FW06 Trend: Ankle Boots

This season they amp-ed up the classic ankle boots usually worn under jeans (for me anyway) to a fashion must have designed to be seen! On the Stella McCartney runway (left), she cut out the front to form cute half heels/half boots worn with stockings. And on the Versace runway (right), they cleverly cut out a bit on the side to reveal footless stockings!
Other more innovative designs out there include these Alexander McQueen (left) kick back ankle boots, which I think has a weird slanted heel (is that physically safe?) and these funky Report Signature (right) ankle boots from Shop Intuition.
My favourite ones are these two from Miu Miu (left) and Paul and Joe (right). I love the perfectly rounded toes and the adorable designs. I want them both!Then there are these darling soft grey slouchy boots from Urban Outfitters (left) and green pointy boots with a v from Roberto Cavalli (right).
I also like these ankle boots with what looks like scoop necks. It makes them look so chic! I especially like the design of the Steve Madden one (right), it looks so elegant! (left: Nine West)

For something less adventurous, more versatile but still trendy, try these more subtle styles from Christian Louboutin (left) and Shop Intuition (right). They can be both worn to be seen or under jeans.
And of course there are the platform ankle boots which are absolutely everywhere. These ones are from Pedro Garcia (left) and Steve Madden (right).As I said, these boots were made to be seen. Here are some ideas as to how:

• With short sweater dresses/short winter shorts and tights- this one is my favourite way. (left)
• With skinny jeans- I do that a lot with my classic ankle boots too (right)

• With tight rolled up jeans- this is probably best if you were tall (left)
• With cropped pants (center)
• And just right out with a skirt or shorts!

I can’t wait to go home to my funky ankle boots and try all this out!

Floating Weeds - 1959 - DVD

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Years ago Roger Ebert brought Floating Weeds (1959) to The Conference on World Affairs (CWA) in Boulder, Colorado, which is an annual meeting of minds and scholars in the sciences, arts, and beyond. There, Ebert famously hosts "Cinema Interruptus", a 5-day screening and shot-by-shot analysis of a film of his choosing. At the event in the University of Colorado's Macky Auditorium, the film is screened in its entirely the first day (Monday). Each subsequent day the "interruptus" begins; at any point in the film, including the opening credits, audience members yell "stop!" at which point they must either have a comment or question about something within that freezed frame. As you can imagine, it is a long process getting through a movie in total, and in fact, the year I saw Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) at CWA we hardly got past the credit sequence before our time was up for the day. Luckily, the conference keeps running until Friday, but rarely is the whole film seen in full after Monday's introductory screening.

I missed that 2003 "Interruptus," and have meant to see Yasujiro Ozu's Floating Weeds ever since. I finally did, and I am a better critic for it. Now I am left longing to see the original version, The Story of Floating Weeds (1934). The word on the street is that the original is even better. In the meantime, I am mesmerized with the 1959 version, the poetic long-takes of Ozu's characters who move in-and-out of and throughout the frame naturalistically. At once the composition is both simple and complex; in one shot, for instance, Ozu frames two rooms that are separated by one wall: a dining area and a staircase. The shot is simple in terms of the camera movement, since the camera doesn't move; but the shot's complexity is illustrated though the choreography of the characters within the spaces in simultaneous time.

I'm a novice in the Ozu department, but once this John Ford movie marathon is over (does it have to be?) there might be an Ozu marathon in the works. Stay tuned...

'G' Men - 1935 - DVD

Saturday, November 18, 2006

For years 'G' Men looked to me like one of those good, gritty gangster flicks from the 30s that would be loaded with shadowy sets and equally shady characters. Sadly, for a long time I confused it with Anthony Mann's T-Men (1947) (which it looks nothing like), and though the confusion in titles is cleared up the film 'G' Men itself was an utter let down.

James Cagney stars as as "Brick," a freshman employee with the FBI, the newly formed government unit that is keen on showing off their covert ops technology. Most of the picture includes leaden scenes of FBI officials presenting different machines that examine evidence (e.g. high-powered microscopes), almost as if the group is proving its legitmacy to the public. It's like a Hollywood version of a public service announcement.

