She’s been criticized for being a size 0, and it’s even made her famous. Rachel Zoe, stylist to the stars, now is a star.

The top celebrity stylist stars in the upcoming Bravo reality (sure-to-be-a) hit, The Rachel Zoe Project. The basis of the show is simple: Follow Zoe around and see what it’s like to be in the spotlight for making sure others look their best in the spotlight. From Nicole Richie to Kate Hudson, she’s dressed young Hollywood’s most elite stars.

Zoe certainly has been called out for her alleged attempts to promote the skinny body. Some even say she takes it too far, expecting her clients to dress like her and look like her. But in her reality TV debut — sans a little work on Project Runway — Zoe is out to prove a point.

Just like Kathy Griffin’s My Life On the D-List, The Rachel Zoe Project will be filled with celebrity appearances (think Michael Kors and Oscar de la Renta), and it certainly will revolve around her assistants.

It’s definitely going to be worth watching, especially considering Bravo’s most popular reality shows are winding down. If you haven’t caught it, there’s a Rachel Zoe Preview Special airing now (sometimes in the middle of the night) on the network.

The Rachel Zoe Project premieres Sept. 9.

No, I haven’t been sitting in a corner crying. But I am disappointed to see Daniel gone from this season of Shear Genius. He was, hands down, my favorite.

It’s not that I thought Daniel deserved to win — Charlie long has been the favorite to take the prize — but I think what Daniel brings to the screen is a scream. His Texas accent and flamboyant take on hair, something he likes to tease beyond belief, is reason enough to tune into the drama.

From the beginning of the show, Daniel seemed to be someone who could give the others a run. He won the first challenge of the season, the cartoon character recreation, and he continued to do well.

Even though I hate to see Daniel gone from the show, I must say I’m glad to see Nicole hanging in strong. She’s been a definite underdog all season. Many contestants cut from the show have been shocked she didn’t go before them. But never once has she given up. And who doesn’t want to see the underdog do well?

Still, when the final snip is taken and the last curl is sprayed, I think Charlie will be the one standing with scissors in hand.

I know, I know. It’s not OK to be a superfan of a show then, midseason, just abandon it. But, there’s something about Season 5 of Project Runway that’s just, well, yawn. A little yawn, at least.

The celebrity guest judges this season have been confusing, to say the least. While I love Sandra Bernhard as an actress, comedian, etc., I don’t like her as a judge on Project Runway. And Brooke Shields? I don’t know what to say about that. I’m not even sure why I think she’s a bad choice for a guest judge.

Then there are the contestants. I don’t really have a contestant I’m pulling for more than the others. They kind of blend together for some reason.

This doesn’t mean I’m going to stop watching the show. I’m still hopeful it’s going to get more interesting.

Plus, there’s the whole Tim Gunn “Holla at your boy!” campaign. Seriously? Is that really happening? Whatever, Tim. Make it work.

With a new crop of — how should I say this? — extremely colorful contestants, the show returned to one of the best challenges in the history of the series. It even brought back favored contestant Austin Scarlett to judge the newcomers. In the end, it was a few bleached vacuum cleaner bags and some burned coffee filters that took home top honors.

Certainly one of the most well-crafted projects of the night, I have to say the reason Kelli’s garment won was the details, including hook and eyes made from the spiral of a notebook.

Other personal favorites:

Sure the tablecloth is a little too fabric-like to pose a real challenge, but this garment actually looks wearable. I think Keith may be on to something.

Daniel designed this from blue, plastic cups, people. Need I say more?

And the loser …
Jerry, who from reading the bios alone seemed like a promising frontrunner, certainly didn’t do well with this challenge. His garment — it was supposed to be a raincoat, right? — was so sloppy and lacked shape. And none of the judges were forgiving in the slightest. Sorry, buddy.

Jerry’s Week 1 design, which was his first and last on Season 5.

Project Runway

It’s coming back so soon, but Wednesday can’t get here fast enough. Or am I the only one excited about Season 5 of Project Runway? Of course I’m not.

It seems this season the folks at Bravo have been keeping the contestants a little bit more of a secret than usual. There aren’t big flashy commercials showing us just a little inside scoop. Instead, the network has opted for some typecasting that reminds us of some of the past seasons. My personal favorite is the criers — “You can cry and you can cut, but you better cry and cut.” That’s, perhaps, my favorite quotable line from any season or contestant.

Each season seems to get more and more intense and exciting, I’m just not sure what they can do to keep things interesting this summer. I’m not sure where you go from a season filled with guest judges like Sarah Jessica Parker and Posh Spice.

