Franco Sarto for the Poor Girl
Manolo says, lately the Manolo has been getting many letters such as this one.
Dear Manolo,
I love your blog, and the beautiful shoes you show on it, but most often they’re well beyond my poor working girl means. Could you please recommend some shoes that are affordable but still stylish?
Much love,
Kim.
It is true, the Manolo most frequently chooses costly, perhaps even outrageous priced shoes, but this because the Manolo believes that quality and style and workmanship trump all other considerations.
The best shoes are designed by geniuses, and manufactured by true craftsmen from the first-rate materials, and because of this they command the proportionally high price. But, likewise, they give proportionally more pleasure to the wearer.
Nothing matches the feeling one has when wearing beautiful and beautifully made shoes. One walks taller and straighter in such shoes, which is why the Manolo always recommends saving to buy the super fantastic shoes.
However, at the same of the time the Manolo also knows what it is like to be poor, so poor that you must fashion your own super fantastic shoes out of the discarded typewriter parts you have found in the abandoned warehouse where you hide at night from the roving bands of street thugs, whom you have frequently insulted with rude gestures.
And so the Manolo often recommends the shoes of the Franco Sarto as being the suitable stopgap while one saves up for the more substantial feetwear investment.
Look! Here are two pairs the Manolo would recommend to his poor girl friends.
Here is the Fleet from Franco Sarto, with the sleek lines and the remarkable and attractive deep red color.
This boot is called the Fare, and it has the similarly streamlined lines as the red shoe above. It is elegant and modern in the best ways.
The shoes of the Franco Sarto can be quite attractive and the quality is not excessively awful, thus they are perfect for the poor girl who wishes to do better.
While I love designer shoes and Franco Sarto alike, I’ve also found Nine West to have good affordable options, especially when they are not trying to knock-off another design. Via Spigas are another great option although a bit pricier than Sarto and Nine West.
Also, while I love Mnsr. Louboutin, I’m findI prefer Miu Miu and Manolo for the more unique designs and Choos for my more classic styles.
Luv
Poochie
shoedaydreams.blogspot.com
Great … Great Manolo!
Ah, the Franco Sarto. My first pair of grown-up pumps were Franco Sarto, purchased to wear to my younger brother’s bar mitzvah when I was fifteen. Black leather, with a two inch heel, pointed toe, and black suede bow across the toe.
I also agree on the Nine West, as a college student on a budget. I own four or five pairs of Nine West shoes, ranging from dress flats to boots to casual shiny silver Mary Jane style flats. Always comfortable, and some of them have lasted for a few years now.
I recently was looking for some shoes for a party at a Discount Retailer of Name-Brand Merchandise. I found some Franco Sarto peep toe pumps that were like buttah to the touch and very stylish on the feets! When I touched the leather I literally said “Manolo is right!!!” And they were quite reasonably priced for this poor graduate student.
Oh the plight of the poor. One day I too will be able to afford Monolos’s. But in the mean time…the Franco Sartos are HOT!
Great Blog…I love shoes!
“Not excessively awful”?
That may be the most backhanded praise I’ve ever seen here!
like all budget shoes, it’s hit or miss, one of my favorites is a pair of bronze franco sartos i found on sale for $25. they are by far the most durable and walkable 4″ heels i have ever owned.
my experience is, if your trust fund hasn’t been handed over to you yet… and you want to be fabulous, er… you have to enjoy digging.
I happen to be a fan of Franco Sarto because he seems to use a slightly wider last than most women’s fashion shoe manufacturers do, so my 6 C-wide feet are much more comfy in his 6.5′s than in most others. Oh, yeah – and many times, the styles are really really nice.
My favorite pair of budget shoes were the new, unused Ferragamo pumps I found at the thrift store for $45. If only great shoes could always be so easy to acquire!
I might recommend that you do a little browsing in the “discount” stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls (if you have them nearby). I’ve found many superfantastic high-end shoes (Lauren, Anne Klein, Via Spiga, etc.) for a mere pittance, say, a third of their retail price. Once your eye is trained, you can breeze through there in mere moments scooping up the really good shoes and handbags. They also have some amazing deals on mid-range shoes like the Ferragamo and Franco Sarto discussed. In fact I just bought a pair of Franco Sarto booties very much like the “Fleet” above, for just $25.00.
You can be superfantastic and eat, too!
When you are poor it is always difficult to budget for the good stuff and the temptation to buy something to just get by can be nigh irresistable. There are passages in two books, one by Terry Pratchet called “Guards, Guards” and another by Peter Mayle, “A Year in Provence.” In the Pratchet book a poor guard comes to the belief that one reason the rich stay rich is that where he buys boots that wear out in six months the rich buy boots that last for years and can be resoled. Where as he has to ech the life out of his by stuffing in carboard to cover the hole. A good style while it may go out of style will still look good. And if the construction and materials are good it will be back in style sooner or later. I’m no saint on this matter and have had to go to the World of the Wally to get something on my feet when I was on my uppers.