N.B. In honor of the Manolo’s six years of shoeblogging, the Manolo has decided to repost this week some of his favorite pieces. This small pensée about Elizabeth Taylor appeared on October 12, 2007.

Manolo says, the picture of the Elizabeth Taylor, from the 1970s, in the white hot pants has convinced the Manolo to say the few words about Liz and her fashion sense.

To wit: she does not seem to have much, or perhaps more properly, she seemed to lose any sense she did have right around the year 1967.

But you must judge for yourself..

Here she is young and gorgeous, dressed in the Chinese-style outfit with beautiful shoes, the very model of chic.

But this image is no indication of personal style, for when you are in your twenties and exceedingly beautiful, it matters not the least what you wear, your beauty negates your ugly clothes.

The true test of style begins in your thirties, when your looks begin to fade ever so slightly, and artifice become more important.

Work it girlfriend!

It is 1963 and Liz, 31, is perfectly accessorized with the gloves, the shoes, the purse and the most gorgeous coat. Even the hat, which would otherwise be faintly ridiculous, works here. Of the course, it does not hurt that she has also accessorized herself with Richard Burton.

It is the Manolo’s belief that this represents the high-water mark of the Elizabeth Taylor style.

And now, the trainwreck begins.

Ayyyyy! It is 1967. Trainwreck!

Yes, part of the problem going forward from here is that the last years of the 1960s and the entirety of the 1970s are the nadir of 20th Century fashion, and few of us looked good during those years, not even Liz.

Behold! 1973…

The Manolo calls this image, the Naughty Vicar Meets The Priestess of the Cult of Baal.

Nor were the early 1980s much better for Liz.

There is nothing quite as sexy as the man in uniform, eh?

She is not wearing the fur hat.

It is in the mid-to-late 1980s that Liz comes back into her own, as the late-Reagan, Early-Dynasty, Alexis-Carrington, big-haired, big-shouldered, middle-aged-cougar look achieves perfect symbiosis with the excessively flamboyant Liz style.

It is 1988, and Elizabeth Taylor is 56 years old and beautiful.

And here the Manolo would like to leave the Liz, frozen in this moment, but sadly time marches on, into the 1990s.

And so forth.

The Manolo loves the Liz. She is the figure to be admired; beautiful, emotional, dramatic, fantastically talented, and willing to risk all on love, and yet, she has more often then not need the serious making over.

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