Heidi Klum towers over her Halloween costume party

And what are you dressed as, not-so-little girl? Heidi Klum delivered her usual bell-ringing Halloween costume treat in New York on Sunday, showing up in a red-and-purple Transformers-inspired get-up and towering on stilts over shiny silver husband Seal.

The "Project Runway" host's recent costumes have included a cat, the snake (and apple) from the Garden of Eden, an Indian goddess and last year's crow.

While rocking a great recycling idea for old ski boots, and channeling Tyra Banks' forehead, Klum was joined by famous friends,

including Miss Universe Jimena Navarette, designer Christian Siriano, mad doctor Ice-T and very naughty nurse Coco, and Kim Kardashian -- hey, have we seen that dress before, Little Red Riding Hood?

Click the photo of Kardashian, above, to launch a gallery of pictures from the Halloween party.

Funny, we thought Klum said she and Seal were going to simplify their costumes this year? Suppose it's all relative. Is it just us, or are those tiny, front-loading washing machines on Heidi's you-knows?

The party, held at Lavo, is in its 11th year.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photos: Heidi Klum, top left, and her husband Seal arrive at their Halloween party in New York. At right, Kim Kardashian. Credit: Charles Sykes / Associated Press, left; Bryan Bedder / Getty Images, right

'Project Runway' star Tim Gunn reveals suicide attempt

 

Tim Gunn, the debonair and confident host of "Project Runway," attempted suicide by overdosing on pills when he was 17 years old and "in quite a bit of despair."

"At the time it's all that I could contemplate," said Gunn, now 57. "I thought, 'I need to end things right now.'"

The next morning, waking up after the botched attempt, "I frankly just wanted to start life all over again," he said in a presentation that at one point had him nearly choked up with emotion.

Gunn spoke in a video he made for the Trevor Project's "It Gets Better" campaign, an effort that is snowballing in the wake of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi's Sept. 22 suicide after his roommate allegedly taped and broadcast a sexual encounter between Clementi and another guy after Clementi requested private use of their dorm room.

"It Gets Better" is aimed at supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens; the Trevor Project is a 24-hour crisis and suicide prevention hot line for those same kids.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Tim Gunn in November 2009. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Ellen DeGeneres 'devastated' by death of Rutgers student

'Project Runway's' Tim Gunn questions 'Housewives' Michaele Salahi's MS admission

'Project Runway's' Tim Gunn questions 'Housewives' Michaele Salahi's MS admission

Tim Gunn has a few opinions about Michaele Salahi and her multiple sclerosis news — and he doesn't care if she and her husband, Tareq, hear them.

“I would never wish MS upon anyone. And if in fact Michaele has MS, I feel very bad for her. I have a very dear friend who has MS,” Gunn said Thursday morning on "Access Hollywood Live."

"I find it curious that the story is coming out now, though. I would want a doctor’s note," he said.

The "Project Runway" guru was on "AHL" out of Los Angeles to promote his new book, but he wasn't alone — the Salahis were on the other end of the live satellite feed for the show in New York.

"I don’t mind if the Salahis hear this. I believe that they are sociopaths," Gunn told hosts Billy Bush and Kit Hoover. "They believe their own lies."

"The Real Housewives of D.C." cast member reacted to the accusations: "It makes me sad," she told "AHL," going on to say that she'd met Gunn at a youth AIDS fundraiser and had a great time, though "he probably doesn’t remember that."

Indeed, Gunn, who was off the air but still on set in L.A. when Michaele responded, had ...

Jessica Simpson hits fashion week as a 'Project Runway' judge

Jessica Simpson, she of the stiletto-heeled shoe line and new denim collection, showed up as a surprise "Project Runway" judge Thursday in New York, hanging out with Nina Garcia, Michael Kors and Heidi Klum for the fashion competition show's finale. 

To keep the finalists' identities a surprise -- the season is only six episodes in -- the 10 remaining designers all showed collections.

Opening the show, Klum told the audience, "I have never gotten so emotional or attached to the designers."

Other famous faces in the audience included Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Jordin Sparks. Spring 2011 fashion week in New York runs through Sept. 16.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

The Associated press contributed to this report.

Top photo: Jessica Simpson, left, Nina Garcia and designer Michael Kors attend the Project Runway Spring 2011 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Theater at Lincoln Center on Thursday in New York City. Credit: Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for IMG

Lower photos: Jamie-Lynn Sigler, left, and Jordin Sparks in the runway show's audience. Credits: Bryan Bedder / Getty Images for IMG

Tim Gunn owns girdles and knows how to use them? We feel so much better about our Spanx

"Project Runway" star Tim Gunn knows about a million times more than we do about fashion -- but hallelujah, he also knows one of its dirtiest truths firsthand:

Getting in and out of a girdle is a nightmare.

Spanx, shapewear, foundation garments, whatever you want to call them, it turns out (who knew?) they're made for men as well as women.

"I have two, and I've worn them," Gunn said. "It's a whole workout to get it on."

However!

"Getting it off is next to impossible. I almost took a pair of scissors to it, because it's so tight."

Chatting after the show on "Fox & Friends," Gunn -- whom co-anchor Steve Doocy characterized as the Simon Cowell of "Runway" -- broached the girdle topic while fielding questions about suits, belts and how men really get their pants to stay up, whether the man is booty-free or shaped like a bowling pin. (The whole video is below, if you want to hear these lines spoken as only Tim can speak them.)

Gunn was on the show in support of a "Project Runway"-style challenge for Address Your Heart ...

Heidi Klum will skip the Victoria's Secret runway, bless her heart

Aren't celebrity moms, especially the supermodel variety, supposed to automatically lose that baby weight in no time flat, making the rest of female humanity feel "less than" for not being able to wear a bikini straight out of the delivery room?

If so, Heidi Klum deserves some sort of medal.

The "Project Runway" host, who gave birth Oct. 9, will not be taking her usual spot strutting her stuff in lingerie on the Victoria's Secret runway this year. Instead, E! Online reports, Mrs. Seal will host the event, which will be held Nov. 19 in New York.

The turnaround time was just a little too close for Klum's comfort, unlike in 2005, when she was in shape and on the VS runway within two months of her second child's September birth (new baby girl Lou Sulola Samuel is her fourth child).

Good call, Heidi.

Wait, in lingerie in public in two months?