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

Dear Manolo,

Last week, you answered a Valentine’s Day question from a woman who is giving the holiday another chance. I have a similar dilemma, from a slightly different perspective. I’m a 28-year-old man who’s found the love of his life, and who now wishes to propose matrimony on Valentine’s Day in a fairly traditional, get-down-on-one-knee sort of way. I’ve got a new gray suit, and I need a pair of new shoes. The question is, brown or black?

Tom

Manolo says, the Manolo applauds your willingness to stick with the most traditional and romanticest form of the proposal, rather than as has become depressingly common, taking your beloved to the Capitals hockey game, and during the second intermission having the Slapshot the Mascot skate out with the ring on his stick, while your visage appears on the Jumbotron, thirty feet tall, pledging eternal love to your deeply embarrassed girlfriend, whom you refer to repeatedly, in glorious amplification, by your own special, little love nickname, “Sugar Butt”.

Trust the Manolo, only the lunatic, or the Hollywood producer (but the Manolo repeats himself) would think that such the spectacular public proposal was the good idea. Better to take your lady friend to the romantically dim little place, where if things do not go well. and you are rejected, you may slink away largely unnoticed by the few diners who are present.

As for the shoes with the gray suit, the Manolo’s choice is brown, which if properly chosen can have the deeper, more luxurious color than the black. Here is the perforated straight tip oxford from Alden in the rich walnut brown color.

Manolo says, luxurious lace up oxfords for the man, from the Italian shoemaker Fratelli Rossetti, on the sale! 50% off of the regular price, the savings of more than $400 of the American dollars!

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

Dear Manolo,

This entire summer, my husband has insisted on wearing the same pair of sports mandals, despite the fact that they’ve grown shabby looking and smelly (something I did not know was possible for a sandal). With the end of summer approaching, can you recommend something casual that he might like? He’s moderately outdoorsy, and fit, and prefers khakis and plaids, in other words, he pretty typical.

Audra

Manolo says, the Manolo frequently gets the plaintive missives from the women who wish to restyle their men folk into something more put-together, something less sloppy, rustic, disastrous, and/or menacing

“Manolo,” they frequently cry out, “my husband dresses as if he were Larry the Cable Guy’s younger, messier brother. Please help.”

To which the Manolo can only reply, you cannot overnight change your man from the Tom Arnold into the Tom Selleck. You must work deliberately, and politely, using positive reinforcement and strategic praise

For the example, “Oh, honey, you look so much better since you stopped wearing buckskin and shaved off your Grizzly Adams beard. Like the handsome man I married.”

Or, “Darling, I’m so glad you finally threw out those too-small jeans with the hole in the seat. I’m just sorry it had to be the police who told you to do it. Here, I bought you this pair of styling, flat-front khakis.”

You must move your man slowly along the continuum of style, using the well-thought out gifts to nudge him gently in the direction you wish him to go. Start with the men’s casual shoes.

Here is the Hush Puppies Authentic Saddle Shoes, the American classic, one that any American man should be proud to wear.

Manolo says, what is not to like about this? Traditional English craftsmanship done by people who seem to revel in the work.

Manolo says, as always, to the lover of the shoes (and perhaps even to the non-lover) these videos are entrancing.

Manolo says, Manolo, what about the gentlemen, do they not also deserve the late night bargain?

To which the Manolo replies, yes, and here it is, the Air Ryder Driver from Cole Haan, the casual driving shoe that has both the comfort and the style in mind. This is something more sophisticated than the New Balance sneakers that are your man’s habitual casual wear, and selling at nearly 65% off of the usual price, you will be the smartest of smarty-smart shoppers.

Manolo says, it is no secret that the Manolo is the fan of the Earthkeepers from Timberland for the casual man wear, and so when he saw that this pair of chukka boots was selling at nearly 60% off, he could not but recommend them to his internet friends.

N.B. Psychologists have proven what we already know, shoe tell us much about the wearer…

The Phluff Daddy from O’Neill, $18.

Your name is Kenny. Not Kenneth, Kenny, and you own only four pairs of the long pants, two of them blue jeans.

Your best friend in the whole world is the chocolate lab named Bo, who wears the red bandanna around his neck, limps from the little bit of doggy arthritis, and is the sort of chick magnet (although he seems to mostly draw only single-mom divorcees who work in diners, and college girls studying recreation science).

You spend most of your time riding your mountain bike around town, reading undergraduate philosophy books, or hanging out at the indie coffee shop downtown, talking to college girls who are studying recreation science.

