Manolo asks, whose shoes?

Manolo says, today is the fith day of March? Why it is the Doc Marten Day! The holiday the Manolo has just invented to celebrate the iconic British waffle-stomper.

Time to put away your furry Ugg boots, and your refined Hunter wellies and pick up your Dr. Martens.

Choose one, please, from the Column A.

Iconic!

Doc Martens 8418 Union Jack Boot

Vintage!

Doc Martens Triumph Shearling Boot

Doc Martens Triumph Shearling Boot

Sophisticated!

Dr Martens Original Chelsea Boot.

If the Dr Martens are cool enough for the Clash, they are certainly cool enough for you, home girl.

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

Dear Manolo,

I am going on a romantic vacation to Venice this spring. I’d like a pair of shoes both comfortable enough for walking all those canal sidewalks and glamorous enough to impress my sweetie. Oh, and I’m not taking a very big suitcase, so it would be helpful if they were versatile, too. And maybe grippy rubber soles? I’m asking for too much in one item of the feetwear?

Nell

Manolo says, perhaps the long recession is finally over, for just this past week the Manolo has received nearly the dozen letters from peoples who are travelling soon to Europe. England, France, and Austria are all mentioned in these happy missives as intended destinations, but it is Italy, Bella Italia, that is by far the preferred spot for the post-recessionary vacationers. Why should it not be thus? Italy is beautiful, and romantic, and historic, and the thus the perfect place to enjoy what may, or may not, be the return of prosperity.

And what about the Venice? How can one not love this amazing city in the springtime, when the weather is pleasant, the flowers are blooming, and the famous odors of Venice — fetid canal water, dead fish, and unwashed boatmen — have not yet reached their full summertime fluorescence. So romantic!

What is needed here, are the jaunty Italian-style driving moccasins, such as the Millie from the Patricia Green. Available in six handsome colors, the Manolo’s two favorites are the camel and the red.

Manolo says, it is Tuesday and you are back at your desk contemplating the topic of human folly, to be more specific the folly inherent in the do-it-yourself improvement of the home project.

Back in the January, the repainting of your kitchen seemed like such the good idea, the project of the single weekend: strip the old wallpaper from the walls, paint everything in the moderately neutral color, and be done with it.

Ah, such innocence. Such blissful, happy, youthful innocence.

Now, here it is, nearly March, and the project is still not done. The walls are painted, but the doors of the cabinets languish in the garage, their absence mocking you each morning as you enter the kitchen.

“What were you thinking,” they say, their tiny wooden voices whispering to you, “you’re a loser at home repairs! You can’t even unstop the toilet without soaking the floor.”

You try to ignore them, telling yourself that this weekend you will fix them, but good.

But it is too late, your morning coffee tastes bitter, and you feel the weight of failure heavy upon your soul. Your drive to the office has become the commute of shame and self-loathing, all because it took you three weeks to find exactly the right shade of off-white in glossy finish.

What is needed now are two things, the name of the good handyman, and the super fantastically, good-humored shoes from the interwebs!

Such as these fun new shoes from the Jean-Michel Cazabat, the Whitney Suede, Leather and Patent Leather Colorblock Sandals

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

Dear Manolo,

At the end of the month, I’m taking a series of exams, the final portion being an hour long oral defense of what I wrote in the written exam concerning marriage in Rome, Latin poetry, necromancy, magic and the Goddess Hecate; (in multiple essays, not just one). It’s very frightening, as I am just a shy and lowly undergraduate. I want to WOW my professors in the orals, but I need the confidence that can only be gotten from fabulous shoes (on a budget though, I am a college student). Do you have any suggestions?

Betsy

Manolo says, on the one of the hands, what else would one wear to take the exams about the world of Rome than the handsome pair of the gladiator sandals?

But, on the other of the hands, that would be too obvious, would it not?

And yet, on the third of the hands, the professors who are doing the examing are probably the Romanophiles, and so would certainly be amused by your choice of the feetwear.

Although, on the four of the hands, probably not.

Still, on the fifth of the hands, the sandals of the gladiator sandals are comfortable, yes?

Besides, on the sixth of the hands, it is February, and cold and wet, even in Rome itself.

