Inside Helen's Head

I GOT PUBLISHED!!!!

So I was running errands today and happened to purchase a copy of Belle Armoire Magazine.  I love Somerset publications - I think they have at least twenty that I would like to subscribe to - and the July/August issue had this really cool coat made from grungeboard that caught my eye and I decided to buy that one.  So I finish my errands and come home, settle down in my chair with a little pasta for lunch and start reading the magazine...when I got to the bridal article I remembered that I had sent them a suit that I had embroidered several months ago and thought I guess they didn't like it...I kind of didn't know if they would, it isn't as artsy as some of the stuff they publish and I figured they would've told me if they were going to use it - then I turned the page...and I'm looking at this lovely wool jacket with this colorful embroidery and it takes a moment to sink in... THAT'S MY SUIT!!!!  I jump up and start screaming - Do screams count if no one hears them?  And I call my mom and I post on my facebook page and WOW - it's totally exciting to have something published.  SO a big THANK YOU to Somerset Belle Armoire for publishing my suit - it made my day - possibly the best day EVER!!!

 

 

 

SETH WON!!!!!!

 My favorite Project Runway contestant since Chris March, loved him since day one and for once, the nice guy WON!!!!!

Hooyah!  Won the big prize!  Go Seth!  I so want to wear almost everything he made.  (not too sure about that purple dress but maybe for just the right event.

Here he is, calling his show and looks so cool.  I found out that the clothes he had on in his publicity photo was not what he usually wears - you remember the Chess King outfit?  Apparently he is a blazer and jeans kinda dude.

LOVED this dress.  Love the leather with the wool, love the color, LOVE LOVE LOVE the tights/leggings.  Cape thing reminded me of Rami.

A great suit, great leather detail, pants are a little long but they would probably be just the right length on me!

Love hounds tooth plaid!

Very cool coat, loved the fabric but would also be great in other fabrics for the less bold.  Love the polka dot tights.
 


  My favorite.  Love the fabric, the cut - very cool, WANT WANT WANT WANT this coat.

This is kinda cool but not love just like.  Like the lining on the coat.  Neat idea...but maybe not in yellow plaid. Pants need work.Or less plaid.  Something.

This is cute, shows he can do a less tailored look but not my fave.  I do like how he mixes the different fabrics.
Nice.  More classic fifties than 80s.  Love how he did the plaid in the back.  (he is so good at matching plaids and stripes!)
Very cool.  Not sure where you would wear this tho...but very interesting.
Another cool mix of fabrics.   lIke how that shiney line draws your eye down the front.
 Hmmmm.  Maybe if I was in my 20s.  Kinda bondage princess thing I would have worn when I was much younger.  Me and Madonna.
All in all a very cool show, lots of very wearable looks even tho you might not choose to wear the stripe leggings or whatever...they are versatile in that you could go runway with them and more attention getting or more "normal" and have a more classic look.  I just think this stuff is FABULOUS!!!!
And Seth was just such a great personality on the show that I would have wanted him to win no matter what he did.  So how nice that he was sweet AND talented.

And he has such a cute family, too!  Congratulations Seth!!!! I hope you have a mega successful career and that one day my planets will align and I get to wear that checkered coat!

Project Runway

I haven't been posting about my favorite show!  And it doesn't even suck this season!  Sorry about that.  Anyhow.  I always pick my favorites the first week and then see how they do.  And I am super glad that Seth is doing well, even if Ping had to go.  I am ignoring that they already walked collections because of fashion week falling so soon in the PR season...I think they had too many dummy collections...and I enjoy the show more if I don't know what is coming later.   anyways. 

I still love Seth Aaron!  In fact, after last week's entry, I decided that I AM his target market.  I would totally wear the mom outfit he did and I would put Kat in the daughter outfit.  I LOVE THIS JACKET!!!!!

And I think the girl's outfit was so cute!

I also liked Jay's outfit but I think it would be more for a New York mom and daughter because it's a little more sophisticated than most kids would wear.

I thought they were a little too mean to Emilio.  Yes, the little girl's outfit was kind of old fashioned but it is cute - and I liked the mom outfit.  To me, this looks like something you would wear to church or to tea and maybe that wasn't the event they were supposed to be designing for.  Most of the designers did do much more casual looks. And his girl was a little younger.  I like it.

The only other outfit I found interesting enough to talk about was Amy's. (?...I think that's her name?)  It was pretty out there, although I think the little girl's outfit could have been something if it was made a little better and not so homeless looking.  I mean, I like the idea of the skirt but the execution was weird.  I like the color of the sweater but did she run out of fabric?  Why the ruffle on the legging? And then there was those pants for mom.  I think that petal idea on a cropped jacket might be fun.  But it was just weird as pants. Overall?  Weird.

