The Finalist!



Manolo says, the Manolo's Shoe Blog it has been nominated as one of the Best New Blogs of the 2004! You must go vote for the Manolo's blog, so that he may win

Manolo The Shoeblogger, The Man of The Busy-ness

Manolo says, the new year of the 2005, it is the perfect time for the Manolo to unveil the two new projects from the Manolo's shoeblogging atelier.



First, after much of the coaxing by the friends of the Manolo, who would say with the habitualness, "Manolo why do you not give the advice of the fashion for the mens?" the Manolo he has decided to do just that. And he has started the blog devoted to giving the mens the fashion advice. Manolo for the Men.



The second, because the Manolo he loves the Miuccia Prada with the intensity that borders on the insanity, he has decided to take that to a place for itself on the web, and has started Manolo's Prada Blog, where the Manolo and the friends of the Manolo they can discuss the works of this goddess of the fashion.

Happy New Year of The 2005!!!

The Shoes of the Master

Manolo says, to celebrate the 2005, he offers you this shoe, by the other Manolo, which is perhaps the perfect shoe.

Super Fantastic For the Eve of the New Years!

Pucci 744960  Super Fantastic!

Christian Lacroix 953950   Super Fantastic!

Christian Lacroix 94112   Super Fantastic!

Manolo says, the Manolo he wanted to end the year of the 2004 and welcome the new year of the 2005 with the most fabulous, over-the-top, super fantastic shoes he could find.

Debutantes!

Debutantes!

Manolo shouts, Debutantes!!
Fifty young "debs" stepped out into Manhattan society late Wednesday amid 700 guests invited to the well-bred event. They were following in the steps of a tradition initially conceived as a grand charitable occasion by a former dame of New York society, Beatrice Joyce.



The debutantes, mostly from the United States but including some from Europe and Asia, formed an elegant line attended to by ladies in waiting or by well-groomed young beaus in tails.



Some of the young ladies' pursuits however might have raised Joyce's eyebrows if she had been present at the event.



Jennifer Telling, 18, loves rollerblading, is passionate about helicopters and is an aspiring astronaut.
Manolo says, not just debutantes, but astronaut debutantes!



The America, it is indeed the great country!

Hasselhoff and the Orlando Bloom

Manolo says, the Orlando Bloom, he, like the young Manolo, was inspired by the Hasselhoff!
Heart-throb Orlando Bloom has revealed that it was Baywatch actor David Hasselhoff that inspired him to follow an acting career.



He explained that he worshipped the actor's character Michael Knight in Knight Rider and The A-Team.



"As soon as I realised 'The A-Team' and 'Knight Rider' weren't real, I decided I wanted to act because I thought I'd love to be any number of those guys," he revealed.
Manolo says, this love of the Knight-Riding Hasselhoff, he understands perfectly.



When the Manolo he was the poor boy, he lay awake the nights in the cold and dirty apartment dreaming of the stars of the Hollywood, wishing that he could be like the Michael Knight (who was in the reality, the David Hasselhoff!)



The Manolo he would dream that the mysterious inventor would resuce the Manolo from the grinding poverty of the slums and give him his own super fantastic Tans Am K.I.T.T. to help the Manolo design the most super fantastic shoes the world she has ever known!



Together the Manolo and his Trans Am, they would use the shoes to defeat the most evil super villian the Blagerfeld, and his henchman the Dilfiger.



The dreams they were so vivid and exciting that the Manolo, now that he is the famous Shoeblogger and has the many friends in the Hollywood, he is writing the screenplay based on this.



Manolo says, the Manolo he salutes the Orlando Bloom, fellow pilgrim in the Cofradia de Miguel Caballero, fellow brother in the Fraternity of the Hasselhoff!

Burkha Not!

The Mummy!  She lives!

Manolo says, the Manolo he stands corrected. It is possible to be super fantastic in the chador.



Well, maybe not.

Shoes For The Sloppy Office

Manolo says, one of the Manolo's many internet friends she has asked the Manolo the question.
Like you, I greatly admire the super fantastic heels. I particularly love those by Marc Jacobs when bought on sale (these in brown are my very favorite). However, I work in a very casual office environment, which means every day I wear the jeans and t-shirt. I currently wear the scuffed dirty converse that are so trendy with the younger crowd, but I am a college graduate now and would like a super fantastic, sophisticated pair of sneakers or other shoes to wear to work regularly. Any suggestions??
Manolo says, it is no secret that the Manolo he in is many of the respects the traditionalist, and he does not approve of the trend to the sloppy office attire.



But, the Manolo he is also the realist, and he knows that many of the peoples--the bankers, the doctors, the professors--they now insist on dressing as the teenagers did when the Manolo he was the boy. This it is not for the Manolo!



Manolo says, however, in the opinion of the Manolo one designer, among all the others, she understands this new sloppy urban reality, and designs the shoes for this.



Of the course, the Manolo he speaks of the Miuccia.



Prada Womens Shoes Fall - Winter 2004/05    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, dress for the job you want, not for the job you have with the sloppy peoples.



