Day to NIght?

So today I was putting together an article and considered saying--"...this outfit can go from day to night." Then I realized that I have don't do this. I don't rework outfits. I might change between events (I have changed in a car several times), but that's it. Am I out of touch? Are you guys transforming outfits from day to night? I'm not putting it down; it just doesn't do it for me. I can't even imagine schlepping around a bag of "nighttime" jewelry, shoes, bag. Usually whatever I'm wearing will work for day or night, anyway. Okay people, set me straight on this one!!!


 An outfit I have worn for day and night:

Visit with Designer Viktor Luna

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with Viktor Luna from Season 9 of Project Runway.  Viktor is having a fashion show in September and I got a sneak peek of his designs.  I am so looking forward to the finished collection, because what I did see was gorgeous.  So chic, but edgy and cool at the same.  Viktor is known for his incredible leather jackets, and the ones in this collection may be the best yet.  And get this--Viktor was generous enough to offer one reader plus a guest a ticket to the show during Fashion Week!  If you'd like to be entered in the giveaway email at nyfwrsvp@verizon.net with the header Viktor.

Watch the video for a glimpse of our visit:


 

Project Runway Season 10, Episode 2

Last night was Season 10's Innovation challenge.  This wasn't the first time the designers used candy to make a dress (remember Jillian's great Twizzler's dress?).  Dylan Lauren of Dylan's Candy Bar let the designers loose in her store.  What fun!  

Let's cut to the chase and discuss the top three and the bottom three.  But, wait a second.  I just have to say that I was completely flabbergasted that Andrea's dot candy apron dress with the crazy back was not in the bottom three.  Wow.

The top three were Ven, with his stained glass candy dress, Sonjia and her who did an ocean inspired dress and Christopher and his checkerboard design.  I am a huge fan of Ven, and was glad he won this challenge.  His dress was beautiful, and didn't look like candy.

Let's discuss the bottom.  Elena made a dress out of pina colada candy that looked like a macaroni dress.  I think the idea was good, but the execution was poor.  It could have been very interesting, especially if she had used another color.  Also in the bottom was Buffi.  She spent a lot of time weaving a top together that unfortunately didn't fit the model all that well.  Her skirt was one of those napkin skirts that the judges hate.  She styled her model a la SJP in Sex and the City (according to her), but instead she looked like a bipolar Barbie off her meds.  Finally there was Lantie.  Last week I said that I thought Lantie should have been eliminated instead of Beatrice, and I absolutely stand by that.  It seemed like Lantie really just gave up with this challenge.  In past seasons some very talented designers just didn't respond well to the Innovation challenge, so maybe that was the case with Lantie.  But anyone who's watched Project Runway before knows that the worst thing you can do in one of these challenges is to use a fabric like material.  Well, Lantie used and umbrella (Dylan Lauren called her on that right away).  Then she took a small amount of candy and embellished it.  She really did deserve to go home this week for two reasons.  The first, she didn't do what the challenge called for.  The second, she did nothing to sell her garment to the judges.  Had she been confident and made a case for herself she might have been in.  Instead she said she didn't have enough time and was argumentative.  That never goes well.

So, do you think the judges got it right?  

Lantie and her umbrella dress:

My newest obsession is chunky rings.  I love minimalism when it comes to my wardrobe, so for me there's nothing better than statement jewelry.  In these summer months when NYC is so hot and humid I don't want to wear a big, heavy necklace.  But a chunky ring always seems right.  My favorite statement ring that I own is this one by k2o by Karen Ko:

I've recently discovered another designer that I love--Rob Bacon.  He has these chunky rings that are sooooo lovely.   I want them all!

One for each finger, right?  And the best part?  They start at $75.


Your turn.  What's your favorite piece of jewelry to wear?

www.RobBacon.com
k2obykarenko.com/k2onew/

Tonight was the premiere of Season 10 of Project Runway! So, what did you think? Anybody have favorites yet? I think it was great to have Patricia Field back since she was the show's very first guest judge. Now, everyone wants to be on Project Runway, but back then it wasn't a known commodity, and judges were hard to come by. 

The most interesting contestant for me was Christopher, and why he irked Gunnar so much. It'll be fun to see how that develops. Oh, did anyone else notice that Elena looked like a completely different person with her hair down? I had no idea who she was when she had her to-camera interviews. 

But the most fun part is the fashion. Don't read on if you haven't seen it yet. The top three were Melissa, Christopher and Ven. My personal favorite was Ven. I think that Christopher's dress was probably much more dramatic in person. I wasn't wowed by watching it on TV. I really like Ven's bustier. I also liked the suit, although the pants bothered me. Simpler pants would have been a better with a top with so much detail. And the color was great. I didn't love his companion dress, but didn't mind it either.

The bottom three were Kooan, Beatrice and Lantie. I was glad that Kooan stayed. He was out there, but he certainly wasn't boring. He reminded me of Jeremy Scott, and I'm interested to see what he'll do next. The final two were Beatrice and Lantie. Beatrice had that awful, awful Aztec cape with a boring gray dress underneath. Her companion piece was also pretty dull. I really hated the snakeskin choker connected to the lace dress Lantie did. And then her second dress had that snakeskin flap in the front that really killed it. Well, it would have been on life support without the flap anyway. The whole thing was odd. I would have kept Beatrice over Lantie even though I hated the cape because I thought her second out, while boring, wasn't horrible. I didn't like either of Lantie's pieces. But what's so fun about the show is that next week Lantie could wow everyone. One thing I definitely learned from writing the Project Runway book is that even the best designers can have an off week.