 

   Tory Burch cracked me up with her "I don't really feel that these colors work together.  I'm not sure that blue and orange are that complementary."

Um.  Tory, what is the definition of complementary colors?  I believe it's the color opposite that color on the color wheel.  And what is opposite blue?  Oh....it's orange.

Anyhow. The color combination was actually the thing I liked best about this outfit.  But maybe that's why I don't work in fashion! 

So...Looking forward to PR on Thursday and I am happy that LOST is back on (tonight!) for it's final season.  I love LOST!  It's just such a fun puzzle.  I am having a hard time with all the shows I want to watch lately, tho...I mean Project Runway, LOST, Kell on Earth...I really only have time to commit to one TV show at a time.  It's just not fair that there is more than one I want to watch! 

Just another Tuesday morning...

 And I am sitting here, sipping a hazelnut latte (new addiction!) and nibbling a yummy Lemonade girl scout cookie (old addiction).  I can't decide if I like them best or the carmel delites (samoas).  Sigh.   I'll need to do more testing.   It's a chilly morning here in Texas and my kids are at school and I have the fireplace blazing.  And I should feel like this...

  Too bad it's only warm right in front of it and I am in the next room!  Anyhow!  Let's make fun of some of the Fall 2010 fashion collections because I have to say, these actually made me laugh out loud.  I do realize that avant garde generally means more art than wearable but I have to wonder how these designers make money?  Do they sell these clothes to collectors?  Do they have another line that goes in the store that is inspired by their clothes?  I'm just curious. 

I just want to know where she got those colored trash bags cause I want some.  It's always nice to have cheerful products to make your chores less dreary! (Agatha Ruiz Fall 2010)
I just don't know what to say....The top part of this might be okay with jeans?  It's just a whole lotta look, as they say on PR! (Agatha Ruiz Fall 2010)
I just wish I could have worn this to prom.  I wonder what Todd would have had made to match?  (Agatha Ruiz Fall 2010)
I keep wondering what that thing around his neck is.  The outfit is kinda boring but hey, wear a giant patchwork quilt/monkey necklace, made from your scraps!  An accessory should draw a little attention, no? I kinda like the hat, sans meatball.  (Isabel Mastache fall 2010)

HaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (it kind of looks like they skinned Squidward) (Isabel Mastache Fall 2010)

Now I know where Dr Seuss gets his clothes. (Isabel Mastache Fall 2010)
I kinda like the hat.  Imagine this in multi colored fleece - now it's a dragon costume!  (Isabel Mastache Fall 2010)

At first I was looking at the scarf thing he is wearing and thinking that it might be fun, maybe I'll make a fleece scarf like that and then I noticed what was sewn onto his pants...?!  Hmmmmm.  (Isabel Mastache Fall 2010)

This coat is the most wearable part of this collection.  Minus the hair bow, unless you are Lady Gaga, of course. (Agatha Ruiz Fall 2010)
This isn't funny, just kind of sad.  Here we have a designer who decided to use "plus" models or in other words, more normal people who would be considered thin in any other venue, and put them in tight unflattering clothes.  I mean, WHY?  (Mark Fast, fall 2010)
This poor girl needs a bra.  I think those are real!  Again, why do this?  To show that these clothes shouldn't be worn by real people?  Just to be mean?  To make some sort of statement about see, size 8 is fat?  To promote taking drugs instead of eating?  Poo on you, Mark Fast and your fall 2010 collection of anorexic wear!

As for the other designers, I actually applaud them - most of the fall 2010 collections are beige, gray, wearable, classic and boring.  And since I wasn't going to buy any of these clothes anyways, I'd rather look at things that are interesting, colorful and yes, make me smile. Bravo!

What We Saw at the Mall

Every now and then I like to walk the mall and check out what seems to be the fashion trend in the stores.  I don't really like the mall in general.  I much prefer little shops...especially "used" stores.  I think the people that work at the Salvation Army shop recognize me.  But anyway; my favorite shopping partner, Rachele, and I suffered a trip to the mall to see what was trendy and to make fun of the sex toys at Spencer Gifts.  We started our day at...

The Atlanta Bread Factory!!!  Their food is sooooo yummy!  I love their asiago sauce.  It's bowl-licking good.  But we were having breakfast so we had coffee and cheesecake.  Cheesecake is always a good idea.  They serve theirs cold and even tho I really tried to let it come to room temp before I ate it, well.  I didn't.

Their bathroom has really neat tile work in it.

Then we went to the mall.  I think it's nice that they have spaces like this now...I remember when I was in my third trimester that it just hurt to walk very much. 

So what did we find?  Lot's of plaid from buffalo checks to tiny, lots of colors and sometimes mixed together.