Put on the blazer with the jeans. Wear the stylish Prada boots of suede with the jeans. Super fantastic it up some of the what.




Or, as you may know the Manolo he is obsessed with the Miuccia's Shoes for the Car.



Or, perhaps the silver sneakers they are to the taste.


Prada Womens Shoes Fall - Winter 2004/05   Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, these they would be most super fantastic with the jeans of the designer.





Manolo says, behold the Prada hiking boot!
Prada Womens Shoes Fall 2004/2005  Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo need say no more.

Talent, Or The Lack Thereof

Bring on the Schmaltz!

Manolo says, here is the picture of the Billy Crystal learning, forty years too late, that he is the schmaltz-filled, talentless hack.

Hello the the End of the Year Visitors!

Manolo says, hello to the visitors of the end of the year of the 2004!



Welcome to the first blog to be on the internet devoted to the shoes! There are the many imitators, but only one of the Manolos.



Manolo says, while you are here you should...


Send the Manolo the e-mail,

Look at the Manolo's merchandise,

Look at the Manolo's shoe reccomendations,

Bookmark the Manolo,

Blogroll the Manolo,

Link to the Manolo.



The Manolo, he has the policy, if you blogroll the Manolo, he blogrolls you back. Yes, the Manolo, he is not shamed to say that he is something of the link whore. But, the linking it helps to spread the joy that is the Manolo.

The Imitation, Part Seven

Manolo says, the imitation, it is the sincerest form of the flattery.



Manolo Loves the Shoes, and Manolo loves the Shoe Bloggers.

The Shoes For The Brides

Manolo says, one of the Manolo's many internet friends they have asked the Manolo the question.
I am getting married in 2005, and would like to find some super fantastic shoes to wear for my wedding. My ideal shoes would be two things: comfortable (while still being fashionable) for all that dancing, and shoes that I can wear again. This pretty much cancels out all the "bridal" shoes. I'm open on the color, but something light would probably look best with the white dress. Maybe silver? Or something with rhinestones? Cost is not a concern. Bring on the fabulous shoes for a bride!
Manolo says, first the Manolo would tell you that without knowing the dress it is difficult for the Manolo to recommend the shoes for the bride. The empire dress, for the example, she requires the different shoe from Russian Gangster Princess dress.



The second, the friend of the Manolo she should not rule out the white shoes of the bride. They can, of the course, be dyed black.



Yes, many of the people they have had the bad experience with the dying of the shoes, but only because they have tried to do this themselves. Manolo says, do not, under any of the circumstances, attempt the shoe dying at the home!



Seek the professionals for the dying of the shoes. If you are in the Manhattan, Manolo cannot but recommend to you the Jim's Shoe Repair for the dying of the shoes. The Jim's they are the masters of the art of the shoe repair.



The third, now, after the warnings, the Manolo he will recommend the shoes for the bride.




This shoe by the other Manolo, is it not exquisite?



If my friend she maintains the prejudice against the shoes of the white, here is the same shoe in the silver.









Manolo says, also the Vera Wang, she knows the brides, and she knows the shoes for the brides.

Vera Wang W4543  Manolo Likes! Click!

This Vera Wang shoe with the low heel, it is indeed most elegant and most comfortable.



The silver and gold sandals, they might also be considered by the super fantastic girl for the day of the wedding. Here is the pair by the Stuart Weitzman.

Stuart Weitzman - Balance (Silver Supple Kid) Manolo Likes!  Click!

They are also available in the gold.



Manolo says, finally, regarding the comfort of the shoes for the bride. Before the joyous day of the wedding the super fantastic girl she should wear the shoes for the several of the days around the house, so as to break them in before the wedding.



The Closeting for the Shoes

Manolo says, one of the Manolo's many internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.
My new wife, in preparing to join households, has discovered that she possesses 12 cubic feet (tightly packed) of shoes. At least one of these pairs is of the Manolo's. She tells me now that it is her due, as a superfantastic girl, to have the entire closet in our new home for the proper care of the shoes. I am to use a closet at the other end of the house. Or perhaps a shed in the back yard.



So tell me, oh Manolo, is this a proper and reasonable requirement to be made by a superfantastic girl? And should I accede, out of gratitude for her superfantasticness? And how much closet space is required for the proper storage of shoes, anyway?
Manolo says, to the Manolo this does not sound so much like the problem of the shoes as the problem of the real estate, and the problem of the cheapness. The house of my friend it is simply not large enough.



The super fantastic girl she requires many square meters of the storage spaces for the most basic of the shoe collection. Trust the Manolo, this it will not get better with the passage of the times, as more shoes for the wearing they will be acquired.



If you have truly married the super fantastic girl you must come to realize the amount of effort and time that goes into the maintenence of that super fantasticness, what with the grooming, and the waxing, and the coiffuring and the shoe storage.



Count yourself lucky if the shed she is available.

New Year Inspiration

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote, “There are three principles to apply to your life when beginning a new year. First: Determine that with God's help and guidance you are going to make it a wonderful year. Second: Decide that with God's help and presence you are going to live thrillingly and Third: Since the new year will not be any newer than you are, make up your mind that you are going to be new!”



