Manolo’s Shoe Blog

Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back again at your desk working away, while outside the spring has riotously sprung.

Suddenly, and unaccountably, you long to be out in the country, riding horses with tall, blond, very WASPy men in rugby shirts, which is exceedingly odd, as you have not ridden horses since the summer you were fifteen, when the only thing on your mind was ponies, ponies, ponies! (At home, somewhere in your parents attic, there are still five cardboard boxes filled with nothing but Breyer models and the collected works of the Pullein-Thompson sisters.)

Then, in September of that year, you discovered boys.

And so, to be now suddenly thinking of riding horses with the blond WASPs can mean only one thing, you passed the Ralph Lauren advertisement at the bus stop on your way to work.

Look! Here is the Velma from Ralph Lauren Collection, the horsey but sexy high-heeled sandal.

Manolo says, this is the sort of Cavalli shoe the Manolo loves, flashy, dramatic, and all-together beautiful. And the price is not outrageous.

Why cannot all of the Cavalli shoes be like this?

Manolo says, after seeing so many super high shoes, this three inch heel Raso slingback sandal from Miu Miu seems somewhat restrained, this despite the refined exuberance of the bling-bling ornamentation. Simply put, it is gorgeous.

Manolo says, outside it is the glorious spring Monday! The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming and, most importantly of all, the sun is shining.

But, sadly, you are locked inside your office, chained to your desk deep in the twilight belly of the corporate galley, pulling relentlessly on your oar.

“Battle Speed!” shouts the Boss Man from the helm.

In response your district manager pounds out the new beat on the top of his desk, quickening the pace at which you must row. The next cubicle over, your immediate supervisor, Ms. Grog, begins lashing Betsy, the new girl.

“Faster, scum! Quarterly projections are down,” She yells.

At that moment the intercom crackles to life.

“Oh, noes!” you think to yourself, between breaths, “here it comes.”

“Ramming Speed!”

And now it is double-quick time, with the pounding on the desk, and the lashings of the coworkers. But it works, and the ungainly corporate ship lurches forward!

You’re pulling harder than ever now–rowing, rowing, rowing–your entire physical being engaged with the work at hand, but your mind drifts away, to Rome and that semester abroad, when Aldo, your Italian “boyfriend”, insisted on circling the Colosseum three times on his Vespa, with you hanging on the back, laughing and full of life!

“Gladiator sandals,” you think to yourself, the sound of Betsy’s whimpering at the edge of your consciousness, “I need gladiator sandals.”

Manolo says, is four and three-quarters inches too high?

In the this case, the Manolo thinks not.

Manolo says, here are the fun and colorful Tory Burch t-strap sandals for your Thursday afternoon enjoyment. Before you know it, summer will be here, and you will want colorful flat sandals that make you feel happy, and these they are emphatically cheerful.

Manolo says, it is Monday, but in your heart it is Saturday night, and you are dressed to dance, in the short silky dress and these beautiful, strappy, bejeweled sandals from DSquared2!

Manolo says, the Manolo is the big fan of the Bernardo’s sandals and this one, the Mistral, with the faux snake skin t-strap, is tres chic, and not at all impractical.

Manolo says, it is springtime! We must have something simple, colorful and fun to express our joy at the new season; shoes such as these flat sandals from Anne Klein New York.