Katherine Gerdes

Episode 7: Everyday Woman

26 August, 17:50 - thus far 10 insightful comments have been made

Ahh… the “mom” challenge! I can’t decide if this is something I wish I had been around for or not… of course I would have liked to stay (and win!), but there are a few reasons that I don’t think I would have liked this one:

1. I am very protective of my parents. Now my mom and I can get in some pretty heated arguments and I might say some not so nice things (sorry mom!), but I’m her daughter! If anyone else says crap about my mom I’m ready to kick some butt and trust me, I may be small, but I’m feisty! I would have been very concerned for my mom because she isn’t model size and I’m sure she would have taken it to heart if some of the designers were talking badly about plus sized people. Now this is where it would have gotten interesting though, I would have gotten upset and worried for her, but no matter how badly she felt inside, if Jeffery (or anyone else) talked crap to her, I fully believe she would have grabbed him by the you-know-what’s, given a good twist and said something to the extent of “who the h-e-double hockey sticks do you think you bleeping are you little bleeping-bleep, whiney-ass bleep?” Ah yes… I think my feisty-ness came from her! Thanks mom!
2. My other problem with this episode would have been the complaining about designing for plus-sized women (plus-sized = anyone who’s eaten in the past month and is larger than a size 2, even Tim was calling Alexandra last week large and I’m guessing she was all of a size 4…maybe). I won’t dive into my personal issues, but basically I’m completely offended when designers talk about not wanting to dress larger people, or they complain about how nothing looks good on them, blah blah blah… I think anyone and everyone who isn’t a model knows that it’s hard to find clothes they like and look good on them, especially anyone larger than a size 10 or so. That’s where designers need to step it up. Just because someone is larger doesn’t mean they don’t want to look good, feel cute, sexy, hot, attractive, confident, ______ (insert any other positive word you can think of). Yes, it is a bigger challenge to design and make plus sized clothes, especially in the short time frame and without a correct size dress form, but I will challenge any designer to say that they don’t need or want to design for plus sizes! Listen up kids, it’s called “America’s top fashion designer” and American’s are fairly large! If we’re going to be the fattest country in the world, then shouldn’t we at least try dress well? Okay…enough of my rant, sorry about that. Basically I’m just saying I probably would have lost it on this episode. I’m done now.

Angela (Designed for Laura’s mother Lorraine): I think the downfall for Angela is this runway was that her outfit for Lorraine was not age appropriate at all. I actually don’t think the outfit was that bad in general (other than the fringe, but I’ve never liked fringe…oh wait, I had a purple western tee-shirt with a “V” of fringe down the front and little western horse metal studs on it that I loved when I was 10)? Okay…back on subject, I didn’t think Angela’s outfit was bad. I couldn’t see much of it because it was in all black, but I thought the v-neck shape was great for Lorraine and I’m sure her construction was pretty good (whether you like her designs or not, you’ve got to give Angela credit for having good construction!). Like I said, overall I think she just missed the age bracket on this outfit and I also think Lorraine’s personal style would be a bit less casual than what Angela made.

Jeffery (Designed for Angela’s mother Darlene): I’ll be honest. I think Jeffery should have been out on this one. Not necessarily just because of his design, which was bad, but also because of the way he treated Darlene. I’m sure she wasn’t the easiest person to design for and it probably didn’t help that she was Angela’s mother, but in the real world fashion industry you have to deal with “problem” clients all the time. Most people know what they don’t like and don’t really know what would make them look good, but you still have to work with them and just can’t force your designer opinion on them. It’s especially hard on a client who doesn’t have the greatest self-esteem (and let’s face it, that would be most of us!). I know that there are certain items of clothing that people think I look good in, but I’m uncomfortable and self-conscience about them, and because of that I’m not going to feel or look good. It was the same thing with Darlene. I’m sure she was struggling with being on the runway (something that would scare the crap out of me!) and also trying to not hinder Jeffery’s design. I don’t think either of them would have been fun to work with, but if this was the real world, the way Jeffrey treated her would have lost him a client and that’s not “America’s top designer.” Okay…on to the outfit. I actually liked it a lot better when Darlene tried it on without the jacket. I didn’t get the asymmetrical blue stuff at the top, but I thought that light blue color looked really good on her. I think the dress was a dark purple right? I can’t tell, it looks black to me, but maybe had the dress been a bit shorter (just under the knee) than it wouldn’t look so matronly? I think a lot of designers need to realize that many plus sized women carry their weight up top and have pretty nice legs. There are a few key areas on most women look good no matter what size, the shoulders/collarbone/cleavage area and the lower legs. If you can, you need to show those off!

