mom is the new barbie doll

Wednesday afternoon I had nothing better to do than watch a "Project Runway" (2005-present) marathon. Season three. It was all leading up to the two-hour season finale, which originally aired just after I left for England. Even though I knew the outcome, I wanted to see all four of the finalists' collections. But that is neither here nor there.

Watching TV, of course, it goes without saying that I have to contend with commercials. (I don't have TiVo.) One of the most popular ones I saw that day was for the Home Depot. You know, the one where the daughter tells her dad they need to get a new refrigerator and set of kitchen cabinets. And then it's revealed that the mother paid the daughter to say such things. We can almost assume the daughter could give a shit about the aesthetics of the kitchen.

Anyway, the mother character was decked out in that ubiquitous "soccer mom" outfit: the high-waisted and sometimes tapered khaki pant, the solid-colored knit top, and the button-down long-sleeve dress shirt. It's always unbuttoned, too. Drives me crazy. I was just using the Home Depot commercial as an example; these "soccer moms"/housewives types all look the same in commercials. During the eight months in England, I never saw such caricatures in the media. Seeing these women again once I got home made me realize how much I didn't miss them. They're so tired.

So where does "Project Runway" play into all this other than the fact that I saw these commercials throughout the marathon? Well, I came up with an idea for the show. If the producers and/or judges have made the designers reinvent the United States Postal Service uniform, for example, then why can't they redesign the "soccer mom" outfit? I know what you're thinking: the women on TV aren't necessarily representative of women in real-life. Oh, yes they are (in some cases). In any case, the designers could even interview mommies, ask them why they wear that sort of thing. Probably for comfort and to hide their tummies, I'm guessing. And they want to look casual. They could do it, but now that I think about it, it seems like Stacy and Clinton are better suited for this sort of transformation.