pasdetrois

I adored this season and went into mourning when the show disintegrated into trash. There were some problems (no diversity), but this gang knew how to hold witty conversations and show us their lives in an appealing way.

Another choice tidbit from that time: I took some influential citizens (e.g., white campaign donors) to the House balcony to watch the action. Representative Barbara Jordan, a brilliant Texas attorney who happened to be black (she was on the short list for Supreme Court), was moving back and forth between the aisles during a debate. One of my group loudly asked "Who is that *N-word* down there?" I won't even go into the sexual harassment we all endured on a regular basis. Or fights not to be treated as typists. And ongoing hostility from men AND woman as we tried to grow professionally. Like the worst of her ilk, Phyllis engaged in nasty taunts and bragging about defeating women's evolution. FF (forever fuck) Phyllis Schlafly.

This episode was all damage control. Bravo should be charging each housewife a PR fee. Very recently everyone was remarking that Erika and Tom acted like strangers in every scene they were in. The gossip columns said there was financial trouble and that Erika had a separate residence (perhaps temporarily). I've always believed she had very discreet dalliances, although that may have ended when she joined the show, given increased visibility. I don't buy the carefully rehearsed tender scene. Any good actress can pull it off. No way, no way is Erika in this relationship for love. It's the wealth. She's waiting him out. It appears Garcelle will simply be another vapid, whiny housewife. When will she roll out a new product? Agree that the sharks are circling Teddi, preparing for the kill.

I knew it. This explains A LOT.

I was a very young congressional staffer during this period. The Abzugs, Chisholms, Steinems, etc. of the day were heroic trailblazers. The nasty shit (no other word suffices) that we all endured in the workplace was remarkable in that it was ROUTINE and never given a moment's thought by the men and women who perpetrated it. (One of my bosses asked me to don a French maid's uniform and serve drinks at a fundraising cocktail party. Not the sexy costumey one, the real one that his housekeeper wore.) I hope the show doesn't leave the impression that the women's movement was all about theory and ideals and pithy soundbites. When the resistance arose, the pushback was vicious, daily. Congress exempted itself from the anti-discrimination legislation it passed. Schaffly aligned herself with some despicable characters. I cannot stomach watching it all over again.

Genius wordsmithing. I don't doubt that Dolce owns that NYC home, but I believe D&G reside in Italy. My understanding is that the property serves a business purpose. So I laughed when they tried to imply Dolce was in the next room, eagerly waiting to meet Sutton and Lisa R. Anyone else old enough to remember Elizabeth Ray, the congressional secretary who couldn't type? My mind immediately went there when bombshell blonde Erika said she couldn't type. And I highly doubt that the "go-go" dancers kept all of their clothes on. Why would "gentleman" pay to see that?

It's cool that Dorinda's grandfather and great-grandfather were masons who helped build Blue Stone Manor. But my Shaker-loving aesthetic is shrinking from her gaudy colors and prints.

I just read the Post article, which is very flattering. I didn't realize that fashion insiders and industry leaders looked askance at Christian and considered him mid-brow and a mass-market designer (I'm paraphrasing Givhan's words). He was championing plus-size models long before anyone else. As he says, his business model is successful. I hope he enjoys a long career. Well done, Christian.

Yeah, stop trying so hard to make Chiara happen. Ji's comments about her model with the bigger body surprised me. Was Heidi really put out when she lost that stupid game to Tim? Or was she playing? I don't like muddy dark green or maroon, so I didn't care for Sander's looks. I don't like big prints either - too reminiscent of my grandmother's sofas and drapes - but I loved the fit on Megan's pant suit. And I find her very beautiful. The series is just kind of limping to a deflated finish.

Charlene (the great Jean Smart) told a great story on Designing Women. She traveled to NYC and relayed how snooty the women were to her. Eager to make friends, she asked them "Where are y'all from?" One woman replied disdainfully: "We're from a place where we don't end our sentences with prepositions." Charlene blinked, thought about it, then asked: "Where are y'all from bitch?" I think I heard her say that she was born in Chelsea and the family moved to CT when she was 12. Renovations can be a nightmare. Dorinda may have a high insurance deductible, and some insurance companies are very difficult to deal with. If you're not in a flood plain you can't get flood insurance. And you have to renovate exactly the way the property was before the damage. If the insurer insists on providing the contractor, they take advantage. Sometimes it's a can of worms - the renovations reveal other problems not covered by insurance. Where I live contractors charge much more than what insurers pay for damage renovations. So Dorinda may be having to pay for a sizable chunk of the cost.

