Stylista: We Have a “Tolerable” Winner (recap)

By: Jen Smith
Fancast.com

I’ve got to hand it to Stylista. They’ve managed to turn a semi-decent program into a semi-decent finale. Most finales of semi-decent shows really blow. But this one was actually OK. Why? The drama, for one. Also, I actually approve of this winner. Gasp, did I give too much away?

It’s down to the three finalists Dyshaun, Johanna, and Megan. They all think they deserve it. In fact, let’s all google Megan! Brilliant things will pop up, like the time she saved the whales or her list of contributions to cancer research. Let’s bring in someone to knock all their superiority down a peg or two. Her name is Roberta Myers, and she’s the editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine. And she’s one tough cookie. Roberta will conduct her official interviews with each youngster and decide which one of them she hates the most. One of these contestants will be booted shortly thereafter.

Dyshaun stupidly admits that he didn’t know much about Elle. Yet he’s a slave for fashion? That doesn’t make sense. He brags about being an intern at Seventeen, and that basically the planets revolve around his sense of style. Roberta likes the fact that he’s worked in publishing. She admits that he’s visual and witty (apparently she’s never heard his “Chlamydia Kate” comments), but hates that he makes a lot of mistakes. Johanna is next, and doesn’t impress Roberta with her 2-page resume. Johanna basically rambles about how she doesn’t want to go back to being a linguist and lives for fashion. I bought it. Roberta likes her education and intelligence, but doesn’t seem keen on Johanna’s seemingly fragile state of mind. Megan’s up last. Stop the presses, we’ve found our next editor-in-chief. She confidently states her previous experience, like about how she dropped out of school and sold her boutique because fashion bores her. And apparently she has no questions for Roberta about the whole publishing business. Roberta senses a little too much confidence in Megan, but praises her taste in overpriced clothing.

I can’t hold it in any longer… Megan is sent home. I giggle when she cries a little, but she leaves with grace. This all changes in T minus 3 minutes. Meanwhile, Dyshaun and Johanna are given the lowdown on their final editorial presentation. They’ll have to create a cover page for the fake Elle magazine they’ve been creating all season, with the following components: A wow factor, current fashion trends, direction of all aspects of the photo shoot, and witty cover lines. Sounds easy enough. They head home to what should have been a nice, relaxing evening. Instead, they’re greeted by some surprise house guests—Megan, Kate, Ashlie, and Danielle. They’re here to be “assistants” for their final challenge. Or to create drama. Whatev. Dyshaun celebrates the fact that he’s paired with Ashlie and Danielle instead of Kate or Megan. He hates Kate—duh—but also Megan is acting like a spoiled brat. She’s not over the fact that she lost and throws a hissy fit that she has to lend her good ideas to Johanna. The producers eventually talk her off a ledge and she agrees to not leave Johanna hanging.

The next morning, both teams frantically pick out clothes for the cover shoot featuring music star, “actress,” and all-around has-been Eve. Dyshaun’s plan of action is just to collect anything and everything, while Johanna narrows in on a purple trend that doesn’t give her much leeway. Everyone has their own opinion of Johanna’s strategy, but I choose not to repeat the words of the contestants who were already kicked off the show for not being good enough at fashion. Dyshaun’s shoot is up first, and Eve isn’t too thrilled with his clothes or his disorganization. They end up getting some decent shots, but his befuddled nature didn’t help matters. Eve helped Johanna prove all the losers wrong by totally digging her purple theme. Everything fits her right and she felt comfortable with Johanna’s direction. Take that, Mr. Style Master.

It’s time for the final presentation. They’ve both slapped together their layouts, so let’s see who can hack it. Dyshaun goes first. He was going for a “street sophistication” thing. Unfortunately, Eve didn’t like his clothes. They like his cover, but think that he chose the wrong picture for it. They rave about his copywriting, though. He’s apparently witty enough to put that together without insulting anyone. Johanna is much better received. Her “Purple Reign” theme was a big hit, and made Eve look gorgeous. The big problem was her copy… it read like an eye chart and cluttered the cover page. The judges dismiss the contestants to talk about their merits. On one hand, Dyshaun has great style. On the other, he lacks detail. Johanna is very precise, but her cover lines are unintelligible.

And the winner is… Johanna. Thank the lord almighty. I couldn’t have supported the outcome if anyone but Johanna or Ashlie had won this show. Well, I would have been OK with anyone but Megan or Dyshaun. Heck, I’d rather see Kate win than Dyshaun. Back to the winner—she looks overwhelmed but is put to work straight away. They give her an office (really? Not just a cubicle? Hmm… I think the office is just for show) and her own fancy business cards. Now that we have a semi-decent finale, can we expect a marginally better second season? Should we expect a second season at all? My spidey sense says no.