PR Episode 3 rundown

I'm going off the Bravo TV pictures again so if I misidentify a colour because of that you'll forgive me, I hope. Or maybe I'll just avoid naming colours at all, that might be safer...

First off, a note about Elisa: I notice that she has that same "Wow, check out the planet I'm on, I kinda like it here" look when she's caught casually as when she knows she's on camera, so I'm now about 95% sure it's not an act. She really is just sorta out there. Yay, out there!

Also, I still like Chris, I like Jack even more now than I did before, and Kit may actually be moving into "clothes I can root for" for me, despite that first thing she put out. On the flip side, I'm totally over Rami and still don't like Christian, who should still brush his hair.

Okay, first off, the challenge: design a menswear outfit for Today host and former football player Tiki Barber, which is a kinda cool challenge since making the designers step out of their comfort zone is definitely a challenge. Some people are dissing the challenge because the Today show is bland or whatever, but since Tiki said he likes a little extra colour or interesting texture, they had some room for creativity, and considering how much they struggled with the basics, I'm pretty sure giving them even fewer guidelines would've resulted in more hot messes.

I was a little disappointed with the results. I realize that menswear is a very different proposition from women's clothing, and if you're used to the latter the former can be really tough, but they were also given considerably more time in this challenge than average, which should've made up for it. In addition, the sharing of Jack's shorts-based pattern should've helped speed things up. I'm not sure I understand why they struggled so much with this given the extra time (a day and a half is something like three times what they got for the Bitten challenge), even though I'm aware that men's clothing is generally more tailored... I don't know. Maybe it really is 4 times harder.

By the way, Rami is a little bitch, isn't he? I mean, Jack specifically asked on camera if tracing the existing clothes was okay, and was told yes, and then later said he'd asked about sharing, and was told that was okay, too, so what the hell was Rami sniping about? Especially since his outfit wasn't all that great anyhow.

So, Tiki Barber, who I don't know much about other than what was said on the show (I stopped watching football a while back for some reason and don't really watch talk shows), seems like a nice guy, and it seems like he was trying hard to critique fairly when the runway show happened, which makes two episodes in a row where the guest judge was pretty cool, which is a nice contrast to Top Chef's guest judges, who are often assholes.



And, congratulations Jack! Even though he didn't do his vest (and I wish he had, since I'd love to have seen it) what he did make, tailoring flaws aside, was a nice design. I think the double-stripes thing saved it from being boring, especially with the bias-cut details. It had some nice touches, and it was a pretty nice outfit, so I'm not going to bitch about the win, even if I understand why some people were all 'eh' about it. (I'm looking at you guys, Project Rungay.)

I didn't like Kit's as much, mostly because I'm not a huge fan of putting together dark jackets with light pants, though I realize that's an opinion, not a fashion rule. And I think the judges were right that her choice of fabric made the outfit more interesting. The shirt seemed a little odd in the collar, but collars are probably one of the hardest parts of a fitted outfit, so I'm not surprised. If she'd won, I would've been okay with it.



The bottom two... I saw them coming. Carmen, I actually was starting to like her, but what she had was a hot mess... and she knew it was. I feel really bad for her, because honestly it must kinda suck to go home for a design of something you're never likely to make again, but I can't disagree that it was a pretty bad outfit.

I really wish I had a TiVo, because I remember agreeing Ricky's outfit was not very good, but the picture I have to work off of doesn't remind me why. I also remember being pretty sure he was going to go from the commentary, so when they named Carmen I was a little surprised... but only a little, cuz, well, see above.

(Note to self: win lottery and buy better TV and a TiVo.)



Jillian's was eh. I feel like I should like it more, since honestly it wasn't bad, but I just really didn't.

Christian's... I didn't like it, and it didn't fit his model well. The jacket had some potential, but, again, eh.

Rami is lucky no one called him on his trip to the 80s with that Members-Only-reminiscent jacket, an irony since another Carmen was called on a resemblance to said jackets. Seriously, throw a couple of useless loops of fabric on there and I'm pretty sure I owned that jacket in 25 years ago.

Sweet P's shirt and tie were a mess, but the pants looked really good, and may've been the single best-fitting thing up on the runway. I'm pretty sure she was in no real danger of going home, and I'm glad she didn't.

Steven had something really funky going on with his collar, and the pants were too long (but they didn't know their models' dimensions in advance, I don't think, and pants can be hemmed), but the idea looked pretty solid.

Victorya's was kinda interesting, but I wish she'd get off black and white. I thought the jacket was really pretty cool, though. I suspect she should've been a contender for the win again, and this time with an outfit I didn't hate, but I think Tiki wanted colour, so maybe that's why not.

Kevin's purple shirt was way too intense (Dear Kevin: You keep telling us you're straight, but then you do things like this!), and the fit wasn't great, but it was a solid idea with some interesting touches. I think if it'd been put together a little neater it would've been a contender, too. Also, I forgot to snag a picture of it when I was doing the composite above, but trust me, I'm saving you from the purple.



My boy Chris was a little unimaginative in colour, which is kinda funny given his background and some of the things we've seen him wear, but it looked like it fit well. If he'd done a different colour for just one piece maybe it would've worked better... but I liked the outfit as an outfit, and as usual he did one of my favorite pieces.

And Elisa's may have been the most interesting and imaginative, though I question her colour choices (but not, I note, her fabric). I think what got her was the rather raw look of the shirt. It's not a bad shirt, but it's not right for the challenge quite; if she'd done a different neckline I think she could've been a contender for the win. Alas, I don't think what she did was Tiki's style.

So... just curious... when do we get to see the evidence this is the "best group of designers yet"? I'm waiting. I mean, I'm not saying they're bad, but so far I've been unwowed by most of the outfits sent down the runway.

Lastly, the Tim summary: seemed like he was a bit more there than the last couple weeks, but still not enough commentary from him. It's like they trot him out to make some taglines and show maybe two pieces of commentary. Come on, Bravo... you know he's one of the reasons PR is so popular, so stop cutting his airtime!