Ultimately, on the seventh of the hands, you must project the aspect of confident seriousness, not frivolity, and so the Manolo recommends the Vivian from the Kors by Michael Kors, in the Taupe Kid Suede (also available in 11 other finishes.) Not exactly Roman, but when in Academia one must do as the Academians do.

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

Dear Manolo,

I will be attending the entire Wagner Ring Cycle in April at the Lincoln Center. Since we had to almost refinance our home in order to afford tickets that do not require high altitude acclimatization, I cannot afford new shoes for each performance. So I am looking for one pair of Wagner-worthy shoes. The other three pairs of shoes needed I will have to fashion from scraps of vintage breast-plates and horn.

Lenora

Manolo says, how to explain the Cycle of the Wagnerian Ring to the person who has never attended the entire thing in the single marathon week, except to note that it is at once horrifically enthralling and terribly corny.

How is it possible, the Manolo asks, that the Richard Wagner converted such ridiculous and bombastic source material – the Norse Gods are having the bad hair millennium – into the work of supreme affect?

It is the music! What else?

This music of Wagner, so stirring, so brilliant, so memorable, works the transformational magic on what is essentially the elevated flapdoodle, and thus the tangled soap opera story of the comic-book super hero is converted into the purest gold.

Plus, how can one resist the over-the-top spectacle of the handsome men being assailed by stout women in armor? It is like the candy; very chewy, very dense candy

Speaking of the candy, here is the Licorice Too from the Kate Spade, glittery perfection for the opera.

Manolo says, thanks to one of the Manolo’s internet friends, the Manolo has been this week contemplating the The Ring of the Nibelung.

Of the course, the Manolo being the frivolous person, can only think of frivolous things, which is why the Manolo now commends to you the delightful Anna Russell, whose explanation of the Ring Cycle (mow more than 60 years old) remains hilarious to this day.

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

Dear Manolo,

Valentine’s Day is next week, and my dreamy new boyfriend has promised me a romantic night out, with dinner and possibly dancing. I’m wearing a David Meister red silk dress that’s sexy-sophisticated. Now, I need some shoes. What do you suggest?

Stephanie

Manolo says, ayyyy! The Dia de San Valentin, it is upon us, like the wild hyena of romance and expectation!

Woe be to the dreamy new man who does not deliver the goods! Goods which might best be described as the sort of Chinese take-out menu of romantic items. (Please select any two from column A: Dinner at the Expensive Restaurant; French Perfume; Belgian Chocolate; Red Roses; Original Lyric Poetry; Heartfelt Expressions of Undying Love.)

Of the course, the Day of Valentines is not the walking in the park for the young womens either. They must spend literally days in preparation, thinking about the hair and the outfit and the shoes, having extended style consultations with their gay friends, and mulling over, at exhaustive length, the romantic dynamics of their relationship.

At this early stage of the romance, all of these details are so very important. Later, after our couple has been married the dozen years or so, all that will really matter is finding the competent babysitter to watch the kids while you enjoy the heart-shaped dessert at the Factory of the Cheesecakes.

Look! Here is the Consort metallic leather asymmetrical platform sandals from the B Brian Atwood. Bold! Sexy! Sophisticated!

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

Dear Manolo,

I’m a teacher at an all-girls high school. I need a pair of low-key heels to wear to Prom, graduation and a family wedding this spring. Something that will not break the bank.

Kristen

Manolo says, oh, how the Manolo well remembers the night of the grand prom at his alma mater, Our Lady of the Flaming Spleen Country Day School (who motto is still “The Wrathful Word Turneth Away Evil”).

How could anyone forget Sister Assumpta, looking like Ernest Borgnine in the wimple, standing at one side of the gymnasium dance floor, armed with something like the lifeguard’s hook, the long pole with the crook on the end.

If, during the slow jam, the bodies of the couples drifted too closely together, or the hand of the boy slipped too far down the back of the girl, Sister Assumpta would make her presence known, using her shepherd’s crook to forcefully yank the pair of would-be lovers back to propriety.

Of the course, the Manolo never had any problems on that score, indeed, for the young Manolo the prom was less about the slow-dancing with the girls, and more about the sartorial splendor. Finally, the Manolo’s customary Neo-Edwardian morning coat, embroidered waistcoat, and spats had found the appreciative audience!

