Manolo says, here is the article to be filed under the heading, Super Models Say the Darnedest Things.

“They make me feel like a woman. I feel they make you look very sexy, the cuts are beautiful, the lines, the colors the embellishments,” Huntington-Whiteley gushed to FOX411’s Pop Tarts column at the Christian Louboutin’s book launch at Barney’s in Beverly Hills last week. “I think he managed to capture something so special for women, every girl should be lucky enough to have them.”

Yet amid this cash-strapped economy, the British supermodel has some words of wisdom for women pining for a pair – which retail at around $700.

“If you can save up for a pair put away a dollar a week,” she advised. “It’s worth it girls. It is really worth it!”

It just like buying on layaway at the K-Mart!

Only, at one dollar per the week, it will take fourteen years, in which case, allow the Manolo to suggest something that might still be in style in the year 2025…the Wallis Mary Jane Pumps…

Also available in the black, and the camel, this is the sort of shoe that can be worn well into your dotage, which in the case of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley may already have arrived.

P.S. The tip of the Manolo’s hat to his friend Erik.

Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back at your desk, and already the Summer of 2011 is fading into the rearview mirror of your life, growing smaller with each passing second.

Of the course, given what the Summer of 2011 was like, this is not necessarily the bad thing.

Indeed, if you could, you would jam your foot down onto the accelerator of the life-mobile, spewing gravel and little chips of asphalt into the face of the Summer of 2011, as you sped away.

But you cannot.

The great tragedy is that life is not the car your can drive from place to place, stopping when the mood strikes you. It is more like the intercity Greyhound that occasionally conveys you through scenes of breath-taking beauty, but more often is stuck for long periods in industrial wastelands, or enormous stretches of poorly made tract homes.

But, you are obliged to do your best while on the trip, by making friends with the fellow passengers, and trying to keep the spirits up.

And, what better way to buoy one spirits than with beautiful shoes, such as these luxurious suede and fox platform peep-toe pumps, the Splash from the Christian Louboutin?

Manolo says, the Manolo is greatly amused by the visual wit of this Christian Louboutin sandal…très amusant, no?

Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back at your desk wishing that you had managed to make the first two weeks of June your vacation, rather than the last two weeks of July.

You need the break, because a) it has been the powerfully awful month or so at your place of employment, what with the off-laying of various low-level employees and the added work which has been piled upon you as the result, and b) because the school year has ended for your children, and your 12-year-old son and your 15-year-old daughter are at the home, alone, unsupervised.

This should not really be the cause of worry, as not only are they the generally good children, but they are also plenty old enough to care for themselves. Indeed, your own grandfather held down the adult employment by that age, something he never failed to mention at the various family gatherings.

“On Friday afternoons, I’d hand your great-grandfather my pay envelope, and he’d hand me back two one-dollar bills. That was my money for the whole week. Lunch, Dinner, Sodey Pop. The whole shootin’ match. Fourteen years old, working a man’s job for two dollars a week.”

“Yes, Grandpap,” you’d answer, dutifully.

“A course, didn’t need that much money back then. A nickle’d get you a candy bar, a dime would do for a hotdog.”

“Yes, Grandpap.”

“Bought my first car for $94. People now-a-days don’t know the meaning of money. Think it grows on trees like persimmons, er pippin apples.”

Look! Beautiful shoes!

The Ana Strass Crystal Sandals from the Christian Louboutin.

What would your Grandpappy say?

N.B. Today, the Manolo’s young friend Abigail Wilder Boatwright tells us about buying her first pair of the Louboutins.

Louboutin!

I can’t remember when I fell in love with Louboutins. I know I was in college when I first began to notice them, on celebrities and in magazine spreads, and I know that I immediately had to have them. I just didn’t have the funds, so I spent a lot of time looking at them in magazines.

Of course, every chance I got, I tried on Loubies at department stores. Although, when I was planning my wedding, I decided not to buy a pair for my wedding outfit. Everything was already costing too much. But , when we went to Paris, last January, on our honeymoon, and I had to make the mandatory stop at Louboutin’s flagship store.

Me, in Paris, at the Louboutin Store!

Tres bien!

I tried on shoes I’d never seen before and was in heaven. I decided to save for a pair of the No Prive slingbacks, and I really fell in love with two pairs that have since disappeared from the shelves: the Plume Anemone and the Studio 120 peep-toe pumps.

The Plume Anemone matched my wedding colors, and they are the hottest shoes I’ve ever seen.

Plume Anemone from Christian Louboutin... Hot Feathery Shoes!

The Studio 120 matched my husband’s wedding ring exactly!

Studio 120 from Christian Louboutin and My Husband's Hand

I enjoyed visiting the store, but I didn’t buy Louboutins in Paris, the exchange rate was horrible.

I’m happy to report that early this year, I’d finally saved enough money to get a pair. After much deliberation, I decided on that classic pair, the No Prive Patent Slingback from Neiman Marcus. I ordered them online and waited anxiously for them to arrive.

When I got that package in the mail, I was shaking with excitement to open it up. My shoes were far more beautiful in person than I’d imagined. I had to take a photo with my ring on the heel, like I’d seen many brides do.

