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).