don't care if he has a mustache. He's Tom Hanks. He can do no wrong.

Steve Buscemi (source)

I can't explain it. I love Steve Buscemi as an actor. I'm still begging hubs to let me get HBO so that I can watch Boardwalk Empire.

Michael J. Fox (source)

For hubs, his favorite dude to see was the iconic Michael J. Fox.

And finally, a random one...

Jon Cryer (source)

I'm not really a Two and a Half Men fan, but I did like how genuinely surprised and in disbelief Jon Cryer was when he won the award for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Even if he was up against Jim Parsons.

What did you think of Emmys this year?