Look here is the Wystere from AK Anne Klein, the nude patent pump that will work well for the graduation and the wedding, and will not the bank break.

Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back at your desk, working to increase the gross national product of your home economy, and you have decided that it amazing how little things can substantially increase the quality of your life.

For the example, the grand nabobs at your office have recently seen fit to replace the old BunnOmatic coffee pot with the new, fancy-lad, single-serving pod machine which brews the perfect cup every time. The old way was fine, as long as you poured your cup from the pot in the first three minutes after it was produced. Later than that, the coffee tasted like the sludge scooped up from the floor of your brother’s garage. And now you must admit, that it is amazing what the good coffee can do for your mood at the place of the office.

Of the course, some of this natural enthusiasm for the fruit of the brown bean has been tempered by the overly bombastic manner in which the corporate panjandrums have introduced the improvement, with grandiloquent pronouncements and frequent reminders that ImInTech Corp “cares for its family of associates.”

This would not be so troublesome, except that over the past year nearly half the “family” has been “right-sized” out of existence, this while your CEO, Mr. Amenhotep, recently spent two millions of the dollars having the seats of his private jet reupholstered in crocodile and hippo leather.

But, at least you still have the job, and the coffee tastes all the sweeter for it.

Here is something else that will undoubtedly make your working day more pleasant…

Beautiful, glittery platform pumps from the Jerome Rousseau

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

Dear Manolo,

At the urging of a friend, I’m subjecting myself to a so-called “speed date”, where you spend five minutes each with twenty different people, trying to decide who you’d like to see a second time for a real date. My question, of course, is what shoes should I wear? I want to look confident but approachable, sexy but demurely so. Please help.

Shannon

Manolo says, the romance, it is not dead! It is only sleeping!

“So, what do you do,” asks the Shannon.

Number 1: “This and that,” says the pale man with the lank hair and incipient potbelly, “you know, the usual. Little of this, little of that. Whatever gets me by, eh?”

DING!

Number 8: “I work for a hedge fund,” says the handsome man with the beady eyes, “one that specializes in foreclosing on low-income residential properties in distress. I’m the one who makes sure that the deadbeats are tossed out into the street. Ha, ha, ha!”

DING!

Number 13: “Real estate, babay! Big money real estate!”

DING!

Number 17: “I owned the liquor store, with my cousin, Hamid. But, he is now in Guantanamo Bay.”

DING!

Number 20: “I’m a park ranger,” says the square-jawed fellow with the twinkling brown eyes, “It’s a good job. Gives me a lot of time to think, lots of time to work on my poetry. On the weekends, when I’m not running triathlons, I like to volunteer at an animal shelter.”

Ayyyy! Romance awakens from its slumber!

Here is the Glitter from the Kors by Michael Kors, the sexy-demure pump in the dark mushroom kid suede.

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

Dear Manolo,

We’re just three weeks into the new year and already I’ve got the doldrums. Maybe it’s the gloomy weather, maybe it’s the let down after the holidays, maybe it’s the fact that I’m stuck in a nowhere job, but whatever the reason, I need a pick me up. Please suggest something fun to get me out of this funk.

Amanda

Manolo says, it is the statistical fact that the third Tuesday in January is the saddest day of the calendar, the single day of the year when you are most likely to be down in the dumps.

It is not just the middle of the winter, but the exact time when the Christmas credit card bills begin to arrive, reminding you of your profligacy in buying your father that gold-plated nose-hair trimmer. $199.95! What were you thinking?

Worse, it is around the beginning of the third week, when your ambitious new year’s resolutions start to fall by the side of the road, like the crumpled receipt for your unused gym membership, blown from the window of your leased Lexus.

“I’ve lost four and a half pounds on the Low Carb, Cabbage Soup, Maple Syrup, Grapefruit Cleansing Diet,” you say to yourself as you step off the scale this morning, “time for a celebratory donut!”

What is required now to ease the pain is shoes; colorful, ridiculous, happy shoes such as these yellow, canvas, daisy-print, platform sandals from RED Valentino. Ayyyy! They are so cheery!