Manolo says, it is no secret that the Manolo is the fan of the comfort and practical stylishness of the Cole Haan Air line of shoes and sandals. And so when he saw that this flat, summery sandal, the Air Tali JWL Thong was on the sale, he had to absolutely recommend it to his many internet friends.

On the sale? Yes. Available in the black, white gold, and the Manolo’s favorite, the gunsmoke metallic, it is 65% off of the usual price! The deal almost too good to pass up.

Manolo says, here is something for the day after the day of the fireworks, the WE2003 from Giuseppe Zanotti, the strappy high-heeled sandal that speaks in sophisticated tones of muted (for Zanotti) joy.

There is something about this shoe that draws the Manolo, something which the Manolo cannot fully articulate. Certainly, it is the combination of everything, from the toering, to the gold accents, to the snakeskin print. There is the harmonious interplay of elements… Bah! Enough with the talking, talking, talking!

It is the object of attraction and desire. What more needs to be said?

Manolo says, here is the Guagain from Sigerson Morrison, the snappy flat sandal that would undoubtedly make the rest of July more bearable. And look! They are on sale!

Manolo says, it is Monday, and you are no where near your desk, as the Great Unexpected Storm of 2012 has cut all the power to the office park where InEmTechCoCom, Inc. is located. So, like the school child with the snow cancellation, you have one day of glorious freedom, which you are hoping will turn into two days, which means three, because the July Fourth is Wednesday.

And so this morning, when you spontaneously awoke at 6AM, you thought you could roll over and go back to sleep, except you couldn’t because, as is often the case on the days off, your body forces you to conform to the normal schedule.

So, you got up, made the coffee, put one semi-stale mini-danish, leftover from Sunday, onto the plate, and sat down at the kitchen table with your laptop, because nothing says, “day off”, like sitting at the computer screen, checking your business email.

Yes, yes, you have big outdoor plans for the rest of the day, most of them involving cleaning up storm damage. You just needed the little bit of morning shoe time (and we are not talking about the sensible sneakers by Lacoste, either)…

Here is the multicolored satin buckle sandal from the Brian Atwood, the perfect thing to help you forget the I’ve-Got-a-Fallen-Elm-Tree-in-My-Backyard Blues.

Manolo says, here from the Gio Diev Spring/Summer 2012 collection comes the pair of witty, dramatic, architecturally interesting shoes, the Milo I in black, and the Milo II in red and white.

All the Manolo can do is exclaim, in happy surprise, “Barbed Wire!”

And now the question is, would you be bold enough to wear them?

Manolo says, here is the handsome pair of the Burberry sandals, the exact sort of thing you would see down at the country club, on the feet of that toned, WASPy, blonde woman with the handsome blue-eyed children who excel squash. But look! It is on the sale, more than 40% off of the regular price! Soon, you, too, shall be able to call your eldest son “Biff” with impunity.

Manolo says, here is something to brighten your day, the ridiculously colorful platform sandal from the Cesare Paciotti.

This is the sort of shoe that the Manolo sometimes thinks of as being the “Mediterranean Strutting Shoe”, by which he means that not only would you would have to have the darker, Mediterranean skin to carry them off, but you could also only manage them if you were prepared to walk as if you were strutting along the corniche, heading back to your private yacht.

But, what is the problem?

It is summer, are you not already tanning yourself to bronzed perfection? And, on the advice of the Manolo, should you not always strut your stuff?

Manolo says, here is the stunning, stiletto-heeled cage sandal, the Briller from Pour La Victoire, that would perfectly offset your little dress of blackness, for that fancy evening out on the town. Mira! It is deeply on the sale, 70% off of the regular price, selling for less than $50!

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, it is Monday, and you are back at your desk, and frankly, “discontent” does not even begin to describe it.

You had such the nice weekend. The neighbors at the end of the bloc, Bob and Karen, came over for the cookout on Saturday evening. They are so nice, and the weather was perfect. You had some little canapé things from Trader Joe’s, gin and tonics, potato salad, and Gary made the best St. Louis style ribs on the grill. Best of all, for whatever reason, the normally ravenous mosquitoes of late June, which usually come down like the wolves upon the fold, largely left you alone.

And the whole time, you thought to yourself: this is what life is really about, warm weather, convivial conversation, good food, fine drinks, and few invasive pests. What more do we really need?

And now, today, you had to go back to the corporate salt mine; loading your 16 tons of data into the computer on your desk, and what do you get?

Sigh.

Look! Shoes!

If the dramatic Callie T-Strap Sandal from the Jimmy Choo cannot take your mind off of your first-world problems, nothing can.

Manolo says, the Manolo has often recommended the Bernardo sandals, for the reason that they are simple, elegant, high quality summer sandals, that convey delightfully Mediterranean insouciance.

So, imagine the Manolo’s joy when he learned that the Matrix from Bernardo was selling at more the 50% off of the regular price!

Manolo asks, would you wear it?