Dryer Vent Hoses and a Project Runway Intro

Project Runway Season 16 began in earnest last night. Most of this post will concern the show, and I'll post the winning and losing looks for you tomorrow. First - mice and venting pipes. *sigh*

The procedure for dryer vent hose installation is simple on paper (or
in photos) but the angles we have to deal with are wicked hard and
we are using a better quality of hose, so the joins are a bit harder but
the total hose is more durable. 

DH caught another mouse yesterday which led him on a serious search to discover how they were getting into the house. One place we've had trouble in the past has been the clothes dryer vent, so he checked the exterior and everything seemed fine. But when he grabbed my flashlight to check the interior connections of the vent hose, it appeared that the hose had been separated from the connection point. It took him SIX HOURS of serious work and trips to two different home supply companies to get appropriate parts to get the vent hose put back correctly and each joint sealed appropriately. Then, when I got home, I got a "check these five places every month" lecture and had to level the dryer once more. I'm hoping that the washer is level. It seemed to be when we checked it, but the real test will come with the first load. What a mess!


Now ... on to the Runway. As I said, I'll post winning and losing looks tomorrow, but here's a basic rundown of the structure for the show this season. Tim has been pushing for the show to feature models that reflect the real life audience of the show for years. Heidi finally listened and this season they are trying to become more inclusive of the broader audience in all ways, opening up to models ranging in size from 0-22. Most of the designers were fine with this, but there were a few who had no idea how to handle the curves of a larger woman.

Heidi and Tim introduced the designers to their new models when 
they were welcoming the designers to this season's show. The models 
have a variety of body types and sizes. It will be a challenge, but 
a really good change for the show. Bravo to Heidi and Tim for this change.

We've seen this problem in prior seasons when they had the "real woman" episode of the designers making clothing for volunteer strangers in the park, or even their own relatives. The "real woman" challenges always seemed to push the designers hard and some horrific items were designed. This season has the potential to be a difficult one for the designers because they'll have to think out of the box from the start.

Liris Crosse, one of the larger models, is a professional runway
model for IPM Model MGMT in New York. She's been on Project
Runway before as one of the runway models for Ashley Nell
Tipton,s final PR show in 2015. To find out more about Liris,
follow this link. 

I'm finding myself applauding the decision to use a wide range of model sizes. Women come in a variety of shapes and sizes and to push the designers into a size 0-2 box has always seemed rather blind to me. It will be one more aspect of designing to test their skills this season, and I'm all in favor of it.

Here, Brandon works with Liris. Brandon has designed men's wear
almost exclusively, with this outfit being only the second women's
wear item he's ever designed. How did he do? Catch tomorrow's
post for the six top and bottom looks. 

Have an excellent Friday. I'll be purchasing my State Fair tickets on the way to the shop this morning. Fall is almost here, but I'm going to live up the remainder of the summer in style with corn dogs and crowds. I can hardly wait! LOL.