Reality on Bravo

One thing that I love about Bravo that you don’t get with many other channels is it’s high level of interactive features so that fans can be a part of the programming. Their website includes blogs from all of the major stars, and you can even vote on Bravo quizzes during the shows via your cell phone. The real-time results appear on screen at the end of the show - it’s like American Idol, but better, because you see instant results. Bravo really tries to connect with fans, which is why it is so easy to get sucked into their programming.

Well, Bravo is about to get even more interactive, at least for some viewers.

Bravo has just cut deals with four major cable supplies - Cox, Charter, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable - to enable customer interaction. Customers can use their remote control to interact with Project Runway, answering trivia questions and voting on designs. This feature is sponsored by Brother International, the same company who sponsors the sewing machines for the show, as well as has a deal with Project Runway for ad placement.

It’s a pretty neat concept. While the show is airing, you can use your remote control to click on options, allowing you to vote and play along with the trivia challenges. As far as I know, this feature will be free for viewers. Woo hoo!

right now, Bravo and the cable companies are just testing this to make sure the bugs are worked out before it is offered to viewers everywhere. Currently, the following areas can play around with this feature during Project Runway:

Cox users:
Phoeniz, AZ
Tucson, AZ
San Diego, CA
Las Vegas, NV

Charter users:
Los Angeles, CA

Comcast users:
West Palm Beach, FL
Palm Beach, FL

Time Warner Cable:
Greensboro, NC

Sigh. Wilkes-Barre, PA is not on the list. So, I guess I won’t get to try out this fun new Project Runway feature. If you live in any of these areas, tune in on Wednesday night - let me know how you live the new Bravo interactive features!

As part of the NaBloPoMo celebration, I’m posting my list of top 30 Most Fabulous Bravo Personalities. The points of qualification? Only one: be utterly fabulous. “Fabulous can mean intriguing, funny, hot, crazy…or all of the above. Stop back every day during November to see if you favorite star has made the list!

Today’s Fabulous #8 is Heidi ,the host of Project Runway and #9 is Padma Lakshmi, the host of Top Chef.

Why are Heidi and Padma fabulous? Talk about some serious girl power! Heidi Klum and Padma Lakshmi are the perfect picks for hosts of the two most popular Bravo TV shows - Project Runway and Top Chef. They’re so different, too. Heidi is the cool, intimidating super model that contestants feel honored to meet and scared to displease until the very end. Padma is the girl-next-door type, on the other hand. By the end of the competitions, the players are her bffs.

I admire both women equally, however. To me, it’s perfect to have them judge, not just act as pretty faces on the show. Two very different women - both super fabulous!

Check back tomorrow for #7!

(Don’t forget to leave a comment here for your chance to win a cookbook with Project Blog!)

Here’s the list of my 30 Fabulous Bravo Personalities so far:

8. Heidi Klum, Project Runway
9. Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef
10. Harold Dieterle, Top Chef
11. Brian Peeler, Work Out
12. James Lipton, The Actor’s Studio
13. Jai Rodriguez, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
14. Kara Keough, the Real Housewives of Orange County
15. Rebecca Cardon, Work Out
16 - 17. Zoila and Monkey, Flipping Out
18. Jo De La Rosa, The Real Housewives of Orange County
19 - 20. The Griffins, My Life on the D-List
21. Goil Amornvivat, Top Design
22. Steven Asprinio, Top Chef Season One
23. Andy Cohen, Bravo Exec
24. Marcel Vigneron, Top Chef Season Two
25. Kelly Wearstler, Top Design
26. Chloe Dao, Project Runway Season Two
27. Vicki Gunvalson, The Real Housewives of Orange County
28. Dale Levitski, Top Chef Season Three
29. Carson Kressley, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
30. Jeff Lewis, Flipping Out

Have someone you’d like to nominate? Feel free to email me at allison.boyer - at - yahoo - dot - com today or leave a comment telling us why your nominee is Bravo-fabulous!

Project Runway has started with a bang! It’s difficult to remember all of the names and personalities when there are 15 designers, but let’s take a moment to discuss all of the contestants we met during this first episode. Project Runway season four really does have a super talented group of designers!

Jillian: The dress is cute. I actually though that this was on of the strongest pieces, although it is perhaps overdone in the fashion world. I think Jillian will be around for awhile if she can step up and be more innovative.

Christian: Ok, Christian is a bit of a diva. I do think that it is kind of an act, though. Which may be smart. We’ll see. In any case, I was impressed. Christian is only 21 and he’s kicking the asses of some of the more experienced designers.

Jack: I love this. LOVE. It’s so cute and really different. I was surprised that it wasn’t in the top three or that it wasn’t at least featured more. Maybe the judges thought it was too safe…but at the end of the day, if you want to sell clothing, it has to be wearable. This dress is really wearable.