The most ridiculous scene takes place with Cagney at his lady crush's car. She's about to drive away, but Cagney, with a small secret camera hidden in his coat keeps haranguing her for a photograph of herself. Does she have any he can give him as a momento? Very subtle. Cagney literally pulls the "hidden" camera into plain sight while he's talking to her in his not-so-coded language, and you know what the worst part is? She never figures out what he's talking about. He's that sly.

On the other hand, the movie has some great posters. Here are a few I found, including a screenshot from the movie's credits (above).

10 Items or Less - 2006 - Film

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

I snuck into an early screening of 10 Items or Less (in theaters December 1st), the new indie flick from director Brad Silberling, who is most recently known for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Moonlight Mile (2002), and City of Angels (1998). As I filter through the press packet the bio section has no mention of Mr. Silberling's directorial contributions to the 1994 series The Byrds of Paradise--a credit for which I know him better, since I haven't seen any of his movies.

I hope someone out there in Blog Land remembers that TV show, it was with Seth Green and Jennifer Love Hewitt, who played brother and sister in a Hawaiian teen/family drama. It was profound stuff for my 14-year-old self, but I bet it wouldn't pack the same punch all these years later. My main point in mentioning the above TV show is primarily for the sake of my own nostalgia, but it also shows the background that the director Mr. Silberling had before testing out indie waters.

10 Items or Less is about an actor, "him" who is played by Morgan Freeman, a character in the film who is famous in Hollywood, but who has been out of work for four years. To get the momentum back in his career he tries out a small indie picture, which at the very least keeps him busy for a few weeks. On this point, the movie is probably a bit autobiographical for Mr. Silberling, who also wrote (and co-produced) the film.

The story begins as Mr. Freeman's character visits a bodega in a working class area of L.A. to research his role. There, he meets Scarlet (Paz Vega), the head checker of the "10 items or less" lane. After a small series of mishaps the two are inconveniently stuck with one another for the afternoon. It is a simple plot from there. They each spend a lot of time listening to one another while touring through mundane daily activities. Scarlet takes "him" to the local Target store in one scene, where he stands in slack-jawed awe of the low prices, "$8 for a designer t-shirt!" A marvel for a guy wearing a tee retailed at more than ten times that price. The story isn't particularly exciting, but the interactions between these two strangers is delicate and kind. It isn't a movie I plan to buy or watch again, but it was a pleasant time in the theater where I felt a kind of priviledge to watch these two people simply be together.

10 Items or Less opens on December 1, 2006 in select cities.

BG's Paris Diary Week 7: Part II

So to finish off my week 7 diary, here is an account of Venice and Geneva.

After a 3 hour ride in a cabinet styled train (as in Anastasia- unfortunately they are not as cool as it looked in the movie) we finally reached Venice where water was everywhere. How gorgeous is this picture of sunset in Venice (right)?
Everything was so pictueresque, especially the gondolas. Unfortunately, we didn't go on them because they were a whooping 100 euros for 45 minutes. Besides, I've already been on it before, I'd rather have a pair of boots. On the left, we have a picture of the "Bridge of Sigh." And no, it is not as romantic as it sounds, because it is the bridge where prisoners used to pass through on their way to prison or to executions. Other touristy things to see is the Basillica of San Marco (left) and the Palace of the Doges (right). I love how the architecture in Venice is so different from that of Paris and Milan. In times of high tide, the piazza (left) is actually flooded and gondolas can actually float on it sometimes. I know, hard to believe. When we saw the postcard pictures, we thought they were computer edited! Oh and that lamp post was where we took a twirling around the lampost picture :P.
So again, all the touristy things were basically concentrated in the San Marco Piazza area where we lived. While the piazza looks pretty, in real life it is not quite so. The floor is slippery even though it didn't rain, because of the excess amount of pigeon poop on the floor. Pigeons were everywhere. We saw them all sitting on the ledge in the morning (left) and the amount of them was terrifying. People should stop feeding them (right).

