Tim Bits: Tim Gunn's new show

"Tim Gunn's Guide to Style" debuts officially at 10 tonight on Bravo TV, but last night the network gave viewers an unscheduled sneak peak at the new series in between reruns of "Top Chef."

The episode that aired last night (which is not the one scheduled to run three times tonight and then non-stop for the next week) focused on makeover subject Karen Vito, one of those "mutton-dressing-as-veal" women with over-processed hair, too much makeup and too many tight clothes from the juniors department that makeover shows just can't get enough of. The ever diplomatic and debonair Gunn might have actually made a permanent difference in this woman's life, and the women in her PTA might never be exposed to her cami-clad cleavage again. Our lips to Gunn's ears.

About the show: All the components of the makeover show are present -- the wardrobe review, the closet purge, the confessional, the shopping trip, the hair and makeup updates, the final reveal -- but they are done with an atypical amount of restraint and class. Gunn and former model Veronica Webb provide much in the way of fundamental fashion advice to their utter clueless subjects. Webb teaches them about proper undergarments, Gunn makes paper dolls of the women (using 20-odd exact body measurements) to teach them about their proportions, and both experts accompany the women on the shopping trip, helping them to find 10 key wardrobe pieces that every woman needs (because, no offense to Stacey and Clinton, but most women who are fashion challenged really do need to learn about classic basics before they are urged to go wild on those ill-fitting blazers, wildly printed skirts and kee-razy stiletto pumps). And I'd pick the to-die-for Coach satchel and black Tahitian pearls Gunn gave to Karen over a trip to the 360-degree mirror any day of the week.

If you think you can wait to catch the show (which technically you can, considering Bravo's scheduling practices), you might want to reconsider, because during tonight's premiere you'll also get a first glimpse at the designers who will compete on season four of "Project Runway," which doesn't debut until mid-November. Controlling middle-aged woman? Check. Obnoxious, arrogant, ungroomed artiste? Check. Ditzy-doodly space case? Check. Unassuming foreign person with mad design skills? Check. The haughty, the queeny, the delicate, the mediocre? Check. Check. Check. And check.

I, for one, can't wait. Maybe Daniel Franco will be back!

-- Barbara Sullivan

Comments

[Samantha]

I love Tim Gunn and will be watching! And as for the obnoxious Stacey on "What Not to Wear," when is she going to cut HER long hair? Carry on!