JUL
2009
16

Whose Shoes? The Readers of the Manolo Know!

Manolo says, from today’s news photos comes this image…

Whose Shoes? Uncle Kimono!

Of the course, the regular readers of the Manolo know the owner of these Converse All-Stars and cuffed jeans, for they identified him in the recent episode Whose Shoes Wednesday.

JUL
2009
16

The Demise of the Croc

Manolo says, many, many, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have sent the Manolo the link to this story.

Crocs were born of the economic boom.

The colorful foam clogs appeared in 2002, just as the country was recovering from a recession. Brash and bright, they were a cheap investment (about $30) that felt good and promised to last forever. Former president George W. Bush wore them. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler wore them. Your grandma wore them. They roared along with the economy, mocked by the fashion world but selling 100 million pairs in seven years.

Then the boom times went bust, and Crocs went to the back of the closet.
Radioactive Orange Crocs
The company had expanded to meet demand, but financially pressed customers cut back. Last year the company lost $185.1 million, slashed roughly 2,000 jobs and scrambled to find money to pay down millions in debt. Now it’s stuck with a surplus of shoes, and its auditors have wondered if it can stay afloat. It has until the end of September to pay off its debt.

“The company’s toast,” said Damon Vickers, who manages an investment fund at Nine Points Capital Partners in Seattle. “They’re zombie-ish. They’re dead and they don’t know it.”

On the one hand the Manolo wishes to shout, “Ding Dong, the Crocs are dead!”, and yet on the other of the hands, he feels very sorry for the many people who will be harmed by the consequent loss of employment. (Being the low level Croc employee is sort of like being one of the independent contractors building the Death Star.)

By the way, one reason for the demise of Crocs the Company? The toxic durability of their product.

But the shoes were hitting a saturation point; the problem with a nearly indestructible product is that shoppers rarely need to replace it.

[…]

Who needs a second pair of Crocs in a recession, particularly when the first pair is holding up just fine?

Indeed, who needs the first pair, recession or not?

However, once acquired, it appears that the Crocs are like radioactive waste: they have the lengthy half-life in your closet.

JUL
2009
16

The Cage Match — L.A.M.B.

Manolo says, as you may have noticed, the latest in fashionable fashion is the cage shoe.

When cage heels appeared on the runways in fall 2008, they took off, launching a now-ubiquitous style that doesn’t show any signs of going away soon. With strong, sexy lines, the cage does for the foot what a bandage dress does for the body, and the newest generation adds interest with more cutouts, pastel colors and peep toes.

“Cage heels represent a return to modernist architectural lines, which, positioned in the right way, make a shoe incredibly sexy,” says Faryl Robin Morse, founder and creative director of Farylrobin Footwear. Those bold straps and grid-like patterns that encase the top and sides of the foot are intensely graphic, a perfect fit for the woman who wants to channel her inner dominatrix.

Certainly, not every lady wishes to “channel her inner dominatrix”, some of them just enjoy the pretty shoes.

Of the course, sometimes pretty can also be fierce, such as with the case of the
Rhea from L.A.M.B.
Rhea from L.A.M.B.   Manolo Likes!  Click!

Likewise, here is the Rhett also from L.A.M.B.

Rhett from L.A.M.B.   Manolo Likes!  Click!
What the Manolo loves about both of these shoes is that, while they are indeed extreme, they are also fun and fashionable.

And now the Manolo must now heap real praise upon the Gwen Stefani, for with L.A.M.B. she has succeeded in producing the vibrant and worthy fashion line, something very, very few celebrities have been able to do.

Whose Shoes Wednesday…The Answer!

Manolo asked, whose shoes?

Emma Watson's Shoes!

Manolo answers, it is the Emma Watson!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend Marvel who was the first to correctly identify this Hogwartian person of note.