Rachel Zoe is the Worst Boss!

Well, it's almost time for the Rachel Zoe Project. I have been really enjoying this season, but last week was a bit of a let-down. No fashion weeks, fashion shoots or styling sessions with stars, lol! I really like the whole styling aspect, and my favorite is searching for the perfect dress for each individual celebrity. This time we got Rachel diagnosed with vertigo, convalescing at home and pulling out jewelry for a special charity auction, and a good demonstration of how NOT to manage your employees!

I don't know why this conflict struck such a chord for me, but it really bothered the heck out of me for a least a day or two. Zoe informs her associates, Brad and Taylor, that she can take both of them to Paris fashion week. Then, she realizes that they will need to do three jobs that week so one of the associates must stay. She says she hates conflict and wants to make everyone happy, so she proceeds to try really hard to make everyone VERY unhappy and cause a BIG conflict out of what is essentially an everyday situation in her business.

Zoe sends an email to Brad and Taylor saying they need to decide who can't go. Brad ignores it, Taylor can't get him to talk about it, but apparently Zoe is expecting Brad to step up and offer not to go since Taylor is the senior one and should go. Uh, hello, has she not noticed that Brad thrives on fashion shows, getting his pic taken with celebrities, meeting designers....he eats that stuff up. He isn't going to offer not to go, are you kidding me?

When he doesn't man up, Taylor clues Brad into what Zoe is up to, and Brad is furious and insulted. I can't say I blame him. He calls Zoe, who doesn't have time to talk with him. Taylor ends up being instructed by Zoe to decide, and she lets Brad go.

Ridiculous! Zoe has a chance to make up to Taylor for all her stress and annoyances, such as being dragged to New York fashion week but having to work hard the whole time and then pulling a gazillion outfits for a photoshoot that did not require it because Zoe forgot to tell Taylor....oh, and of course how about the promises Zoe has made and not produced on, making Taylor even more super-grumpy than normal.

Zoe then misses yet another chance to set things right when she finally talks with Brad, who tells her he is unhappy with how the whole thing was handled. You know that Zoe really wants to take Brad, with whom she can gossip and shop and pick out outfits!

So, tonight we get to go to Paris with Zoe and Brad while Taylor stays home and toils on difficult problems. And apparently, Zoe is having chest pains. Yawn.

Uh, I love the Rachel Zoe Project, and obviously Zoe is very talented and creative or she wouldn't have become this uber-stylist. But she is the major source of all the vaunted stress and drama that is supposedly making her sick!

Well, hopefully we will get to see some excellent fashion and maybe meet Mr. Armani and Karl Lagerfeld!

I Got Four Minutes of My Life Back! Bananas!!

In celebration of getting to see last week's AND this week's Runway tonight, I am watching the first episode of this season's Rachel Zoe Project. As I start watching, I am thinking, I don't remember this! Then I realize: the first 4 minutes that didn't record last week! I blogged about that, and I have forgotten completely, lol!! That helps set the stage.

Watching the Golden Globes gowns coming down the red carpet, I am just completely ga-ga all over again! What a fun show and guilty pleasure!

I am fascinated in general with stylists and styling. I learned the role of styling when first watching Project Runway, and hearing the judges talk about how well a look is styled (or not).

I think that reading about top stylists in magazines and getting their take on things is really interesting. While one can go on and on about different celebrities' styles all one wants, the real story is that someone who really knows what he or she is doing is working hard to find the right look or style for that client.

It's interesting to see celebrities like Nicole Richie bringing out their own lines of jewelry and clothes, and being admired for their styles. In reality, Rachel Zoe worked with Nicole Richie over a time period to help her develop that style! I find the whole process of searching for the perfect gown and look for each individual client really fascinating on "The Rachel Zoe Project." While I am not sure I really think there needs to be a "Rachel Zoe brand," one cannot help but admit that she knows what she's doing and is very successful at it.

In the meantime, thinking about one's own style and self-expression, and "styling one's self," is a real-life take-away from the glitz and glamour that is presented on the show.

Now, I am going to go watch episode two of Project Runway----finally!!