Manolo says, here from Donald Pliner is the Nany in metallic bronze, the perfectly handsome and perfectly simple palate cleanser for when one tires of the more frenetically embellished shoes which are au courant.
Manolo asked, whose shoes?
Manolo answers, it is the Ingrid Bergman!
Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend ChaCha Heels who was the first to correctly identify the person of the week.
P.S. Sometimes the Google image searches reveals the most puzzling and amusing things
Manolo says, it is Monday and you are back at your desk slaving away for The Man and his Minions, slowly breaking your spirit into tiny pieces on the keyboard of your workstation, as surely as the convict turns the big rocks into little rocks with his sledgehammer.
Oh, how you dream of freedom, fame, and great wealth, and of tall, bronzed, well-oiled men in tiny swimming trunks who bring you fruity drinks and peel plump grapes for your enjoyment.
But then, at the peak of this daydream, just as Fabio leans into view, briefly obscuring the warm Riviera sun, you remember that there people who depend upon you, the hard-working husband and the two kids in school, who need you and the mighty efforts you expend to make their lives better.
Yes, it is not glamorous, nor exciting, nor especially self-actualizing, this mundane reason for enduring the unsatisfying job, but it is, in its own way, noble. Serving those whom you love gives your life purpose and meaning, makes it possible to endure that which is difficult.
Of course, sometimes, at least in your mind, you must cut loose and let your inner Joan Collins rage. Clad in the bright red Dynasty power suit with giant shoulder pads, you would teach that biotchy regional manager the thing or two about eye-scratching, hair-pulling, and cat-fighting.
Ayyyy! Quick, we need happy-making shoes, and nothing makes the Manolo happier than shiny sandals from Pucci. Breathe deeply and enjoy the bliss.
Pucci makes the smiles!
Manolo says, despite rumors to the contrary, the Pope does not wear the Prada.
The pontiff has been hailed as a “style icon” since his election just over three years ago and speculation has been rife that he enjoys designer clothes. Attention has focused not only on his often elaborate headgear and fashionable sunglasses but also on his dainty red shoes, or moccasins, widely assumed to be made by Prada.
However L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, categorically denied reports today that the shoes were a Prada product, saying this was “of course false”.
According to Vatican sources the Pope’s shoes are made by a cobbler from Novara called Adriano Stefanelli, who makes them from calf or kid for the winter and nappa leather for the summer. Papal shoe repairs are carried out by Antonio Arellano, a Peruvian shoemaker in the Borgo, the medieval quarter next to St Peter’s. The article, on “Ratzinger’s Liturgical Vestments”, was written by Juan Manuel de Prada, the noted Spanish writer and author of The Tempest, who is not related to the fashion company. De Prada said that the image of the German-born Pope as concerned with “frivolity” was at odds with the truth, which was that he was a “simple and sober” man. Suggestions to the contrary were “stupid and banal”.
Well, excuse the Manolo, for being interested. So who does dress His Holiness, Señor de Prada?
“The Pope is not dressed by Prada but by Christ,” he said.
That certainly clears up any confusion.
Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column from the Express of the Washington Post.
Dear Manolo,
The Fourth of July weekend is next week, and like most people I plan on spending it outdoors, at a picnic with my family and friends. Can you recommend some casual but chic, summery sandals?
Darcy
Manolo says, oh how the Manolo loves the Fourth of July! It is one of his favorite holidays; the magnificent patriotic festival of fireworks and freedom and frankfurters.Indeed, how can one not be enthusiastic about any holiday that traditionally begins with the mass consumption of cheap hot dogs, warm lemonade, and Mom’s potato salad, and culminates in John Philip Souza and giant explosions?
To be American is to know the manifest joys of cherry bombs and whistling petes, of eating slightly-off coleslaw, and watching the home team lose to the Yankees in the ninth inning.
Truly we are blessed to live in the country where lawn chairs and giant coolers filled with Budweiser have not yet been outlawed, where we are free to get as mosquito-bitten, food-poisoned, and sunburned as we like in the celebration of our traditional liberties.
America! Long may she wave to us!
Here from Frye, which is appropriately the longest continually operated shoe company in America, is the Mary Harness Thong, the snappy sandal perfect the day of celebration.
Manolo asked, whose shoes?
Manolo answers, it is the Christina Aguilera!
Congratulations to the Manolo’s internet friend Kelly Keri who was the first to correctly guess the identity of this personage of dubious taste.
Manolo says, the Manolo’s friends at the Piperlime are having the giant sale this week, with price reductions of up to 40 percent!
Here are some of the Manolo’s favorite deals.
The beautiful strappy golden sandal from Jean-Michel Cazabat that has been reduced in price more than $200 of the American dollars.
The glamorous slingbacks from Delman reduced 40% from the usual price.
This exceedingly fun and funky wedge slides from Giuseppe Zanotti, on the sale at more than $300 off of the normal price.
Hurry now to see the other exceptional deals at Piperlime.
Manolo says, one of the Manolo’s internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.
A delightful woman friend of mine has lived her life under a burden of distress over the fact that her second toe is longer than her big toe on both feet. I myself do not find this unsightly, but she regularly deprives herself of open toed sandals and flip flops because of the shame she feels about her toes. If anyone could shed some light and self-esteem building encouragement in this matter, I believe it would be you.
My friend has half-heartedly cited the fact that such an anatomical arrangement as she has on her feet has been revered as an indication of wisdom and perhaps is an attribute of one of the Greek goddesses. What can you tell us? I’m convinced my friend would look really cute in sandals if she could overcome the belief that her toes are something to hide.
This is the case where the supposedly lamentable imperfection is actually the physical refinement!
Or, at the least, so believed ancient the Greek sculptors, and those who would later work in the classical tradition, artists who created statues of beautiful and impressive women with feet whose second toes were longer than their big toes, the so-called “Greek foot” (known more prosaically as Morton’s Toe).
Look! Here is the right foot of the Venus de Milo.
Look! Here are the distinguished Renaissance toes of Botticelli’s Venus.
Look yet again! Here are the magnificent bronze toes of the Statue of Liberty.
What more proof does the Manolo need to provide of the classical beauty of this physical configuration?
It is the opinion of the Manolo that the woman blessed with this sort of foot should always and only be clad in beautiful sandals of classical design.
By the way, too often, as in this case, do otherwise sensible women become irrationally convinced that some minor physical trait is the gross imperfection to be continually hidden or surgically modified.
How often does one see women with beautiful and aristocratic aquiline noses who wish to have button noses; or women with delicate breasts who desire comically inappropriate enhancements; or women with admirable lips who want lips that are so full as to mar their beauty?
And yet, women with famously “imperfect” features find happiness with men who are famously handsome.
The advice of the Manolo in such cases of insecurity is nearly always the same: ignore it, or better yet celebrate it.
Dress well, live well, treat others well, and do all you can with joyful confidence and others will invariably come to love your flaws as you yourself cannot.
