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

Dear Manolo,

I work in a laboratory and on my feet all day. In the past I could wear jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. Now I am senior chemist and must show visitors around. I have to wear dress slacks, shirt, tie, and clean lab coat. My feet hurt at the end of the day. Are there dress shoes that are as comfortable as sneakers?

Thanks,

Jim

Manolo says, as the Manolo has said in the past, thank heavens for the lab coat!

Like the priestly collar, the lab coat is the identifying mark of the special class of citizens, and like the clerical garb, it usually covers up the multitude of sins, although in the case of the scientist, those sins are most often sartorial in nature.

Yes, there are the scientists who dress fashionably, but these rare creatures are rarely encountered in the wild. Of the course, the modern lab nerd no longer favors the pocket-protectors, short-sleeve dress shirts and high-water trousers. Now the typical scientist will be found in the baggy cargo shorts, well-worn t-shirts, and the sport sandals, which is undoubtedly why the Manolo’s friend Jim is experiencing the feet-based culture shock.

As for the shoes for our newly promoted scientist, the Manolo would suggest the Ashton from the Allen-Edmonds. Not only does it look good, but with the rubber sole and cushiony interior it should give him adequate feet comfort.

Manolo says, here is the newest column of the Manolo for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

Now that summer has arrived, I’ve been powerfully tempted to don a pair of airy mandals to wear with my summer weight suits. My wife advises me that this would be a very bad thing. What do you suggest?

Rob

Manolo says, yes it is true, not since the waning days of the Roman Empire have the toes of serious men been so conspicuously in evidence. Indeed, earlier this year, his Honorable Excellency, The President Barack H. Obama was photographed eating the parti-colored, Hawaiian snow cone while wearing the polo shirt, board shorts and the flip-flops, his presidential toes exposed for the entire world to see.

One cannot imagine the Dwight Eisenhower, or the Teddy Roosevelt, or even the Grover Cleveland appearing in the public place in mandals, much less the Wal-Mart flip-flops, but clearly, such bygone standards of dress a

nd comportment no longer apply in our informal age, to the point that the most powerful man in the world feels free to let his hairy toes breath glorious fresh air.

The Manolo says, do not be that man. Do not give in to the temptation to dress like the ten-year-old boy on the way to the comic book store. Do not be “That Man With the Toes”. Take pride in your appearance and cover your toes for the sake of humanity and the protection of your womenfolk.

Here is the Henley II from the Ralph Lauren Collection, the traditional two-tone oxford, the sort of shoe that has long been recognized as the gentlemanly response to the heat of summer.

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?

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.

After stumbling across this mouth watering photo of a young Mick Jagger, l realized just how lucky I am to be a young single girl living in Brooklyn. I am fortunate enough to be in the presence of many fine young males who tap into elegant Muses like Mr. Jagger for their everyday style inspirations. However, being the insatiable young thing that I am, I want more!

Gentlemen, it all has to start with the shoes. The weather is warming slightly, the pavement is rarely wet so there are no excuses. Slip into a fresh pair of oxfords and allow the style to fill your being from bottom to top. Let’s take a look at some examples, shall we?

These sleek Oxford Derby Shoes from Mark Mcnairy are sure to usher in a title wave of feminine attention

Perhaps you are a dirty fellow trying to keep it clean. Try these elegant Walk Over Derby Oxfords in White.

You can even step it up a few extra notches with these luxurious Calfskin Saddle Oxfords from Alden.

I can see it now… walking down the street to the flea market on a warm Spring day, drifting amidst a sea of dapper gentlemen, The Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” playing in my head. Make my dream a reality! Don’t make me beg.

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, apparently, today is unusual men’s wingtip day. From the Iz Andrew’s Blog comes news of the Prada Wingtip Espadrilles.

Colorful Shoes for Childish Peoples!

Wear to Your Next Starbuck's Job Interview!

On the one of the hands, if you were the woman, these shoes would be the fun, funky, fabulous thing.

On the other of the hands, if you were the man, you would be better off investing your 500 Euros in the new combination Forever Lazy Home Brewing System.

P.S. Many thanks to the Manolo’s friend, the Nancy

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

Dear Manolo,

My husband is the owner of a very large (well, 13) pair of feets. I want him to buy one of those new pairs of casual, weathered wingtips, but am having a hard time finding them in his hugenormous size. He also keeps telling me they are dorky, so I would like to convince him that he won’t look like a tool when he wears them. Help!

Niffy

Manolo says, to the Manolo, who believes that one should take great care of the shoes, with the frequent polishing and the regular treeing, and who finds pleasure in the process of restoring the elderly shoe to the state of newness, the rise to fashionability of the pre-weathered shoes for the men is puzzling.

The Manolo wonders, like the husband of the Niffy, why would one wish to look like the hobo when one is not the hobo? Or, more accurately, why would one wish to look like the dorky tool, when one is suavely untoolish?

But, like the weather, the fashion is unpredictable. One minute you are pushing the sleeves of your pastel Miami Vice jacket up the forearms, and the next it is hailing. And, just as one cannot change the weather, one cannot change the currents of fashion. One can only complain about the conditions and dress appropriately.

