Tim Gunn

92nd Street Y, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1395 Lexington Avenue, 8pm, tickets and information can be found at 92y.org.

Manhattan's most famous stoops

Old-fashioned interiors

After less than a month on the market, a potential buyer has already stepped forward to claim 64 Perry Street, the West Village townhouse that played a leading role in the first three seasons of Sex and the City.

Maybe the new buyer is of the broken-hearted bidders who lost the historic 5-bedroom, 3-bath home when it sold for $9 million in Nov. 2011—6 percent more than the list price—after only 27 days on the market?

The home, which was listed for $9.65 million in early March by Sotheby's brokers Joshua Wesoky and Steve Dawson, has already entered into contract, according to a listing on Streeteasy.

What's the secret to 64 Perry's appeal? Well, beauty always helps: the home's carefully preserved interiors feature ornate crown and ceiling moldings,  herringbone wood floors and the six fireplaces with carved marble mantels. The home was lovely enough to attract the likes of fashion guru Tim Gunn, who lived in an upstairs apartment for 16 years. And Sex and the City wasn't the townhouse's first time in front of the camera: Woody Allen used part of the home to film the interiors of Alice.

But unlike some stunners, 64 Perry also has personality. The home has been inhabited by only two families since it was built in 1866, and as The Times wrote when the house went on the market last year, it was the setting of the six-decade romance between documentary filmmaker Wheaton Galentine and Harold Eliot Leeds, who designed the Paris Theater, the Caribe Hilton in San Juan and Martha Graham’s dance studio.

We're not sure what prompted the current owner, whose identity is hidden behind an LLC, to put the house on the market so soon after purchase. Alas, not all love affairs are long lasting.

At least the new buyer appears to be smitten with the property. And fortunately, the next residents will have a little distance from the cupcake-loving hordes: neighboring 66 Perry Street, used in later seasons, is the more famous Carrie Bradshaw stoop.

kvelsey@observer.com

- This is visual. Just look at it and appreciate the fact that it lends new meaning to "tea party."

- As if Charlie Sheen's hot mess weren't bad enough, they took place in the ELOISE SUITE? Charlie, is nothing sacred?

- The Rand Paul supporter who stomped on a girl's head has a good "excuse" for why he did it: his bad back!

- You know you're in upstate New York when: congressional candidates pimp out their NRA endorsements. 

Changes at the new Lucky magazine led by Brandon Holley: Alexis Bryan Morgan has been named executive fashion editor; Gilt's Stephanie Trong is now deputy editor; and Harper's Bazaar contributing features editor Laura Morgan is special projects director. [Daily Front Row]

At 10am this morning, Barneys Coop on Atlantic Avenue officially opened its doors. [Racked]

Tim Gunn says Lady Gaga is not fashion. [OMG]

Kanye West attends fashion shows because he wants to "see the art" before a "Barneys buyers separated it out." [Vogue UK]

Mr. Gunn  — still promoting the book, Gunn's Golden Rules — told the Daily News' Jim Farber that he is actually scared of Ms. Wintour. "I was certainly afraid of her. When her office called me, I thought I’d have to go into the witness protection program," Mr. Gunn said. But it seems Mr. Gunn has decided that the only way to handle his fear is to own it and provoke Ms. Wintour instead.

"It’s insane that people don’t call her out on the things she does," he said. "Is it fear?"

Earlier: What Does Tim Gunn Have against Vogue?

In Gunn's Golden Rules (out in the fall), the Project Runway mentor details his encounter with the Vogue editor at Peter Som's 2006 show:

"I was with a colleague from Parsons, and we had been discussing the will-she-or-won't-she-take-the-elevator question, so we ran over to the elevator bay to see if Anna would deign to get on. She wasn't there. Then we looked over the stairway railing. And what did we see but Anna being carried down the stairs. The bodyguards had made a fireman's lock and were racing her from landing to landing. She was sitting on their crossed arms...I ran to the window to see if they would put her down on the sidewalk or carry her to the car like that. They carried her to the car. And I thought: I will never forget this."

This seems outrageous even for Ms. Wintour, if for no other reason than that bloggers and photographers usually crowd around outside of shows and if the editor was carried to her car on the arms of bodyguards, it would have been front page news an hour later. But then comes an even stranger story about Editor-at-Large Andre Leon Talley, whom Mr. Gunn saw backstage at a panel discussion: "When we return to the green room, we see that someone has spread a translucent barber's bib over Andre and he's reclining, his arms at his sides. He's being fed grapes and cubes of cheese one by one, like a bird in a nest."