What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

New Boots for the Troops

Beginning in October 2005, the Army will issue state-of-the-art boots that will replace the standard polished black boots.



New Army recruits will receive two pairs of the tan Army combat boots, a hot weather version, and a temperate weather version, said David Nelson, the deputy product manager for Clothing and Individual Equipment at the Program Executive Office Soldier here on Fort Belvoir.



The suede, textured boots will complement the new Army Combat Uniform that is scheduled to replace the Battle Dress Uniform.



They also come with high-tech features to increase durability and comfort.



The temperate weather style is equipped with a GORE-TEX lining, according to Nelson, which prevents water from penetrating through the boot.



It is also waterproof, and has an oil and flame resistant rubber outsole.

The hot weather version, suitable for desert use, is made with a thinner nylon material to allow for circulation.



With the hot weather boot “your foot will be a little cooler,” said Nelson.

Both types of the Army combat boots have a cushioned mid-sole that increases shock attenuation.



Nelson explained that “when you’re walking and your heel strikes the ground, the cushioned mid-sole helps to absorb that shock.”



“It’s less painful on your knees – your whole leg receives the benefit,” he added.



The technological advancements applied to the Army combat boots are a far cry from the standard black boot, which was introduced in the 1970s.



Unlike the new combat boots, air does not ventilate properly in the black boots, because polished leather traps moisture, said Nelson.



Nelson owns a pair of the temperate weather boots and has run as much as five miles in them without developing blisters or injuring his feet.



“They’re significantly more comfortable,” he said. “As soon as you step into them, it’s almost like wearing slippers.”



Nelson has also successfully trekked through wet tunnels without any water seeping into his boots.



With the original black leather boot, “there was nothing that would prevent the boot from getting wet,” he said.



The Army combat boots are currently being issued to deploying Soldiers.



They will be available to all Army service members in April 2006 as part of the new Army Combat Uniform, according to Audrey Herring, manager

of Military Clothing and Sales on Fort Belvoir.



The temperate weather style retails for $95.60, and the hot weather version costs $77.70.



Herring anticipates that the store’s current stock of black boots will eventually dwindle as the military converts to the tan Army combat boots.



“Instead of having nine different versions of a black boot, we’ll have one standard black boot, which will probably be the infantry combat boot,” she said.




What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

Father Sells Christmas Toys on Ebay

These must have been some really bad kids. According to the news article, the kids were being disrespectful, cursing and refused to clean up so dad told them as a threat that he would sell their toys on EBAY. One of the kids dared him to do it..the oldest of the three boys, so dad did. He put the new toys for sale on EBAY...a nintendo ds and all the games. This might be tough love but is it tooo tough? If your kids are really out of control, then it may be okay to do this. They sound like they are not appreciative of what their parents are doing for them.



HOUSTON Dec 25, 2004 — The kids were naughty, Dad put the presents on eBay instead of under the tree and Mom's been crying ever since. Now, even the tree's down.

Saturday morning was sure not to be very jolly for three brothers 9, 11 and 15 who didn't straighten up when their father told them Santa wasn't too please with their fighting, cuss words and obscene gestures.

Dad and Mom had warned their sons that the Nintendo DS video system and the three games that go with it were headed for the auction block if they didn't get their act together.

"No kidding. Three undeserving boys have crossed the line. Tonight we sat down and showed them what they WILL NOT get for Christmas this year. I'll be taking the tree down tomorrow," the man announced in his eBay posting.

"If you don't buy them, we'll return them to the store," the seller known online as magumbo 2000 reported on the site.

Thursday night, the auction wound down with bidding at $465.01 below the price the man had set. He said he would probably list the items again.

A single day of particularly bad behavior set the Christmas crackdown in motion.



(((More here)))







What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

Manolo Eye For The Queer Guy

The Queer Eye For The Crap!

Manolo says, perhaps it is the irony, but the Carson he has the Queer Eye for the Ugly.

Manolo's Fortune

Manolo says, the Fortune Magazine, they have discovered the Manolo's Shoe Blog!
More important, obsessive blogs can mean obsessive customers. The witty blogger behind Manolo's Shoe Blog may bash Birkenstocks and Uggs, but he drools over Coach, Prada, and, of course, Manolo Blahniks. Before blogs, finding someone like him—a person who probably helps others make buying decisions—would have been difficult and costly. Now it's just a matter of Googling or searching on any of the blog-specific search engines like Technorati or Feedster. For those who want to go deeper, firms like Intelliseek and BuzzMetrics use sophisticated software to analyze the blog universe for corporate clients. They use this growing online database of constantly updated consumer opinion for marketing and product-development ideas.
Manolo says, the Manolo and his readers they are indeed the setters of the fashion trends.

Verb For Shoe is Here!

The newest form of shoes are out: Verb For Shoe. It can be ordered online now at Verb for Shoe.

I am not sure if I really want computerized shoes just yet.....makes me think!



