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

Dear Manolo,

My lovely daughter will soon be graduating from the 8th grade from a Catholic school. In keeping with tradition, all of the girls will wear the same style white dress. It has a fitted bodice, wide straps, and a full skirt, and has been lovingly and meticulously designed to look awful on every body type imaginable. The dresses will all be hemmed to the same length from the floor, which for my daughter, who is tall and willowy, will be just below the knee. The shoes must be white, and the maximum heel height is 2″. Can you recommend shoes that will pass muster with the Powers That Be, while also being fun and flirty enough that she might actually wear them again?

Nancy

Manolo says, this is the most exciting time to be the Catholic, what with the new pope from Argentina being elected in the Vatican, on the platform of greater pastoral care for the poor and free tango lessons.

For the Manolo who loves both the ancient traditions and the pomp and the circumstances of any sort it has been the gloriously entertaining few days.

Think how much better the recent American presidential elections would have been if we had forced the Barack Obama and the Mitt Romeny to dress up in red silk gowns and parade around the Capitol Mall while exhibiting pious humility and wisdom.

Indeed, as the Vatican has proven, the entire world would be the better place if we all adopted traditional medieval costumes, say doublets and stockings for the men, and bejeweled robes for the women.

As for the shoes, the Manolo thinks that for the 8th grad graduation something fun like the white oxford, or perhaps the white loafer, would be both suitable and likely to be worn again. Here is the Bass Ventura 2, the traditional loafer that would also later look good with jeans.