Manolo the Columnist
Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post.
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Dear Manolo,In March I’ll be accompanying my husband on a business trip to Australia. After three days of work in Sydney, we’ll then be free to do our own thing. What would you recommend for lots of walking and sightseeing?
Jennie
Manolo says, ayyyy! The Manolo loves Australia! Or perhaps, more correctly, the Manolo loves the idea of Australia, as sadly the Manolo has never himself made the trip to the land of the antipodean marsupials, where kangaroos and Crocodile Dundees roam the land in impressive herds.
Yes, the national fashion stereotype is of the rustic “swagmanâ€, or “jackarooâ€, in the khaki shorts, dirty singlet, and cork hat, the giant can of Fosters in his hand, and work boots upon his feets.
But the Manolo would suggest, to the contrary, that any nation that has produced the celebrities Hugh Jackman, Baz Luhrmann, and Dame Edna Everage clearly has much to offer in the way of the super fantastic.
As for his friend, the Manolo recommends to her the Cole Haan Air Gabi Boat Shoe in the color called Cranberry Satin. It is the pretty little reinterpretation of the classic that would be prefect for the casual sort travelling that she proposes.
Comments
wannabe 17 years ago
Go Manolo! I have a similar Cole Haan shoe in pistachio suede (obtained for $45 at a super sale while passing through a Dillard’s in a city I don’t live in). Anyway, it is a sharp and supremely comfortable shoe, great to walk in and oft-noticed by shoelovers. Good call.
Alice Olive 17 years ago
As an Australian, I’d like to forewarn Jennie that she will stand out from the crowd in the Cole Haan’s. Sydney’s Bondi Girls are scantily clad in flip flops from November to July. It’s ridiculous and inappropriate, but sadly, that’s the way of an eternal beach city.
Toby Wollin 17 years ago
Great shoe.
Kirsten 17 years ago
Come back stateside for July 4th parades!
daisyj. 17 years ago
I like those a lot, and I think the “navy canvas” is also nice, if you’re looking for something more colorful.
And can we get a big cheer for Cole Haan for putting some real effort into making lovely and comfortable shoes?
Caroline 17 years ago
nice shoes!
supersam 17 years ago
Love the shoes! However, one word of caution. Australians like their beer, and have many wonderful beers, however, no one drinks Fosters. If you order a Fosters it will mark you out as foreign. Aside from that it’s taste is far inferior to most other brews and in fact, isn’t usually on tap in bars.
thom 17 years ago
Alice Olive’s advice, while well-intended, is misleading. Also as an Australian (and Sydney-sider), I can say that flip-flops (thongs) for all their popularity are in no way so dominant that they will set wearers of other footwear apart. It is also worth observing that there are great many Sydney girls who NEVER set foot on Bondi or any other beach (many of us enjoying the benefits and dangers of Anglo-Celtic heritage and lovely fair skin) and that in fact it is one’s very presence at Bondi that may mark one as a visitor (if being so marked concerns you). As someone who works in the vicinity of the Sydney Opera House etc. and therefore sees a great many tourists going about their sight-seeing I can tell you that summer visitors, especially Americans, are less likely to be identified by the lovely Cole Haans than by the following:
* gleamingly new sport shoes (trainers, tennis shoes, sneakers, whatever you call them);
* sensible knee-length shorts, often revealing Northern hemisphere winter white legs; and
* “travel” handbags with excessive zips and compartments (ghastly things!).
Avoid these, wear normal “city” clothes for urban sightseeing, and you will blend right in. Of course, if at the beach, dress for a day at the beach (thongs, yes) and if hiking or bushwalking dress accordingly, but around town…remember you’re around town. (And while it’s true you will see office girls wearing thongs to and from work, thongs around the city between 9 and 5 is a much less common sight.)
Nascar 17 years ago
Nice, that pair of shoe look stylish and comfortable to be walking around Australia with. Hopefully she took your advice and got herself a pair.
anne022196 17 years ago
wow!!watta lovely shoes…i always visiting this site and you always posting nice articles…good luck and keep it up…