Manolo’s Shoe Blog

Manolo says, the Manolo pleased to announce, at long last, the arrival of the Fabbies, the first awards devoted entirely to the fashion blogs.

The Fabbies are the first-ever, blogger-organized awards to recognize the top Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle blogs from around the world.

Various prestigious blog awards have existed for some time, but they repeatedly snubbed the Lifestyle Blogosphere, deliberately ignoring the growing power, influence and prestige of this group of bloggers. So, in typical entrepreneurial style, three bloggers decided to take action: The Manolo of Manolo’s Shoe Blog, Tina Craig of Bag Snob, and Lesley Scott, Fashiontribes…with crucial assistance from Christina Jones of eBeautyDaily and Sam Francois of Papierdoll.

One of the best features of the Fabbies is that it’s a democracy. Rather than a few judges determining which blogs are “best” in 12 different categories (which showcase the impressive breadth and depth of the Lifestyle Blogosphere), it is the real experts – the blog readers, fans and supporters – that determine the winners with their votes, highlighting the deliciously freewheeling spirit of blogging.

There will be the big nomination ceremony this Thursday, which will be live-streamed.

But, while you are waiting, go now and preview the nominees, and perhaps cast your vote for your favorites.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s friend Linda Grant is having the contest…

Here is what you have to do. You simply need to dream up a Thought for the Day - a sentence or a two, an idea, an aphorism - about fashion, clothes, style. Do not be intimidated by the brainy observations that I have run so far. ‘A good handbag makes the outfit’, a perfect piece of sartorial wisdom, was dreamed up by my mother who left school at 14, and the family motto, ‘There’s only one thing worse than being skint and that’s looking as if you’re skint,’ by my immigrant grandfather who never even learned to speak English.

Go and submit your favorite fashion aphorism.

Manolo says, Plumcake has excellent advice for any girl who would be super fantastic: find your own sexy.

Manolo says, there is hope for the Manolo’s modeling aspirations.

Manolo says, the Manolo reminds you that the Manolo’s hard-working blogger peoples have assembled the Holiday Shopping Guides to assist you in finding that perfect something for your beloved someone.

Miss Plumcake has gone with the Rock ‘n Roll theme with her One for Me, One for Thee style list.

If you are looking for things for the kitchen, the erudite Mr. Henry has opined on small appliances and cookware.

At the magnificent Ayyyy! blog, the Manolo’s friend Spirit Fingers has given us her gift suggestions for the men and for the womens, and the home.

Darling Francesca, from the Manolo for the Big Girl, provides us the with the gift guide to end all gift guides, with dozens of ideas for every mood and event.

Isidore Gallant at Manolo for the Men has recommend ties and cufflinks and Frenchback boxers for the fancy man in your life.

At the Manolo for the Brides, Never teh Bride’s list is all about the luxury items.

Twistie has provided us with the list full of kitchenware and cookbooks to satisfy the maker of the Christmas goodies.

The Good Glinda provides us with the list for the parents who must buy something for everyone.

And, of the course, there are always plenty of interesting things to be found at the Manolo’s Basement of the Bargains.

Manolo says, Ayyyyy! It is the fabulous Suzy Menkes interviewing Donatella Versace!

At first watching, you will not be able to pay attention to what they are saying. You will just revel in detail: the accents, the hair styles, the candles! It is all beyond magnificent and odd and wonderful.

At the second watching, when you are less distracted and can listen closely, you will realize that here are two smart women taking about interesting things.

P.S. From the Lauren Goldstein Crowe at the Fashion, Inc.

Manolo says, finally, Manolo’s good friend, the writer Linda Grant, has entered the blogosphere!

Here is the excerpt from one of her first posts, entitled appropriately, Why Clothes Matter.

Brood on this. There are only a few minutes every day when we are not clothed: in the shower, changing from one set of garments to another, having sex - these times of total nakedness are far less significant than the overwhelming hours in which we are dressed. Clothing begins in the first minute or two of our lives and we will be clothed in the grave, whether it is a suit placed on our corpse by an undertaker, or a linen shroud.

Writing about clothes, let alone thinking about them, is considered to be light-weight, trivial, empty-headed. Fashion is for those devoured by greed and consumerism. To be serious is to barely conscious of what you wear.

Enough of the sneering, already. Clothes are important.

Indeed, the Manolo could not have put it better himself.

You must go now and read this new blog, as Linda is not only the great writer, but she is the person of discernment and taste and knowledge.

