I, like most fans of the show, get so excited for the design challenges and guess what? The time has come! Get your pennies ready for the gayest car boot in town. Derrick Barry would be pleased to know that the queens sewed a hem this week. A design challenge using unconventional materials always manages to send a tickle to my tuppence as we really get to see what each queen can creatively bring and execute on the main stage.
Last week we saw our second fatality of the season and it was the youngest (and least experienced) competitor in the pack. The Vivienne thinks that the ‘dead weight’ is gone now, bit shady but what can you do? 🤷🏻♂️ Could she be getting a little too big for her boots? And you all thought Cheryl was getting a villain edit, it could be R’Viv’s turn.
The Mini Challenge – Dance Around The Maypole
This week’s mini-challenge saw the queens don some truly repugnant attire to do a merry dance around the maypole… The American audiences must be so confused! 😂
A maypole is a large wooden pole that village children will dance around with ribbons and stuff, I don’t know, it’s some sort of ye olde Christian thing.
We saw Crystal pole dancing, Divina doing the splits, Blu dressed up as an old wench, Baga… being Baga. I don’t know how she does it but Baga just manages to make me howl with laughter.
All she did was come dressed as a vicar’s wife and started doing a shoddy Tina Turner impression and it was enough to make me cry with laughter. And then we had Chery who was taking it a bit more seriously. Cheryl was shablamming and tongue popping and I can see why the fans keep comparing her to Alyssa Edwards.
In the end, Cheryl won this bizarre (but quintessentially ‘Drag Race‘) mini-challenge which gave her a slight advantage for this week’s maxi challenge.
The Maxi Challenge – Car Boot Couture
The queens would be designing and creating outfits that have come straight from Ru’s very own car boot sale. The American seasons had ‘Drag On A Dime’ and dollar store challenges but there’s nothing more British than a good old fashioned car boot. Ru had brought in Michelle’s “personal” car for the challenge and he even brought a little extra surprise.
Not only that, but we were blessed with the presence of a Drag Race legend. Raven came in on what looked like the shittest pride float ever but my word did she look good. The fact she came in looking glam when all the queens were in ugly ‘quick drag’ looks was both hilarious and shady as hell.
What is a Car Boot Sale?
For our American compadres who may not know, a car boot sale is an opportunity where strangers meet in a field with the cars… a bit like dogging, but instead of sex, you try and flog your old tat to strangers. It’s a thrilling part of British culture… trust me. There we go, the more you know!
For winning the mini-challenge, Cheryl got a 15-second headstart to grab all the goodies she could to make her car boot couture look. Then the beautiful British art of queueing was out the window when all the queens flocked to the car to grab, rip, steal and snatch as many items as they could.
My Initial Thoughts
Now, I know that Crystal can make her own clothes (which she has proved each week on the mainstage), I know that Divina is a competent sewer and I’m sure Blu can make an outfit or two but that’s all I know so far. I can’t imagine Baga being that strong, we know that Vinegar’s looks haven’t been the best and Cheryl is more of a dancer than a look queen. This week it was anyone’s guess for the bottom spots.
The queens got to work on making their attire and surprise surprise, Vinegar didn’t really know what to do. She was called out by Ru for being a little bit “hodge podge”. If you thought that was a bit harsh from Mama Ru, fear not, Blu got her own back.
When Ru asked why Blu was going to make pants, Blu said she is so bored of seeing people just rock evening gowns, then she said: “no offence” to mother dearest.
I was really thrilled to see more of Divina’s personality shine through this episode. She’s an absolute gem with a wicked sense of humour and we haven’t seen enough of that yet but this week I felt that others got to learn more about her. Even if it was just Blu shading her age – bloody youth of today!
Divina is the one I’m watching in this competition and Christ on a bike she was serving sass this week. I howled when she said she’d help Vinegar pack her bags.
We also got to see more brilliant interactions like Baga and The Vivienne going all ‘Thelma and Louise’ in the car. These two certainly make a great pair and they’ve definitely formed a strong bond during this competition.
They’ve even started calling themselves ‘Confidence Corner’ and ‘Team Badge’ because of their wins. But are they getting a little bit too confident? Only time will tell. Crystal is also a part of their gang but does she need a badge to guarantee her membership?
The Wrath of The Vivienne
Speaking of confidence, The Vivienne had a lot to say to the queens this week. She was quick to comment on Sum Ting Wong’s attempts to try tailoring for teh first time. I agreed with her, it’s a risk in a design challenge. Sum Ting Wong had a good idea of deconstructing a jacket she brought to use the pattern pieces – we 💜 a resourceful queen.
We also saw The Vivenne give the queens a bit of an aggressive ‘pep talk’ regarding learning how to sew. Yes, ever year a queen says they can’t sew but they know it’s a main part of the competition but I don’t think Viv’s outfit was the most flash this week. Sometimes I think The Vivienne forgets she’s a competitor. Maybe she’s just aiming for Latrice’s “romper room fuckery” moment.
But enough about that, it’s time for the main stage. I was thrilled to see the legend herself, Twiggy, join the panel this week! What a woman!!!
Category Is: Posh on a Penny
I love me a design challenge and this theme was absolutely perfect. It was campy, British and tacky as hell and I’m here for it! But before we start, “What did you think of Ru’s look?” I heard none of you cry. Fear not, I’ll tell you.
