sexiest full

I was really excited about this challenge, as a mentor. And after coming off the "designer picking process" and feeling a bit rejected, I was excited because I thought "this was right up my alley". In retrospect, my "Hands On" approach was probably me over-compensating and trying to prove to my designers (and myself) that I was a worthy mentor. And, I also should have known, that the minute I said that "I have this 'in the bag'" on camera is the minute I was going to be in trouble!







Let's get to my inside dish "Nick's Take" on the Episode...

As I said before, this was THE FIRST "actual"
challenge-- not only for the designers but for us the Mentors. This
was going to be a test of sorts on how I should mentor for the first
time. Since I had no other guide on what I should do--mentoring-wise--I
went to my "Instructor Nick" mode when I taught at FIDM in my draping,
sewing, sketching and pattern classes. This began right away during the
bus ride when the designers were given their "sketching time".







HANDS OFF, NICK!: Instead of letting them just sketch alone on
their own, I sat by them and began giving them suggestions and in fact
sketching for them. Now, some of the designers did ask me for
suggestions, since they knew I had knowledge in this "department" of red
carpet dressing. In hindsight, now I realize I should have just let
them figure it out on their own and I shouldn't have been so hand's on.
Then, after the sketching and designers went fabric shopping, I
made my visit to the workroom--along with Tim--and my "hand's on/Instructor Nick"
approach unfortunately continued. This was primarily focused on two of
my designers--Natalia and Stephanie. They were the only ones asking me
questions, asking for my help, etc., and I LOVED giving them my help
(Oscar and Isabelle were on  their own and self-sufficient, for the most part).








It all came to a crescendo when...Natalia had run out into the workroom hallway/lounge area asking me for help with her gown pattern and I found myself ON THE FLOOR truing her pattern/fixing a seam line. Tim, then ran to us and began (correctly so) yelling at me wondering WHAT THE HECK I was doing??!! It was not until then that a BIG ROCK hit me: What the heck was I doing??!! I completely lost myself in going back to being "Instructor Nick" and forgotten that these designers were NOT my students and realized that none of the other mentors were sketching and/or making patterns/draping for their designers and more importantly Tim would NEVER do any of those things either (Stupid me!). It was too late for me to realize that this manner of "mentoring" was not the right way and if it wasn't for Tim, I might have just kept on doing it (Thank You Tim). Again, I really thought I was helping my designers, but I wasn't.



Watch Tim tell me "HANDS OFF!" HERE...



The Runway:



















Isabelle Donola: Isabelle created a very fitted dress from a golden hued silk shantung. The dress featured a draped cowl front and mesh-like back.

Inside Dish--Isabelle had originally made the dress to be LONG but it ended up being TOO SHORT, she then added a piece at the bottom hem (to make it floor length). When I saw what she had done, I told her that the judges might see that and notice it as a mistake. I suggested that she should do away with that piece and just make the dress "tea-length"--below-the-knee cocktail. And she did, and I think the look was quite chic.




Natalia Fedner: Natalia's gown was of silk charmeuse--a fabric Natalia said she loved using in her own line and that it's one of her "signatures". The gown was one shoulder with gold straps.

Inside Dish: This is the dress that I was ON THE FLOOR trying to help Natalia with. Originally, however, this gown was going to have those gold straps and a gold piece in the front but both Tim and I suggested that under the time constraints, this might be too much work for her. She therefore kept it simple and made it a clean one shoulder plain front with asymmetrical side pleating.




Oscar Garcia-Lopez: I loved Oscar's hunter green gown. This was perfectly made and VERY red carpet. I thought that he would be on top.

Inside Dish: Oscar was done waaaaay before any of the other designers. In fact he had so much time, he began cleaning and sweeping the workroom as a result (bless his heart!). Also, this gown was going to have a keyhole front opening AND he wanted to add a BIG BOW at the back--right on her bootie, as well as give her a TURBAN and long gloves. Not kidding. I suggested that it might be "too mucheey" and to keep it simple. He did and it looked gorgeous.




Stephanie Ohnmacht: Stephanie created a strapless dress with this green taffeta.

