Manolo says, it is Tuesday and you are back at your office, wondering what has happened to the summer. You had such fun plans for the season, including the minor remodeling of the patio.

And then, in the first week of June, these plans was thrown into chaos by the sudden heatwave, when the triple-digit temperatures and the outrageous humidities kept you in the doors next to the air conditioner, watching televised golf and thinking about relocating to Seattle.

It was during this period of forced inactivity, when the plans for the patio metastasized into something much grander. (Let us stipulate that ordinary peoples should not be allowed access to graph paper and back issues of Sunset.)

Finally, when the weather cooled slightly, you began work on the new version of your outdoor living space.

And, so how has it gone?

Let us just say that the pile of bricks, bags of concrete mix, and the half-finished, combination outdoor-kitchen-and-adobe-pizza-oven-and-argentine-parilla which occupies much of the backyard are testimony to your pharaonic ambitions.

Who could have predicted that the bricklaying and the concrete-pouring would require such intense physical labor? Indeed, you have learned that such difficult things are best broken into manageable portions, which is why, at your current rate of production, the new patio should be completed sometime in July of 2044.

Ayyyy! What better way to wash away the bitter taste of failed home improvement projects than with beautiful and refined shoes?

Here is the lace and patent leather ankle booties from the Bottega Veneta, the sort of shoe that can only exist in the world in which skilled craftsmen can be hired to do and/or undo the things which we thought we could accomplish on our own!

Manolo says, it is Monday, over halfway through the summer of your discontent, and frankly you feel as if you are trapped on the treadmill of life. Five days the week it is exactly the same thing, up and out the door to work, up and out the door to work, up and out the door to work… lather, rinse, and repeat.

Sadly, the weekends offer little respite from the repetitive drudgery of the week. On Saturday you must take care of the house, and do the laundry, and the shopping, and perhaps mow the lawn. Then Sunday, it is up and out the door to the church, followed by Sunday afternoon, the saddest part of the week, tainted as it is by the foreknowledge of what awaits you on the Monday morning.

Worse, on Sundays you are always made aware that this discontent you suffer is in vaguely immoral.

Indeed, in the church on Sunday morning, as you listened to the report from the mission team in South Sudan you knew just how lucky you were to be you. Any of those South Sudanese would instantly trade their flyblown huts and dung fires for your 2008 Toyota Camry, your colonial 3/2 in the suburbs, and your 40-hour-the-week job at the ImTechCom, Inc.

And yet, knowledge of your good fortune does little to make you feel better about how your life is going. Such is the modern world, no? Discontent and good fortune marching hand-in-hand.

Well, at the least there are beautiful and unusual shoes to take us out of ourselves for the briefest instant…

Unusual shoes such as the Glitter & Suede Bow Ankle Boots from Miu Miu, which surely must be the work of divine providence.

N.B. Manolo says, occasionally, the Manolo finds that it is difficult to top something he has written in the past. Such is the case with this post, from the Monday after the Fourth of the July, 2008…

Manolo says, it is the Monday following the Fourth of July weekend and you are back at your desk, heavily sunburned, your hair still smelling of gunpowder and antiseptic balm.

Thanks to your husband, it was “the weekend to remember”.

Indeed how could you ever forget that headline in the Saturday morning newspaper, “Fireworks Hijinks Send Local Man to Emergency Room.”

“Well, it could be worse,” you think to yourself, “at least they managed to sew them back on.”

Still, your nerves are jittery, you think you might be slightly deafened in one ear, and your co-workers are sniggering behind your back about “Billy Ray’s” latest misadventures with the explosives.

You are tempted to stand up and shout, “Yes, his middle name is Ray, but he goes by William, dammit! Not Billy Ray! And he’s a good man!” But you know that it will do no good for they are louts and malcontents and petty peoples with no respect for those who dream big.

Oh, how you will have the last laugh on them, when your man clears that final technical hurdle and solves the difficult problem of turning kudzu into the cheap ethanol-based fuel.

“Think of it, honey,” he says to you so often, ” two birds with one stone! Kudzu and OPEC gone forever!”

You have already promised yourself that on that day you will march into the office and quit in the most spectacular, bridge-burning..no, no… BRIDGE-EXPLODING manner possible.

Naturally you will need your marching boots, something extravagant like these gorgeous python-print knee-high boots from Dior!

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have been emailing him, asking him to comment on the article in the Daily Mail concerning the Mexican botas picuadas, the crazy pointy-toed boots worn by the peoples from the San Luis Potosi.