A synthesis of high fashion style and cutting-edge technology, Verb for Shoe provides a completely different way of looking at shoes for style-conscious trend-setters. In an exclusive Hollywood preview, VectraSense took the town by storm with many celebrities calling Verb for Shoe the "next big thing."

The fashion-forward shoe not only provides computerized shoe adjustments according to the wearer's movements, but also provides a number of new VectraSense innovations including:

-- A wireless link that allow the shoes to link with your PC. Through a new computer peripheral, called a Thinkpod, the shoes can interface with your computer; -- ThinkShare, a new feature that creates an exclusive community of Verb for Shoe users, who can exchange business cards and other information through wireless communication between their shoes; -- ThinkAdjust, a feature that allows the air bladders in the shoe to be independently adjusted by the wearer; -- ShoeDoctor, a software application which continuously monitors the shoe's health and alerts when problems occur. It actively monitors power usage, air bladder system performance, and motion analysis. When a problem does occur, Customer Support at VectraSense can connect to your shoes across the internet to assist in resolving issues; -- Introduction of optional features for building your shoes -- a Sports package, a Rich-Media package, and an Exotic materials package.

"The revolution has begun with this new shoe," said Ronald S. Demon, inventor, and CEO of VectraSense Technologies, Inc. "Our focus is to provide a truly unique customer experience through pain-staking attention to quality, with each shoe handcrafted to order using only the finest materials available."

Verb for Shoe is a third generation computerized shoe product for VectraSense Technologies. Its first product, the Raven, was the world's first computerized adjustable shoe. The cost of the basic shoe is $499.99, and fully loaded with all the options, the cost would be $1000.

Demon noted that Verb for Shoe will not only impact the footwear industry, but also the emerging wearable computing industry, the mobile and wireless computing industries and to some extent the internet.





What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~



Walt Disney Moving into India

The Walt Disney Company plans to explore all businesses in India, including broadband, ventures in mobile services like downloading ringtones and wallpapers, publishing, films, Internet, radio, merchandise and theme parks, besides television broadcasting. However, right now, the $30-billion company is focused on TV, according to executive vice-president and managing director of the company Douglas K Miller. Creativity, technology and international expansion are the three focus areas of Walt Disney, he said.

Without giving out any investment figures, Mr Miller said the India project would break even in mid to long-term.

Miller was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference on the launch of two Disney channels in India. The two channels went on air in India from Friday as part of the Star bouquet.

Even as industry insiders have been talking about Disney theme parks coming to India, officials refused to give any timeframe for setting up a park in the country. Regarding theme parks, the latest project coming up in Hong Kong is significant for the company.

In the Asia-Pacific region, India and China are among the significant markets for Walt Disney, Miller said. But, when asked to compare the two markets, he said China was still quite closed. The viewership of Disney channels in the India market is expected to be the highest, barring the US, he added. (MORE)





What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

Dr. Zhivago

I was awake last night and could not sleep, so I put on ETV. Masterpiece Theatre was on. I love Materpiece Theatre. It happened to be Dr. Zhivago that was on. It is in 2 episodes with the 2nd coming on tonight at 9:00pm. What I saw last night was a beautiful performance. If you have the chance and you are able to get ETV TV, please watch. You will not be disappointed. FYI: Othello will be running in January.





Boris Pasternak's epic love story set against the turmoil of the Russian Revolution comes to Masterpiece Theatre in a thrilling new adaptation by celebrated screenwriter Andrew Davies.



Scottish actor Hans Matheson (Mists of Avalon) stars as the dreamy poet-physician Yury Zhivago, with Keira Knightley (Love Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bend it Like Beckham) as the love of his life, Lara Antipova and Sam Neill (The Piano, Jurassic Park) as Victor Komarovsky, Lara's seducer and stalker -- a political chameleon who comes out on top no matter who is in power.



Boris Pasternak was a beloved Russian poet trying to steer clear of politics when he wrote Doctor Zhivago, an impressionistic account of the period surrounding the Revolution. Completed in 1955, and based partly on his own experiences, the novel was flatly rejected for publication by Soviet authorities -- for failing "to depict the Revolution as a cream cake," as Pasternak acidly put it.



Defying the government, he allowed the book to be published abroad, where it became an international bestseller. In 1958 Pasternak was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature -- a tribute he was forced to renounce after a bitter propaganda campaign against him in the Soviet press. He died a broken man in 1960 at age seventy.



In 1988 Doctor Zhivago was finally published in Russia, where it has since earned a revered place in the post-Soviet literary canon.

What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

Mizrahi Party Shoes

Isaac Mizrahi - Stellare (Silver Nappa)  Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, the Eve of the New Year's parties they are coming.



This shoe it is also available in the blue and the black and the gold

The Evil One Speaks

Manolo says, many of the Manolo's friends they have asked the Manolo, "Manolo, why do you hate the Lagerfeld?"



The answer to this it should be explanitory to the self: the Lagerfeld he is the pure evil.



