Manolo asks, whose shoes?

Manolo says, few things make the Manolo as happy, or as proud, as when one of his bloggers is recognized for his or her substantial expertise. Such is the case with the very amusing and exceedingly knowledgeable Isidore Gallant, who has been quoted in the article in the Denver Post.

It’s OK, lads. We know most of you aren’t as giddy as the female fashionistas about the prospect of new aisles of clothing on racks and miles of shoes laid out on display stands. But you should pay attention.

The new place is Nordstrom, and its top-drawer reputation hinges on something that matters to fellas: service.

“Clothes shopping for men is seen as a chore,” says Izzy Gallant, the man behind manolomen.com, a popular blog devoted to men’s fashion.

Service, experts say, is what can make a guy’s shopping experience less burdensome.

[...]

Nordstrom’s attention to their customers, experts say, is more a matter of personal commitment, coupled with an in-depth knowledge of the clothing in the store, than a suite of extra services.

Gallant says it’s rare to run across employees who are not fluent in the details of their offerings.

“I’ve had some shocking experiences where I go into a big-name store and the people who work there have little understanding of men’s clothing,” Gallant says.

Frankly, the two quotes provided in the article, while useful, fail to fully exploit Izzy’s amazing wit and erudition.

Izzy knows as much about mens clothing, and has as much good taste, as anyone writing men’s fashion today. That this knowledge was not more fully exploited by the writer of this article is the shame.

Manolo says, Witness, Depardieu! The mightiest of God’s creations! See how he rears up on two trunk-like legs, exuding raw animal sexuality and the heady scent of rendered pork fat!

Who could possibly imitate this natural marvel?

Manolo says, the Manolo woke up this morning in the mood for the good pair of the pirate boots, and by “good” the Mnaolo means sexy, but not overly costumey. And behold, here is the aptly named Rogue from the Via Spiga, the pirate boot that does not make the Manolo want to walk the plank.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s shoe-obsessed internet friend Wayne has sent the Manolo the link to this article about the artist named Jen Sher who produced these amusing boots for the Red Bull ‘Art of the Can’ contest.

South End artist Jenn Sherr makes jewelry and purses using decoupage, a technique of decorating a surface with paper and other flat materials and then sealing it with glue. But she had to employ another material – Red Bull energy drink cans – to enter the Red Bull Art of Can design contest. Sherr decoupaged go-go boots (two pairs, actually) with the ubiquitous label and was named one of about 40 finalists from among 2,000 entries worldwide.

[...]

Q. How did you hear about the contest?
A. My mother actually sent me a picture of a pair of shoes which was the advertisement for the Red Bull Art of Can Contest and said: “Jenn, you should try this contest.” I decided I would do go-go boots because I wanted the concept of Red Bull, which is an energy drink, and boots you can run in.

Q. How many cans and what other materials did you use?
A. You need a lot of glue and paper. And I love sparkles and glitter. There are about 40 cans.

[...]

Q. Are the boots wearable?
A. They are.

Q. Are they comfortable?
A. They are.

Q. What kind of comments do you get?
A. I don’t wear these shoes but I make shoes from paper and sell them at crafts shows. I made glamorous collage clogs with rhinestones that were $65.

Q. What would you charge for a pair of boots made from Budweiser cans?
A. Probably about $175.

Wearable shoes from cans! This reminds the Manolo of his own impoverished youth.

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

Reading…

Listening to…

Watching…

Manolo says, Glinda the Good, one of the bloggers at the Teeny Manolo has sent us the update about her situation. Go now and read it.

Manolo says, Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal have serious chemistry!

Manolo says, the Manolo has long reported on the Eastern European mania for the sport of sprinting in the high heels. And now, finally, it has arrived in the United States.

The demand to see Hannah Montana, the TV alter ego of 14-year-old singer Miley Cyrus, has made the show the hottest ticket of the year, with seats reselling at an average of $240 — topping the Police, Bruce Springsteen or Van Halen.

With the 54-date “Best of Both Worlds Tour” kicking off in St. Louis, Missouri, on Thursday, local radio station Y98 offered dads the chance to be their daughter’s hero by putting on heels and racing 50 yards to win four tickets.

“We got a couple of hundred phone calls from people asking questions about where to get high heeled shoes big enough for husbands and about 150 men turned up in high heels,” Mark Edwards, director of programming at Y98, told Reuters.

He said the field for the “high heel derby” was narrowed down to 50 runners and won on Wednesday by Matt Austin, who was competing on behalf of his boss who has a young daughter.

This is not fair! The Manolo will now have to call upon the sport’s governing body to investigate whether or not it is legal to use “ringers” to compete!

P.S. From the Manolo’s internet friends at Wizbang Pop

Manolo says, the Manolo has been driven to absolute distraction and despair by the fires raging in Southern California.

Thus far, the Manolo’s Malibu summer place has survived the raging fire, although the flames are said to have come within yards, before retreating.

Much more worrisome than the property, however, are fates of the Manolo’s many, many friends in Malibu and the rest of Southern California.

Earlier this afternoon, Glinda at the Teeny Manolo, who lives in Orange County, sent the Manolo this following message.

Our power has been out since 10:30pm last night, and it isn’t looking good. I’m typing this at the library. The winds here are incredibly bad, trees are knocked over everywhere and basically it is like living in a hurricane. They clocked the wind speed in the canyon we live in at 85mph. So, we are not sure when our power is going to be restored, and we may have to relocate for the night if the power is not back on soon. We’ve already probably lost all the food in our fridge. It is too hot to stay in our house, and we can’t open the windows up because ash is being blown everywhere due to all the brush fires that surround us on three sides. Fun times.

And now the Manolo must ask that his many internet friends please keep Glinda and her family, and indeed all of our many friends in Southern Calfornia, in their prayers and thoughts as this disaster continues.

Manolo says, the Big Girls have asked the question…

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Have you ever won a costume contest? If so, what was the costume?

What is your All Time Number One With a Bullet best costume idea? (hmm, come to think of it, in the right crowd being a Number One With a Bullet would be a GREAT costume)

Go now, and give them your answer.

Manolo says, here is something dramatic and different and handsome to take your mind off of the beginning of yet another work week, the mid-calf, platform boot from Johnathan Kelsey.