Inside Dish: Two things happened to Stephanie that weren't good: her fabric choice and the fact that I tried to help. The concept of the design and dress was sweet--she was going for a dress for the young "Hollywood" girl but it ended up looking prom-a-licious. She wanted to do some interesting diagonal draping and make the dress not have side seams yet still achieve a fuller shape. And even with my "Too Hands-On" help (which didn't really help) the dress looked tortured. Seeing the dress on the runway really also brought it home to me to try and stay HANDS OFF. I was sure that my Stephanie would be going home. But she didn't! (thank goodness).




Out: Who did go home was Camilla Castillo. I actually LIKED this dress; it was simple, modern and a little bit "Raf Simons for Dior". I even liked the origami-like folding in the back. The dress, however, was a little too see-through in the front and the fabric was wrinkled. Camilla also made lots of excuses on the runway/judging which I think the judges did not like. She went home.




The Best: (left to right) Designers Blake Smith (Anya's designer) and Sam Donovan (Mondo's) were the two best looks and rightly so. I loved these two designs and for being such polar opposites of what could be deemed as a "red carpet" look. One was a beautifully constructed va-va-voom of a gown (Blake's) and Sam's was a young, directional-looking jumpsuit for an up-and-coming Hollywood ingenue "It" girl. Sam won and Congrats to him!



Click HERE to watch Tim's take on the Episode and talk about my TOO HANDS ON approach (Oyyy Vey!)

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics is a week away and well, I think it's time to discuss some of the Olympics Fashion From Around the World that we will be seeing on display from the athletes. Everyone knows all the much-discussed controversies surrounding the Sochi Olympics including terrorist threats as well as the anti-LGBT laws, but here, I want to discuss other controversies: The Fashion!





Colorful, Printed and a little bit of Fashion Cray-Cray vs. Subdued, Boring and Un-creative...these uniforms below run the gamut. So, without further ado...let's discuss the Olympics Fashion and I am giving each of them my own "Fashion Points" score--0 being NOT Fashionable and 10 being très CHIC...




Germany: Germany's uniforms are COLORFUL, to say the least. Multicolored puffy coats and THOSE psychedelic printed pants! How do you say "Wowza" in German? Well, at least the German Olympic team will be noticed form the "nose-bleed" seats for sure!I think it's A LOT. I appreciate the color and I might even wear that puffy parka but the pants...they look like pajamas a 12-year-old would wear. What do you guys think? Yeay or Nay on Germany?

Fashion Points: 6/10





Canada: Oh Canada. Canada's Olympic uniforms are a big YAWN compared to Germany's but then again, almost anybody's would be. They've incorporated the red, of course. And the country's name is boldly displayed. however, they seem pretty uncreative in terms of fashion. The red parka coat I could buy at an outlet mall like TOMORROW and the zip up sweaters, they seem a little like grandma knitted them...

Fashion Points: 4/10



But, I do kind of like this:


Canada's Snowboarder--Under Armour recently debuted its design of the winter Olympic uniform
for Canadian snowboarders who will be competing at Sochi 2014.The jacket and pants feature a maple leaf pattern, made up
of tiny little triangles. The pattern itself is thermo-conductive and
helps to lock in heat without additional bulk. As well, the outer jacket
is completely water-resistant, which makes it even more comfortable for
wear during winter sports. The uniforms are also kind of "Retro" in that they take
inspiration from the 1972 Summit Series, where the Canadian men’s hockey
team defeated the Soviet Union. I think this look is pretty cool (do the kids still say that??!!).

Fashion Points: 8.9/10




Czech Republic: These boys are happy for some reason. Not sure why. They look like moose-hunters in Alaska. I like the gold lettering in the hooded zip-up parka and the fur cap is kitschy (I'd take a faux fur one please!), but I think the entire look is a bit disjointed..it's like they're going to work out but yet have to brave below zero temperatures to do so. maybe that's the point.

Fashion Points: 3/10




Japan: Orange and blue? Are they from Holland or Japan? I'm confused. I do like the bold colors, but fashion-wise, these are pretty uninteresting.

Fashion Points: 2/10




USA: These uniforms--designed by Ralph Lauren--and all made in the good ol' US of A (Thank Goodness!) were met with lots of shock and awe and much polarized commentary form the web:

"Welcome to the ugly sweater party, America," the
San Francisco Chronicle wrote.



Deadspin chimed in too: "A
generous interpretation would say the patchwork stylings are reminiscent of
certain Russian folk dress. But it's totally just an ugly Christmas
sweater."



