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

Dear Manolo,

My college roommate, who is going to Europe for all of July, is loaning me her Manhattan studio apartment while she’s gone. I haven’t spent much time in New York, so I want to do a lot of walking, but I also want to look good. What do you recommend?

Emily

Manolo says, Ayyy! New York in July! So romantic! The smells, the angry peoples, the sticky things stuck to the bottom of your shoes! It is like visiting Mumbai without the teeming masses of humanity. Everyone has gone to the Hamptons for the week leaving you alone with the street vendors and the hotdog carts.

Of the course, the best part is that you will have all of the museums to yourself, just you and the other tourists, gawping at the pictures and saying, sotto voce, “Jeff Koons, heh. I could do that.”

But, wait, you are not the tourist. For the month of July you are the local!

You have the temporary possession of the 91 square foot studio apartment in the Alphabet City, complete with micro refrigerator, hot plate, and pole onto which you can drape your clothing. Yes, your former roommate’s apartment can only be accessed through the crawl space that was once the coal chute, and rents for $1700 the month, but still, Manhattan!

New York, New York! The rents are up, and your apartment’s down, the hole. New York, New York! It is the hell of the town!

Here is the Idalia Splatter Fringe Thong Sandal from the Dolce Vita, the perfect flat sandal for those hot days in the big city.