Kevin: I’m really not a fan. It’s ok, but would have been better if it didn’t have that weird silver-colored piece. It looks like a piece of armor. I think another color would have worked better.

Chris: This was my favorite. I love rich colors like that purple and the top of the dress was stunning in both the front and the back. Plus, Chris is hilarious. I was surprised that this one wasn’t in the top. I would totally buy this dress.

Marion: It’s innovative, but a bit too much going on for my taste. I’m interested in seeing what else Marion will put forward.

Kit: Yuck. I really hated this dress. It looks like she ran out of red fabric or something. The print is horrible too. This is easily in the bottom three for me.

(more…)

Project Runway is starting on Wednesday (less than a week!), and in celebration, Reality on Bravo and a number of awesome sponsors are teaming up to bring you PROJECT BLOG! In this weekly competition “the best of the best” in blogging will be going head to head in grueling challenges for a chance to win some amazing prizes.

And that’s not all - YOU CAN WIN TOO!

Every week, you’ll be able to vote on your favorite contestant on Project Blog, and if you leave a comment cheering on your favorite, you’ll be entered into the drawing for a prize! New prizes will be offered every week, and you can vote/comment once every day, so check back often to maximize your winning potential.

Here are some of the sponsors and their great prizes up for grabs (so far - more to come!):

~Sky Sport and Spa (Jackie Warner’s gym from Work Out) is giving away an autographed picture of Jackie Warner

~Jonathan Kayne (Project Runway Alum) is giving away a pair of shoes from his new line

~Beth at Astrology Explored is giving away a reading, just like you saw on last season of the Real Housewives of Orange County

~Winnie at Watching the View is giving away a View mug from this season

~BCS Frenzy is giving away a Soffe college hoodie

~The Ecoist is giving away eco-friendly bracelets

~Aurora at Between the Sheets is giving away gold-plated earrings

~Intricate Art is giving away a pet portrait

~Teens Read Too is giving away a novel

Still want to participate? Bloggers everywhere are welcome to play along with the contestants, and if you send me your link for the week, I’ll link back to you! You won’t be eligible for the grand prize, but you will get some free link love!

And there are still lots of sponsorship opportunities available for anyone interested! We’ll be reviewing all of our great sponsors over the next few weeks, so it’s a great way to boost your traffic. Contact me at allison.boyer-at-yahoo-dot-com for more details!

Check out all of our sponsors:

Today, Heidi Klum hosted the Project Runway Season four kick-off show. Check out the pictures from the show (click on them to enlarge!):

And check out who else was in attendance at the show: Lauri Waring from The Real Housewives of Orange County, looking beautiful as always!

Project Runway, The Real Housewives of Orange County, Heidi Klum, Lauri Waring, fashion, celebrity pictures

As part of the NaBloPoMo celebration, I’m posting my list of top 30 Most Fabulous Bravo Personalities. The points of qualification? Only one: be utterly fabulous. “Fabulous can mean intriguing, funny, hot, crazy…or all of the above. Stop back every day during November to see if you favorite star has made the list!

Today’s Fabulous #26 is Chloe Dao, from Season 2 of the hit series Project Runway.

Why is Chloe Fabulous? Chloe Dao isn’t just the first female winner of Project Runway. She’s the first (and, so far, ONLY) female winner on ANY Bravo show. Girl Power! Woo hoo!

Ok, the feminism is out of my system now.

Beyond having a vagina, Chloe is awesome because she designs for real women. Her dresses, active wear pieces, and everything in between are beautiful and practical. We may not want to wear poofy, futuristic one-pieces or skirts made from moss, but we’ll wear the cute designs that she creates…and by shopping at Lot 8, Chloe’s store, we can. Check it out online today!

Check back tomorrow for #25!

Here’s the list of my 30 Fabulous Bravo Personalities so far:

26. Chloe Dao
27. Vicki Gunvalson
28. Dale Levitski, Top Chef Season Three
29. Carson Kressley, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
30. Jeff Lewis, Flipping Out

Have someone you’d like to nominate? Feel free to email me at allison.boyer - at - yahoo - dot - com today or leave a comment telling us why your nominee is Bravo-fabulous!

Chloe Dao, Project Runway

Today’s Friday Fashion Finds special is a little different, simply because I want to check out the pictures for the fabulous Heidi Klum Annual Halloween Party.

I love Halloween, and it’s cool to see someone like Heidi not afraid to look silly for the night. After all, who can forget the year that she went as the apple/snake/devil thing lol.

This year, Heidi looked totally hot as a black cat. Sneak a peak at those shoes! As always, though, she looks sophisticated, not slutty. Too many girls use Halloween as an excuse to dress up like whores. No offense to any whores out there who may be reading this.