Christian Louboutin Red Soles, and my Wedding Ring.

I put my shoes on and walked around the house, showing them off to my husband. I realized they made my feet look dainty and sexy, and they instantly made me feel about 10x more beautiful. I just can’t describe
how much I love these shoes.

My Loubies made their official debut this weekend, at a masquerade party at our house. Though they are 4.5 inches high, they held up gallantly to four hours of socializing. I wear them around the house every chance I get—my cats and dog probably think I’m crazy. But I can’t wait to wear them out on the town.

My husband soon realized this is only the first of my red-sole brigade. I’m content for now, but my Loubies will need some friends someday!

Manolo says, it is Monday and you doing whatever it is you are doing on the Day of the American President, and frankly either way, you are feeling somewhat worn out.

Is it the spring yet?

This interminable winter of discontentment has been sapping you of your vital essence, and now you are in the danger of becoming the mere husk of your formerly robust and vibrant self.

What can get you through this depressing period of snow and seasonally affective disordering?

Shoes!

What else can lift our spirits so reliably when they are flagging?

Here is the Balota Glittery Leather Strappy Sandals from the Christian Louboutin, the sort of wonderfully luxurious shoe that would make even the darkest winter day as bright as the summer sun.

Manolo says, it is the Day of San Valentine and you are back at your desk thinking it is the no big deal. Although, as you say this to yourself, you know perfectly well that if your man fails to come across with the goods this evening the day will end on the note of sourness.

And what are these “goods” of which you speak?

If you were honest with yourself, you would say the absolute best would be the hand-written letter of love, in which your husband of many years produces poetry which will rival that of the Robert Herrick.

But, it seems unlikely that the same man who yesterday changed the oil on your car and then spent six hours on the couch in the basement watching college basketball, would be suddenly graced with greatness by the immortal muses.

Indeed, somewhere in the attic, secreted away in your chest of treasures, reside the examples of Gary’s previous poetic efforts, written when you were both young and in the first flush of love. As you recall, the word “forsooth” figures prominently in them.

And so, as the years have progressed, you have readjusted the definition of the “goods” downward, in inverse proportion to gifts required for the anniversary of the wedding. In anniversary terms, the first year is paper, the fiftieth is gold. In Valentine’s Day terms, the first is florid original poetry hand-written on parchment, the fiftieth is that he remembers your name as he gums his heart-shaped bowl of tapioca.

You are now at the stage midway between these two poles, which means that if Gary wishes to remain in good odor, he will fork over the large card into which he has handwritten the words “I Love You”, along with the box of decent chocolate and/or the bouquet of roses. He will then complete the evening with the dinner at the House of the Outback Steak, where he not wait for dessert to express his undying love to you, but will utter such words no latter than the moment when the remains of the Blooming Onion are cleared away.

And so it is written, and so it shall be.

Look!

Beautiful sexy red shoes from the Christian Louboutin!

It is the Pigalle Plato Patent Leather Platform Pumps. Red shoes to impress the crowd at the Red Lobster!

Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back at your desk losing the forest for the trees. But such is the nature of the modern life in which the pursuit of perceived happiness frequently results in actual and active unhappiness.

In such situations it does well for one to remember that not only do we not live in the Panglossian world of housebroken puppies and strawberry gumdrops, where everything always works out for the best, but that sadness and discontent and suffering are part of the human inheritance.

It is the small comfort.

But then, things get better or they do not. You will be happy again, or you will not. Seek solace where you can, in the writings of Epictetus, or the Psalms, or P.G. Wodehouse.

January is almost over, is it not?

Look! Beautiful shoes…

Salsbourg Metallic Strappy Sandals from the inimitable Christian Louboutin. Such thing of beauty go the long way to making our lives more bearable.

Manolo says, the Manolo’s friends at the Harper’s Bazaar have launched the new website drawing attention to the scourge of designer fakery: Fakes are Never in Fashion.

Harper’s Bazaar’s Fakes Are Never In Fashion™ initiative has been working for years to expose the criminal activities connected to the sales of counterfeit products. The sales from these fake products fund child labor, sweat shops, drug cartels and even terrorism. American companies also lose an estimated $20 billion from the counterfeit goods industry.

The Harper’s Bazaar peoples have even included good advice for avoiding the fake shoes.

Phoney Baloney, Plastic Fake, Not Christian Louboutin Shoes

* Location – Luxury designer shoes are never sold by a street vendors, flea markets or low end stores. Buy from authorized retailers. These can easily be found on the brand’s website by looking at the locations the product is sold.

* Inspect The Bottom – Many fake shoes come with a thin plastic film attached to the bottom of the shoe. No luxury designer would put out a product with plastic covering.

* An Inside Job – Many counterfeit boots are created with cheaper interior materials. Instead of the shoe being lined with suede or leather, the fakes are lined with a much more noticeable, cheaper fabric.

Seams & Stitching – Crooked, poor stitching or messy seams, on Sheepskin boots for example, are signs of a counterfeit product.