However, if you are still doubting this, here is the article on the evil of the Lagerfeld from the Telegraph newspaper.
[Fat] is, I have heard, a touchy subject. Mr Lagerfeld is the designer who, to the astonishment of the haute couture world, recently designed a collection for H&M, the Swedish high street label which sells dresses to the masses for an average price of £60 - significantly less than the cost of an haute couture buttonhole.



Days after the launch he berated the company for committing the cardinal fashion sin: making his clothes in sizes large enough to fit all their customers.



"What I didn't like was that certain fashion sizes were made bigger," he said afterwards. "What I created was fashion for slim, slender people." Vowing never to work for the company again, he sniffed: "The incomprehensible decisions made by the management in Stockholm have removed any desire I had to do something like that again." Since the average British woman is a size 16, H&M was horrified and asked Lagerfeld to apologise. He did not.



[...]



Black is also very slimming, I say, still hoping to draw him on the H&M spat. Mr Lagerfeld seems unruffled, although he admits that being fat is "not nice".



"Those who are undisciplined become fat. There is something distasteful about their inability to control themselves. To be thin takes control and rigour," he says.



His evident reluctance to be drawn any further on the subject suggests that he is trying to stay out of trouble.



[...]



He insists the marriage [of his company with Tommy Hilfiger] will not affect his work as chief designer for Chanel and Fendi. "And America is buzzing at the moment, I love its creative energies," he says.



Big market, I agree, but also big people.



"Yes, it is true, America is a country full of big fat people," he concedes.



"People come in all shapes and sizes. I was against big once, but not now."



This strikes me as contradictory, but I suspect that beneath the carefully maintained façade of grandeur there's an acute financial pragmatism.



Lagerfeld may claim to tolerate all shapes and sizes, but he certainly doesn't accept his own. Three years ago he lost six of his 16 stone in little more than a year - now he doesn't allow his weight to go above nine-and-a-half stone. He is wasp-waisted, although I notice the swell of a slightly rounded tummy above his Hedi Slimane (Dior Homme) trousers.



"No, I am not horrified at how I once looked," he says. "That was in the past." (This is a favourite, oft-repeated phrase. Lagerfeld uses it when he does not wish to discuss something.)



"I just wanted a different look, to wear Hedi Slimane's narrow-cut clothes. So I dieted. I now eat only steamed fish, steamed vegetables, lots of fruit. Some meat.



"I have breakfast at eight, lunch at 1pm. I eat because otherwise I would faint. But I don't much care for it. It is rigorous but, no, I am not a control freak." There is nothing, he insists, that he craves. And he never cooks.



At Christmas he will have his usual fare, no unwanted festive calories.



"It is a Saturday, a working day. It will be like no other. Christmas is for children, and I don't like children," he says.
Manolo says, the evidence for the evil of Lagerfeld, the greed and the hatred of the children and the fat people, is it not clear?

Christmas was Exhausting

It really takes a lot to make Christmas magical for a child. I am so tired today it is not even funny. I had to stay up til 2:30 AM to be sure dirty Fila was alseep. Then I had to sneak packages down stairs to the tree. I had to stand by her room door...she left it open so she could see Santa...before I actually passed it to be sure she was not faking being asleep. After sneaking past her room, I had to put the presents under the tree in total darkness, fill the stockings, eat the cookies and drink the eggnog dirty Fila put out for Santa. Finally, I was able to sneak back upstairs and finally go to bed.



At the crack of dawn it began....mommie, mommie, mommie, mommie, mommie...WAKE UP! Mommie wake up...let's go open the presents. And so it begins. I did get a chance to go back to bed and sleep till about 1pm. But not until I played Twister Moves. Twister Moves...this is only for the young and not for me. Yes. I did give it to dirty Fila for Christmas. Thank goodness her cousin, my nephew is coming to town on Tuesday. She has to find someone else to do Twister Moves with other than me!



The best things I ate this Christmas were Danish Wedding Cookies, Ferrero Rocher chocolates and white zinfandel wine. And let's not forget apple cider. I have had about 2 cups per day. It has been very cold and is sleeting and rainign frozen ice balls. I did buy a lamb to have for Christmas dinner but, instead I ate at my parents and had turkey and ham. I will save the lamb for New Year's.



My cat has been upset by the Christmas tree. I have gold birds on the tree and she spends a lot of time hunting them. Poor cat! Finally I ahve them up high enough where she will leave them alone. Now with the presents under she spends a lot of time rooting in and out of the boxes trying to get into them to sit and play.



Christmas is exhausting to me...always has been. Fun, worth it, but tiring.



What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great holiday! dirty Fila and I did. dirty Fila had a very merry christmas. She thinks she is the cat's meow now in her designer clothes. Today she was in a fashion quandry as to what to wear. She was a very happy girl this christmas day.



I got the printer/scanner/copier that I wanted. No more running to Kinkos's in the middle of night to copy something for a project or presentation. It was a gift from my parents. I had just hinted one day...made a random comment that I needed one....I had no idea they would get it. That was one of the highlights.



