Rating:
Suited For Success may take place
entirely within the fashion world and deal with a problem that is practically
unique to it among other artistic disciplines, but that doesn't make it any
less important. This episode is a middle entrant into the Grand Galloping Gala “arc”, as Rarity takes it upon herself to make her friends dresses for the event.
Conflict arises when the rest of the mane six aren't entirely pleased
with her first effort, and an important fashion critic from Canterlot will be
in town to see Rarity’s work. This may
not sound like much to go on, but Suited For Success is surprisingly entertaining throughout, as well as pretty accurate in its depictions. The episode also spawned a couple of memes and features one of the best songs in the series as well.
For those of us not involved in the
fashion world (which I assume is most), Rarity’s offer to make all of her
friends dresses must seem rather absurd. After seeing Twilight’s goofy-looking red dress that she brings in to
be fixed, it must at least seem less so.
As the resident fashion expert and someone who actually cares about her clothing and how it looks, Rarity couldn't possibly have let her friends
wear whatever they would have come up with to a formal occasion. This isn't because she would be ashamed of being seen with them as much as it is her duty as a fashionista to make sure her
friends look their best at such an important event. And while six dresses may seem like an incredible
amount of work, making collections is part of what you do as a fashion
designer. Rarity certainly isn't lying
when she says it will be “fun”, since she wouldn't be a designer if she didn't enjoy the work.
My reaction to seeing her dresses was somewhat similar to the other mane six members at first admittedly, as they do seem slightly bland. Over time though, it has become more obvious that they are in fact very well designed. This was no doubt helped by the other ponies convincing Rarity to make their dresses look more “exciting”. They suggest whatever they can think of on to add on to the dresses, but the results just end up being loud and gaudy. Fortunately the earlier designs can still be salvaged, and a second fashion show goes over much better. The episode works because these two extremes are as accurately portrayed as the characters say they are. There’s something decidedly wrong about the new dresses despite all the frills, which lets us see the old dresses were the perfect combination of being fun to look at without hurting your eyes. They accentuate each pony instead of distracting from them. This is a hard thing to accomplish when designing clothes (and perhaps also a difficult lesson to learn), but the issue is perfectly demonstrated here.
Rarity has to montage twice along the way, but this isn't a problem nor is it filler. Art Of The Dress probably works better than most of the other songs in the series because it was actually written by Stephen Sondheim (different lyrics are added to "Putting It Together" from Sunday In The Park With George), but it’s still a good choice despite not being original. Even though the montage is an extremely overused trope, Rarity might have been listening to or singing something anyway while working on her dresses, and I know from personal experience that it is better than having to watch every single second of mundane activities. The only problem I do have is that Rarity's singing voice, Kazumi Evans, isn't a close match for her speaking tone. It may not be horrendous, but the difference is jarring enough in a way the other characters' singing voices are not.
However, the necessity of a second montage is delightfully unexpected. The most memorable highlight is unquestionably delivered by Rainbow Dash, who looks rather uninterested in the prospect of receiving or improving her dress. She is only able to vocalize that she wants her dress to be “20% cooler”, which quickly led to everything on the internet needing to be this amount. In a close second is Fluttershy’s surprising and unusually detailed fashion knowledge. Like her flying ability, this hints that Fluttershy is actually more talented in certain areas than she believes herself to be, and gives more depth to her character. Sadly, the opportunity to demonstrate her fashion knowledge doesn't usually come up, although she does return to the fashion world in a much different role during Green Isn't Your Color.
