The Contest it is Over!

Manolo says, the contest of the Manolo it is now officially over! The Manolo he has received nearly 500 of the entries, and although he has not read many of them yet, he can already see that the quality of the entries it is most high indeed.

Over the next week, the Manolo and his judges, the Miss Meghan Cleary and the Jane Eldershaw, they will reading the entries closely, in the effort to narrow them down to the winners.

At the end of the week, on the Sunday evening, the 16th of the October, the first anniversary of the blog of the Manolo, the Manolo he will publish the names of the winners, along with their stories, and perhaps the handful of the runners up.

So, it is only six more days until we shall know the outcome. And so the Manolo he wishes good luck to all of the Manolo’s internet friends who have submitted the entry!

Manolo’s Many Thanks!

Manolo says, it is the last day to enter the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Essay Contest and the Manolo he must now thank the many, many wonderful peoples and companies who have contributed the prizes to make this the super fantastic event it truly is.

First up, the nice people at the Shoebuy.com. Not only are they the marvelous online store for the shoes, but they now even have their own blog devoted to the shoes. You must visit, as the Suma Kashi who blogs the blog she knows the shoes.

Then it is the Zappos. What is there that can be said about the Zappos, but that it is the revolutionary company, one that puts the customers first, and in so doing has become the biggest shoe store on the interweb.

And then there is the Shoes.com. This it is always one of the first stops on the Manolo’s daily search for the shoes, and so you can be certain that the Manolo is thankful for their participation.

Next, to be thanked, there is no person like her in the world, no one who combines such joie de vivre with the sense of outrageousness and the love of the shoes like the Beverly Feldman.

No listings of the peoples whom are owed by the Manolo the debt of gratitude would be complete without the inclusion of the Magnolia Shoes. They produce the attractive and stylish designer shoes at the reasonable prices.

The Manolo he has recently thanked the Donna Barstow, but once could not be enough to properly express the gratitude of the Manolo for her amusing cartoon.

The Creative Queen she has lived up to her regal title with the gift of the most super fantastic Bootlegs.

The huge debt of thanks it is owed to the stylish and witty, Shoelover for the provision of the Clear Shoe Boxes, the brilliant idea well executed .

It is not the secret that the Manolo loves the books, books, books including the Joan DeJean’s lively history of French fashion and style in the court of the Louis XIV, The Essence of Style. It is the book that is most certainly worth the reading, and so many thanks are owed to the Joan for her participation, and for the writing of this book.

And then there is the Virginia Postrel, to the mind of the Manolo, the futurist and trend spotter of note, the foremost philosopher of style and fashion, who in her marvelous book The Substance of Style, says more in the first paragraph than most books say in 500 pages.

Of the course, the Manolo he must also thank his long-time internet friend the Kim for the contibution of her book, Pretty City New York

Finally, no thanks would be complete without the Manolo’s most profound gratitude being expressed to the judges of the Manolo’ s contest, the Jane Eldershaw, whose book Heart and Sole should be read by all, and to the Miss Meghan Cleary of the marvelous shoe book, The Perfect Fit.

Many Thanks to the Beverly Feldman

Manolo says, Ayyyyyyyy! The final three days of the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Essay they are here!

And now the Manolo he must profusely thank the beautiful and incomperable diva the Beverly Feldman, not only for providing the pairs of the shoes for the top prize, but also because she designs the shoes that frequently make the Manolo stare in appreciation.
Alina by Beverly Feldman    Manolo Likes!  Click!
Like this beautiful black rose flat. Perfect for the evening wear.

Easy Rider by Beverly Feldman   Manolo Likes!  Click!
Or this super tough girl chic boot, with the rock and the roll sensibility.

If you love the over the top shoes, you must love the Beverly Feldman.

Too Many Shoes?

Manolo says, here is the most recent column of the Manolo from the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

Despite annual culling, I find that I still have 63 pairs of shoes. Is this too many?

Kate

Manolo says, too many shoes? Ha! The Manolo he laughs!

Are there too many stars in the heavens? No!

In the fact, to use the science, the recent survey of the readers of the Manolo reveals that the average super fantastic girl own 127 pairs of the shoes. Yes, perhaps this it is not what might be called the “random sample”, but is it not clear from this that 63 pairs is only half enough?

To the Manolo, it sounds as if the real problem it is not that the Kate has too many shoes, but that she has too few closets.

Manolo recommends building more closets and then you can put into them this pair of the beautiful suede pumps from the Jean-Michel Cazabat.

Yes, they are expensive, but you are celebrating. You have the new closets!

Shalimar from Jean-Michel Cazabat    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Only Five More Days!

Manolo says, only five more days are left in the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Essay Contest!

You must send in the entry soon so that you will be eligible to win the Grand Super Fantastic Prize, worth over $1000 of the American dollars in shoes and books and other fine things! The Manolo he is with the great anticipation waiting to read your entry.

