Thoughts on my own gown....well, to be honest, the first thing I thought was that the dress is hiked up too high! The pleats are really supposed to lie flat across the lower surface of Gene's lovely vinyl bust. It is fine the way it is pictured, but the pleats don't look as defined when they are not pulled tight. The next thing I realized was that the details at the straps were essentially not visible.
In a similar fashion, the little shoes I crafted were not visible at all. It is interesting that in a doll competition (large or small) it is often the scale details that make or break a design in person. 
Hmmmm. I don't think I am going to fare all that well in the court of public opinion. (hehehe Of course, with as slow as my custom work has been going lately, my regulars will all breathe a sigh of relief. Several have commented that they would just as soon keep me as their "private" designer...and that is probably for the best, since boxpleat has to bow to mom duties all the time now.)Hmmm, when I look at my little detail pics, they are much too small still. I will have to look in to that.
Now these are much bigger. Is that better? They are still not the best pics in the world. My skill does not lean much toward the photographic side of my business. I think you get the idea for the dainty details though.
The tiny details are often the parts I like best.Now for my reactions to the other designs. Please note: I am aware of my own bias, I hope you will be aware of it too. I also hope that the other designers won't be bothered by my commentary. As I mentioned earlier to those who have been following the drama from the yahoochat page, I recognize that my personal style is not for everyone. Some of the designs we have already seen are not things I would ever try myself, that doesn't mean they won't have vehement fans....and it doesn't mean they don't deserve those fans, it just means I don't particularly like it. And all you other designers and "viewers" out there, you can feel free to "not particularly" like my designs as well.
(Do feel free to comment by clicking on the "comment" note at the bottom of each post.)
If you want to follow along, I am listing them in order from the main "Runway Page" for this Challenge.
Magia 2000: I love this design (yeahyeahyeah, so does everyone I suppose but that doesn't make it any less true. :) I think it a believable Red Carpet gown with enough vintage sensibility to work well for Gene. I wish we could have actually gotten a shot of the back of the gown though. Is there a separate piece that adds to the train? Is the upper bodice hand beaded? (And my question, how much beading is too much for the "factory" that we were continually enjoined to produce for...)
Debbie: My first thought was that it looked very plain in the pictures. I liked it much better when I saw the pictures Debbie posted later, largely because the skirt didn't look so stiff. I also thought her quilted clutch purse was great. I think she captured the modern girl choosing a vintage dress look.
Karen: I could see where she was going with the color but I wasn't wild about the hemline and the little jacket. Again, like Debbie's, I liked the dress MUCH more when I saw Karen's pictures. It makes me wonder how different EVERYONE's designs would feel to us as viewers if, rather than being uniform, the pictures were selected to highlight the strong points. Of course I understand why the pictures ought to be uniform...sigh! I don't have to like it thought do I? (I am a terrible photographer though, so I don't imagine my pieces would be that much better served.)
Judith: I thought it was an interesting use of the pre-pleated fabric in the skirt. I didn't realize until the discussion started that the collar and upper part of the bodice were "leather," and while that made me like it less personally, it is a very bold move and deserves some respect because that stuff is hard to sew!
Brenda: I have to admit, I thought of the Brown paper bag too. :( The colors on my monitor were very distressing. When Brenda was describing the colors later in the yahoochat and pointed out that the green had a pink tone and that the lower piece was "gold," things made more sense. When I went back to look at the design again, trying not to look at the way the colors appeared, I was amazed by the interesting structure of the lower part of the dress. Still looks like a paper sack, but what a cool concept. It was the color issue that hit me hardest though. (I hope your house is safe from fires, Brenda.)
Leigh: I thought this gown was really lovely, but very subdued for an evening of eye-catching. I can see it getting worn however. I do have to point out (and this is just because I am a snob, I suppose but...) NO Oscar gown would have a machine hem. That is just a pet peeve of mine, and I hope you aren't offended Leigh; if you are, I am sorry. I look at that lovely expanse of gorgeous silk in the skirt and my eye is just drawn to the hem. Sigh! I suppose we all have our little scritchy points, and hems are mine. hehehehe
Safina: While I didn't particularly care for the two colors together, I adore that fiery Orange. Every year I find there are colors that speak to me and lately it has been fire colors like this one. When I have seen Safina's work in the past, I have been amazed at how she gets such a great fit on the smaller sized gals. Having the first round on Gene was definitely a disadvantage for some and an advantage for others. I think I would have liked the design itself more if the ruffle in front were smaller to show off the dramatic keyhole neckline more.
Brandon: I like the vintage feel of the little jacket, but it seemed really "day wear" to me....maybe the short sleeves? It was also really hard to see the details on this one in the pics....like the corset effects in the back and the structure of the bodice. It is interesting to look at this design in the context of Brandon's work shown on his website. The underskirt seemed a bit half-hearted to me....which isn't really the vibe I think Brandon usually gives off.....
Jose': Well, when I go back to look at the construction of the skirt (what we can see) I am just amazed at how cool it is. I initially thought the beaded section was an overlay. Is it hand beaded or a fabric with additional beading to tie it together? This is a dress I would like to see in person. When it came down to actually voting though, (I made a goal to not vote for myself of course) but I found I wasn't all that wild about the "breastplate" notion. I also thought to myself that those little bias straps and edging would be hard to manufacture. I found myself obsessing about the notion of manufacture quite a bit during this (and other rounds.)
Andrea: When I look at this dress, I always think the bodice is velvet....who knows why. I also didn't think about the Titanic at all. I thought the long beads were a bit big....but then Andrea's hard work photographed better than mine, so who am I to say, eh? I like the skirt best. (Why do I think that bodice is velvet? I mean, I read her pages, and it is satin. hehehehe)
Christopher: Whew, I really did not like this at first glance. For one, the main fabric looked very OLIVE to me. I think our eyes are adapting to the new Brown with everything motif, and I think I would not have been as put off by the combination as I was, if I had known it was "mocha." I also didn't like the fur collar and cuffs, but then again, no one ever accused me of beign particularly "cutting edge." After looking at Christopher's website, I can certainly see where this gown fits in. I imagine his regular customers are outraged by our sad, sad lack of VISION. I like the deconstructed edge on that ruffle.....if any of you readers remember the Miss Sydney World competition of a year or so ago....my design "Rip Curl" was originally supposed to have a ruffle like Christopher has achieved all along the wave edges, but I chickened out after 3 unsuccessful trys at making an edge that worked.
So there are my thoughts on all the designs. I suppose it must now be time to go to bed. I will try to comment on the Ellowyne Challenge "Process" next.
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