In what will become a recurring theme, an upper class citizen of Canterlot is given an embarrassingly stuffy name, but these are at least usually good-spirited. With a moniker like Hoity Toity, he practically had little other career choice than fashion. Hoity Toity might sound exactly like the millionaire from Gilligan’s Island, but his opinions regarding Rarity’s work are correct. I don’t believe a fashion judge would be nearly so loquacious during the actual runway show, but this sacrifice of realism was for our benefit since he would probably be thinking what he said while only vocalizing it later. Unfortunately, his “kitchen sink” putdown is rather disappointing (while Rarity actually kicking one behind a curtain was just odd), since fashion experts are usually more creative in explaining how hideous your clothes look. It’s also unlikely Hoity Toity would return for a second time (unless Spike gave him an “incentive” to do so), and the prospect of having a good chunk of the town, a top fashion critic, and the five-second sole appearance of Vinyl Scratch (until the second season finale) come for a five-look show from an apparent unknown is also a likely exaggeration. After how spectacularly awful the “revised” dresses looked, his later compliments for Rarity are well deserved.
In most other art forms, the audience has little to no input on the finished product. Collaborations are normally done between experienced members, or (more often than not) each work is a singular vision. Fashion designers unfortunately have to split the line between pleasing their customers and staying true to themselves. The other mane six members meant well in their understandable criticisms, but their lack of experience meant that they didn't realize adding more to the dresses actually made for a worse look. This essentially makes the show a parable for trusting yourself as an artist (or whatever profession), which doesn't only just apply to fashion. Rarity needed to stand up and tell her friends that their suggestions weren't helping, and to give the original dresses a chance. Ever generous, she tried to make her friends happy, but this almost had disastrous consequences. Equally applicable is the paradox where trying to please everyone pleases no one. A number of important artistic statements are actually quite personal in nature, whereas more “broad” subject matter lacks the feeling that it could have been someone’s experience. This wasn't quite demonstrated in the episode (the mane six members were pleased with their own dresses at first), but it's still an important lesson to take.
Despite the problems with Hoity Toity's dialogue, it’s hard to believe that Charlotte Fullerton would go on to write a disaster like Baby Cakes after this episode. Apparently that script was so bad that she was relieved of her writing duties following its airing, which was quite the fall for someone who produced such an insightful and well thought out effort as Suited For Success. There are a few awkward moments scattered throughout, but the episode is as good a look at Rarity and the fashion world as has ever been done on the series. Not everything is quite as crisp as it should be, and much of Suited For Success is probably a bit too specific to be applicable outside fashion. It still has a lot to say though, and at the very least is right in that you should probably pretend to like gifts even if you don’t. Rarity-centric episodes have generally been pretty good, since her melodramatic tendencies work quite well for comedic purposes. As usual, we see her range from facetiousness to generosity, and from nervousness to swooning. She has a lot to deal with between her friends and her career, and this is all shown quite well (along with Spike’s unusual enthusiasm for helping Rarity being naturally due to his crush, which smartly goes unmentioned). The characterization is good, the lessons are important, the problems are real, and the song actually adds to the episode. There’s not really much more to ask for.
My reaction to seeing her dresses was somewhat similar to the other mane six members at first admittedly, as they do seem slightly bland. Over time though, it has become more obvious that they are in fact very well designed. This was no doubt helped by the other ponies convincing Rarity to make their dresses look more “exciting”. They suggest whatever they can think of on to add on to the dresses, but the results just end up being loud and gaudy. Fortunately the earlier designs can still be salvaged, and a second fashion show goes over much better. The episode works because these two extremes are as accurately portrayed as the characters say they are. There’s something decidedly wrong about the new dresses despite all the frills, which lets us see the old dresses were the perfect combination of being fun to look at without hurting your eyes. They accentuate each pony instead of distracting from them. This is a hard thing to accomplish when designing clothes (and perhaps also a difficult lesson to learn), but the issue is perfectly demonstrated here.
Rarity has to montage twice along the way, but this isn't a problem nor is it filler. Art Of The Dress probably works better than most of the other songs in the series because it was actually written by Stephen Sondheim (different lyrics are added to "Putting It Together" from Sunday In The Park With George), but it’s still a good choice despite not being original. Even though the montage is an extremely overused trope, Rarity might have been listening to or singing something anyway while working on her dresses, and I know from personal experience that it is better than having to watch every single second of mundane activities. The only problem I do have is that Rarity's singing voice, Kazumi Evans, isn't a close match for her speaking tone. It may not be horrendous, but the difference is jarring enough in a way the other characters' singing voices are not.
