Thanks and Thunder

I have to start out today with a huge "Thank You" to everyone who carried out what turned into a very active and totally fascinating discussion about the new Pope on my LJ Blog post yesterday. Despite individually divergent opinions, everyone was very respectful of the other posters. I loved the fact that people posted links to supporting documentation and readings to support their positions. It was a wonderful interchange to participate in and I was so very happy that with discussions about religion, which can sometimes be quite contentious, everyone treated each viewpoint as valid and worthy of thoughtful response. THANK YOU TO EACH ONE OF YOU!

Last night's "Project Runway" episode was to design three menswear looks for dancers from "Thunder Down Under". OMG! These guys were totally gorgeous. I didn't care who won, I didn't care who lost, just show me the guys and let them parade around shirtless and dance. Yowza!

The full cast of one of several groups of Thunder Down Under.
Someone hand me a fan, please...

Just hand me that tape measure while I look....and look...

I'm not really sure what it is about menswear that the designers on Project Runway find so difficult. Can anyone really become a designer without understanding the basics of tailoring? Really? There are some basic things in the clothing for either sex. Things like darts and gussets, collar stays and boning, bias cuts and cutting on the grain are basic to any clothing. Why would making something wonderful be so different for a gorgeous man as a beautiful woman?

Tailored clothing was the only way to get clothes
at all historically. It wasn't until the Industrial
Revolution that off-the-rack clothing was availablel.

Today's contemporary tailors are expert at fit and design with an array
of fabric choices at hand to make every suit perfect. They know how to
use a tape measure and a pair of scissors.

Every season of Project Runway features at least one alternative materials challenge and one menswear challenge. Do these contestants never watch the show? Do they not know that there will be a menswear challenge? Why don't they take time to do some homework before appearing on the show? Why don't they at least spend a bit of time examining tailoring techniques and how to design appropriately for men? But, I did get to look at wonderful male bodies for 90 minutes, so my night was happy - LOL.