To which the Manolo answers, he has already considered this topic in depth, two months ago.

Here are the links:

Botas Exóticas: Pointy-Toes, Poulaines, and Male Display

Botas del Baile Tribal

Botas Exóticas: Mexican Vaquero Elves!

Botas Exoticas: The Leningrad Cowboys

However, to recap, here is the Manolo’s opinion: the key to understanding the trend of the botas picuadas is that it is confined mostly to the teenaged boys, who being the teenaged boys are suffering from the dual curse of excessive testosterone and low common sense.

What more needs to be said?

Aquatalia’s new fall line is spectacular. The brand recently got some heavy duty hype due to their boots being the shoes of choice for princess-to-be Kate Middleton. Unfortunately, the shoes Kate chose to parade around in were from an older season and by the time the media buzz hit the the ears of shoe enthusiasts those particular styles were sold out. But fear not! The 2011 Fall line is just as lovely and sure to impress.

I was lucky enough to meet with fashion director Rena Krasnow and preview the new Fall collection. It’s not often that I find myself in midtown Manhattan at noon on a Wednesday, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity of a sneak peek. Rena was gorgeous, charming and incredibly stylish (rocking a pair of Aquatalia boots, obviously).   As we perused the new line and munched on delicious macaroons, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the quality and subtle details that make the collection stand out. The focus on comfort is impressive. Some styles even feature fur lining on the inside of the shoe for extra added coziness. I love a shoe that can please both the observer and the wearer.

I found the true standouts of the line to be the boots. Marvin K. has designed a line that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also durable and functional. Fashion with functionality and comfort…what a concept. Many styles also feature a wonderful elastic band feature. This allows for us ladies to cover those cankles or engulf itty bitty calves in boots that are custom made to flatter women of every size. Cute, comfy and clearly fit for a princess.

My personal favorite touch: the red lining and hardware detailing on the back of the boot. So cute.

The new collection also features classic styles in a calf hair camo print. Not my favorites of the line, but the shoes feel amazing and look very luxurious. If camo is your print of choice, these shoes are the way to go.

The new line will be available nationwide at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks. I just may have to indulge in a pair. New York is a rainy place, but a girl’s still gotta look good.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s internet friend, the Yum Yum, has pointed to high-spirited Finnish rock band known as the Leningrad Cowboys, who for the past twenty years have been wearing the pointy hair and the pointier shoes.

In 1993, they even did the concert with the Red Army Chorus, of which the video below is the amusing artifact.

To the Manolo, the pointy-toes and pompadours of the Leningrad Cowboys have more in common with the Japanese Rockabilly dancers as the obvious appropriation and exaggeration of the American rock iconography, while the sudden appearance of the botas exoticas of the baile tribal are more sui generis and mysterious.

But, the Manolo leaves it up to you to decide.

Manolo says, from the Vice Magazine’s VBS.TV comes this amusing mini-documentary about the Mexican botas exóticas with the pointy-pointy toes.

In this episode of Behind the Seams we head to the dusty city of Matehuala, Mexico in search of the pointiest long-toed cowboy boots ever made. Over the past year, the botas vaqueras exóticas phenomenon has overrun the rodeo dance floors and clubs of this area and even spreading North into Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and any place where big groups of immigrant Mexicans have taken root. We made our way to Desierto Light, one of the clubs in this area where party promoters host dance-offs to music known as Tribal Guarachero. For the finals competition, the 17-year-old prodigy DJ Erick Rincón of the 3ballMTY crew performed for a crowd of adoring pointy-boot wearing raver cowboys.

What makes the Manolo laugh about this video is that like the historic poulaines, some of the botas are now curling back upon themselves in the classic design favored by the elves and the genies.

Manolo says, according to the Univision the pointy toed boots have begun to appear in Dallas!

Here below, for your edification, are the photos of the evolutionary stages that preceded the current fluorescence.

First the diversity of the color and the lengthening of the silhouette…

Then the toes achieve the exaggerated state and begin to turn up…

(more…)

Manolo says, from the Vice Magazine comes news of the hot fashion trend emanating from the rural backwaters of northern Mexico.

Last month we went to the dusty city of Matehuala, Mexico, in the northern state of San Luís Potosí on the high plateau of the Huasteca Potosina, in search of the pointiest long-toed cowboy boots ever made. Over the past year, the botas vaqueras exóticas phenomenon has overrun the rodeo dance floors and clubs of this area, much to the dissatisfaction of Mexicans who critique the fashions of their countrymen on hotly trafficked style blogs.

