DEC
2005
10

Manolo’s Magazines

Manolo says, the Manolo he is the inveterate reader of the magazines. Indeed he subscribes to several different magazines, and he has, in the past, given the magazine subscriptions to his friends as the much appreciated holiday gifts. Here are four of the magazines that the Manolo himself subscribes to, and so would be most suitable for the gift giving.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker   Manolo likes!  Click!

The Manolo could not live without his weekly New Yorker Yes, it is frequently smug and irritatingly full of the self-regard, but it is still the best magazine in the world, and is the exellent gift for your provincial friends.

Vogue

Vogue   Manolo Likes!  Click!

The Manolo he takes several of the fashion magazines, such as the Wear of the Womens Daily, but it is The Vogue that the Manolo considers indispensible. If you like the fashion you must read this magazine, if for no other reason than just the ads, they are always something the Manolo examines closely. And, when you are done with it, it makes the attractive doorstop.

Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair  Manolo Likes!  Click!

The Vanity Fair is another of the big glossies that the Manolo takes monthly. It too is filled with the full page ads, but unlike the Vogue, the articles and the columns (especially that the Dominic Donne) are actually worth the reading.

Gastronomica

Gastronomica  Manolo Likes!  Click!

As with the fashion magazines, the Manolo takes several of the cooking and culinary magazines, however, none are as consistently amusing and entertaining as the Gastronomica. If you give this to the foodie of your acquaintence you will have made the friend for life.

All Hail the Tim Gunn!

Tim Gunn, Our Hero

Manolo says, after the reading of this article, the Manolo he is officially worshiping at the altar of the Tim Gunn.

Gunn is happy that the show has pulled back the curtain to expose style’s nitty-gritty side. “Everyone thinks fashion is glamorous, you sit at the end of the runway and you accept a bouquet of roses at the end of a show,” he says.

“Fashion designers need to think on their feet, problem solve at the drop of a hat, be able to use whatever resources they have available to them to make whatever it is work. They have to understand who their audience is, what their design philosophy is.”

As always, the oracular voice of calm sanity at the center of the fashion storm.

By the way, this it is exactly the point the Manolo has made on many of the occasions in the past, that the fashion designing it takes talent, training, and much hard work, and that not every Gwen, Serena, Carlos, and J-Lo celebrity designer takes it into account that there is more to the fashion design than merely liking the clothes.

DEC
2005
09

Buying the Holiday Tie for the Man

Manolo says, one of traditional gifts for the man, one which is frequently and justifably open to the mocking, is the cravat. This it is because too often the purchase of the gift tie it has devolved into the opportunity to buy for your loved one the novelty tie made of the cheap material.

Trust the Manolo most sane men do not wish to wear the cheap novelty tie. Most sane men wish to wear the tie that compliments the complexion and emphasizes their superior sense of the style.

Yes, when you were twelve years of the age, your father wore to his place of employment the “super special tie” you presented to him for the Dia del Padre. And so you now believe that every man wishes to have the novelty tie, never mind that your father did not that year receive the promtion from his boss, who would never again give the poor old man the full measure of the respect he deserved.

This year, do not humliate the man in your life with the gift of the ridiculous and/or perhaps blasphemous tie, instead spend the little more moneys and buy for him the silk tie like this from the Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna Ties  Manolo Likes!  Click!

This tie above, it meets the Manolo’s standards for the gift tie. Firstly, it of the highest quality, and secondly, the color it is strong, and the pattern it is interesting without being overpowering.

Here is the tie from the Dolce and the Gabanna that at the first glance appears to be less than it actually is…

Dolce & Gabbana Tie   Manolo Likes!  Click!

If you look at the closeup of the whole tie, you will notice that despite it having only the black and the silver, that the pattern nonetheless pops and is filled with the life-affirming pizzazz.

Here is another in the family of the yellowy gold, this one from the Kenzo
Kenzo Silk Tie     Manolo Likes!  Click!

Again, the color is strong and the pattern it is just whimsical enough to enliven the tie, yet not so whimsical as to endanger the prospects for the promotion.

One of the Manolo’s rules for the gift giving is that the perfect gift it is something that the recipient would hesitate to buy for himself, but once owned could not imagine living without. This Kenzo tie, it is of that type, the type that will be worn more frequently than you would have initially imagined.

There are many more ties worth the giving at the Manolo’s Cravats Worth the Wearing.

DEC
2005
09

Yo Adrien!

Manolo says, at the least we now know who will star in the Rocky VII: Beat to the Pulp.

DEC
2005
08

Holiday Shoes VII

Christian Lacroix 954913   Manolo Likes! Click!

Manolo says, ooooooh, sparkly.

Blogging the Project Runway

Manolo says, the Laura K. (one of the runners up in the Manolo’s Super Fantastic Essay Contest) she has the entire blog devoted to the Project Runway!

Project Runway 2

Manolo says, the Manolo he is indeed most happy that the Project Runway it has returned for the second season. Mainly because it means many more weekly visits from the super fantastic Tim Gunn.