Another place to go to in Venice is the island of Murano, where the glass factories are located. There, you get to see them blow glasses. George (left) here was fabulous. He made a vase in 5 minutes and literally pulled a horse out of that burning red thing with a few clever moves. These excursions are usually free because they want you to buy something from them afterwards and everything is super expensive. Red glass (right) is most expensive because the coloring is made of gold. And that purplish/brown color last one on the right is the official Venetian color. For cheaper options they have some "second rate" glass work around which are not too bad.
Another very Venetian thing to buy is masks. They have them in all shapes and prices. There were some very intricate and gorgeous ones. But I settled for a simple white and gold half mask . . maybe for halloween?
Our next stop, which took a grueling 6 hours train ride to reach, was Geneva. Highlights in Geneva include this Jet L'eau spring thing (left), this clock (right)(the missing numbers of the clock are on the outside). .
. . and the United Nations headquarters. Unfortunately they blocked off this official entrance, so we could only take pictures from this angle (left) and had to go in the back way. A tip for anyone planning to go in as a group, enter seperately, so they'd give you your own visitors badge with your picture on it. A great free souvineer. There we took a tour and saw a PEACOCK just wandering freely on the grounds. It was bizarre. Turns out the land used to be a peacock garden owned by the originally owner.
So really, Geneva is not much of a touristy spot. One day is more than enough to see everything. What they are more known for however is watches. All the famous brands are here: Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Charriol, Piaget, Swatch. . . . you name it. Although they are all very expensive of course. Oddly enough, Swatch was actually more expensive there too! In the end, we ended up with engraved Swiss Army knives to bring back home.

And that concludes my 7th week diary. Overall it was an awesome experience, but my favourite places were Milan and Lugano. Milan because it was just so much fun. And Lugano because it was so different from places I usually go to. Getting to drive a speed boat in the middle of a beautiful lake (even though it wasn't going too fast) was definitely memorable ;).

3rd Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Prize

I admit I have watched most of Season 2 and 3 of Project Runway. But unlike majority of the viewers, I'm definately not a fan of the show. Also, I had only ever watched 10 minutes of America's Next Top Model before, and I surprisingly hated it.

To me, fashion-related reality shows are great entertainment, but don't do much to contribute to the fashion world. Awhile ago, I read an article that had Anna Wintour say something I really agreed on. It was something along the lines that, Project Runway actually approached Vogue before Elle, but Vogue felt that the reality show wouldn't do much for new designers. Instead, Vogue and the CFDA have an annual fashion fund prize to help outstanding new designers. Now this is actually useful.

So this year's ten finalists are 3.1 Phillip Lim, Costello Tagliapietra, Devi Kroell, Doo.Ri, Jovovich-Hawk, Marchesa, Rag & Bone, Rodarte, Subversive Jewelry, and Thakoon. I'm sure you've heard of most of these names before.
At the Prize ceremony /party:

Anna Wintour and Diane von Furstenburg, who recently became the chairwoman of the CFDA.

Left: Ashley, Marc Jacobs and Mary Kate. Right: Michelle Williams and Derek Lam.

Past winners of this award, Proenza Schouler. -See what I mean, you've actually heard of them in a high-fashion capacity.

Two nominees: Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa (left). Who hasn't heard of Marchesa? Marchesa dresses are absolute favourites of young Hollywood stars at the moment.
Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk of Jovovich-Hawk (right). Jovovich-Hawk had really pretty boho-ish clothes in its SS07 collection. And do check out the website -lovely styling.

Runner ups: Thakoon (left). Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte (right).

*Drum roll* And the winner is...
Doo-Ri Chung! I was surprised Philip Lim, whose clothes are so loved by the social crowds, didn't get into the Top 3. Anyways, here are my 3 fav looks from Doo-Ri SS07 collection:

So young and pretty...

This Week BG is Loving. . .

. . Gucci platforms! They are sleek, versatile AND incredibly sexy.

For the more classic style, there are these Veruska pumps. Although I don't like how they have the white platform bit shown here, it looks cheap. The silver platform one is much better. But the good news here is that not only does it come in a range of shades, but they also come in different heights! For those who live in heels, they have it at 4.1" and for those who are completely inept in heels like me, they have it at 3.3" so if you do fall it won't hurt quite so much.
For something a bit more special, there are these Jerry platform pumps which are basically the same, except they are shimmery and at the platform there is this tiny little "Gucci" logo, which is really quite cute.