[...]

Participants in these dance contests spend the days and weeks prior choreographing intricate footwork routines and fabricating their own outfits with cheap paint and fabric. The grand prize, beyond the enthusiastic crowd’s affection, is either a bottle of whiskey or a few bucks.

A separate contest, we were pleased to discover, is held for the longest, most ornate and pointed boots, which are also spotlighted in public song-and-dance programs. The exotic boots are made by modifying boring normal ones with materials bought in local hardware and craft stores. The fanciest are adorned with LED lights or mirrors, while others incorporate paint and every color of sequins. They all get the glitter treatment no matter what. It was explained to us that some boots have measured upward of five feet in length.

Here is the video of the botas in action…

Are they not marvelous in their horrifying and ridiculous way?

Of the course, these exotic boots of the cowboys are nothing more than the happenstance revival of the medieval poulaine, the pointy-toed shoe favored by chivalrous swains who wished to make the not-so-subtle erotic display; “perhaps the most blatantly sexual and pornographic shoe style ever worn,” says the writer William Rossi.

Clearly, these young vaqueros are wearing their botas, and doing their peacock dances in the hopes of attracting attention and chicas, just as the medievals, we are told, would waggle their pointy toes at the pretty women.

And now, allow the Manolo to make one more cultural leap, and present to you the video of yet another subculture preparing for the display of dance. Please to pay attention to the boots, not the hair…

Japanese rockabilly dancers wearing winklepicker motorcycle boots secured with the electricians tape!

Do not ask the Manolo to explain, he cannot.

Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

I will soon be on my fabulous, romantic getaway in Italy. Yes, I’ll be there in the frigid and possibly wet days of February. Can you suggest an comfortable, stylish, and waterproof boot to keep my tootsies happy?

Corrine

Manolo says, how wonderful to be going to the Bella Italia in the depths of the American winter, which by the time the Manolo’s friend arrives in Europe will be into its seventeenth straight month of below-freezing, snow-covering, icy-sidewalk-slip-and-falling fury.

Thus, the comparative warmth of Roma, albeit with the occasional rains, will be the welcome change.

Of the course, it is never the bad time to visit Italy, especially if your mind is set on amor. It is the perfect place to go with the loved one, what with the wine, and the food, and the heady atmosphere of antiquity, art and style. So romantic!

And, if you do not have the loved one, what better place to find the temporary loved one than Roma, where every handsome Silvio, Leonardo, and Tony stands ready to flatter you shamelessly, put you on the back of his Vespa and speed you around the Colosseum as if you were the seventeen-year-old exchange student who has slipped away from her chaperones.

Here is the Romana from Aquatalia by Marvin . the super stylish, weatherproof boot that would keep your feets dry while you tread the Via Appia. And look! They are made in Italy, so it will be like the homecoming for feets!

Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

I feel left out. I seem to be the only woman in DC who is not wearing a pair of skinny jeans under riding-style/flat boots this winter. I have taken your lessons to heart and am no longer interested in buying cheap shoes, but I don’t want to invest in a trend that will look dated in two years. How can I buy a pair of boots that will be on trend right now but also classic enough to wear for years? (non-black is probably best.)

Amber

Manolo says, to quickly answer this question: the riding boots have never been out of the style, and will never go out of the style. They are the fashion perennial, and every woman should have the pair in her closet.

Yes, today, the girls are wearing them with the skinny hipster jeans tucked into the tops. And the day before yesterday it was the jodhpurs and hacking jackets. And the day after tomorrow, it may be the tie-dyed bubble skirts and tube tops. Who can say, except that the riding boot will still be the useful and attractive part of the wardrobe.

As for the matter of trendiness, the Manolo reminds you that personal style is not dependent upon trendiness. Historically, the most stylish peoples are those who have forged the distinctive and attractive personal look, which may or may not accord with the fads of the moment. And so, the Manolo would tell you to seek out your own personal style and not worry overly much about what the hipster girls are wearing this season, or the next.

Here is the cognac-colored Heath Tall Riding Boot from Frye that is certain to become one of your favorites.

Manolo says, not only do these boots, the Tahra from La Canadienne, have the virtue of being weatherproof (which is the important virtue, indeed, given the severity of this winter), but they also somewhat, if you squint, resemble the super fantastic Metropolitan Railway Boots about which the Manolo has recently blogged.

And look! They are on the sale, reduced more than $60 of the American dollars from the usual price!