Week 4 poll results

Seriously, I'm really starting to think that you're all voting against the judges just to keep the streak going.

They whacked Jennifer in Week 4. Our readers went a different route.

51% Daniel
35% Jennifer
13% Jerell

5/Episode 4 The Olympic Games People Play

So it’s another field trip and quite a timely challenge: Create an outfit for the U.S. athletes to wear to the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. The kids are hustled off to the Armory Track & Field Center where a lone skater powers down the track, and hello, here comes Apolo Ohno, five time Olympic medal winner (no one mentioned Dancing with the Stars) who laid out the challenge and later judged, and man, he is one cool cat.

The designers get 30 minutes to examine archival Olympic looks at the Armory, and $150 to spend on fabric.

Was there brilliance buried within this episode? Would we score it a 10? Hmm, not so much. But Korto kept it lean and clean with her white ensemble featuring red and blue accents. She used lightweight leather as a vest, and her pants silhouette was fitted yet fluid. All in all, very handsome. And she won it, graciously declaring, “It’s about freaking time.”

The loser is sort of a sad sack case…poor, poor Jennifer. Her outfit, a gold pleated skirt with short embellished dark sweater didn’t emit a whiff of the Olympic games, but it wasn’t hideous – in fact, rather cute, but oh-so-off the mark. Daniel, whose prima-Daniel personality is really ruffling some feathers in the fashion coop, created a 40’s style fancy frock that was supposed to be blue but read purple. “Where is she from?” queried Michael Kors. “The Republic of Cocktail Land?” Later he added, “If her sport is drinking, this is a good dress.” God we love him.

Jerell was in the bottom this week for a mad look that involved multiple ascot ties, a floppy dotted hat and pinstriped skirt.

In our notes, we wrote, "ungapatchked" referring to the ungainly, overwrought, ridiculously weird look. Kors went Yiddish too, but he called it “meshugene,” as in really crazy. Even the Nina let him have it describing the outfit as “Mary had a little lamb.” Imagine, then, our athletic team marching en mass into the arena in this costume with every other country in the world looking on…baaaaa U.S.A. Back to the judges for a moment, Apolo was fabulous, thoughtful and knowledgeable – probably one of the best guest judges we’ve ever seen on the show.

So, the individuality medal goes to, once again, Stella, who is no phony. She buys black stretch fabric as the basis for her look and everyone thinks she’s nuts. She wants it to be, “bold, progressive, dynamic, like gladiators.” And if the judges didn’t like it, she planned to tell them, “A lot of bikers in this country watch the Olympics.” Jerell did Mary, Stella wanted “bad ass.”

Blayne does not know who the Beatles are much to Tim's chagrin. On the sorta’ funny side, his tanning issues, and the fact that he considered himself an Olympic athlete at tanning…though it only goes to the - ha, ha - bronze medal.

The annoying meter was going haywire on Kenley’s cackle, people were going insane. Also, did she or did she not throw her little boy Daniel to the wolves by instructing him not to add the cape to his look? Hmmm, we must ponder.

Finally, off the subject, you’ve all probably heard that mighty Heidi’s legs have been insured for some $2.2 million. Didn’t they look great tonight?

-- Anne Bratskeir

(Photo from BravoTV.com/runway)

Week 3 poll results

You guys hate the judges' rankings this season. Once again, you disagreed with their pick. Here are the results from the Week 3 "aufing" reader poll.



46 percent - Keith Bryce
40 percent - Jennifer Diederich
8 percent - Emily Brandle

Season 5/Episode 2 IT AIN'T EASY BEING GREEN

The challenge: use environmentally responsible textiles to create cocktail dresses for clients who are…the models. The bummer: The models, armed with $75, shop for fabric and trim and have absolutely no idea what the heck they’re doing.

A bunch bought this vile, glossy brown organic satin, which was the undoing of one contestant. Poor, sweet Wesley got the boot for his overwrought, ill fitting number that Michael Kors said looked like 27 hands had been all over it. Leanne’s loopy, too-many-tricks mini was second to worst. So sad… speaking of which…the water works were on tonight with Korto’s near breakdown when her darty dress was criticized, to Leanne’s girlish sobs, when her model didn’t back her up, saying that the dress she created was not really what she wanted.

Onward to happier fashions and moments: Kenley’s lean, ladylike cocktail number in champagne was elegant, but Suede’s girlish tulle skirted frock of ivory satin and red strips won. Guest judge Natalie Portman, who is an environmental activist and a designer for vegan shoe line Te Casan (pricey but very stylish) as well as a fashionista (and did we mention, a Long Island girl), loved, loved Suede’s confection. Beneath the blue Mohawk and the overuse of the third person, “Suede is a bisexual Sagittarius…. Suede rocks…” well, we sorta’ like him, and thought the dress was really cute.

Stella redeemed herself tonight imbuing her rocker chic attitude into an asymmetrical shoulder silky mini. Her model loved it. But, um, Long Islanders, was it us? Or were the contestants making fun of our famous accents? We forgive, because Stella of Astoria speaking the Queen’s English is sort of hard on the ear as in “letha” this, “letha” that (yes, that would be leather). But Blayne really went to town…you don’t hear us speaking Leprechaun, do you Blayne? Stella was a good sport about the ribbing.

Truth told, we’re kind of liking Blayne too – what a character – but we must question his judgment. Is it wise to call Heidi Darth Vader? As he put it “all shiny on the outside, but Darthlicious inside.” Hats off to him, Terri, Daniel, Joe and Emily for the good work, while we’re thinking Jennifer did shmata and Jerrell did hoochie mama.

– Anne Bratskeir

(Photos from BravoTV.com/runway)