Very 70s consciousness-raising vibe. I can't stand whiny pity parties. But it's great to see real women in real bodies on TV.

I thought Ramona's business kind of sprung off of Mario's family business. And we don't know if he supported the business financially at some point. Luann used to wear such beautiful understated clothes. I wonder if she can't afford designer labels any more, doesn't want to get caught wearing anything twice, and so she goes with a literal "this old thing." Sonja's sloppy drunken escapades - not fun to watch. And in her talking heads with the short hair she resembles Barbra Streisand. Despite her claims otherwise ("Oh, look, there's another one of my girlfriends!) I suspect Ramona has zero girlfriends. Or any friends. How to catch a man: 1) Buy clown boobs 2) Expose them at every conceivable opportunity. It's a Bravo housewife specialty. (See RHOA, RHOBH, RHOC...) They are waiting patiently for the day when the FCC drops the prohibition against naked breasts on TV. Ramona: "Let's be more open and vulnerable. I'll start." Launches into a soliloquy after carefully rehearsing it in front of a mirror earlier.

On CDAN some people speculated this was about Sonja. Tinsley and Scott don't seem to match. Her entire life has been spent in a rarified bubble, and then the only guy she can find is a nameless sleazy business guy in Chicago who is using her? Was there no one else - someone with money and social cachet - interested in her?

Like others, the pandemic lockdown drove me back to this show. Kyle is desperately trying to hang on to her man. He's a smooth operator who reliably churns out the "You look beautiful honeys" while funding Kyle's flighty projects. Anything to shut her up and keep her preoccupied. The scene where she tries to engage him on the phone was very telling. Meanwhile I see that he settled the lawsuit. Kyle's not bright or disciplined enough to swoop in and pretend to be a fashion designer for the cameras. Waltzing in and undoing the staff's hard work, and jamming her spoiled daughter into the model lineup at the very last minute? Bleating her little "I'm the boss" tantrums? WTF? I think Lisa R. is supporting her entire family. She's obnoxious but she works like a dog while her useless husband and children do nothing of value. Where have we seen Sutton, and for that matter Shahida, before? They both are familiar. I guess Erika resolved her issues with her husband. Wonder if he's still spending lavishly on clothes and Erika's show. I agree that the stripper bar visit was an attempt to get in front of the story. No wonder she's so good at maneuvering around on a stage in high heels. I believe the rumors about Dorit and PK struggling financially and living separately. She's probably looking for her next grift. The most telling moment of the episode was when Denise was explaining that she doesn't get child support and doesn't use lawyers. Erika is shrewd and her red gossip flags went up and she honed in on it. I've never bought Denise' angelic act. She's an opportunist (in a town lousy with opportunists) who chose to marry the loathsome Charlie and have children with him. I'm pretty sure that Charlie paid her lavish amounts of money to buy her silence and cooperation when the marriage ended, and also bought her agreement not to go through child support and custody mechanics and lawyers, which open one's private life to scrutiny. I'm sure Denise was paid handsomely to take on his other children. Denise's aggressive sexuality is very weird and off-putting. I happen to believe that she dallied with Brandi - no way she will admit it. What does the dalliance say about Denise's judgment? There's something very rotten in Denmark. Her fake storyline is coming apart at the seams. Garcelle is stunning, but is this show the best that she can do?

My favorite vampires are back and firing on all cylinders. Despite their flamboyant clothes and mannerisms, I find myself watching Guillermo. He gets his revenge from their mistreatment by stealing every scene he's in. Good to see Haley Joel Osment, who was great at Topher. I'll "bite": did we find out what updog means?