Ouch. I don't hate them but at the same time, I'm not super
excited about them. On the positive, I like the "retro" look it's giving
me--like 1960s ski instructors in the Swiss Alps. The navy and red pea coat is
elegant and VERY Ralph Lauren. It screams "Old Money Americana".



Fashion Points: 7/10




Moose Sweater Boy: I would buy this sweater. I would wear it with jeans and my YSL "Johnny Boots". But I am not sure of the white pants, especially in the winter and with all the snow (it will just blend in) and the slush (it will get filthy REALLY fast!).

Fashion Points: 8/10 (for the sweater!)





Patchwork Mess: As much as I liked the other sweater, I am not sure about this one. This sweater is just TOO MUCHEEY. He might as well have a button that you touch and all of sudden it's the National Anthem! It's a bit tacky and too in your face.

Fashion Points: 2/10




Medal Podium Outfits from Nike: Nike also designed the Medal podium looks for the US Olympic team and there are some good and not-so-good things about these looks. I like the sneakers with the bold neon soles; very on-trend. The silver fitted puffy jacket is also very Uniqlo and trendy. I like that it's fitted and sleeker but the silver and the quilting combined...it looks like a Jiffy Pop Popcorn maker. And the leggings are more Lulu Lemon and less Fashion Olympics. With all that said, I still think they're stylish. If I had a vision of what flight attendants on a Moon trip shuttle in the year 2100 would wear, these outfits would be it.

Fashion Points: 5.5/10




US Speedskating Uniform: Now this is HOT. Very Robocop meets hot swimmer. And seriously, look at those LEG MUSCLES! The only think that's a little jarring is the color-blocking focus on the inner thigh region. Just sayin'

Fashion Points: 8/10




Russia: There are a lot of things going on here. On the far right, you have very wearable puffy jackets and red pant combo (I likey!),  then there are two Von Trapp kids from "The Sound of Music" for some reason, and then some fur trimmed ladies:




Miss Russia 1977: Part of me just wishes they were completely made of fur. The styling of these coats looks very 70s pimp...or something an old Russia woman would be wearing on her way to the the supermarket on a cold Winter's day.




Glove Boy--And PS: these gloves are SUPER GAY (and I can say that!).

Total Fashion Points for Russia: 5/10 (for the Good, the "Uh Oh" 70s fur coat and those gloves)




Sochi 2014 Volunteers Uniforms: These above are the uniforms that will be worn by the Sochi 2014 volunteers. The print in these zip-up parka coats/jackets are blindingly jarring. They remind me of a jacket one of the "Golden Girls" would have worn on a rainy Florida day! On a positive note: there's NO WAY one could miss a Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics volunteer, if you needed their assistance--they certainly do not blend in. My secret wish is to see one of the German Olympic team stand NEXT to one of these volunteers!!

Fashion Points: 3.8/10




Mariachi Olympic Prince:  Mexican skier Hubertus von Hohenlohe is trying to go for being the "best Dressed" at the Sochi Winter Olympics. This above is what the 55-year-old will wear during the ski competition. In what will be his sixth trip to the Olympics, Hohenlohe will don a mariachi-themed race suit during competition. "Until I went to Mexico recently to make a documentary, I never
realized what a beautiful, amazing, rich past and culture they have and
what a proud people they are," he told NBC Olympics. "It actually moved
me to see how much they suffered and how much they fought for what they
have. The power to have your own identity is so strong and something I
believe in so I want to give it a go in a very cool, elegant way. I want
to celebrate who they are, but of course in my own style." Hohenlohe, also a prince of German descent, joked that being one of the most fashionable "is a medal I need so urgently."

Fashion Points: 9.5/10




Norway Curling Team: Finally, the Norway curling team and their suits/uniforms. I actually LOVE them! They're fun, kooky and attention-grabbing. Is the print loud? Yes! I would probably never ever wear a complete suit of this but I would certainly love a silk pocket scarf out of it. Watching grown men slide stones across the ice to a targeted area of concentric rings while wearing these get-ups will certainly be one of MY highlights of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics...Go Team Norway!

Fashion Points: 7/10



What do YOU guys think of these uniforms??? Cray-Cray Good or Cray-Cray "Uh Oh!"...Let me know!