Kayne (Designed for Michael’s mother Pamela): Let’s start off with how much I adored Kayne and Pamela’s relationship. He was SO excited about the sparkles on her shoes. Love it! They really seemed to get along and had similar taste in design. I liked the cropped pants on Pamela, the pin tucks down the front add a slimming affect and they looked really well constructed. I wasn’t as much a fan of the top though. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but I don’t think the coral/orange color was the best choice for Pamela. I can see her looking fantastic in a really bold jewel tone. I don’t get the concept of the shiny fabric (anyone know what that is? Did I miss him talking about it?) draped across the top. It doesn’t have enough “purpose” for being there. It almost looks like a last minute “oh, this top is too boring” decision, like he added it without much thought behind it. Shiny fabric is also really tough to work with for anyone who’s not a size 2; it tends to showcase ANY bumps, bulges or things you don’t like. Even draped across her shoulders, I think it adds a “lumpy” look to Pamela where she’s not very lumpy! That said, on the runway Pamela said she liked it (and I think she was being honest), so I think Kayne deserves credit for really working with his costumer and making her happy.

Laura (Designed for Jeffrey’s mother Pam): Now bear with me on this one… here’s my take on Laura’s design and possibly why she had a harder time with this one (You’d think she do so well designing for a well put together mom!): I think Laura is so used to designing for her small customer base (herself), that she didn’t take into account Pam’s different body shape. Now I’m not saying Pam was large in any way, but she has a very different body than Laura’s. Laura can pull off the very high-waist pants and skirts, not only because she is so skinny, but also largely in part because she’s not very well endowed on top (I’m not trying to be mean, I swear!). Really high-waist items tend to not work well on women with average to large chest; they end up making you appear all legs and no torso, just a pair of boobs on top of a skirt! Trust me, as a short girl who is well endowed (thanks a lot mom), the ban of my existence is trying to make it look like I have a torso! I actually liked Laura’s cruise concept for Pam and the colors were nice (not black and white!), I think she just failed in the fit/style on Pam’s body. Maybe had the skirt sat lower on Pam’s waist, the outfit wouldn’t have been too bad. Her construction skills are amazing and I’m impressed that she made a collared (and cuffed) shirt in the short time they had.

Michael (Designed for Robert’s sister Teresa): There were a few moments there that I thought Michael had won another challenge! As always his dress was perfectly constructed and fit Teresa beautifully. I was shocked to hear him say that it was fully reversible! Not only does a reversible design like that take twice as long (you’re really making 2 dresses and sewing them together), but it can also be a challenge to construct. The problem you run into any sort of lining or reversible garment is that there is always the possibility that the inside layer is smaller and will pull on the top or vice-versa, the inside layer could be too big and bunch/bulge under the top. It’s not easy! I’m not really sure how old Teresa is (did I miss that on the show?); Michael’s dress looks very age appropriate and is very mature (but not in a bad way, not matronly) and sexy (more flirty, playful sexy, not trashy).

Robert (OUT: Designed for Vincent’s sister Patricia): Aww, I’m sad to see Robert go! He was one of my favorite people. While I don’t think he should have gone home this week, I think he’s been slipping up the last few challenges (don’t hate me Robert!) and I’ve been hoping for his “mojo” to come back, but sadly that can’t happen now. While he did have the largest model, I was thinking during the runway show probably what hurt him the most is that she didn’t appear happy at all! Even the other women who said they were nervous about the runway (Kayne’s mom Judy for example) still went out there and tried to “work it!” I will give Robert (and the other designers) that it’s harder to design for plus sized women, but I think he forgot to keep in mind that these women do want to look good and cute even though they’re not a size 2. I feel like his downfall was that black dress. It really looked lifeless and it didn’t seem he put much thought into it? Maybe a fun, flowy, colorful skirt with the wrap cardigan in black or brown would have worked better than the black dress? Just a thought. I’m sad to see Robert go, but I know he will do well (better than the already fantastic career he’s had!). I will say that I’ll miss him and Kayne together and that I’m still holding out for the Robert-Kayne “fantastic-duo” show!

Uli (Designed for Kayne’s mother Judy): I thought Uli had this challenge won hands down. Her design for Judy was a perfect blend of Uli’s style (flowy & mixed patterns), but also made Judy look fantastic! Uli managed to stay away from falling into the “mu-mu” look that happens so often while designing for plus sizes. Her top was beautifully constructed and while not really fitted, the sheerness of the fabric managed to not weigh Judy down. The fabric combination with the subtle but still bold (how is that even possible?) paisley print and the vertical stripes down the front (very slimming!) was a combo that only Uli could do so well! Judy has the same body shape as my mom (carries weight on top with teeny-tiny fantastic legs) and I’m glad that Uli offset the larger draped top with the slim cut pants. I think that proportion looks great on women with an “apple” shape. Great job Uli! You and Michael are competing for my favorite at this point!

Vincent (WINNER: Designed for Uli’s mother Heidi): Vincent’s outfit for Heidi was well made and fitted her like a dream. He also managed to keep it age-appropriate, but still interesting, fresh and anything but matronly. I was a bit nervous about his “black and tan” concept, but in the end I think it turned out rather well and not as predictable as a black dress with a white collar. My only problem (and it’s a small one) is that the tan color appears to close to Heidi’s skin color for my taste (but that could just be the photo). While most definitely Vincent’s best outfit in the competition so far, I still think Uli should have won this one. But Congrats to you Vincent! You made Heidi look fantastic!