My favorite part of the show this week? Nina's outfit. I thought she looked incredible.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch party for the coolest app the other night. Let me give you the inside scoop. The app is called Pick N' Tell. Here's how it works. The store has an interactive mirror. So when you try something on you can use the app and the mirror to take a photo of yourself which you can share with your friends. In addition the app will identify detailed product information about what you're trying on, including the barcode. This way if you're not sure you can decide later and purchase it through the app. The app can also connect you to a stylist who can help you put an outfit together. It's really so cool. I'm surprised no one has done it before.

Is this something you would use? I'd love to know.

Here I am with Anthony Haden Guest and Mike Cesarano at the launch:

Last night was the Project Runway 10th anniversary party. My date was the dashing and uber talented Emilio Sosa from Season 7. It was so much fun! The party was on the Highline, which meant it was outdoors. It was so hot and humid I thought my hair was going to look like Amy Irving's in Carrie by the end of the night. Heidi and Tim Gunn were there. Also Debbie Harry, Fern Mallis, Patricia Field and Francisco Costa. And so many designers from the show--Jay McCarroll, Austin Scarlett, Chris March, Michael Costello, Mondo Guerra, Joshua McKinley, Anthony Ryan Auld, Kimberly Goldson, Peach Carr, Althea Harper, Kenley Collins, Korto Momolu, Kara Janx, Bert Keeter, Viktor Luna, Casanova...the list goes on and on! I was thrilled to find out that my Project Runway book was included in the gift bag, so everyone got a copy! Another highlight of the night was the music by DJ Hesta Prynn. 

It was really fun to see everyone from all different season mingling. Project Runway is a big family that grows every season. Kimberly Goldson and Althea Harper are so tall and gorgeous that I wonder why they don't just model their own designs. The women all looked great, but I think the standouts were the men! Mondo was amazing in a fantastic red suit, while Austin Scarlett looked incredible in white. Emilio had on a great print, and Michael Costello looked very cool in black with a white jacket. 

If anyone wants to know anything else about the party ask away! 

Have you heard about the fall trend of wearing a dress over pants? Several designers have shown this look, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I remember on Season 1 of Project Runway Kara Saun put a dress over pants and I thought everyone there was going to vomit, they hated it so much. The idea sounds offensive, but then yesterday I was going through my closet, and I saw this T shirt dress I have. It's just above the knee, and it occurred to me that it might work with a pair of skinny jeans. I may try it. Will you?

FASHION EMERGENCY!!!! Well, not really. But the news is calling tight fitting clothing just that. Seems doctors are really a buzz kill, saying that shapewear can reduce oxygen intake and cause light headedness. I don't know, you'd think that would lead to more interesting behavior on the red carpet. Skinny jeans are another supposed culprit. Doctors warm they can cause meralgia paresthetica, which means a nerve running from the abdomen to the thigh is compressed. The result? Numbness and tingling. They also went on to dis bras, cinch belts and too tight ties and collars. 

But people, let's discuss...How do we really feel about shapewear? I have a drawer full of it which I hardly ever use. My first foray was a pair of briefs. After wearing them for about an hour I noticed this roll protruding on top of them WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN THERE BEFORE. Not the desired effect, let me tell you. Being female I assumed this was my fault, and I moved on to a Spanx tank. All this did for me was to flatten my boobs. So I graduated to a full bodysuit. This is really what one should wear to smooth out anything offensive. It didn't minimize my normal size 2-4 body to look as if I wore a size 00, but I didn't have to worry about any lines. But you know what? I never take it out of the drawer. I just never feel up t the commitment of spending hours at a time restricted. 

Turns out my goal of looking impossibly skinny was impossible.

Welcome to Not Without My Gucci! This blog is a forum to discuss all things fashion (and entertainment) related. But I don't want this to be a traditional blog (has enough time passed that I can actually use the word traditional to describe a blog?). Let's make this a conversation. So please comment often!

I want to jump in and give you give the inside scoop on my new book. It's called Project Runway: The Show That Changed Fashion. It comes out this week, so no one has seen it yet. It's the official guide to the show, which will celebrate it's tenth season next week.

I worked with the creators and producers of the show to put this together. So fun! Just about everyone from the show participated, which was very cool. I met with Heidi Klum at her hotel to discuss the Introduction she wrote for the book and interview her. Before I tell you what happened, I will say that yes, she is amazingly beautiful (I am asked that more than anything else). So, I was in the hotel room and I nonchalantly mentioned to her that many of the contestants thought of her as the mean judge, thinking this was something she was aware of. But she wasn't!!! So I'm sitting there with her and a group of people with her, and I'm regretting saying a thing. She's being a really good sport about it, but still I'm thinking that she must see this as my opinion, rather than a fair question (since it has come up on the show!!!!!). Then one of her group googled it and mentioned that Heidi had been called Klum of Doom. I told her, "See! I didn't make it up!! I was never so happy for Google.

I'm looking forward to the new episodes. Doing the book I had to rewatch every episode from all nine seasons. Yes, it was actually my job to spend over 8 hours a day watching the Project Runway DVDs. Here are some of my favorite moments:

-Santino singing the Daniel Franco song
-Tim and Andrae at Red Lobster

-Michael Kors calling a contestant's outfit a disco straightjacket
-Ivy accusing Michael Costello of cheating and telling him to watch out for karma, and then getting stuck in the eye with a needle
-The very first challenge where Nora made a fabulous blue dress out a lawn chair, and Austin made an incredible corn husk dress
-Anything Anthony Williams did was pretty classic
-Zulema yelling at Kara Janx to cry and cut!
-Jay delivering mail

How about you? I'd love to hear some of your favorite moments from the show.

Can't wait to chat again!

Eila

http://www.amazon.com/Project-Runway-Show-Changed-Fashion/dp/1602861781/ref=la_B001KHDN4W_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343070658&sr=1-1