Here is the James Wingtip from Frye in the distressed brown. It is of decent quality and reasonable price, and available in the ginormous size 13.

Manolo says, two years ago, when the Manolo was living in Argentina, he purchased the pair of these boots, the Timberland Earthkeepers 6″ in preparation for tramping about the wilds of Patagonia. He admits to having been somewhat dubious about them at the time…

“Yes,” the Manolo said to himself, while examining them in the Timberland store in the Patio Bullrich, “they look very good, but they are not terribly expensive. Will they last?”

And now, the Manolo is happy to report that they have given good service over many, many miles, and have become one of the preferred boots for stumbling through the trackless wilderness of the Farmers Market.

'Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chamber half Dressed.' ~ George Washington

Manolo says, ayyyy! The President Dude is showing us his toes!

Historians agreed it was the first time they could remember seeing the leader of the free world snapped in a public setting, wearing nothing more than a flimsy strip of rubber on his feet.

[...]

Capping off his Hawaiian vacation, President Obama earlier this week sports an uber-casual look finished with a pair of flipflops, favored by his core demographic: college kids.

“I can’t say I’ve seen a president’s toes before. This could be a very usual thing,” said presidential historian Jane Hampton Cook, author of an upcoming children’s book “What Does the President Look Like?”

“But I don’t think this is a big deal. Your footwear belongs to the occasion. If you’re on the beach buying your daughter snow cones, I don’t think you can beat him up for this. Now if he’s wearing flip-flops to the State of the Union, that’d be different.”

Presidential historian Doug Wead concurred.

“In public, no. I haven’t seen the president’s toes,” he deadpanned.

And while most historians couldn’t think of an example of presidential appendages being on such display, most agreed it wasn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world.

Unless you one of those old-fashioned, fuddy-duddy persons who seeks to uphold the standards of dress and decorum.

P.S. If you are the new visitor to the humble blog of the Manolo, please consider following the Manolo on the Twitter, or befriending him on the Facebook.

Manolo says, yes, he was willing to spend the 100 millions dollars to get the job that pays $1 per year, but buy the new pair of shoes? That, apparently, is the extravagance too many for the Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

The two pairs of classic black loafers — one tasseled, the other penny loafers — predate his tenure as mayor and both are so well worn, with labels so long gone, that even Hizzoner himself can’t remember what brand they are.

“He could buy any shoes he wanted, but he likes these,” Loeser said. “They are comfortable, and they work, so he says there’s no need for a new pair.”

The mayor wears a 9EE, said exclusive shoe outfitter Allen Edmonds, which has sold Bloomberg several other pairs.

At least one of the pairs is likely a Cole Haan, shoe experts said.

The penny loafer looks like the “Dennehy,” an “old-school Italian leather [model] we specialized in for decades but discontinued” this year, said a longtime Cole Haan salesman at the chain’s Rockefeller Center branch. The shoe retails for $328.

Mike Bloomberg, Billionaire Man of the People, is pleased to see that the senior early bird special at Perkins this afternoon is all you can eat tilapia.

P.S. The tip of the hat to the Manolo’s friend, The Enabler

Manolo says, the Manolo’s friends at the Collector’s Weekly (which earlier this year published the remarkable interview with the shoe collector John Walford) have returned with the excellent interview with Elizabeth Semmelhack, one of the curators at the magnificent Bata Shoe Museum and author of the book Heights of Fashion: A History of the Elevated Shoe.

There is much in this interview to both ponder and enjoy, but below are two intriguing excerpts.

Collectors Weekly: How did a pair of Manolos or Louboutins become star accessories?

Semmelhack: I don’t think that it was the designers themselves who did it as much as the culture. Clearly their shoes are lovely, but over the course of the 20th century, you have a great loss of accessories in women’s wear. I like to use the hat as an example of that. If you think about watching “I Love Lucy” on TV, so often she’s walking by a hat shop and she stops to purchase a hat. Now she’s got to hide it from Ricky because God forbid he sees it. It’s the hat that she must have, the hat, the hat, the hat. Along the same lines, we had white gloves and we had pearls and we had other similar ways of expressing status.

With the loss of iconic accessories like those, shoes carry a greater burden of meaning. We now require shoes to really, as someone said, punctuate our fashionable outfit or unfashionable outfit, whatever we’re doing. They are increasingly a way of turning a generic outfit around, and I think that’s one of the reasons why shoes have become such a focal point of culture. We can read a lot into them.

But today, where fashion has been so democratized, you can have two women of wildly different socioeconomic standings or wildly different social constructs of themselves going into the same, say, Gap store and buying the exact same pair of jeans. One might wear her jeans with a pair of Manolo Blahniks, making one statement, while the other woman puts on a pair of Keds to go watch her kids play soccer, and she makes a different statement.

The loss of the hat as the fashion accessory elevates the shoes to the place of prominence? The theory is so simple and elegant, it cannot but be true.

Here is the second excerpt, this time on the topic of clothing for the men.
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