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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.