My favorite gift was my Louis Vuitton city bag. That was a gift from a blast from the past...an old boyfriend from the 1990's who I have kept in phone contact with all these years. I have not physically seen him since about 1990. He calls and tries to get together...he is married now...so please---NO! So we talk about once a month or maybe even every 2 months. I send him a christmas card every year but that is all. He lives in another state and often suggests I meet him for lunch or he will fly me to Atlanta or Chicago for a pro game.....NO! NO!!



So he calls on Wednesday and says he is sending me something. What? I am thinking a card. We have never exchanged gifts before...in all these years. He does not tell me what it is...just says that it is something I will like. He sends it overnight and makes me call him to let him know if I like it. It arrived Thursday.



What can I say... it is a beautiful Louis Vuitton bag and it is authentic. I know real shoes and purses like the back of my hand. I went on line to look up the price of a Louis Vuitton bag as I knew it was expensive. That bag is right at $775.00. I have spent a lot of time over the past few says searching the web to determine if it is fake or not and from all I have read it is real.



I did ask him where he got it. He has a brother who works as a plant manager overseas where these purses are made. This I have know...that his brother worked overseas at a plant..for many years...I did not know what kind of plant. He said that due to good production, they were allowed to take some purses as they came off the assembly line so he called his brother, mother, sister and asked what they wanted and shipped multiple purses home to them. My friend asked for 2 and sent one to me and gave one to his wife. He said he gave her the same bag as I got.



It is a lovely bag, but you know how men are . It may mean something else to him other than a gift. I think I will send him a nice thank you card and let that be it. He wants more but I simply cannot go there. He is married. I was even thinking I needed to return the purse to him. What to do? Thank god he lives in another state and is not close enough to just drop by. Now if only he would stop offering to fly me to Atlanta, Chicago and other places to meet him when he goes on business trips. He works as a human resource manager at a major corporation and flies all over as part of his job visiting plants in various locations around the Unites States.



What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

Feliz Navidad!

Manolo says, the Manolo he wishes you and your families the most super fantastic of the holidays! May you enjoy this season and may your shoes always be bright!

Death To The Poncho!

Death to The Poncho.  Click!

Manolo says, celebrate the end of the worst fashion trend of the 2004 by wearing the wisdom of the Manolo.

Helmut Lang

HELMUT LANG   Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, it is no secret that the Manolo he is wary of the designers of the Teutonic descent. However, these shoes by Herr Helmut Lang, they have the insouciance the Manolo he finds endearing.

The Fergie y Familia

Cute and Chubby

Manolo says, Ayyyyyyy!

The Fergie and her daughters they are so adorable and pudgy and dishevelled. It makes the Manolo want to pinch their chubby little cheeks.

The Shoes of Embellishment

Manolo says, one of the Manolo's many internet friends she as asked the Manolo the question.
I have been shopping more often for the fabulous shoes and I am becoming concerned that my taste in shoes, it is too flashy or, how you say—ah yes, gaudy or also tacky. But I cannot help it—I love the rhinestones and the sequins and the shiny embellishments! To show you what I mean, I have included below some pictures of some shoes that have made my heart sing the Glorious Song of Shoe Elation, you know, the one your heart sings when you see “The Perfect Shoe?” But of course you do, you are the Manolo!



I like to think of my shoe style as fabulously over the top and decadent, but classy. However, I fear I may actually just have been the drag queen in a former life, and not necessarily a very good one, either. Please, the Manolo, I am getting married soon and I do not want to unknowingly commit the crime of the hideous footwear! I look to you for your expertise in the beautiful shoes!!
Manolo says, here are some of the pictures of the shoes the internet friend she has sent to the Manolo.

Casadei 8239 Slingback    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Christian Lacroix   Manolo Likes!  Click!

Vera Wang G5001  Manolo Likes!  Click!

Vera Wang W4012    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Vera Wang 5013    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Giuseppe Zanotti I4109    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, the Manolo he is so proud of his friend!



She has indeed the most super fantastic taste in the shoes the Manolo he has seen in many of the months. (Of the course, the Manolo, he has not shown you all of the shoes the internet friend she was considering, but is that not what the friends they are for?)



Manolo says, these shoes from the Vera Wang, the Guiseppe Zanotti, the Casadei, and the Christian LaCroix, they are indeed most beautiful and most elegant.

Unkempt

Comb the Hair!

Manolo says, this it is not what the Manolo he would like to find in his boudoir.



Manolo says, there are the ways to be both fat and super fantastic, but the Kirstie, she has not mastered them.

The Splurge



Prada Womens Shoes Fall    Manolo Likes!   Click!


Manolo says, it is a rule of the Manolo that some of the times, the caution, the super fantastic girl, she must throw it to the wind.

Chubby Little Lagerfeld

Toy Fat Bastard

The Fat Bastard

Manolo says, perhaps it is not what the evil Lagerfeld he intended when he designed the toy in his own likeness, but the chubby toy Lagerfeld it has the striking likeness the real chubby Lagerfeld.

Timberland Dusseldorf


Timberland - Dusseldorf (Brown Waxy Leather) - Women's     Manolo Likes!   Click!


Manolo says, it is no secret that the Timbas they have, like the Manolo, the "street cred". But these boots, which the Manolo's workmen friends they call the "lineman boots", they have the retro cred.