So, how do you get on the guest list for Heidi’s party? Hell if I know. But, if you find out, please share your secret, because it looks like a fabulous night!

Kyle McLaughlin looked crazy!!!! He was my absolute favorite costume of the night - the unlucky golfer!

The one and only Britney Spears was there as…herself ten years ago?

Nick Verreos, one of my favorite Project Runway alums, was there in a costume that was toooootally “Nick”.

Um. I want Quentin Tarantino to come to MY party!

Santino Rice, one of the most abrasive Project Runway designers, showed up dressed like (I think) an ancient Asian emperor. Later pictures show him ripping open his shirt. Some might have asked “Did he have too much to drink? But, it’s more likely that he just wanted to show his nipples to the camera. Because that’s how Santino rolls.

Aww, Stacy Keibler looked cute! Too bad I have no freaking clue who Stacy Keibler is…

And let’s not forget some of the other awesome celeb costumes from this past week! These people weren’t at the Klum party, but they were out and about to show off their Halloween spirit!

DJ Hollywood and DJ Vice…oh man. Anyone dressed like Johnny Depp gets my seal of approval!

Ok, Neil Patrick Harris is just scary.

Haha! Well, at least she has a sense of humor!

SPOILER ALERT:

Below the break, there’s a slight spoiler (potentially…it is just a rumor) about the upcoming season of Project Runway. If you don’t want to know, don’t click!

In case you’re not clicking, I’ll give you the story without ruining anything: Someone (an unknown source) is claiming that one of the Bravo contestants got kicked off because he/she was sick, not because of the design. The designer in question is said to have HIV and contracted a staph infection while on the show. True? Who knows. But if you want more specifics, click on the link below.

(more…)

Are you as excited about Project Runway (and Project Blog) as I am??? I know this is just a teaser, but here are some recent pictures of your favorite Project Runway stars out and about!

Tim Gunn and guest arrive at the “VH1 Save The Music Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Gala” at Lincoln Center on September 20, 2007 in New York City.

Mychael Knight, Speaks to the crowd at The Bombay Sapphire “Inspired in Atlanta” party, Held at The Americas Mart in Atlanta Georgia

Designers Jeffrey Sebelia and Austin Scarlett arrives during Entertainment Weekly and Bravo’s Celebration of Tim Gunn’s “Guide to Style” at the Soho Grand

Kara Saun at the Gen Art Fresh Faces In Fashion Show at Hammerstein Ballroom

Heidi Klum at Dreamball 2007 at the German Historical Museum in Berlin, Germany, September 27

Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Project Runway, Mykael Knight, Kara Saun, Jeffrey Sebelia, Austin Scarlett, Bravo

If you haven’t seen it yet, head over to iVilliage, and check out Tim Gunn’s feature spot!

He talks about his shows (including the upcoming Project Runway), announces his “jeans tour” to help you find the perfect jeans, and shows you what works and what doesn’t in pants.

Thanks, Winnie, for the link!

Last night during part one of the Top Chef finale, Bravo announced that Project Runway will premier on November 14, the typical Wed. 10 PM time slot. That should put an end to all the “When does Project Runway premier?” emails I’ve been getting!

And you know what that means, don’t you? Reality on Bravo’s PROJECT BLOG competition will premier on November 14 as well! In case you missed that announcement, Project Blog is the Project Runway of the blogging world and anyone with a blog can apply to be a “blogtestant”! You don’t have to be a Bravo or fashion blog to participate - some of the blogs in the lead for participation right now include a blog about football and a blog about celebrities. It will be a fun contest for ALL bloggers. We have some great prizes to give away every week, including books, gift certificates, and home decor items.

This will be a fun time for readers, too! You’ll get to participate by voting on your favorites, and every week, one lucky reader will win a prize as well!

There’s still time to apply! Originally, I had set a cut-off date for application on October 1, but because Project Runway isn’t premiering now until mid-November, I’m extending that deadline to October 15! Again, anyone with ANY blog (live journal, myspace, wordpress, blogger, networks, personal) of ANY subject can take part! To apply, click on THIS APPLICATION FORM.

I’m also still looking for a few sponsors. If you’re interested in sponsoring a prize in exchange for promotion on 15+ sites, email me at allison.boyer-at-yahoo-dot-com!

blogging, project blog, bloggers, project runway

I love it how Tim Gunn is beginning to become a household name. Even my mother, who doesn’t get Bravo (I know, it’s soooooo sad), knows the name Tim Gunn. Recently, Tim was part of a Martha Stewart commercial, which pokes fun of fashion (in a good-humored way). Check it out!

Tim Gunn, commercials, Project Runway, Martha Stewart

Don’t forget to watch the Gunn man today on the View. Those ladies drive me nuts, but I’ll watch just because of love TG so much! Full report on what he talked about later today!