However, the necessity of a second montage is delightfully unexpected. The most memorable highlight is unquestionably delivered by Rainbow Dash, who looks rather uninterested in the prospect of receiving or improving her dress. She is only able to vocalize that she wants her dress to be “20% cooler”, which quickly led to everything on the internet needing to be this amount. In a close second is Fluttershy’s surprising and unusually detailed fashion knowledge. Like her flying ability, this hints that Fluttershy is actually more talented in certain areas than she believes herself to be, and gives more depth to her character. Sadly, the opportunity to demonstrate her fashion knowledge doesn't usually come up, although she does return to the fashion world in a much different role during Green Isn't Your Color.
In what will become a recurring theme, an upper class citizen of Canterlot is given an embarrassingly stuffy name, but these are at least usually good-spirited. With a moniker like Hoity Toity, he practically had little other career choice than fashion. Hoity Toity might sound exactly like the millionaire from Gilligan’s Island, but his opinions regarding Rarity’s work are correct. I don’t believe a fashion judge would be nearly so loquacious during the actual runway show, but this sacrifice of realism was for our benefit since he would probably be thinking what he said while only vocalizing it later. Unfortunately, his “kitchen sink” putdown is rather disappointing (while Rarity actually kicking one behind a curtain was just odd), since fashion experts are usually more creative in explaining how hideous your clothes look. It’s also unlikely Hoity Toity would return for a second time (unless Spike gave him an “incentive” to do so), and the prospect of having a good chunk of the town, a top fashion critic, and the five-second sole appearance of Vinyl Scratch (until the second season finale) come for a five-look show from an apparent unknown is also a likely exaggeration. After how spectacularly awful the “revised” dresses looked, his later compliments for Rarity are well deserved.
In most other art forms, the audience has little to no input on the finished product. Collaborations are normally done between experienced members, or (more often than not) each work is a singular vision. Fashion designers unfortunately have to split the line between pleasing their customers and staying true to themselves. The other mane six members meant well in their understandable criticisms, but their lack of experience meant that they didn't realize adding more to the dresses actually made for a worse look. This essentially makes the show a parable for trusting yourself as an artist (or whatever profession), which doesn't only just apply to fashion. Rarity needed to stand up and tell her friends that their suggestions weren't helping, and to give the original dresses a chance. Ever generous, she tried to make her friends happy, but this almost had disastrous consequences. Equally applicable is the paradox where trying to please everyone pleases no one. A number of important artistic statements are actually quite personal in nature, whereas more “broad” subject matter lacks the feeling that it could have been someone’s experience. This wasn't quite demonstrated in the episode (the mane six members were pleased with their own dresses at first), but it's still an important lesson to take.
Despite the problems with Hoity Toity's dialogue, it’s hard to believe that Charlotte Fullerton would go on to write a disaster like Baby Cakes after this episode. Apparently that script was so bad that she was relieved of her writing duties following its airing, which was quite the fall for someone who produced such an insightful and well thought out effort as Suited For Success. There are a few awkward moments scattered throughout, but the episode is as good a look at Rarity and the fashion world as has ever been done on the series. Not everything is quite as crisp as it should be, and much of Suited For Success is probably a bit too specific to be applicable outside fashion. It still has a lot to say though, and at the very least is right in that you should probably pretend to like gifts even if you don’t. Rarity-centric episodes have generally been pretty good, since her melodramatic tendencies work quite well for comedic purposes. As usual, we see her range from facetiousness to generosity, and from nervousness to swooning. She has a lot to deal with between her friends and her career, and this is all shown quite well (along with Spike’s unusual enthusiasm for helping Rarity being naturally due to his crush, which smartly goes unmentioned). The characterization is good, the lessons are important, the problems are real, and the song actually adds to the episode. There’s not really much more to ask for.
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