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"Project Runway" starts back up on August 20! Are you ready? You'd better be. 'Cause when it comes to throwing a good party, either you're in or you're out ... of queso dip. So here are our tips for throwing an awesome bash with your design-savvy (or just Tim Gunn-obsessed) friends.

You can always take the easy route and ask everybody to get über-fash'd up in their designer-y finery, but if you really want to roll deep, have guests re-create the show's best and worst outfits. (See below if you need ideas.) Because for every Christian Siriano masterpiece, there's a Blayne Walsh neon night terror.

Click here for more Runway tips ...

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The Best and Absolute Worst of "Project Runway"
Find out our favorite (and least favorite) Project Runway looks from the past five seasons.
bravotv.com
Phil Walter, Getty Images

Project Runways Best & Worst

    "Christian Siriano is, in my opinion, the best designer ever to have been on the show, and pretty much everything he did was amazing. But his best was the asymmetrical couture gown that he did with Chris. Even Alexander McQueen couldn't create something so beautiful." -- Cheryl of
    Cheryl Shops

    bravotv.com

    "The worst outfit that comes to mind was Elisa Jiminez's infamous "pooing fabric" dress. How she managed not to get kicked off after that one is beyond me." -- Cheryl of
    Cheryl Shops

    projectrungay.blogspot.com

    "Like most reality show watchers, I have a painfully short memory span, and can therefore only remember what was served up for Season 5. One of the best was Leanne's jumpsuit for the Saturn challenge. Her bravery in using rubber instead of merely weaving together seat belts truly paid off. It made me want to go out and buy a rubber tire to wrap around my mid-section." -- Bryn Taylor of
    shefinds.com

    bravotv.com

    "Worst was definitely Blayne's Libra outfit, where one side reminded me of the overflowing scraps bin at Mood, while the other resembled something you'd where to a costume party if you were dressing up as Naked Man." -- Bryn Taylor of
    shefinds.com

    bravotv.com

    "This was difficult. You wanted a single worst and a single best from all past 5 seasons? It was especially challenging to narrow down garments amongst the many stellar efforts. I selected the best to be from Season 4 designed by the team of Christian Siriano and Chris March. While the finale runway at Bryant Park had other contenders, the time constraints coupled with the collaboration put this glamorous gown over the top for me." -- Scarlett of bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

    bravotv.com

    "And with apologies to the adorable Blayne Walsh, his "girlicious" effort from the first episode of Season 5 was just inexplicable and incoherent/ I just couldn't wrap my brain around the flap over his model's lady-parts and I had difficulty imagining anyone (even a badly behaving starlet) having an occasion or an inspiration to don this hot mess." -- Scarlett of bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

    bravotv.com

    "Jay McCarroll's "Commercial Appeal" look from Season 1 is the best look ever. The details are what make this dress - the pin tucking, the buttons in the back, the buckles on the straps, and of course, the Chrysler Building-inspired chevrons in the bodice. This was the dress that not only got the judges to sit up and notice Jay and got Jay to realize he was in it to win it, it was also the dress that got that relatively small group of people watching the show at the time to realize "Hey, this show is pretty special." We don't think we're overstating it when we say that this was the dress that launched Project Runway." -- Tom and Lorenzo/Project Runway and other fabulosities

    projectrungay.blogspot.com

    "Wendy Pepper's "Innovation" look from Season 1 is the worst look ever. It's possible that we could find worse looks than this in the show's history, but when we think of other looks, we can at least say they put some work into it. This thing, on the other hand, was nothing but supermarket crap that Wendy Pepper glued onto her poor model.This was the first episode of the show and we don't blame people if they were flailing about trying to figure out what was required of them but they knew they were in a fashion competition. She should have at least figured out that meant she was supposed to make an actual outfit. Instead, she decorated her model like the table at a kid's birthday party and hoped for the best. Lucky for her that the judges could smell her crazy coming from a mile away and kept her in for the entertainment value." -- Tom and Lorenzo/Project Runway and other fabulosities

    projectrungay.blogspot.com

    "My favorite garment is one created by Jay McCarroll for his Bryant Park Collection. It was the last dress in the collection worn by his model Julia Benyon. Part of the reason that I chose this dress as my favorite is because we actually got to see Jay working on it during the episode. We see him sort of flufffing the fringe on the skirt and it's a true "Oh - so that's how he did it!" moment. The styling and the model were also ideal for the look. This dress was so inventive and so masterfully executed that I felt kind of overwhelmed when I saw it. The impact of the design combined with the fact that this was the final look, worn by the winning model, and the winning designer of the premiere season - all add up to make this my favorite "all-time" design." -- Laura of bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

    bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

    "With apologies to Kayne Gillaspie, whom I feel is extremely talented, I have selected one of his designs as my 'least favorite.' This was Kayne's dress for the "Waste Not" challenge modeled by the lovely (and yet unfortunate!) Amanda Fields. The nightmarish styling adds to the horror of this creation. This challenge had such a wide range of results that several could have been chosen as winners and several could have been eliminated. I was glad that Kayne was safe." -- Laura of bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com

    bloggingprojectrunway.blogspot.com



Drinks and Snacks
True, food and fashion don't normally go hand in bony hand. You could always go the backstage-at-a-fashion-show route and serve nothing but vodka, champagne and small bites (crudités, fruit, olives). But personally, we're huge fans of puns and actual food. Order Chinese and label stuff Santino Fried Rice, Wendy Pepper Steak and Rami Kashou Chicken. Or serve a plate of beef jerky and call it "The Stella Zotis."

Activities
Of course, you can always go with the classic take-a-sip-of-punch whenever anybody speaks German or is visibly pregnant. But we think there's nothing like a good old-fashioned horse race.

Hit up the "Project Runway" site and make a betting guide like you might find at the track, with pics of the designers and little bios. Let guests bet on who will be the first to get a frosty Teutonic sendoff, and make the prize appropriately fashion-y, like mineral water spray or a gift certificate to a shopping Web site.

More cool stuff on Lemondrop:

Crazy '80s cakes

Is this monstrosity the "perfect pet"?
How to deal with awful guests and other party-hosting advice