RuPaul – Boot
I do like it when Ru mixes up her style (not copying Blu’s shade) and shows her legs but I really wasn’t crazy about this look. It’s the one she wore for the Drag Race UK promo and it honestly reminds me of that beach hat dress that The Vixen had. But enough about Ru, onto the queens!
Divina De Campo – Toot
I absolutely adored this look. Not only did Divina create a stunning pantsuit, but she also did it in the most unconventional material out of everybody. The wig and makeup were so high-fashion, the blue ruffle that matched the side seam of the pants and the shoes was a really great detail too. The colour scheme and makeup/wig choices this week were brilliant and it really helped her stand out from the other queens.
Baga Chipz – Boot
I love Baga, I like the way she sold this on the runway, I kind of like the wig but Christ on a bike this was one of the most shoddy pieces of shit I’ve ever seen (and I’m sure Baga wouldn’t disagree with me). The worst part of the outfit was those tragic Kylie Minogue hot pants that looked like she was smuggling tuna cans in. It was coming away from the corset revealing her lower back and the corset removed any form of womanly shape she may have had. Oh Baga, how the hell did you survive the bottom this week?!
Blu Hydrangea – Boot
I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I think Blu’s hair and makeup looked great but I think the weird metallic streamers actually cheapened her outfit. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a top 3 outfit, but it would have been better without them.
Sum Ting Wong – Boot
Bit boring isn’t it? It wasn’t awfully executed but it didn’t really look like she used unconventional materials either and that was a bit of a letdown. Nothing about this outfit screams ‘car boot couture’ to me. A top underneath, big earrings made of junk or even a broach could have salvaged this bland outfit.
The Vivienne – Boot
I have to be honest, this wasn’t The Vivienne’s strongest look. Don’t get me wrong, her hair and makeup look great… but that’s what sold the outfit, not the dress itself (and that was the challenge). I think that the wig combined with the shoulder pads makes her look quite boxy and large. If she had worn a slick high-pony with the shoulder pads or taken them off and kept this wig, I think it would have looked better. At the end of the day, it was a bodycon dress with some strips of plastic glued to it.
Vinegar Strokes – Boot
This doesn’t really need any explanation, does it? Not only have we seen outfits made from book pages countless times, this one wasn’t even done well. But ignoring the wonky boobs, the ill-fitting skirt, the asymmetric sleeves, and the dodgy shoes, her hair and makeup looked odd too. She’s managed to make herself look 30 years older!
Cheryl Hole – Boot
Much like The Vivienne, the wig and makeup made this outfit look stronger than it was. Taking away the wig, it’s a skirt with some rubber glove fingers glued to it, a caution tape belt and some sort of plastic bag top. It really was as basic as you could get (if you weren’t gluing scouring pads to a corset).
Crystal – Toot
J’adore! Crystal nailed it this week with this gorgeous theatrical costume. The corset was impeccable and the matching knee-high boots were a delight. Those are the details I expect from our queens! The velvet curtains were gorgeous, fit beautifully and had so much drama and elegance. When she said it was two beach balls holding them up I gagged! Her hair and makeup were also lush and the props were great. If I had to give Crystal one critique, it would be that I wish she had either a necklace or a Tudor ruff as there was a lot of empty space to work with from her boobs to her head.
The Results
Overall, I thought the queens did a pretty good job. Each person looked different, there was no repeating shapes or ideas, not too shabby if you ask me.
But two queens really stood out to me this week and they were Divina De Campo and Crystal. These thrifty queens sure know how to turn car boot crap into couture! The big misses for me this week were Vinegear, Baga, Sum Ting and Cheryl and The Vivienne and Blu were a strong safe.
But this weeks winner was the one and only Divina with a look that was universally loved (including style-icon Twiggy). In the bottom were Vinegar and Sum Ting Wong with Cheryl just scraping by for the 3rd week in a row. Baga looked shocked to be safe and actually, I thought Cheryl may have just escaped but Baga has a stronger report card.
The Lipsync
The dynamic duo lipsynced to ‘Would I Lie To You’ by The Eurythmics and I honestly wasn’t crazy about the song choice. There wasn’t much you could do with the song (and they used it in Season 1 of the US season) so I couldn’t get behind the choice.
Still, I thought Vinegar was killing it at the start. But then she did some sort of weird front crawl and she lost me. Sum Ting Wong served sass with her lipsync and was victorious. She didn’t have the strongest looks but I’m sad to see Vinegar go as she had a great personality and aura.
How has that affected the scores?
It would be my look to lose a queen after winning this week. Annoyingly, I didn’t get as many points as I would have hoped for to try and snatch back the lead. However, I’m so unbelievably thrilled that Divina won this challenge, she bloody killed it!
Winner: Divina De Campo – 5 Points
Top: The Vivienne, Crystal – 3 Points
Safe: Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea– 1 Point
Bottom: Cheryl Hole – 0 Points
Lipsyncing: Sum Ting Wong – -1 Point
Eliminated: Vinegar Strokes– -3 Points
This week, Tom walked away with 4 points and I ended with 5 points! That means my total is now on 15 points but Tom is still in the lead with 17 points.
If you thought that episode was great, hold out because next week is THE SNATCH GAME!!! This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. This will show what British drag is all about and I’m so excited to see who each queen will do.