Last night the Bravo they showed the two hours worth of the Project Runway, starting off by sending the chubby boy and the poor Alabama girl home almost immediately for the crime of producing the luster lacking dresses.

Then it was the challenge for the designers to be to transmorgify the mostly appalling clothes on their backs into the fashion outfits. And here the true personalities of the contestants they begin to emerge, and for the most part, like the rags they choose to dress themselves in, they are not pretty. At the end the was the former fashion model/swimwear designer/corporate lawyer Kristen who was to the curb kicked.

Here is the Manolo’s thumbnail assessement of each of the remaining contestants.

Chloe: She is this season’s Kara Saun. Cool, collected and very talented. She will last until the very end.

Andrae: Annoying, whiney, and histrionic, certainly annoying, whiney, very annoying. Did the Manolo mention annoying? His fashion vision, nothing special. Gone soon.

Daniel Franco: Poor Daniel, it was better for him to remain in the obscurity, than to return to certain rejection, and quickly.

Diana The brainiac, whom the Manolo finds adorable in that way that only the goofy intellectual nerd-girls can be. She too will be leaving the show soon, which it is too bad, because she is so cute and clueless and interesting in her way, which is not the way of fashion.

Emmett: Tall, dignified, well-dressed and talented. He will last until the end, or at least so the Manolo hopes, as he is the only one who knows how to dress himself in the becoming style.

Daniel V. He has the nice, pleasant way about him, and his clothes they are not bad. Sadly, having the nice personality it is not enough. If only he could become nasty he would have the chance to stay longer in the competition.

Guadalupe: What is there to say about the Lupe, but that she is the nut, but in the charming but badly dressed way. It is the middle of the pack for the Lupe.

Kara: She made the Manolo laugh, first at the retro street urchin outfit she designed and then by saying that her inspiration was the “Oliver Twist”. Trust the Manolo, your fashion inspiration it should never be the Oliver Twist. Still, there is something here.

Marla: Yes she is one of the few adults in this group, and seems to be very nice, but the clothes she is designing they are nothing to write to the home about.

Nick: Manolo votes Nick the contestant most likely to self destruct. He has some talent, but it is obscured by the somewhat overwrought personality. The Manolo’s advice for the Nick? Switch to the decaf, homeboy.

Zulema: She is sort of the black Wendy Pepper, only with less talent, and more aggression. Because she has the difficult personality, one that is sure to interact badly with the others, the producers they will keep her around longer then her talent merits.

Santino: Very talented, but he has the over inflated, grandiose sense of his own abilities, which it is not necessarily the detriment in the fashion. He will last for many weeks, pehaps until the very end.

Raymundo: Manolo finds the Raymundo’s East Los Angeles pachuco gay boy way to be charming. And to the mind of the Manolo, he is one of the few who has his own fashion vision, or at least one that is worth paying attention to. If the Manolo could pick the longshot to win, it would be the Raymundo.

So, for the Manolo the final four or five, they will be Chloe, Santino, Raymundo, Emmett, and possibly the Kara.

P.S. The Project Runway first season it is now available on the DVD!

Manolo the Columnist

Manolo says, the latest column of the Manolo it is now available for the downloading at the Express of the Washington Post website.

Today, the topic it was the boots for the winter.

Dear Manolo,

Please help me find some new boots that will keep me warm during those long, cold, slushy walks to the Metro station.

Diana

Manolo says, Ayyyyyy! The winter it is here! And you cannot ignore it as you do the other problems in your life, by imagining yourself to be elsewhere. Trust the Manolo, it is impossible to pretend you are in the Montego Bay when the freezing rain is pelting your sad, forlorn hide.

You must bundle up!

Yet, you will still wish to be stylish, even as you take on the bulky outline of the Monsieur Bibendum.

This it is why the Manolo recommends to you the Crosscreek boots from the Born. So that at least the feets that stick out of the bottom of the massy ball of bad-weather clothing that have become, they will be well shod and attractive in their warmth.

Crosscreek from Born   Manolo Likes!  Click!

DEC
2005
08

The Moleskine

Moleskine Pocket Notebook   Manolo Does Not Leave Home Without!  Click!

Manolo says, the Manolo he is devoted to his Moleskine, and does not leave the home without one in his pocket. However, his devotion to his method of note taking, it is nothing compared to that of the person who runs the blog entitled Molskinerie!

DEC
2005
07

The Perfect Holiday Gift for Everyone

Knight Rider - Season One Knight Rider - Season Two Knight Rider - Season Three

Manolo says, who would not be thrilled to find this under the tree?

The Giveaway of the Knickers

Manolo says, the Manolo’s intenet friends at the Knickers Blog they are having the big giveaway of the fancy underwear! You have only the week left before the drawing. Hurry to enter!

DEC
2005
07

The Loverly Lulu Guiness

Lulu Guiness Feather Drop Fan Handbag   Manolo Likes!  Click!
Manolo says, the Manolo he has always been amused by the Lulu Guiness and her witty way with the purses. This one with the feathers and the fan shape, it is dressy but not stodgy, rather it is whimsical, and yet would be most suitable for toting to the fancy party, preferably with the well-dressed man on the other arm.