With these you would be ready to climb any pole.

Click for more Timberland boots

Sniffy

Does Not Smell Like The Teen Spirit

Manolo says, to the Manolo it smells like despair.

The Heart and The Sole

Manolo says, when the Manolo he recommended the books about the shoes, he failed to include the most amusing book by the Jane Eldershaw, called Heart and Sole. The drawings and the stories in this book, they make the Manolo laugh.

Chirac inaugurates world's tallest bridge in France



Biggest Bridge in the World Posted by Hello

MILLAU, France (AFP) - As air force jets screamed overhead, French President Jacques Chirac inaugurated the world's tallest bridge, a stunning masterpiece of engineering that will carry drivers 270 metres (885 feet) above ground.

He spoke of the viaduct, whose highest point soars to 343 metres -- higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris -- over the river Tarn in southern France, as a monument to French daring and enterprise.

Built to schedule in three years, it was commissioned in order to open up a new north-south route and ease pressure on one of the nation's most notorious motorway bottlenecks.

Before an audience of around 1,000 people, including the viaduct's British architect Norman Foster, Chirac unveiled a plaque by the largest of its seven pillars.

"The Millau viaduct takes its place among our most shining works of civil engineering. It brilliantly embodies the verve of our research and technology," he said.

"The French people are rightly proud of the feats accomplished here -- feats which speak for France. A modern France; an enterprising, successful France; a France which invests in its future."

The bridge, stretching 2.46 kilometres (1.6 miles) between two plateaux in the Massif Central mountain range, opens to traffic Thursday, easing pressure on the saturated Rhone valley to the east, used by lorry drivers and tourists bound for the Mediterranean and Spain.

Like a taut thread pierced by a line of needles, the silhouette dominates the countryside for miles around and has been praised as a classic marriage of aesthetics and science.

"A work of man must fuse with nature. The pillars had to look almost organic, like they had grown from the earth," said Foster, whose other works include the renovation of the Reichstag in Berlin and Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong.

"The bridge could not look as if it had been tacked onto the scenery. It had to rise out of the landscape with the delicacy of a butterfly."

The viaduct is not only the world's tallest -- outstripping the 282-metre towers of Japan's Akashi Kaikyo bridge -- but is also the longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge.

The Tatara Ohashi bridge, also in Japan, is 1.48 kilometres long.

The highest bridge in the world -- measured by distance from ground to deck -- remains the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, United States, at 320 metres above the river Arkansas.

Unusually for such a large infrastructure project in France, its 390 million euro (520 million dollar) cost was financed entirely by the private sector, with the construction giant Eiffage getting the right to collect tolls for 75 years in return.

Until now, drivers on the A75 motorway between Clermont-Ferrand and Beziers have been forced to a crawl as they descended to the town of Millau.

Now they will have to pay a fee of 4.9 euros (6.5 dollars) to speed above the town, while truckers will be charged about four times as much.

Eiffage is predicting an average of 10,000 vehicles per day, with a peak of 25,000 during the summer season when tariffs will be increased.

If the bridge proves unexpectedly profitable, the French state has the right to take possession from 2044.

Weighing some 36,000 tonnes, the bridge was assembled as much as possible off-site. Large sections were lifted by giant crane and slid onto the pillars, with the two ends meeting in May.

It has been built to withstand wind-speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour.

"In our civilisation infrastructure is fundamental. Public spaces, avenues, bridges over rivers -- these are what bring men together and condition our quality of life. But there are also needs which one cannot measure, which are more spiritual," Foster said.

"Ideally passing over the bridge should allow one to 'elevate oneself'," he added.

"Looking at it should provoke an emotion. Its purpose is to allow people to cross the valley without damaging the town of Millau. But it goes far beyond that."

It has been good for Eiffage too. Last week, its shares were trading at 83 euros, a record high and up 137 percent since 2001.



The Imitation, Part Six

Manolo says, the imitation it is the sincerest form of the flattery!



Manolo says, by the count of the Manolo, this is the sixth of the blogs about the shoes to be started since the Manolo he invented the shoe blog in the October. The shoe blogging it makes the Manolo so happy. Everyone, they should have their own shoe blog.



Manolo Loves the Shoes!

The Vera Wang

Vera Wang    Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, the Vera Wang she is famous for the wedding dresses, but her evening shoes, they also are most beautiful. The placement of the bow slightly to the side, it amuses the Manolo.

Hollywould

Manolo says, here is the newspaper article about the Holly Dunlap, who designs the shoes of the Hollywould.
Since Dunlap introduced her first wood-soled platforms four years ago (Marisa Tomei bought the first pair ever sold), the single 32-year-old has built Hollywould into a $4 million company that has so much buzz, Vogue magazine granted it a coveted four-page spread in its November issue. Dunlap's now expanded her business to include a line of silk jersey dresses, sold exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue and at Hollywould's Manhattan and Palm Beach shops.



