Dear Manolo,

I’m a small town girl with big time dreams, who has just been given the job of a lifetime. The next eight weeks will be super demanding and I’ll be in the limelight a lot. All of my friends say I have a sort “sexy librarian” vibe. What would you recommend to make me seem a little more sophisticated and polished?

Sarah

Manolo says, congratulations on your recent success, clearly you are the woman to be reckoned with!

It is always the same with the small town girls who make it big; on the one of the hands, you wish to give yourself the making over so as to seem more fashionable, while on the other of the hands you do not want to lose that refreshing American naturalness which others recognize as the heart of your charm.

In the other words, how to be more Catherine Deneuve without sinking your Molly Brown.

Naturally, the Manolo suggests starting with the shoes. You must shed those pedestrian, low quality shoes and move up market with something truly super fantastic.

Look, here is the Karolina in black patent from Kate Spade, both super fantastic and all American!

Manolo answers, it is the Penelope Cruz!

Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend Sara, who was the first to correctly guess this famous lady of Spain.

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

Allow the Manolo to be the first to congratulate you on this milestone of sanity and to recommend that shoes may be the best way to celebrate the return of the comparative freedom.

And look! Here is the Andrea tall boot from Frye, the swashbuckling boot fit to express the return of your rambunctious, wine-guzzling, two-fisted, love of life, indeed, fit to express your inner Porthos!

Tug them on, and raise some Hell…until 3PM this afternoon.

Dear Manolo,

Now that the summer is almost over can you give us your opinion of wearing white shoes after Labor Day.

Julia

Manolo says, every year at this time the Manolo feels like Punxsutawney Phil, the cute little Pennsylvania goundhog, who must each February emerge from his burrow and announce whether or not the winter will continue.

Likewise, at the end of each summer, the festive crowds gather on the boulevards in front of the Manolo’s pied-à-terre, waiting for the Manolo to emerge, boutonnière in place, walking stick in hand, to opine on the suitability of white feetwear after the Day of Labor.

And, each year, the Manolo gives the same response to the gathered throngs, “Yes, the thousand times, yes! You may wear the white shoes even into the fall.”

And, each year, the Manolo gives the same justification, that whether or not one wears white shoes is entirely about suitability. If the weather is still warm, and your outfit would benefit from beautiful white shoes, then you should wear them.

Look, here is the Zudora from the Donald J. Pliner, the white and black peep-toe pump that could look smashing well into the autumn.

Manolo says, if you are shopping for dessicated chicken tendons.

As for the competition itself, once the designers were going, it was painfully clear that Keith the Angry Gay Mormon would not survive the week. Not only was his demise foreshadowed by the producers’ choice of clips, but from the beginning his decision to play it safe with the boring blah skirt and halter top was misguided.

The Manolo wanted to shout: “You are Keith! Hear you roar!”

Anger, not childish petulance is what was called for. Keith needed to channel his rage into something powerful and exciting. But in the stead, he gave into to weepy self-pity and insolence. No, no, no!

In the end, the result was foreordained. Keith would be leaving. His final outfit was boring, poorly made, and ill-fitting.

As for the winner, Leanne (the victor of the Season Five Mousy Brunette Deathmatch), the Manolo was underwhelmed by her outfit. But then any dress that includes makeshift panniers and does not include the towering Maire Antoinette wig, is not something of which the Manolo can approve. .

Much more to the Manolo’s tastes were Korto’s stunning and simple seatbelt swing coat.

Ayyyyy! But that was beautiful! Undoubtedly, it was also heavy and impractical, but, still, oh, so very, very pretty

Korto is clearly the most original and unexpected of all of the designers. Her choices are not always those of the Manolo, but they are emphatically her own, and they are emphatically original. She deserves to be in the final three, although whether or not the judges see it that way is the different matter.

Speaking of another of the Manolo’s finalist picks, this week, for the first time, the Manolo was disappointed by Terri. She is the person of undoubted talent, and has the powerful desire for success, but she keeps making the pants-based outfits, and this week’s was not all that. Perhaps there is some small truth in Jarrel’s catty remarks, that she has “only four patterns”.

By the way, the current Manolo final three: Jarrel, Terri, and Korto.

Ayyyy! All of the contestants would be African-American…or, perhaps in the case of Korto, American-African. (The Manolo is unclear on the acceptable terminology. ) Noteworthy and coincidental, yes. But freighted with meaning? The Manolo cannot say.

And now onto what was for the Manolo the true highlight of the evening, when the viewers were showed the picture of Stella with her boyfriend….

William “Ratbones” von Zipper.

When Ratbones likes someone, dey stay liked!

Manolo says, we mean it man. We love our McQueen!

Manolo answers it is the Emmy Rossum!

Congratulations to our good friend Spirit Fingers, who was the first person to correctly identify this most difficult to guess person.

Mira! Here are some of the Manolo’s favorites.

This is the Demic from Taryn Rose, the beautiful simple and understated business pump, which is on the sale at 35% off of the regular price, the savings of over $150 of the American dollars!

The open-toed Daffodil is very good-looking in chocolate or black, but quite smart and sassy in red patent leather, and the icing is on the cake because it is selling for more than 30% off of the usual price.

And, since the fall and wet weather approaches, here is the Raina H2O, the round-toed weatherproof suede that is 42% off in the brown color and 35% off in the black, in both cases the savings of over $200 of the American dollars!

As the Manolo has said many times in the past, the Taryn Rose are those rare shoes that have the magical ability to look better on the foot than off. So, hurry, there are many Taryn Rose bargains to be had.