* Packaging – If a certain luxury brand packages their shoes in a logo box or with a dust bag and these items are not included with your purchase, your shoes are fake. Also be sure to look for flimsy, poor quality or different size packaging.

* Holograms – Many brands are incorporating the use of holograms on their labels. Do some research to find out if the shoes you are trying to purchase normally come with a hologram. If you don’t see one, it’s a fake.

* Price Cuts – If the shoe you are trying to purchase retails for $1,000 and it’s on sale for $200, it’s a fake. Discounts like these do not exist with luxury goods. If the price sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Of the course, none of this is news to the long-time readers of the Manolo, for the Manolo has been crusading against the fakes and the off-knocks for many, many years.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, the video of the fake Christian Louboutin shoes being destroyed by the front loader…

Most satisfying indeed!

Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back at your desk six pounds fatter, several hundred dollars poorer, and heavily bruised about the head and the shoulders.

When did Thanksgiving, originally the simple feast of gratitude for the blessings of Divine Providence, become the PigBaconTurDuckenator of holidays, the portmanteau weekend into which we have stuffed the giant helium balloons, the professional footballing, and the nakedly opportunistic, four-day celebration of retail commerce?

Black Friday… it sounds like the curse, and is.

Of the course, these curmudgeonly thoughts occurred to you at 3:26 in the AM, on the Friday morning, as you were standing, number 41 in the line, waiting to enter the BestBuy store at 5AM to purchase the greatly discounted video game console.

Normally, you would seek to avoid such needless trauma.

But, unlike crafty Odysseus, you cannot fill the ears of your oarsmen with beeswax and lash yourself to the mast. And so when the Sirens of Commerce sing to you their sweet, sweet song, you grab the helm and drive your holiday budget onto the rocks of Scylla (as represented by the parking lot of the Galleria).

And to mix the Greekish metaphors, when the doors of the mall were opened, you rushed in, and were seized by the spirit of battle. You became as prideful Achilles at the gates of Troy.

Sing oh muses, of how your mighty handbag cut the swath of destruction, through Forever 21!

And, now, here it is Monday, and you are feeling the aftereffects of gluttony and hand-to-hand combat, the combination of heavy bruising, too-tight clothing, and the profound regret.

Look! Shoes!

The Denis Multistrap Sandals from Christian Louboutin. Prizes that even scornful Agamemnon would dare not take from your hands.

Manolo says, in America is is the Election Day, and so, let us give the three cheers for the Red, the White and the Blue!

And now, allow the Manolo to gently remind you, if you are the American, to do you civic duty.

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 post, in which the Manolo responds to the inquiry from one of his dearest internet friends, first appeared on March 13th, 2007

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

Querido Manolo,

I have just received an invitation to present a paper in Helsinki this summer at a conference on the laws of war. This means that I shall be the only twenty-something-year-old female in a hall full of big, gruff, snarly, manlymen. Since genetic constitution and chromosomal make-up render it impossible for me to project an image of gruff, snarly, girlitude, I prefer to present myself as both a lover and a fighter. Could you please recommend a pair of show-stopping shoes that would convey this image?

Further considerations:
(1) Price and heel altitude are distant seconds to superfantasticness.
(2) I think it’s time for me to buy my first Manolos.

If you decide to post this query, could you please leave my name out? Muchisimas gracias!

With warmest wishes from frosty NYC,

Manolo says, mucho-macho, snarly, gruffy-huffy, law-of-war manly men? In Finland?

Oy, to the Manolo this does not sound like fun. Indeed, it sounds as if the Manolo’s nameless friend is riding out to the annual Mongol Golden Horde company picnic, featuring all the roast badger and curdled mares’ milk you can eat, followed by the spirited game of “Kick the Head”.

In this case, she should do as the Manolo does when forced to participate in the strange native rites, behave as if you were the eccentric 19th century British explorer.

Be polite, be friendly, be sympathetic, but make it clear to the cannibalistic savages, through your dress and your comportment, that you represent the superior culture, one which offers these benighted souls the benefits of indoor plumbing and the afternoon tea.

Thus, when the lawyers of war offer you the drink of honeyed mead in the polished skull of their slain-in-battle senior partner, you must sip politely, and smilingly promise them, in your best Queen’s English, that you will return soon with the Royal Navy gunboat and destroy their God-forsaken way of life.

Of the course, in the meantime, the Manolo’s friend must dress in the manner that shows them that she is the powerful and important person in her own culture, one who must not be trifled with (or, at the least, one who must not be cut up and tossed into the bubbling cauldron of lunch.)

What better way to do this than with the aggressively beautiful shoes?

Here are two classic pairs of the Maestro Manolo Blahnik’s shoes that one should not live without.

Either in the mid-heel or the high-heel, in the dark brown or the black, these shoes are serious enough for the everyday work, and yet, kick-ass enough to quell the native insurrection.

If one truly wishes to leave the savages speachless, however, then the Manolo suggests these slightly less practical pumps from the Christian Louboutain.

Metallic python?

Expected reaction: “Ooooooh, shiny! Lawyer Grog think pretty lady in glittery snake shoes have mighty mojo. Must listen attentively to presentation.”