There were also lots of scarves - not wispy ones but more substantial like pairing a t-shirt with a muffler.  A good item for this area where you never know what the weather will be like in a few hours.

 
I liked how everyone seemed to be pairing gray with other colors...that must be the "new black" for this season.  Designers should just figure out that we like black...but the gray was a nice option.

Another thing that seemed to be a really big trend was shredding.  And holes.  And generally having your clothes look like they are ready to discard.  I imagine this comes from those silly designers that think having the homeless as inspiration is a good idea.  Sigh.  I mean, check out this Rodarte sweater, from the 2010 collection...

And what we found locally...

I also saw alot of motorcycle styling in jackets, in non-leather fabrications.

A lot of the things we saw reminded me of the 80s.  Especially in Hot Topic - that store is just a stroll down memory lane for me.

Can you say "Flashdance" ?

I had a belt like that!

And those sunglasses...

And I would still wear these boots...

Rachele liked these...

And these were scary.  It's like they ate your foot.

We ran into Lady Gaga while we were there...

And the Red Queen...

We played Big hat, Little hat...

We found jeans that make you thinner...

And jeans that make your butt look bad. Do you really want jeans called apple bottom?  Just say NO!

I want this shelf for my studio...

 
A lot of the prom dresses we saw had a 50s influence.  Or maybe it was just the ones I liked did.

This looks like my car.  Sort of.

I never knew this existed.  I'm guessing it's not for Lego's.

  

I wish these came in my size...

This seems to be the popular color palette...sort of south west but brighter.

 
Rachele almost bought this.  Isn't it cool?  I've noticed that you can get a lot of tops with the jewelry sort of attached, now.  Here's where they take an applique and make it into jewelry...

It was a really fun day.  We ended at the bookstore where we read lots of magazines and then didn't buy anything.  I bet they hate people that do that!  But I do buy books there so I don't feel TOO badly about it.  One last funny we saw at the mall...

  
They do realize that it's 2010, right? 

 
 
  
   
 

Launch My Line

I actually kinda like this show.  Not the clothes so much, but the idea of it.  Maybe it will get better...I think they should get to swap helpers...I really like Patrick and from looking at the sketches he has done, he has some good ideas, but for some reason the idiot that is partnered with him seems to be ruining his clothes.  that snake outfit last week was awful.  Anyhow, so I am really glad that this week he made something that actually looked pretty cool.  And if I ever find a picture of it I will include it but for some reason, Bravo has made it hard to swipe photos from them.  You would think that they would want a little free advertising?  Anyhow.  Alberto actually asked why pinking shears were called that and no one knew - it's from the pinking that they did in medieval time - they would cut tiny decorative holes in their clothing called pinks.  And that name came from the flower which reminded someone of the shape of the holes.  It has nothing to do with the color.

I'm not a fashion plate anymore.

I remember when I spent hours picking out an outfit, choosing just the right shoes and accessories trying different hair and makeup...and now...

not only do I wear Birk's, but I think fleece socks are fun with them.  How my children must suffer!

Launch My Line

Hello!  Yes!  I'm still alive!  And ready to finally talk about Bravo's new show, "Launch My Line" which is full of bitchy backstabbing personalities that are made for reality TV - because let's face it, the clothes are only part of the reason we watch these shows, eh?  The real reason is we want to judge and laugh at these people.  Anyhow.  Click on the post below for a link to the fashions if you don't remember them or missed it and next week I will try to find pixs to post-

Okay.  How cute are the boys from D squared?

I like them as hosts.  And their clothes are great!  I just wanted to put Dean and Dan in my pocket and keep them as fashion dolls.  I like the concept of this show because the designers don't have to know how to sew and they don't seem to have a bed time...I always thought it was lame that the PR designers had to stop at a particular time and go to bed. I get my most creative late at night.  And who wants to stop and sleep when you are in the middle of your project?  They have a beautiful workspace and enough wacky personalities for this show to be fun - and having the "pro" to help the designer almost guarantees  some bitchery.  And the helpers seem to be at least as interesting as the designers.  Having them buy all their fabric up front was an interesting twist.  Who else wanted to go shopping when they saw that fabric store?  My little heart just started pounding - I LOVE fabric!  And that notion closet - I can see the hair pulling that is going to go on there!  YAY!  Drama!

My thoughts on the clothes...

Kathy's yellow gown was very pretty and would be a good complement to her jewelry line.  But I think we have all seen that dress before.

Dan's jacket...okay.  I thought the tails were um...stupid.  Bye Dan!

David's skirt and top were okay but the vest was kind of weird.  His model looks familiar...didn't we see her on some other show?

Eric.  Well that was a tacky little cocktail dress.  Ugh!

Kevin. um.  NO.

Louanna.  That was pretty but I agree with the judges that it needed a different hem.