Again, sounds more like a caricature than reality--cubed cheese? really?--but who knows. Either way, Mr. Gunn's agenda in writing this scene into his book seems questionable. Could it be that Mr. Gunn is indulging some old grievance with the magazine? Or does it have something to do with Vogue not partaking in or recognizing the fashion reality TV world? (Until, that is, Mr. Talley finally decided to be a judge on American's Next Top Model this year; Vogue was never represented on Project Runway's guest judge panel, but that probably had more to do with Elle having a long-standing partnership with the show.)

Regardless, a Vogue rep told Page Six, "Tim Gunn has a very vivid imagination. There is no truth to any of this."

Misshapes DJ Leigh Lezark and Victoria’s Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio probably don’t run into this problem often, but at Saturday’s Christian Siriano show they wore the same thing: burgundy platform pumps from the designer’s Payless collection.

In fact, many of the show’s front-row guests sported Siriano footwear. Actress Tori Spelling was overheard insisting to a second-row companion that her seven-inch heels were comfortable.

But the afternoon’s biggest star was Project Runway's Tim Gunn, who wore no platform heels. Mr. Gunn was totally mobbed—it took a lot of work for him to make it to his seat, and he received a moment of peace only when a fresh wave of press descended upon actress Mena Suvari. The Suvari-seeking photographers crushed Mr. Gunn and the Transom against the front row and he gave us an apologetic pat on our arm.

How had his Fashion Week been so far?

“Like this!” he said with weary good humor.

Actress Kristen Johnson was pleading to take a seat—“I gotta sit down. I gotta regroup”—before Mr. Siriano’s enthusiastic mother grabbed her. Ms. Johnson regrouped swiftly and posed for a photo.

Meanwhile, the shoes that Mr. Siriano sent down the runway, while exciting, may not have been as comfortable as Ms. Spelling claimed. The models looked a little wobbly, and one hopped out of her heels while taking her final lap.

Tuesday: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Three cheers for what amounts to just about the nicest movie we’ve seen in a long while. Almost everything about Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is sweet, tender, totally adorable or all three at the same time. Michael Cera (at the pinnacle of his awkward charms) and Kat Dennings (giving such a real performance that we’re not sure it can qualify as acting) play the titular couple and their infinite playlist is chock filled with justright indie music cues. It’s all great and fairly harmless; however, our absolute favorite moments occur anytime Ari Graynor—as the drunken best friend—appears onscreen. Get Ms. Graynor her own movie, stat! [Starz, 9 p.m.]

Wednesday: Hard Knocks: The Cincinnati Bengals
Are you ready for some football? HBO’s acclaimed sports reality show, Hard Knocks, returned last week, and to all of our good fortune, this season will follow the laughingstock Cincinnati Bengals. If you’re not familiar with the Bengals, just know that there’s a Web site devoted to chronicling how many player arrests they’ve had over the last few years and that their No. 1 wide receiver legally changed his last name to OchoCinco. Hard Knocks plays like a combination of The Real World and Friday Night Lights, but without any of the latter’s gravitas. This team needs Coach Taylor to teach them how to be men. Clear eyes, full hearts, the Bengals will probably still lose. [HBO, 8 p.m.]

Thursday: Project Runway
In reality television: One day you’re in, the next day you’re out. After nearly a year of legal battles and a network change (auf wiedersehen, Bravo, guten tag, Lifetime!), Project Runway returns with Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn and a host of hopeful (and hopefully wacky) fashion designers. The sixth season premiere features a guest appearance by Lindsay Lohan, which just goes to show you how long this thing has been sitting on the shelf. [Lifetime, 10 p.m.]

Friday: Mean Girls
Speaking of LiLo! While Ms. Lohan has seen her career burst into flames following the surprise success of the Tina Fey–scripted comedy in 2004, the rest of the ladies in the cast—Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan and the aforementioned Ms. Fey—have gone on to bigger and better things. We’d like to say there is some hope left for Ms. Lohan, but having seen her direct-to-television disaster Labor Pains, we have a feeling that ship has sailed. At least she’ll always have Mean Girls. [TBS, 8 p.m.]

They had appointments lined up for the entire day to gain the support of lawmakers for the proposed Design Piracy Prohibition Act, introduced last month by New York Democrat Jerry Nadler, among others.

If passed, the bill would provide designers with copyright protection for their creations.

"The travel was complicated by weather patterns," said Mr. Kolb when the Daily Transom rang him yesterday. "We took a train because we were afraid that if we flew we wouldn't get there in time.  But then we flew home and didn't get home until around 10 p.m."

