JAN
2009
30

Manolo the Columnist

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

Dear Manolo,

Enough with the snow and ice, already; I am completely sick of winter. Will spring never arrive? Please help me.

Denise

Manolo says, from what the Manolo has heard, (but not felt as he has been traveling in South America for the past several months) this has been the particularly nasty winter in the Northern Hemisphere, with the frequent storms of ice and hail and snow, and impossibly frigid temperatures, such as the recent record of five thousand and thirteen degrees below zero in Minneapolis, with wind chills into the negative seven thousands.

And so while the Manolo has been toastily sunning himself into golden brownness on the sandy beaches of Juan Ignacio, Uruguay, he has not been insensitive to the desperate cries of his many frigid friends.

Indeed, of late, the Manolo has been thinking of little else but summer shoes, as all around him, on the feets of the elegant Latin women, are the most super fantastic sandals, shoes that would lift the spirits of even the most depressed Minnesota farm wife, uff da!

Look! Here is the Tiara from Charles David, the exuberant and beautiful flat thong sandal with the turquoise rhinestones that declare you will not be cowed by the weather!

Tiara from Charles David    Manolo Likes!  Click!

JAN
2009
29

Pablo Neruda’s Shoes

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have been writing to him saying, “Manolo, why have you forsaken us? Are you well? Why have you not been posting more often on your shoe blog these past few months?”

To which the Manolo must reply that since the week before Christmas, the Manolo has been travelling hither and yon, into all of the most extreme parts of southern South America.

First, during Christmas it was the beach house on the wild coast of Uruguay. And then, at the beginning of this new year, the Manolo took the cruise around the Hornish parts of South America, with the stops in the Islas Malvinas, and the Ushuaia, and the Punta Arenas and elsewheres. After disembarkating the ship, in the Valparaiso, Chile, the Manolo spent three days in Viña del Mar, and then took up residence for the week in the artistically artsy, Barrio Lastarria part of Santiago.

And now, for the past several days, the Manolo has again taken to the road, into northern Chile, where internet access once again promises to be limited.

However, in the meantime, allow the Manolo to expound the bit on one of his most favorite discoveries in Chile, that the poet Pablo Neruda was the fancier of unusual shoes.

Look, here is the picture of Pablo Neruda’s gigantically outsized wingtips, which are on display in La Chascona, Neruda’s home in Santiago.

Ayyyyy! Neruda loved the shoes!

Such joy, for the Manolo to learn that this august person of poetic disposition also loved the shoes! Indeed, Neruda, like the humble Manolo the Shoeblogger, had the small collection of unusually large shoes.

Speaking of the shoes, the Manolo also made the lengthy visit to the fabulously beyond fabulous Museo de la Moda, which is perhaps the greatest museum in all of South America, and is certainly the greatest museum devoted to fashion anywhere.

But, the Manolo will save that story for tomorrow or the next day, for now, the Manolo is off to Coquimbo for the afternoon.

JAN
2009
27

Ayyyy! Puzzle Corner

Manolo says, our friend Spirit Fingers has challenged us to identify the actors in wasitcoasts.

JAN
2009
23

Manolo the Columnist

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

Dear Manolo,

I am a college student and I’m looking for a comfortable flat boot, since I will be running around campus this year. My dream boot is knee high, suede, and cheap enough that I can buy it. Please help.

Chris

Manolo says, as the long-time readers of the Manolo know, the Manolo always recommends that the poor girl should save up her monies, so as to get the most super fantastic and well-made boots possible, as such feetwear will not only give the wearer more pleasure, but will also be more durable in the long run.

However, the Manolo also knows what it is like to have cold feets and be poor, so poor that you must fashion your own super fantastic snowboots out of the hides you have harvested from the dead animals found alongside the freeway, and which you have laboriously chewed into suppleness, Eskimo-style, and then stitched into shape and stuffed with dry grass for warmth. And which looked most wonderful, even if the smell of marmot lingered.

Look here is the Fauna Tall Boot from Timberland. It is not just cozy warm, reasonably priced, and good-looking, it is also waterproof!

Fauna Tall Boot from Timberland   Manolo Likes!  Click!

Squirrel Stew

Manolo says, the urbane Mr. Henry reminds us that he is originally from the South.

Manolo the Columnist

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


Dear Manolo,

Like many folks I’ll be going to Washington, D.C. next week for the historic inauguration of Barack Obama, I’ve even managed to get invited to a couple of the balls. I’ve picked out a suitable gown—a midnight blue satin gown and heirloom brooch that belonged to my grandmother. What do you suggest in the way of shoes?

Terri

Manolo says, Ayyyy! Everyone who is anyone (of the non-Republican persuasion) is getting dressed up in their finery and heading to Washington of the D.C. to dance the celebratory dance of the new presidency!

Of the course, while the common peoples will be dancing in the streets and their homes, the more fortunate, and better-connected persons, will be attending one or more of the fancy balls.

In such places, one may mingle with the shakers and the movers and the big wheels, and with the doddering senators and the rascally representatives, all done up in their gala suits, and three sheets to the breeze intoxicated on domestic champagne, hotel ballroom surf-and-turf, and elective power.

All of this so that you may catch the briefest semi-obstructed glimpse of the new president and his wife dancing during those three minutes when he visited your particular ball.

Look, here is Stuart Weitzman Riccimid in the black peau de soie with exactly the correct amount of classical decoration.

Riccimid by Stuart Weitzman   Manolo Likes!  Click!

Where is the Manolo?

Manolo says, many of the Manolo’s internet friends have written to him asking, “Manolo, where are you?”

To which the Manolo can only reply…

Aqui!

Running with the newest members of the Posse Manolo…

(more…)

JAN
2009
09

Manolo the Columnist

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

Dear Manolo,

I just got invited to hang with a friend at the Sundance Film Festival, and as a native of the DC Metro area I jumped at it. I hate missing the Inauguration, but the crowds—yikes! Anyway, my friend promised there would be snowboarding, good food, and a party with celebrities. He says it’s going to be cold so I should wear boots. All I have are hot stiletto-heeled boots and crunchy granola hiking boots. What would you recommend?

Lillbet

Manolo says, ayyyy! Such good luck to be invited to the fantabulous Sundance Festival of Films, where the high and the mighty of Hollywood, hob and nob with each other and with the swirling mob of aspiring independent filmmakers, each of whom is desperately attempting to find the distributor for his or her strangely familiar master work.

In the space of the few days, one will be able to see many movies about sassy pregnant teenagers in the suburban upper Midwest; raunchy-but-good-hearted sex comedies about loutish men who in real life would be doomed to solitude; talky movies about drug addicts/mental patients who are mathematical/musical geniuses; and at least one picture about the gay gauchos who express their forbidden love amidst the majestic scenery of the Argentine pampas.

Look here is the Tabitha from La Canadienne. So cute, so weatherproof!

Tabitha from La Canadienne    Manolo Likes!  Click!