Marilyn - loved it!  I thought the sleeves were a little too exuberant but with tweaking it would be perfect.  I think she was right to change dresses midstream and get a little attention in the beginning - she can do a safer, more classic dress later.  I would have gave her the win.

Merle -  The convertible idea is interesting but I really didn't like this dress...needs some work.

Patrick - easily the biggest personality on the show (hope he is on for a long time and LOVE his hats) but i didn't like what he made - I liked the fabric, purple plaid is great...just thought that the dress wasn't very flattering to the girl in it - and let's face it, we should be wearing the clothes, not the clothes wearing us.

Vanessa - OMG Yuck!  Tacky Fredrick's of Hollywood playboy bunny tranny wear.  How many ways can I say NO!!!!  I would have offed her.  It wasn't even well made.

I think this show is going to be good!  I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
 

Lady Gaga

I love Lady Gaga's new song "Bad Romance"  I keep playing it over and over and am determined to learn the dance the girls in white (on the video) are doing.

So...who remembers when Alison got kicked off Project Runway (season 3) for sending a girl down the runway with a Minnie Mouse bow of hair on her head?  Did you wonder who the heck would wear such a thing?  Now we know...

I'm so grateful for the Lady Gagas of the world.  I feel so normal now.

Project Runway

And that was the best part of Project Runway last night.  Tim did his usual drive around and visit to check up on the collections and give us a sneak peek. 

Carol Hannah was doing a collection inspired by a cathedral because it was ethereal - hmm.  Ethereal, whimsy, fairy-like...yep.  I love the grey dress with the tulle - I think it should be the dress that goes in front of the judges - but it looks awful on her model.  Maybe Lady Gaga could wear it for her. 

She had Tim help make dinner - yep.  He made biscuits in a suit jacket.  Didn't even roll up the sleeves.  Anyone else think it was mostly staged?  Yeah - me too.

And he visits Althea who lives in a cool loft but you have to take a scary elevator to get to it.  She was inspired by Science Fiction movies.  (Kinda like someone else who won a challenge with a ice queen gown?)  She had a sweater jacket that looked a lot like Irina's.  And one of her sketches looked a lot like Nicklas' gown.  Maybe she doesn't have any original thoughts.

Who else saw the baby pix of her and thought she looked like Kirsten Dunst?  Maybe they are related.  I think I might like the fuchsia gown but mostly her collection looks lame.  Maybe they should have let Gordana do a collection instead.

Irina lives in a tiny apartment.  Not quite as small as Christian's but it looked like one room.  But NYC is supposed to be pretty expensive so who knows, that could rent for $3000 a month or something.  Anyhow.  She was inspired by Coney Island and New York in general.  I liked her t-shirt idea with the casual paired with more elegant - I like mixing things like that.  Actually, I liked Irina's collection.  And I liked the black...Christian walked a collection that was mostly black and won.  Women like black.  And it is very appropriate for a collection inspired by NYC - New Yorkers wear a LOT of black.  I liked the weaving detail on a lot of her clothes - reminded me of celtic knot-work.  I was confused about the copyright thing though - can you copyright a place like Coney Island?  I mean, if I took pictures of it, I couldn't use them as my images?  My friend Ricky was surprised by all the fur...but I think fur works in NYC.  If they had walked this in LA it probably wouldn't go over so well - too many vegans out there.  But New Yorkers seem to like both steak and fur.

Anyhow.  Did anyone else think it was weird that her family all looked alike?  Except for the one scary "lady" over on the left and the black dude?  (who was he?  Boyfriend?)

So.  Then everybody goes to New York and Carol Hannah is sick.  And the other two try not to make jokes about her and one of them winning more easily.  And if it comes to that, Irina will win for sure cause Althea's collection is going to suck.  Boring non-conversation from people too aware of the camera crew.  Maybe they should do hidden cameras next season.

I was happy to see Michael and Nina back together - And laughed when Nina was saying that she didn't want to see any knock offs of more famous designers (Kenley?  Are you listening?  How about you, Althea?  Your OWN work.) 

Then Carol Hannah  felt better and worked some...and then SURPRISE! Make another look.  I couldn't believe how surprised they all were...They have WATCHED this show before?  Have they ever not had to produce something at the last minute?  I swear, I would want to be like Jeffery and arrive with every bit of everything finished and only need to do alterations.  In fact, go ahead and make a few extra outfits, just in case.

So they visit Mood and we learn that they have dog and his name is Swatch.  And they whine a lot and Carol Hannah gets sick again.  Blah Blah Blah.  She wasn't with them in the previews for next week.  I wonder if Tim had to do her show for her?  I think Irina is going to win but she might have a shot...but most of the bits I saw looked pretty overworked.  She probably can't win with one really cool dress.  Anyhow...that was it.  ho hum yawn done.