I don’t blame him. I actually commented on the Bravo site, which I have never done before, not so much that I felt plus-sized women were being treated badly on this episode, but that I felt it was unfair to the designers to have such a huge range of body sizes. Hell yeah if I had first pick of those ladies I would have gone for Robert’s sister, who could practically BE a model herself. It opens up so many more options of what can be designed for that body. Even for a creative designer, there are limits to what a plus-sized model can effectively wear, and let’s face it, these ladies weren’t models. Some were quite short, some were morbid obese, and beyond “plus-size.”
Dammit, I meant to add to my previous post, though, that regardless of how ill-conceived the challenge was, that doesn’t mean I can’t be put off by the at the thinly veiled attitude of disgust Robert and Jeffrey were showing for the models they got “stuck with.” The derision for their size is more open in the behind-the-scenes video at the Bravo website.
I just finished listening to the podcast, and as much as I really love Tim Gunn, I’m getting a little tired of his antipathy toward Vincent. Now, I don’t like Vincent, I think his clothes are ugly and he’s more than a little mentally unstable, but to say that Uli’s mom wasn’t an “everyday woman” because she was small was just wrong. Suck it up, Tim - Vincent won a challange.
I actually like Kayne’s outfit - it wasn’t stunning, but it did look like everyday clothing that an Atlanta mom might wear. I’m in general not a fan of cropped pants, though. I didn’t particularly like Uli’s garment - that floaty poncho look is just too “I’m a big woman!” Angela’s was just awful - how she got Audrey Hepburn out of that I don’t know. Actually, I think I do - in the movie “Funny Face”, Audrey dances around with a tablecloth tied around her waist in the number “How to be Lovely”. Still, not a look I’d want to see in public. Michael’s outifit was his usual high-class stuff. Laura’s outfit was just odd…the pants were too high-waisted. She’s lucky she’s such a good seamtress. That always seems to turn the judges’ minds. Jeffrey - what can we say? It was fugly, he was mean. And at his age he shouldn’t depend on his mother to smooth out his social gaffs. Robert? I don’t even remember what his garment looked like, and that’s the problem right there.
StG
This was in one of Tim’s podcasts.
I wish Robert would have done something the least bit creative. For the lack of a print pattern, we’re stuck with Jeffrey for at least another week.
First, if anyone spoke to my mother the way Jeffrey spoke to Angela’s mother he would have been bitch slapped into next week. She gave her opinion because Tim asked her.
She seemed like a sweet woman, who kept apologizing to him for her body, her taste, etc. and he’s horrible.
No wonder Jeffrey is such a mess. He freaks out and cruise mom comforts him. I bet the counselors in the rehab had a field day with those two.
I almost fell out of the chair laughing at Laura’s mothers face when she got the pregnancy news.
Thank you for writing this. You are so correct! It’s certainly not as if Angela’s mother got all snippy with Jeffrey. She was just very honest. She didn’t like what she saw. And that’s her right. Nothing can excuse Jeffrey’s unconscionable behavior! (Except it made interesting television. Aren’t we all up in arms over him???)
They really should have had more time for this challenge. They had only a half hour to consult with their new client/model and get her measurements, no approrpriately sized dressed forms, and 1 day to put the outfit together (not sure how many fittings they had–I hope it was more than the last hour and a half before the runway show). As a result, the plus size women got a lot of flowing kaftan and mumu-looking things.
The Jeffrey vs. Angela’s mom thing has been hashed to death, but I’ll add my 2 cents anyway and say that the responsibility was Jeffrey’s to make it work. Angela’s mom wasn’t a fellow competitor or coworker. She was just someone’s mom there for what was supposed to be a fun visit with her daughter. I don’t care if she was whiney, weak, or insecure. It was Jeffrey’s responsibility to work with what he had. Tell her the green colors you found at Mood didn’t work out, but the periwinkle would really look great with her coloring and accent her lovely face. She’d never considered that color? Oh my gosh she should! It will look ravishing! Basically, flatter her, lie to her, whatever.
I loved Kayne’s outfit for Michael’s mom when I first saw it and was furious that the judges didn’t. However, I think I was focusing on how great the coral color looked next to her face (I thought it was really flattering) and didn’t really look at the rest of the outfit. I think his outfit would have looked better if the shirt had been a bit longer, the pants a bit more fitted and longer, and the sleeves a bit shorter. But with the incredibly short time frame, a great fit would have been incredibly difficult.