Manolo says, Manolo’s very good friend Linda Grant, author of the wonderful piece in the Guardian about the declining standards of dress and comportment, has returned to add more to our very vibrant discussion of this important topic.

I would like to thank those of you who responded so positively to my Guardian piece about declining standards of dress. I believe that dressing appropriately for the occasion is simply a question of good manners, as well as to give ourselves the pleasure of wearing whatever in our wardrobes is best, just as we vary our diet, adorn our homes with nice things, and enjoy a beautiful view. In the past, even the most impoverished families, had garments that they called their ‘Sunday best’ clothes which they wore for special occasions. The dumbing down of dress is in part a product of prosperity, for when a pair of jeans can cost as much as an evening gown, who knows who is expensively dressed?

The morning the article came out, a friend reminded me that at her brother’s wedding, a few years ago, one guest arrived at the reception in shorts. Now the bride and groom were theatre folk, not actors, but a writer and a director, and one sensed that this minor celeb simply felt that the happy couple were simply not important enough to get dressed up for. The true star among the guests, Hugh Laurie (of ‘House’) and his wife were dressed entirely appropriately for a July wedding, she in a hat. As someone in the comments remarked - class, you’ve got it or you haven’t.

Two people who have class are Tizzy and her husband, who, unable to celebrate their wedding anniversary at an expensive restaurant, went to an ordinary one and dressed up anyway, he in a tie and she in a cocktail dress bought on the clearance rack for $9.99. Mr and Mrs Tizzy understand the notion of a memorable occasion. I thought of them last night at a glittering event held here in London, the private view of the new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum on the Golden Age of Couture. For standing in front of me as we listened to a speech by Ines de la Fressange, once a Chanel model, was a woman who had chosen from her entire wardrobe to wear at this event – jeans and a t-shirt. Mr and Mrs Tizzy, despite their modest income, would, I know, have nonetheless found the prefect outfits to have attended such an occasion. To be well-dressed comes not from the bank balance, but what is inside your own head.

Manolo says, while the Manolo was away from his computer enjoying his Friday night, many of the Manolo’s internet friends were debating what the Manolo meant by his terse reply to the question about the Manolo Blahnik sandals.

Some peoples have interpreted the simple “no” as the rude and condescending rebuke to the questioner. Some have compared it to the reply of the zen master.

In the fact, it was the direct, if somewhat brusque admission that it would be impossible for the humble shoeblogger to find the shoe for any price that closely approximated the color, shape, and detail of these magnificent and unusual Blahnik sandals, much less for under $100 of the American dollars.

The Manolo is only the simple man who loves the shoes, not the magician.

Why, you may ask, can the Manolo not find the bargain basement knockoff of these shoes?

The reasons are legion. First, the teal-turquoise color of the Blahniks is unusual.

Currently, by the Manolo’s count, there are 227 “blue” high-heeled sandals at the Zappos. Now, please go look at these 227 shoes and note how many of them are close in color to this Blahnik teal.

How many did you find? One dozen?

Here is the closest match in terms of the color.

On the right is the Constance by Nine West, the shoe that costs the mere $63.

Yes, it appears to be the same color as the Blahnik, but this is only because of the infidelity of reproduction of the computer display. The Manolo guarantees that if this shoe were put next to the teal Blahnik in real life, you would be ashamed to have thought it was the same color.

It is made of some synthentic man-made plastic, and so how could it possibly have the richness and depth of color achieved only in the finest of satins?

However, even if we do find the color match, we must then address the braiding of the back strap. This detail is not just pretty, but it is also very rare.

There are approximately 7,200 high heeled dress sandals in the inventory at the Zappos. The Manolo has not looked at all of them, but he can tell you that in the 2,000 he has looked at there is no braided back strap.

Combine the teal color with the braided back strap, two details which the Manolo’s internet friend particularly praised, and you see that it is impossible to find something similar for any price.

In truth, truly beautiful shoes are inimitable.

It is not just the color, or the materials, or even the individual details, but the totality that produces this beauty. And this is ultimately what justifies the high price.

Look again at the Manolo’s discussion of the Prada which seemed to imitate the Louboutin

Even the untrained eye can clearly see how the Prada looks common next to the exalted Louboutin. Both use the best Italian leather, and are assembled by the best Italian craftsmen, but one is so very much better than the other.

This difference is the hand and soul of the designer.

And it is why sometimes the best answer is the simple “no”.