Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s commenting internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.
A question asking for visual analysis. These shoes have the dainty ankle strap. On “What Not to Wear”, the style gurus are always saying ankle straps shorten the line of the leg. Do you agree? Can only the willowy six-footer teenage model pull off the ankle strap? What sayeth the wise one?
The Manolo sayeth, do not get the Manolo started on the frumpity What Not To Wear peoples.
All the Manolo will say, is that in this case they are wrong. Unless you have the excessively stout legs and the 18″ inseam, the line of the leg is not appreciably shortened by the ankle strap shoes.
Naturally, the readers of the Manolo are far wiser than any television hosts, and had already given the response. Here is the Manolo’s close internet friend the La BellaDonna answering the comment with great perspicacity.
La BellaDonna, she assures the Good Peasant Stock (who is undoubtedly a relative! How delightful!) that for the dancing the night away, not to mention the transversing the icy sidewalks of the city, the merits of the ankle strap far outweigh the possibility of the shortening of the leg. Yes, it is true; the fashion mavens, they often screech that the ankle-strap, it shortens the leg, but there are the many factors to consider: it may lengthen the life during the night of the dancing! Plus, there is the limit to how much the leg it can be shortened, after all. A foot? Two feet? Will it make the leg seem a yard shorter? Unlikely. There is also the matter of the length of the skirt, the colour of the shoe with the ankle strap, and the hose worn with same. Yes, La BellaDonna, she advocates wearing the hose (or even The Tights) in the winter, as opposed to flashing the bumps of the goose. The black ankle strap worn with the black tights, it will not shorten the leg. The gold ankle strap, peeking out in flashes under the flying long skirt, it will not shorten the leg. The leg-coloured ankle-strap, it will not shorten the leg. La BellaDonna, who is sadly short of leg and long of torso, yet fond of the ankle strap shoe herself, suggests that you try the ankle strap shoe on with the proposed garment, and observe the overall effect. (La BellaDonna also notes that the fashion mavens who dispense the ukases do not always dress in the manner worth emulating, and that one’s own judgment, ultimately, is the best.)
This it is so true.
And to illustrate the point, here is the gorgeous ankle strap shoe from the Giorgio Armani.
Shorten the leg? Ha! The Manolo laughs!
How could you possibly look anything other superbly elegant in this most beautiful ankle straped shoe?
