I heard Tim Gunn would be at Bloomingdale's, and I decided that I had to try to go see him in person.
The simplest outings have a way of being complicated with an 8 month old. And , there were major wardrobe considerations. It's Tim Gunn after all.
I ended up wearing clean clothes. And no crocs. (so, super dressy for us) And putting Amelia in an outfit I had made. "make it work"

The event turned out to be a mini fashion show. It was the introduction of Kate Spade's fall line. And Tim and another woman were narrating some looks from the collection. I was offered Champagne. And Amelia worked the room, greeting people and smiling the whole time.

Tim is every bit as polished in person as he is on camera. He is not a 'big' man, but everything else is as you would expect. He is just magnetic and warm. He does have exceptionally long hands, like a piano player. So his exhuberant gestures carry across the room.

After the 'show' portion, Tim took some questions. He was asked if he would ever judge, and he elaborated on the finale when he did in season 5 (people - ? did you not see every episode ever produced before you came?) He was, of course very diplomatic and professional, but he confirmed that Kenley was as difficult to work with as it appeared on the show. Wow. Safe to say she will never work in the industry.
He was asked who he would like to have seen stay, and after some discussion with the audience, he was surprised that Koto had not won. And surprised that Uli didn't even make it to the finals in the "all-star" episode.

Afterwards, I stood in line to speak with him. I wanted to thank him. In an industry, (TV and Fashion) and a genre (reality) that showcase the swearing, mean, tempramental hot heads, Tim is always well turned out, compassionate, impartial, and exercises a huge vocabulary. Bravo Tim!
It turns out that for the actual professional photo op, we did need a ticket. And to get a ticket, we had to spend $300 on the Kate Spade line that day. When I told them at the front of the line that I did not have a ticket, they said "sorry, only ticket holders for the photo" I looked over at Tim and he looked at me apologetically and held out his hands in a Tim gesture. I said to him "I just wanted to say thank you" and he smiled a big smile. He said "your baby is just beautiful" I beamed "thank you", and the next ticket holder was already by his side.