little black cloud

Just hit me: This may be the only menswear challenge ever where most designers didn't embarrass themselves with their fit and finish.

Surprisingly good challenge! Hester deserved to be spanked for that outfit, though; even with immunity, she belonged among the bottom 3. The hat had a BEAK on it, for crying out loud. i was going to have to change the channel if people called him “Sir Elton” all through the episode. I was glad they cut that shit out after Christian’s intro.

Sebastian's look after being chosen by Tessa was the best thing all episode...until Garo's look at being chosen by Hester.

Nothing wrong with looking like a working girl, Hester, but why not choose to look like one who bathes instead?

Checking, checking...yep! Still cringing with vicarious embarrassment at Garo’s fashion editor/dominatrix scenario.

The most gorgeous thing I saw tonight was Robin Hunicke’s lace dress. Urrrrrgh where can I get that?!

Ugh, I find Hester so repellent. She’s terrible, y’all: She changed her hat. But even if her personality weren’t so irritating, I still wouldn’t like looking at her. I hate her whole personal aesthetic, correctly pronounced.

Right? I’m loving Christian’s presence at Mood, and his willingness to give guidance on fabric choices while there’s still time for the designers to change them. Tim often came in with opinions about the fabrics once the designers were back in the work room — and what were they supposed to do at that point? I would have liked to see any of the designers seek out and use a varied print, one that’s not the same all across the bolt, but one with gradients or flowers here and dots there or variations in scale. You know, something they could have played with across the span of the head-to-toe look. That might be asking a lot, considering how little time they have at Mood, but nobody’s print really rang my bell. I was glad to see Nadine go. Beyond her outfit, which I didn’t think was actually the worst on the runway, she was no fun to watch. I don’t need every designer to be a cloying ray of sunshine, KOVID, but I also don’t enjoy watching people who are just so relentlessly sour. Oh, and Hester’s look was ridiculously junior. ...Said in my sneeriest Nina Garcia voice.

Alyssa’s porny black lace jumpsuit. That shit comes bunched up in a plastic envelope hanging on the wall at Party City come October.

“A rich lady calling her stylist and asking for a bunch of party dresses” isn’t exactly a compelling answer to the question of who your girl is and where she’s going, TEAM.

...Or one who's a messy drama whore. Falling to her knees on the runway? Really? Get it together, lady.

The second I saw Michelle flossing at the breakfast table, I knew I wanted her to lose.

Along with “Never make anything two ways,” “Know one killer dessert,” and “Ix-nay on the isotto-ray,” I feel like every chef who’s ever watched this show should know these words of wisdom: “Always wear a sleep bra because one day they’ll barge into your bedroom.”

This is absolutely beside the point but all three women at the table during the dinner looked ravishing.

When Alyssa first came out on the runway to introduce the challenge, she looked stunning...from the armpits up, and from the hips down. Good lord, that cutout in the middle of her jumpsuit. Glad Django went. His sourness was beginning to curdle my enjoyment of the show.

This episode is almost a week away and it’s already pissing me off.

I am sorry for Candace, as I find her generally likable, but she was clearly the worst this week. This may be my last time to ask: What do we think she does to her hair to make it so patent-leathery? And while I'm being shallow, I wonder...has the show's camera work changed, or is my new TV just revealing more detail? I feel like I'm seeing so much more in the way of skin problems and bad makeup than I have in seasons past.

If I have any particular feelings about Tanya at all, they tend towards the negative, since she's always struck me as rather mirthless. But she won me over forever and for always when she told Carrie to get woke. No matter how good Carrie's intentions -- and it's not clear to me what she was even hoping to do -- she was still trying to manage a situation in which a black woman is expressing herself. In the context of our culture in general, and her career specifically, I suspect Tanya has had her fill of that, thanks very much.

Real question: Are we supposed to think Kate is a good singer? I don’t. But I can never decide whether the show wants me to believe she is. Her audition tape, agggh.

Boy, was this couple...not especially delighted. It seemed to me that the custom end tables by Grandpa fell kind of flat — or at least flatter than Chip and Joanna expected.

Did I miss something? How do we know that he must be Yuri?

I really enjoyed tonight's show, and especially appreciated Brooke's reflection about how Top Chef is something she does for herself, for her personal growth. Every time I hear some contestant talk about "doing this for my daughter" or "making my son proud," I want to run amok. Brooke has her head on straight. I love that about her. Aaaaaand I'm simultaneously sad about losing Sheldon. Favorite top three ever, maybe.

It's a good thing none of the judges asked, "Who is your girl and where is she going?" The only possible answer would have been, "Well, I don't know. You tell me. You people set this shit up."

Oh, my God, why do I watch this shitty, shitty show? I know the way Papa Pope lingered over his descriptions of incestuous child rape was supposed to seem obscene, showing us that there are no depths too low for him, but watching it, I felt implicated, as if I were every bit as low as he is for being entertained by it. ...If "entertained" is indeed the word. I know it's not exactly new for Scandal to ask viewers to take vicarious part in some pretty awful things. If I am a camel, this is my straw. I am fucking out.

I'm sorry that happened to you, TV Diva Queen. It's rough, huh? I actually think Olivia was picking a fight with Fitz at least in part so that he'd push her away -- to make him hate her. All noble-like. Better that he be angry at her, after all, than hurt by her choosing not to continue a pregnancy. ...Which means, I fear, that this isn't the end for them. Not by a long shot.