With the bill's passage, designers would be able to register their designs (for the price of $30) by emailing a photo or a sketch of a garment to a copyright office, which will ensure a copyright protection of three years. (The bill would not extend retroactively to designs that have already been on the market.) With Mr. Gunn and Ms. Marshall in tow, Mr. Kolb paid visits to politicians, explaining that unlike Europe, India and Japan, the U.S. has no copyright laws when it comes to design. And, if other art forms like film, literature, and music are protected, why isn't fashion?

"Right now you can go on the Today show after a big event, and boast that you've created a Zac Posen dress or an Oscar de la Renta dress and Meredith Vieira will sit down and talk to you about it!" said Mr. Kolb. "If we can create this shield, the morning after one of those award shows, it's going to be Ann Curry talking about someone who stole something and what they did wrong versus celebrating it."

Mr. Gunn seemed like an appropriate person to relay this to the politicians.

"Tim really understands the history of American fashion. Back many years ago, we were a nation of copyists, but we've become really innovative and creative so he was able to give that history lesson and talk about how on Project Runway, creativity is rewarded," said Mr. Kolb. "And Leanne, having won that show, explained how it opened up her creativity to those that steal ideas. She talked about being a small-business person and how when ideas are hijacked from her, it starts to chip away at her foundation and can put her out of business. They were both incredibly compelling and persuasive." (Ms. Marshall even stayed up until 1 a.m. the night before to create an original outfit for the day: a blouse and skirt with her signature zipper detailing.)

Meanwhile, the political folks on the Hill were excited for Mr. Gunn's visit.

"We heard that many of the staffers had this group email that they were sending around that Tim Gunn was on the Hill and did anybody know where he is and what he's doing," said Mr. Kolb. "He and Leanne were very popular."

In fact, Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) even brought in his entire staff into the meeting so that Mr. Gunn could critique their outfits that day. Mr. Gunn, of course, played along. "He was spot on!" said Mr. Kolb. Meanwhile two other staffers, a man and a woman, asked the group how they might "spice up" their wardrobe given how conservative people in their position must typically dress. Ms. Marshall dispensed advice about incorporating color and pattern and not being so coordinated all the time.

"I've been to Washington many times, and before the Obamas were in the White House there was a sense of insecurity among the men and the women about how they were dressed," observed Mr. Kolb. "They would ask, 'Am I dressed O.K.?' or like, 'My wife made me wear this tie because she knew CFDA was coming.' There is a little bit more confidence now given all the attention that American fashion is getting, but people still want that validation."

Mr. Kolb has been traveling to D.C. a lot lately. Just last week, he was there with the designers Narciso Rodriguez, Jason Wu, Maria Cornejo and Thakoon Panichgul. Next Wednesday, Mr. Kolb will be returning with Tracy Reese and Francisco Costa.

"We want it to happen in this Congressional session,"  he said.

Bravo is a funny network, isn’t it? And yet? Brilliant. Because think about it, even when you are watching a Bravo show, be it Top Chef or Make Me a Supermodel, one feels that while you might be watching fluffy garbage, it’s seamless, well-produced shiny garbage, which in fact translates to totally entertaining television. (In other words, it's not VH1.)  Project Runway was always better than its imitators, partly because the contestants all have real skills and are forced to use them in a way that we, the viewer, can smugly watch and think “how mother-of-the-bride” (even when we can’t even sew a button without assistance). There’s awesome Tim Gunn, and bitchy Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, that pretty tall German lady, and usually a handful of truly talented designers. Season 4’s Christian Siriano has actually been able to make the leap to legit designer. And if season five only seemed memorable because of what a bitch that chick Kenley seemed to be, well at least it was always Good TV.

Although the sixth season has already wrapped, with the finale being held as usual at Bryant Park during fashion week, pictures of the clothing lines were duitifully posted on the internet. But without watching the weeks of lead-in, it was kind of hard to care (if a reality show falls in the forest…). We know that PR was filmed for the first time in Los Angeles (no Atlas apartments!) and – shriek! – contestants had to make do with some sort of weird faux-replication of Mood Fabrics (which does have a West Coast branch but was apparently too far away to actually shoot there). And there's reportedly less time given to Nina Garcia and Michael Kors, who are said to only make “a handful of appearances.”

Will the show be able to retain its mysterious magic while away from the Bravo mothership? We'll admit to tuning into Liftetime now and then for reruns of 90s fluff, but we're woefully unfamiliar with its original programming. We'll just have to tune in this summer to see if Lifetime can keep things as smooth and, er, seamless as we're used to.