Low Heels for the Working Girl

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have been asking the Manolo, “Manolo, we are the working girls who need to stride forcefully through the halls of the workingplace so that our co-workers may be impressed by the aura of power and competence we exude. But, we need the low-heeled shoes of business because we are the peoples who find it difficult to stride forcefully in the high heels. Please help us!”

Although it is the opinion of the Manolo that the forceful business striding would best be done in the highest of heels, so that you may tower Godzilla-like over your pitiable coworkers, who will quail before your awsome majesty, he is nonetheless sympathetic to the plights of the super fantastic girls who believe that they cannot wear the high heels.

And so, the Manolo he has selected three pairs of the super fantastic low-heeled shoes that would be suitable for the wearing in the place of the employment or on the street.

Coach Tia    Manolo Likes!  Click!
This pair of simple black flats from the Coach, they can go with virtually any outfit, and best of the all, they are on the sale at the Gotham City Online, selling for under $100 of the American dollars. These they would go well with the power suit of the pants.

Bruno Magli Marli    Manolo Likes!  Click!
This shoe from the Bruno Magli, it is the simple black business pump, one that would help the super fantastic girl look tailored, and it is 50% off of the regular price, so it will not break the bank, and thus throw your plans for office domination into disarray.

Isaac Mizrahi Versus    Manolo Likes!  Click!
Finally, these pair of the low heeled pumps from the Isaac Mizrahi, they are perfectly suitable for the office striding, and in the green they would look good with the tones of the earth.

The Third Winner!

Clear Plastic Shoeboxes    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, the Stephanie Chesnut of the Lebanon, New Hampshire, she is the Third Winner in the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Essay Contest!

The Manolo he has randomly selected her to receive the set of the ten clear plastic shoe boxes, as seen above! Are they not stylish and most useful? Indeed, they are!

They are from the Manolo’s internet friends at the Shoe Stor and are designed by the mysterious ShoeLover, whose blog about the shoes and the culture is now on the Manolo’s must read list.

This is Sad

Ayyyyyyyy!

Here is the depressing photo of the Donatella Versace, the woman who has so much, and yet still feels the intense need to carve her face into the simalacrum of beauty.

The Manolo he does not mind the occasional nip or the little tuck, this it is not bad, but the grand attempt to turn back the hands of the time, or the desire to remake the features of the perfectly attractive face, it is disturbing and suggests the sadness and insecurity at the core of the person’s being.

The Manolo, he prefers one who is content to work with what the nature has given, who understands that symmetry is frequently overrated, who knows that old is not ugly.

Fashion Week: Bland is the New Black

Manolo says, it is the fahion week in the big city, and the Manolo he is the very busy man. However, many of the Manolo’s internet friends they have been doing the exemplary coverage of the shows and the clothes.

The Barney’s Girl and the Herrod’s Girl they have been analyzing several of the shows, including that of the Marc Jacobs.

Lera the Fashion Addict notes that the trends for the spring they are the beige, the empire waists, and the short shorts.

The Bunnyshop she is bored with this season. (And here the Manolo he must partly agree. Beige?)

The Fashionologie she also says that bland is the word. Although, like the Manolo, she gives the qualified props to the Project Alabama, but not to the Marc Jacobs soundtrack.

The Brittney Ancell, until she saw the spring-colored show of the Temperly she was “worried that everyone was going to be walking around in ill-fitted, neutral-hued clothing next year.”

The Girls at the Papier, they expend much energy getting into the shows, so as to be amazed by the Diane von Furstenberg.

And, finally, you must vist the Fashion Tribe, as they are podcasting the fashion shows! Even the better, if you listen to the podcasts you will see why they make the Manolo laugh with their sassy-bad-selves. Listen to them talking about the Zac Posen, and you will be swept up by their jejune enthusiasms for the fashion. They are indeed most amusing and most charming, even if the clothes this season are not.

UPDATE: The Final Fashion has many pictures of the shows, and she agrees with the Manolo that the Alexandre Herchcovitch collection is this seasons worst.

Miss Meghan at the Beverly Feldmans!

Manolo says, the Miss Meghan Cleary, one of the judges of the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Essay Contest, she will be at the Beverly Feldman’s botique in the New York at the end of the next week. Here is the release for the press.

Saturday September 24th
12- 5 pm
7 West 56th Street
212 484 0000

The Beverly Feldman boutique, known among every shoe-lover in Manhattan for its posh surroundings and new collection of gorgeous fall shoes, hosts renowned shoe guru, Meghan Cleary, Saturday, September 24th from 12 – 5 pm.

Find out what your shoe rising and sun signs are – as well as tips to invoke your inner stiletto while Miss Meghan dishes and signs copies of her book, The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You.

