The Fashionista Mama

The Fashion Show from Bravo

2009-05-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

I was very reluctant on watching this show considering how famous "Project Runway" is. As we all know Project Runway moves to Bravo's big competitor channel TLC. It was a stupid move on Bravotv's part, but hey... I wasn't involved in this whole blow out so who cares! I love TLC anyway. Anyway, my first reaction when I saw the preview of The Fashion Show, I thought how could you compete with something so big? But I decided to give the show a chance to wow me.

My impression when I saw the first episode was this can't be real. Are all designers this weird? This Merlin guy was wearing red Robin Hood outfit, James Paul looked like little Christian Siriano (winner of last season Project Runway) but in a weirder way, and Johnny guy looked like Samurai soldier with a bun on his head. It was just totally weird!!

I can definitely see the resemblance between The Fashion Show and Project Runway. Isaac Mizrahi axes word is "We're just not buying it" compare to Heidi Klum's "auf wiedersehen". The things I like so far about this show:

the designers work in a group to present a collection instead of presenting their own style. Presenting a collection is a lot harder than it is to an individual piece, because you want to make sure everything is cohesive. The conflict between designers within the group also adds a little bit of interesting drama to it.
I also like the assignments thus far since it is more wearable by consumers.

Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland are the hosts and judges, and I think they do ok so far.

They invited a group of people who are in fashion industry to vote the winner and give their brutally honest opinion about the work. I think it is more fair for the competition as we won't see (hopefully) people like Kenley whom the judges obviously kept for the sake of drama.

The things I don't like about the show:

I don't really get the idea of Isaac and Kelly paying a visit to the designer work room and reviewing their work. They don't really give any advise as Tim Gunn does at Project Runway. And if they do, it won't be fair since they're also the judges. Sometimes it's interesting to see how the designers listen to Gunn's advise (or not) and execute it.
I miss Michael Kors and Nina Garcia snarky comments. I think Isaac, Kelly and the guest judges are too nice.
I think the designers are less talented than Project Runway's. My all time favorites are season 2 Project Runway (Chloe Dao, Santino, and Daniel Voscovich). I'm not completely impressed with their work.

I'm just eager to see how talented the designers are and what else this show has to offer. Overall, the fashion show seems to be promising and worth to stick around.

Visit to Polaris Mall

2009-05-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty happy today mainly because I got a really good deal on my shopping trip. I went to Polaris mall because I need to buy a birthday present for my friend's little girl. So I went to my all time favorite children's store ever... Gymboree. I found a really cute shirt and dress, both are from Valentine's collection. The shirt says "My Love Belongs to Daddy" and the dress is in pink with hearts printed all over it. They both were around $20 - $24 each and are on sale for about $6. Pretty good deal, eh?

Then I went to Janie and Jack children boutique because there was a sign that they're having up to 60% off sale. I've never stepped my food in that store before because I know their clothing are very pricey. But I thought, what the heck.... I don't have to buy anything anyway. Turns out I found a really cute green sweater with Panda applique on the front. The sweater is on sale from $42 to $12. This would be for Winter next year. Most of the stuffs that are on sale are not available in size 3T. Well, the bigger the size is, the harder it gets.

In the past, I never got so excited about shopping for my little boy. I just thought boys clothing are so boring until I was introduced to Gymboree and its sister company, Janie and Jack. Their design is really sophisticated with a high quality of work and material. Remember, don't buy unless they're at least 50% off.

Fabulosity Under Budget

2009-05-10T17:18:00.000-07:00

We all know that being a new parent means changing our lives for the better. That too includes my shopping habit. I was one of those people who never check the price before buying anything. If anybody has seen Jessica Simpson in Newlywed when she bought $700 worth of lingerie, that would be me! Ok, I never spent $700 on a shopping trip, but you get the idea.
I have a budget of $50 to shop just for myself... not for my son... or my husband... just for me. I'm quite happy with my budget considering I don't normally go shopping every month anyway these days.
Anyway, I have a wedding to go to last weekend. I had been eyeing this dress from Charlotte Russe at Polaris Mall for a couple weeks now, but just didn't have a chance to shop there. So while my son was napping, I told my husband I want to go shopping. The dress was still available with the right size. It's a black mini dress with three tiers of ruffles, a perfect sillhouette to hide my baby belly and my boobs (I have too much on lower part and too little on the upper part of my body). The best part is it only costs $28.99. Charllote Russe has a pretty good price and the clothing is pretty fashionable. That's the place where you can get for the money. So I tried it on and it was perfect. Here's the picture of the dress.

Then I stopped by at Gymboree to check out some stuffs for my son. They have Summer items on sale for $6.99 and below. Last time I was pretty upset because I couldn't get enough items for 2T or 3T. See, the bigger the size the harder it is to get. I also learn that when gymboree is having sale, I have to fight with stay at home moms for their stuffs. I bought a couple tanks for $2.99 and $4.99 (both shirts' original price is $12.50 each), a short for $3.99 and a hoodie for $2.99 (both items original price is $22.50). Pretty good deal, right?
Next I stop by at Old Navy with the intention of buying PJ's for my son. The PJ wasn't on sale so I ended up browsing the sale rack. I found a couple Summer dresses that were on sale for $5.00/each with the original price of $24.50 each.
Lesson to learn, always buy off season items for next year. You get the best deal that way. I still need to get Fall/Winter outfit for me and my son. Since I didn't do this kind of shopping last year, I probably have to get them from second hand stores.