MAR
2012 23

Manolo the Columnist: Flora from Delman

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

Dear Manolo,

Although the weather has been unseasonably warm of late, I’m worried that it could still take a turn for the cold. It is still March, after all. So, I’m not quite ready to let it all hang out and wear sandals, just yet. What would you recommend as a sort of intermediate shoe?

Kelsey

Manolo says, it is true, we are in the period between the winter slush and the vernal warmth, that strange demi-season — one minute too cold, the next too hot, rain followed by sunshine followed by hail– the period when we are virtually guaranteed to leave the house wearing exactly the wrong thing.

Despite this inconvenience, late March should be the period of anticipatory joy; the blooms are loaded into the flowers, and the green fuse is lit. Soon, we will wake up one morning, step outside and be happily stunned by the explosion of new life, by the flowers flowering, the birds birding, and the bees being their wonderfully bee-ish selves.

If there is within us any feeling, we will skip and caper, and sing happy little songs of welcome to the new season. We will be called to remember that we, too, are animals, who have the sacred duty to celebrate the arrival of spring. Indeed how can we be dour when nature has put on her finery and is demanding to be acknowledged, like the pretty woman in the flowered dress?

Here is the aptly named Flora from Delman, the perfect lacey ballet flat for the arrival of the new season. Fear not the occasional blast of cold, spring is here!

MAR
2012 22

Whose Shoes Wednesday

Whose Shoes Wednesday…The Answer

Manolo asked, whose shoes?

Manolo answers, it is the Ashley Greene!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s long-time friend, the Laura K, for being the first to correctly identify this week’s celebrity of note.

MAR
2012 21

Whose Shoes Wednesday

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

MAR
2012 16

Men's Shoes

Manolo the Columnist: Lago Espadrille from Sperry Topsider

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.

MAR
2012 15

Whose Shoes Wednesday

Whose Shoes Wednesday… The Answer!

Manolo asked, whose shoes?

Katherine Heigl Shoes

Manolo answers, it is the Katherine Heigl!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend, the Allison, who was the first to correctly guess this weeks, annoying but well-shod celebrity of note.

MAR
2012 15

Shoes

The Belle Epoque from the Nicholas Kirkwood

Manolo says, here is something to enliven your Thursday…

It is the smashingly striking, strikingly smashing, Belle Epoque from the Nicholas Kirkwood. This is the fantasy shoe of your dreams, the sort of shoe you would put before you put on anything else, twirling around the room in nothing but your all together.

How could one not be made happy by this?

MAR
2012 14

Whose Shoes Wednesday

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

MAR
2012 09

Vera Wang

Manolo the Columnist: Savy from the Vera Wang Lavender Label

Here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.

Dear Manolo,

In a few weeks, my daughter will receive her first communion. She’s so excited and pleased with her little wedding-dress-like outfit, that it’s made me start to think about what I’m going to wear, probably a linen shift in a neutral color. What do you suggest in the way of shoes?

Maggie

Manolo says, oh, how the Manolo loves the life passages! The weddings and births, the festivals and celebrations, even the funerals, as sad as they always are. But above all else, the Manolo is especially fond of any event that requires the little children to dress up in finery. It is so wonderfully and warmly satisfying to see children included in our ceremonial life, or, even better, to see them be the center of our ceremonies!

Of the course, when preparing for any ceremony, one must be careful that the preparations and accoutrements not overshadow the solemn joy of the event itself. How often have the modern weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceañeras, and sweet sixteen parties become grotesque festivals of conspicuous display, robbing such important ceremonies of true meaning? Yes, strangely, live giraffes, private Justin Bieber concerts, and dresses with forty-foot crystal trains are not conducive of heartfelt emotion.

Thankfully, the Manolo has never attended, nor yet heard of, the confirmation ceremony which has gotten this out of hand. Perhaps the Manolo just does not socialize with the right crowds.

Here is the Savy from the Vera Wang Lavender Label, the properly vernal celebratory pump.

MAR
2012 08

Diane von Furstenberg, Flats, Platforms, Sandals, Wedges

Diane von Furstenberg for the Spring

Manolo says, it is wet and gloomy today where the Manolo is, but that has not stopped him from thinking about the imminent arrival of the spring. Soon, soon, soon, the weather will break and we will be plunged into the most clement of all seasons, when the birds bloom and the flowers sing, when the young lady’s fancy turns to thoughts of shoes!

Here are three shoes from the Diane von Furstenberg which will help you usher in the new season.

If you are especially brave, maybe you will break out the shorts, in which case you will need the The Klee, the fun toe-ring flat sandal perfect for helping you shiver through until the real spring arrives.

Although, maybe your desire to to show off your wintery legs to good advantage is not as absolute as you first thought, or, perhaps you want to distract viewers downward, away from your holiday remnant thighs, either way the Opal is the sort of snazzy-juicy platform that would look super-fantastic on the first day of the new season.

Maybe, on careful reconsideration, your legs would be better covered with the seasonalish capri pants, in which case The Botswana, available in eight safari-themed finishes.

MAR
2012 08

Whose Shoes Wednesday

Whose Shoes Wednesday… The Answer!

Manolo asked, whose shoes?

Dakota Fanning Shoes

Manolo answers, it is the Dakota Fanning!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend, the Carol, who was the first to correctly identify this week’s all grown up celebrity of note.

MAR
2012 07

Shoes

Whose Shoes Wednesday!

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

MAR
2012 05

Boots

Doc Martens Day!

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!