Meghan Cleary, aka “Miss Meghan”, is the shoe guru and blogger that everyone from the TODAY show to EXTRA! turn to for tips and trends in the world of shoe, and Saturday she is at Beverly Feldman for exclusive one-on-one shoe astrology consultations.

“Meghan Cleary delves into the inner workings of women’s minds, hearts, and soles, through their choice of shoes. From the “Stiletto Girl” to the “Ballet Flat Girl” to the “Sneaker Girl,” her surprisingly accurate profiles outline each type’s overall character, and provide tips on everything from wardrobes to dating to careers.” –Boldtype.com

It is not the secret that the Manolo he was the one who introduced the Miss Meghan to the Beverly Feldman. And, the results they have been most super fantastic!

Of the course, it goes without the saying, but if you are in the New York you must attend.

Flipping and Flopping in the House of Whiteness

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have emailed the Manolo about the story of the college girls who wore the flip-flops to meet the Mr. President.

Before visiting the White House, Kate Darmody carefully planned her outfit. She bought a sundress from Ann Taylor. She put on a strand of white pearls.

And then she slipped on flip-flops to meet the president. So did about half of her teammates from the national championship Northwestern University women’s lacrosse team, invited to the White House last Tuesday after a 21-0 season.

She didn’t think twice about the footwear until she got an e-mail – in all capital letters -from her brother.

“YOU WORE FLIP-FLOPS TO THE WHITE HOUSE????!!!!” he wrote after checking out the picture on the team’s website.

What can the Manolo possibly say to this, except to note, as he has noted in the past, that we live in the sadly debased era, when the standards of the proper dress and the fit comportment have become the mere suggestions, to be observed or not observed at the whim of the individual.

These girls they do not know–their mamas have not taught them–that properly dressing according to the occasion, it is about the respect; respect for the occasion, respect for the other persons present, and respect for the self.

Yes, the Manolo he is most happy we live in the age of democratic informality, when the humble need not bow and scrape before the mighty, when free peoples may greet each other in the spirit of amity and concord as equals. Yet, at the same of the time, he cannot help but think that we have gone too far in this process of the levelling.

To the mind of the Manolo, the somewhat exaggerated politeness and more formal dress of the previous era gave the dignity and proper sense of self to even the most humble. To put on the suit and tie and shined shoes, to wear the dress and stockings and pumps, these things they recalled one to correct behavior, and demanded of others the respect.

Now, we wear the flip-flops and the shirts of the Hawaiians to the church, and to the funerals, and to meet the Mr. President in the House of Whiteness, and we think that this it is fine, but this it is only because we have forgotten the pleasures and social benefits to be had in dressing properly.

Gliding, not Clomping

Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s many internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.

After a very very down day, I decided to do something nice for myself and soon thereafter had my first ever pedicure. My feet looked so great, I decided to go get some new summery shoes to celebrate. I found some beautiful sandals, very similar to the ones featured in your “Not So Cheap For The Beach” post. Much to my surprise, they FIT wonderfully (I have large feet, and oddly shaped), and best of all, as you would say, they were on the sale!

I was thrilled to look down at my feet and see something superfantastic there, so I made up my mind then and there, bought the shoes, and enjoyed my new happy mood all the way home. Manolo, I was so excited to see pretty shoes on my feet that I forgot to walk around in them a bit before I bought them.

With every step, thwop! thwop! thwop! the back of the shoe slaps the sole of my feet. They fit wonderfuly and are perfect in every other way, but this thwopping! Oy! It makes me feel so self-conscious that I drag my feet a little, and because the sole of the shoes has a bit of ridging, if I’m not walking on a perfectly smooth surface it tends to sound like… ah… gastrointestinal distress. NOT NOT NOT superfantastic.

I see other women wearing these kinds of shoes all the time, and I know that the thwopping is not really as loud as it seems to my ears, but… is there some kind of a trick, some anti-thwop device, a special walk I can practice? Do I strap Velcro to my feet or put a dollop of superglue on every time I wear them? Or do I just grit my teeth and force myself to ignore it? It’s hard to have a superfantastic stride when you’re trying to keep your shoes quiet.

Ayyyyy! The flipping and the flopping it is indeed most annoying, not only to the flipper and the flopper but also to those innocents who may be within the range of this noise.

However, have not the fear. The Manolo, although he himself is not the wearer of the slides or the mules, knows the answer to your question.

The secret to the walking gracefully in the pair of the slides or the mules it is as close as your nearest old-fashioned lesson of correct Victorian deportment. The secret it is to practice walking in the shoes, but to do so as the stuffy old ladies they trained the proper young ladies in the days of the past, with the book on the head.

Yes, this it sounds ridiculous, but the book on the head it forces the correct posture. And if you wish to learn to glide with a certain gracefulness, instead of clomp with a certain bovineness, this it will help train you to do so.

The Manolo, he will now ask his many internet friends for their suggestions.