Manolo the Columnist
Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post
Dear Manolo,
I’m going to my Junior prom and I need help. I’m wearing a great little black dress, but since it’s knee-length I’m worried about not being considered dressed up enough. I don’t want to look like a princess or a sherbet, but I need shoes that add some color and style, and since I’m only in high school, price is sort of an issue.
Julieta
Manolo says, oh how the Manolo remembers his own high school prom; it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
On the one of the hands the Manolo used the occasion to dress up in his finest frock coat and striped trousers, complete with the spats, the top hat, and the fancy walking stick. He looked like the seventeen-year-old version of the Rich Uncle Pennybags from the Monopoly.
Yet, on the other of the hands, because no one had actually consented to go to the prom with the Manolo, he was forced to stand outside the gymnasium and make the snide remarks to himself about those who were entering.
Such is the manner by which the professional critic is made.
Look! Here from the Guess is the Felecity, the strappy high-heeled sandal in the bronze color that will enliven the Julieta Promgoer’s little black dress.
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:51 am
Manolo surely had the better time thus at his prom than I mine.
March 23rd, 2007 at 11:24 am
Amen, Johnnycake. My prom is an evening I wish I could forget.
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:58 pm
I would have been proud to accompany the Manolo to his prom (I believe both of us may be of the same vintage) because he no doubt would have appreicated my velvet gown and shoes from the 1930’s much more than my classmates did.
March 23rd, 2007 at 1:42 pm
My prom was my worst fashion mistake. I wore the most perfect shoes ever created, but they were a size too small. I made it as far as the elevator before I ditched them for the rest of the night. Never again.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:51 pm
An additional piece of advice for Miss Julieta–buy the shoes Manolo recommended, and not cheap ones that resemble them. When I attended my first high school formal as a freshman, I paid a rather high price (to my mind) for some very pretty, classic black sandals, and many of my friends bought similar shoes that were cheap knock-offs of mine. My friends suffered blisters and pain in their cheap shoes, and the shoes fell apart after a year or so. My shoes were some of the most comfortable heels I’ve ever had, and I wore them for many occasions over the course of six years before they finally needed to be retired. Even then it was not the construction of the shoe that was at fault, but the many boys who were terrible dancers and ruined the satin fabric of the shoes by stepping on them.
March 23rd, 2007 at 7:09 pm
While the price of these shoes pains me now, and while I never spent more than $50 on the shoes when I myself was in high school, I do agree with Miss JaneC that spending more money and investing in the nice shoes is a good choice - I purchased for myself a pair of the strappy black Steve Madden “Cutey” shoes and while they were expensive to me at the time, they have been and still are the perfect go-to shoe for every outfit - as the shoes the Manolo recommends will be a good go-to shoe for every outfit, particularly in the coming years.
It is a hard lesson for the unpaid non-profit intern herself to learn, but the good shoes are worth the price.
March 26th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
Ugh…prom. Good date, bad dress and shoes. If I could go back, I’d really choose something other than a black sheath….
March 28th, 2007 at 8:29 am
I have had my eye on these shoes, but haven’t had a need to buy them. Seeing them here sealed the deal. They will be mine in a few short days!