You’re 36-years-old and you’ve never left this town. Why should you? You were born here, went to school here, and graduated from college here (English, ’98). You even live in the tiny, two-bedroom house your grandmother left you up in the Avenues, stretching out that legacy into infinity (if you can keep your expenses down).

Some mornings, while you’re eating your bacon and eggs in the harvest-yellow kitchen with the avocado green stove, you look at the newspaper and think that maybe you should sell that house and get out of that town.

But then Bo hobbles in and puts his nose on your bare leg beneath your cargo shorts, and you think “Not yet, boy. Now while you’re still around.”

Manolo says, to all of the Fathers, Dads, Pops, and Pas, the Manolo wishes you the happiest of the Father’s Days!

Manolo says, once again, science proves that which we already knew to be true, that shoes tell us much about the person who is wearing them.

Researchers at the University of Kansas found that people were able to correctly judge a stranger’s age, gender, income, political affiliation, emotional and other important personality traits just by looking at the person’s shoes.

Lead researcher Omri Gillath found that by examining the style, cost, color of condition of the shoe, participants were able to guess about 90 percent of the of the owner’s personal characteristics.

And, we are supposed to be surprised by this? Seven years ago, our friend, the Miss Meghan published the very amusing book, The Perfect Fit; What Your Shoes Say About You that said exactly the same thing.

But, we must let the scientistic peoples have their say.

The 63 observers were then asked to look at each pair and guess the gender, age, social status and different personality traits of the owner, like whether the owner was an extrovert or introvert, liberal or conservative and the degree of their emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness.

Researchers found that observers did well in guessing characteristics of the volunteers in almost all categories, and concluded that people do wear shoes that reveal their personality, whether they intend to or not.

Expensive shoes belonged to high earners, flashy and colorful footwear belonged to extroverts and shoes that were not new but appeared to be spotless belonged to conscientious types.

Science!

While some of the clues like the ones already described were obvious, other clues were more surprising.

Practical and functional shoes generally belong to agreeable people, ankle boots fit with more aggressive personalities and uncomfortable looking shoes were worn by calm personalities.

Participants were able to most accurately judge a person’s age, gender and income followed by their emotional stability and agreeableness.

In psychology, emotional stability is an umbrella term that includes a person’s fear of abandonment, rejection issues and the ability to handle different kinds of relationships.

People with “attachment anxiety” or people that were most worried about their relationships generally had brand new and well-kept shoes. Researchers suggest that this may be because they worry so much about their appearance and what others may think of them.

Not surprisingly, liberal thinkers, who many think of as flip-flop wearing hippies, wear shabbier and less expensive shoes.

And now the drum roll, please, for the grande finale conclusion….

“Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers,” the authors wrote. “Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues with symbolic messages. People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear.”

Ta-Da!! “People pay attention to the shoes they and others wear!”

Scientia omnia vincit!

And, now, the Manolo challenges you, using your newly discovered scientific super powers, tell the Manolo what sort of person would wear each of these three shoes…

Number 1:

The E20274 Platform Sandal from Giuseppe Zanotti, retail price $1,150!

Number 2:

The Birki’s Super Birki White Flower Clogs, with the retail price of $79.95

Number 3:

The Ronnie Men’s Boot from Jeffery-West, selling for the $545.

Tomorrow, the Manolo will tell you correct answers to the question, what do these shoes say about their wearers.

Manolo asked, whose shoes?

Manolo answers, it is the Andre 3000!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend, the Cassie, who was the first to correctly identify this week’s always dapper celebrity of note.

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

Dear Manolo,

This summer my husband and I are taking our honeymoon at last in Ibiza. Sun, sand, and dubstep concerts for two weeks straight. Now I don’t usually fall in the category of girls who need help picking the perfect shoes for any occasion, but my husband is different. I’m afraid I’m going to have a little trouble getting him to let go of his New Balances. What would be a good pair of shoes for him to pack?

Val

Manolo says, frankly, the Manolo prefers to go to Ibiza in the winter, when everything is quiet, and the club kiddies are not there, partying down until all hours of the morning. But then the Manolo is now the old duddy-fuddy, who likes to shake his walking stick at the rambunctious youths as they cross his lawn.

Of the course, if you were the young persons, newly married and in deeply in the love, then the Manolo thinks that Ibiza during the high season could be enormous good fun. There is much to see, from the pre-historic megaliths, to the bucolic countryside, to the English tourists vomiting in the gutters after the long night of revelry!

As for what your husband should wear, the Manolo suggests something espadrille-ish, as the Ibiza mode is casual and Mediterranean, and what is more casual and Mediterranean than the espadrille for the men?

Here is the Lado Espadrille from the Sperry Topsider in the black canvas color, the Spanish shoe with the American twist.