An in-law who is in IT told me a long time ago: if you don't want anyone to see it, don't put it online. She was talking about email, but my family tends to be very conservative about anything personal online. Random fact: I remember reading that abortion was the primary form of birth control in the Soviet Union and other countries, and it wasn't uncommon for women to have what we consider many abortions. I'm sure that's changed. Don't want to go too off-topic, but amarante - do the rules for slander and libel ever cover situations like MJ's? It seemed to me that Reza was trying to ruin her reputation via a pretty big audience.

What has struck me about this show is how little the sellers are walking away with, especially in that market. The "four appliances for $2000" must be that the sisters 1) keep a cache of appliances in their warehouse and 2) buy in bulk at deep discount. All my contractors push me to buy materials through their sources, claiming I would benefit from their discounts. I find what I want for less. But it does take time to buy your own materials.

100X this. Several years after I bought my old house that needed lots of work, and the HGTV phenomenon was taking off, I realized that I didn't have to acknowledge industry trends. Or pay the money to keep up with them. Open concept, stainless steel, granite...they change constantly and, just as in fashion, the underlying purpose is to sell stuff and line vendors' pockets. It astounds me that I've seen multiple houses re-done by flippers and buyers multiple times. Tear-down followed by two and three massive renovations over a 20 year period. Do what you need (broken faucets), do what you love (gotta have wainscoting), and ignore the rest. The exception is when it's time to sell. Depending on your market, you have to decide whether to go the pre-sale renovations and staging route that Realtors push. In most cases, you don't recover the full cost of your renovations, but you may gain top-dollar and a quick sale.

I'm familiar with Parker's family's school. I used to volunteer with a local environmental group and we'd take kids on field trips to the Chesapeake Bay area. It's a legitimate organization founded by Parker's grandfather. Old-time Chesapeakers are devoted to the bay. They may not be monied, but well-connected given all the wealth in that area. Locals resent the DC politicos and industry captains who bought up a lot of the waterfront land and built McMansions. Parker seemed as if he could not comprehend that he'd lost control of his storyline. He thought his glib charm would win everyone over. Also, he doesn't seem to have much of an attention span.

I think that Vishal and Richa have a long-standing, chummy arrangement and understanding. Given the pressure to marry in their culture, and perhaps their own desires to have kids, they've decided a friendship vs. a romantic partnership is the way to go.

I've always been under the impression that boomers are Bravo's primary audience, at least for the housewives' shows. Regarding the respectability of tattoos, a lot of military veterans have them. Are they trashy? I liked Leah's hat, but it was wrong for the outfit. I wondered what she was hiding under it - dirty hair? I prefer Luann's charming old Sag Harbor house to Ramona's impersonal masoleum.

This show is a mess. It's clear that it's driven by Amazon's and Heidi's crass drive to make more money. I'm embarrassed for Tim's devolution into a goofy side-kick. I've speculated for several years now that he is becoming physically fragile, and I think he continues to accept this work because he needs the money. When PR first exploded on the scene, he explained in interviews, and I think in his own book, that he did not make decent money for years, including while at Parsons. He hasn't had a domestic partner in decades (to share expenses or perhaps provide employment benefits, such as health insurance). PR was his chance to catch up financially , and now his production company is credited by name on this series. However he's still emotionally invested in fashion and moved by little moments when he sees inspiration. The show is not using him in the right way. I hate the way he gets shoved into the background during the critiques while the Heidis and Naomis of the world blather on. Speaking of which, why aren't we being shown Naomi's clothes? She just sits on a stool and glowers. Esther appears to have some deep-rooted anxieties. Combined with her rigid design aesthetic, she is unsuitable for what Amazon's trying to do. I've wondered if Megan might be a stealth candidate - level-headed, polished, able to produce marketable fashion. I think this is between her and Jonny.

Todd is an opportunist.

Tinsley's erratic relationship may actually be scripted for the cameras. Scott (and Dale) want the exposure as much as she does. It's their "brand." (Gag.) I question whether Tinsley still has wealth. People run through inheritances and settlements all of the time. I suspect she's living off of her Bravo paycheck and Scott. I think Dale is invested in Tinsley's fortunes (literal and figurative) because she is struggling as well.

Agreed. Lu is really mad at production, not Ramona. Ramon's just following the script.