Project Runway

This season has been filled with tears, cuts and colors. Oh, good grief, how can you not love Shear Genius?

And it looks like more tears are going to be running down the cheeks of the contestants next week, too. But tonight it was all about making a red carpet look that could hold up. But Matthew didn’t make the cut.

“It’s probably the only time I’ve been happy to lose,” Matthew said. “I just can’t wait to be with my wife.”

I have to say I’m pretty pleased to see Matthew go. He’s not nearly as interesting to watch as the rest of the contestants. The only thing he has done this season is stand around and talk about his wife. It’s been a little exhausting.

Myself, I’m much more interested in the good drama and wacky excitement. So keep on bringing it, Daniel. Your humor is what’s genius this season.

Shear Genius

All of the Bravo favorites were there. Top Chefs, Real Housewives, loads of Kathy Griffin and an all-star crop of Project Runway finalists and winners from the first four seasons. In a nutshell, the first ever A-List Awards on Bravo were a dream come true for those addicted to the network.

Griffin offered a variety of skits worth a few belly laughs, most notably a hip-hop duet with one of her main gays, Lance Bass, in which the two “exposed” one another ala the famed Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson Super Bowl XXXVIII wardrobe scandal. It was a clever, unexpected throwback to a pop culture moment that goes back a few years more than Griffin usually digs.

The night was filled with few awards — does it really matter if you win one of these? — and served more as a reunion and chance for Bravo stars to meet one another. Sure, there were a few non-Bravo winners (Dana Delaney of Desperate Housewives won Best A-List Actor, Female), but the stage most often was overflowing with familiar faces.

Real Housewives from both coasts joined together on stage to present an award, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio was challenged to a Quick Fire and, the coolest part of the evening, a handful of Project Runway favorites returned to design dresses for celebrities to wear in a fashion show that ended the night.

The dresses, as well as the sketches for each look, are up for grabs at bravotv.com, with proceeds benefiting UNICEF’s relief efforts in Myanmar. Throughout the night, progress was shown from the previous day of work at Parsons. It really made me even more anxious for the next season of Runway, which starts July 16.

Because I know how Bravo works, I’m sure the awards will be shown marathon style this weekend — and I’ll probably get sucked in to watching them at least another couple of times.

Designer Malan Breton and Nikki Blonsky, star of Hairspray, arrive on the red carpet at the A-List Awards. Breton designed the dress Blonsky wore, and it now is being auctioned off for charity at bravotv.com.

Kathy Griffin, Top Chef, My Life on the D-List, Bravo TV, Project Runway

She gets away with saying the most offensive things on Bravo, and it seems this season will — thankfully — be no different with Kathy Griffin and My Life on the D-List.

In tonight’s episode, the first of the new season, Kathy and her entourage traveled to New York for New Year’s Eve. Kathy co-hosted the CNN live broadcast with Anderson Cooper, who she loving referred to as “Andy” at least five times during the broadcast. The best part? Jessica made a game of it, and she drank a shot for each of those five times.

One of the best parts of D-List has been watching characters develop among Kathy’s staff. Jessica, the first one to join her, provided some added entertainment in tonight’s episode. And, based on the previews alone, we’re in for another season filled with hilarity.

Kathy Griffin, My Life on the D-List, Anderson Cooper

I must admit I wasn’t all that interested in constantly following this show until a few weeks ago, when I got sucked into one of those famous Bravo weekend marathons. My interest in the show was reignited, and I instantly was pulling for Janelle to make it through. It was clearly obvious all season long that she was barely getting by, even though she was one of the strongest competitors.

The judges kept a strong eye on Janelle, it seemed, just waiting for one more false move. There’s something about her style and performance that made me want to keep an eye on her, too. She was interesting on the show and a little outside of the ordinary for most dancers her age. Sure she’s a little bit cheerleader-y, but she never doubted her own ability — and she still remained somewhat humble.

I’m not sure who I would have rather had take the last “last dance” before next week’s finale, but I’d really like to have seen Janelle make it through to the end. Now I’m completely pulling for anyone to take the title, as long as it’s not that always wacky Miguel.

Bravo, Step It Up & Dance, Janelle Ginestra

In case you missed last night’s episode of Ugly Betty, Christian Siriano — the reigning Ms. Project Runway — worked it out like he owned the set. His over-the-top campy performance is one to be remembered, for sure. You could tell he was having a great time, and it really worked. The show even featured a cameo appearance by Nina Garcia, which also was quite a hoot.

Project Runway, Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia