Manolo says, rarely is the Manolo jealous of another person’s shoe collection, but then, until recently, the Manolo had never encountered the website of the Japanese gentleman who calls himself The Centipede.

Manolo says, the Manolo has written the article for the Pajamas Media about the necessity of the $400 haircuts, the article in which he makes mention of the Important Southern Hair. Here is the beginning.

Manolo says, as one of the internet’s foremost authorities on the political coiffure, the Manolo has been asked to opine on the matter of the John Edwards $400 haircuts.

First allow the Manolo to begin with effusive praise for John Edwards’ hair.

This is the beautiful and silkily wonderful hair, the sort of marvelous, bouncy, glossy mop favored by the 1970s pop idol Bobby Sherman. And it is by far and away the John Edwards’ greatest political asset.

“But Manolo,” say the Manolo’s internet friends, “is not $400 very costly for the hair cutting?”

Perhaps many of the Manolo’s internet friends who still go to the Super-Duper Cuts, or the Floyd the Barber, do not know that the truly high quality, super fantastic hair cut now costs at least $100.

You must go read the entire article.

Manolo says, it is Tuesday, time to see what the Manolo is…

Reading…

Listening to…

Watching…

The Manolo has been in the Mozart sort of mood.

Manolo says, when the Manolo thinks of the classicly-styled sandals for the Florida lifestyle, the Manolo thinks of Lilly Pulitzer Jackie Sandal. Simple, elegant, able to worn with many different outfits, these never fail to make the Manolo eager for the coming of the summer.

Manolo says, he has color coordinated the shoes and the tie with his facial hair.

Manolo says, the Manolo was reading this inspirational article about the man who became the cobbler in middle age, when he came across these most shocking paragraphs.

Last year’s average retail price of a dress shoe — men’s, women’s and children’s — was $32.59, according to the NPD Group Inc., a market research company in Port Washington, N.Y. Dress casual shoes were even cheaper, averaging $30.46 a pair.

That’s considerably less than the $40 to $45 that most shops charge to put on a set of half soles and heels.

Also, dressier shoes make up a dwindling percentage of footwear sales. Last year, dress and dress casual shoe sales were $10.7 billion, roughly half of what Americans paid for sneakers and other athletic footwear.

The average cost of the dress shoes is $32.59!?! The Manolo does not even pay that little for his socks!

This is the catastrophe!

Millions of the Americans are going about their business terribly, horribly, wickedly ill-shod. It is no wonder so many peoples have the persistent foot problems. If you are putting your foot into the $32.59 dress shoe you are asking for the serious trouble.

Manolo says, here is the very handsome and unusual ballet flats from the Chloé, unusual because it is the very feminine form with the very masculine material. And yet, it works well in this case beacuse the leather and the stitching looks so rich.

Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s internet friends has asked him the question.

Dear Manolo:

Please help. I am a CPA, and as such, I am accustomed to relying on rules to help me make decisions. I am unsure of the specifics on several shoe rules, so am turning to you, the highest authority thereon, for clarification.

I was of the belief that ladies should never wear black shoes with navy blue business clothing. I thought the rule was that navy blue, brown or cordovan were the only acceptable choices for shoe color. Have the rules changed?

In addition, what are the rules for the wearing of suede shoes? The wearing of suede shoes seems wrong to me during the day in the spring and summer, but okay during the day in the fall and winter, or anytime of the year at night. Please advise if such a rule exists.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Rebecca

Unlike the summer-only rule about the white shoes, which the Manolo suggests you mostly ignore, the rule about the navy blue clothes and the black shoes is one you should mostly not ignore.

The problem is that the navy blue does not have the glamourous connotations, instead we think of it as the professional or the nautical color, and thus when we pair it with the black shoes it has the potential to become too drab, or too uniform. (Black clothing and black shoes do not suffer from this drabness because black has the glamourous associations.)

The trick to the navy blue clothing is to wear the shoes that offer the color contrast, such as the tans, the cordovans, the creams (especially in the springtime), and if you wish to really make the statement, the light blues and the greens.

Here are the pair of the super fantastic, cream-colored Giuseppe Zanotti shoes to wear with the navy blue clothing.

As for the suede shoes being acceptable only in the fall or the winter, or during the nighttime, the Manolo does not consider this the rule so much as the powerful suggestion.

Finally, and most importantly, the Manolo asks his friend the CPA Rebecca, why is she worrying about the navy and the suede? Now that the tax day has passed, should she not be laying on the tropical beach with the Raspberry Jumborita and the cabaña boy?

Manolo says, here are the few links which may perhaps amuse…

Counterfeit Chic

It was early Friday evening, and I am devoted to the art of Karaoke, so I went in and sat down at the bar.

Pocket Fashionista

Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s internet friends has alerted the Manolo to the following story.

Germany’s militant Red Army Faction considered kidnapping fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld in the 1970s, said a former member of the radical left-wing group that shook the West German establishment.

The comments from Peter-Juergen Boock, who has served 17 years in jail for his role in the RAF, are the latest in a string of revelations which have caused a storm in Germany.

Some of his comments have sparked calls for a re-examination of the 1977 murder of a federal prosecutor.

Boock told Der Spiegel magazine the RAF had a list of possible targets for ransom in the late 1970s when it was trying to raise funds to help the group’s leaders escape from jail.

Lagerfeld was from a rich family and was already a big name in the fashion world, so seemed an ideal candidate.

“We considered kidnapping the owner of the lingerie maker Palmers factory and also Karl Lagerfeld,” Boock told Der Spiegel in an interview. “There were a row of people whom we collected material about and they were all wealthy.”

The Manolo’s immediate thought? The Ransom of the Red Chief.

Manolo says, yes, the Manolo thinks that the platform mania is coming to the end, but that does not mean that you should not enjoy it while it lasts, just that you should do so in the shoes that will not break your leg.

Here is the cute platform from the Stuart Weitzman. The Manolo especially thinks that this would rock your summer in the whitish “chalk” color.

Manolo says, what? Is he on his way to the hoedown?