Project Runway

Thursday is Project Runway night, when the show dominates the USA channel, with repeats and snippets and previews of coming shows, in addition to the current new show.  It was on from  7 p.m. until after 11 last night...might have been longer, but I finally turned it off, not wanting to see previews of what is going to come next week.

I have been watching this show since nearly the very beginning.  Why in the world do I like it?

- I don't know the first thing about fashion and even after all these years could not tell you what  "fashion forward" means.

- I can't even sew a button on something and the hemming I did on my mother's slacks a year or so ago was downright embarrassing.

- I used to own a sewing machine and don't have a clue if I still do or not.

- I don't really like Heidi Klum and hate her schtick.

- I hate to watch the contestants wave at each judge each time, as if they had never seen them before.

 

- I dislike many of the contestants

- When they have the fashion show at the end, my favorite piece almost always is the one which is voted off because it looks so "old fashioned."

- I don't usually follow what they are doing when they buy fabric (but I do love the Mood dog, Swatch--a great name for a dog in a fabric store) or when they are draping mannequins to create something.

Maybe the only thing I like about the show is Tim Gunn.  But I don't like Tim Gunn that much to explain why I sit and watch this damn show for four hours once a week.  

Of course, once in awhile, like this week, there is a controversy that adds a bit of novelty to it (one contestant walked off the stage in disgust.  Good for him!) and one contestant was essentially "fired" and her winnings revoked.

I also like that this season they are using "real" models, not just skinny twigs.  There are plus size models in addition to "normal" models, and last season a plus size designer actually won.

But next week I'll be back in my recliner watching the show again, wondering what kind of crisis is going to happen this week.

And I'm embarrassed at how many designers I see today whom I remember from when they were on Project Runway originally (same as I can identify a lot of chefs from their time on "Next Food Network Star")