The designer's philosophy of fashion-meets-function has drawn a fair share of A-list customers, who've turned to Dunlap for a bit of fun and flash on their feet — along with some much-needed comfort. (All of Hollywould's shoes are made with silicone pads that cushion a celeb's tired tootsies during a night of walking the red carpet.)



Sarah Jessica Parker boogied in canary-yellow satin Hollywould sandals in a Gap ad. Lil' Kim never travels without her metallic rainbow giraffe-print boots. Mischa Barton of "The O.C." loves the neon-colored ballet flats.



And like her shoes, Dunlap's flirty frocks have already developed a well-known fan base: Serena Williams sported Hollywould's Blue Jewel, a turquoise number with a plunging, crystal-studded neckline, for VH1's "Big in 2004" awards show earlier this month.



"I wanted a dress that travels really well … and was easy to wear," Dunlap says. "It's for a girl with a Dolce & Gabbana lifestyle, but with an easier price point."



Still, Hollywould is hardly cheap chic: Dunlap's dresses range from $600 to $1,400. As for her shoes — which cost between $200 and $900 — the colorful, whimsical footwear co-exists quite nicely with high-end mainstays like Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and Stuart Weitzman.



"Most of our shoes are more fun, girly, feminine," Dunlap says. "People go to Manolo for work. People come to us for their parties."



Partying is an area in which Dunlap is an expert. She chronicles her liquor-laden, star-studded evenings in a diary on her company's Web site, www.ilovehollywould.com, which attracts about 8,000 readers each day.
Manolo says, the Hollywould, they are indeed most colorful.

Miami Beach

Lulu Guiness Miami Beach Tote      Manolo Likes!  Click!

Manolo says, the Lulu Guiness, she often makes the Manolo smile with the visual wit, but this bag, it stands on it's own as the super fantastic.

The Fish Shoes

Something Fishy

Manolo says, of this shoe the Manolo he does not approve, but he felt you had to see the shoe to appreciate it. It is from the Giuseppe Zanotti, whom the Manolo believes is too sometimes exuberant.

The Donald and His Fiance

It's A Combover, Baby!

Manolo says, the Manolo he is convinced, inside she is weeping.

The "Three" Quiz

I got a request to do this quiz --or was in an order? :) At the end I will be naming 3 other unsuspecting victims to do this quiz...don't be mad it happened to me too!



Three names you go by:

  • Mayway
  • Mary
  • Little Red

Three screennames you have:

  • woozle34
  • tink2bell
  • tinkerbell*

Three things you like about yourself:

  • My shoe collection
  • Ability to be easy going in the face of chaos
  • I'm a devoted mom

Three things you hate/dislike about yourself:

  • Sometimes being too quiet...I have found people think I am stuck up and I am not. I am just a quiet person.

  • I seem to be unlucky in love
  • I have a coffee addiction--starbucks frappuccinos

Three parts of your heritage:

  • Swedish
  • Caucasian
  • African

Three things that scare you:

  • spiders
  • praying mantis

  • Fear of not being able to provide all for my family

Three of your everyday essentials:

  • shoes
  • flavored coffee

  • good wine and sushi

Three things you are wearing right now:

  • red pooh turtle neck

  • red pants

  • underwire bra

Three of your favorite bands/artists (at the moment):

  • Vivaldi
  • EST

Three of your favorite songs at present:

  • Four Seasons-Vivaldi

  • Pavane-Regina Carter

  • Somewhere Else Before-EST

Three new things you want to try in the next 12 months:

  • go to the gym 3 times a week consistently!

  • learn to play the recorder

  • become a contestant on Survivor!

Three things you want in a relationship (love is a given):

  • respect
  • honesty
  • longevity

Two truths and a lie:

  • I have the soul of a dead fisherman living in a gourd in my living room

  • I have eaten chocolate covered roaches

  • My first cat was cremated and she lives now in the kitchen on top of the microwave because the kitchen was her favorite room in the house

Three physical things about the opposite sex (or same) that appeal to you:

  • good diction

  • nice abs

  • good hygiene

Three things you just can't do:

  • stop buying shoes

  • engage in the corporate back biting and politics at work

  • do drugs

Three of your favorite hobbies:

  • going to the beach

  • listening to music

  • drinking good wine

Three things you want to do really badly right now:

  • stop sneezing

  • eat some smoked oysters...i am out and forget to buy some at the store

  • eat cheese

Three careers you're considering:

  • going back to school for a masters in public administration

  • writing
  • being a stay at home mom if I EVER hit the lottery

Three places you want to go on vacation:

  • Navis
  • Japan
  • Australia

Three kids names:

  • Zoe
  • Sienna
  • Randall

Three things you want to do before you die:

  • go scuba diving again..that is amazing being under the water!

  • swim with dolphins

  • Visit Alaska

Three people who have to take this quiz now or die painfully:

Okay you three above...do the three quiz and pass it on! Thanks!









What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!

~~Aileen Mehle~~

The Gotham City and The Free Bag

Where fashion never sleeps.

Manolo says, it is no secret that the Manolo he loves the advertisers who put the ads on the Manolo's Shoe Blog. And the Manolo he is happy to say that the advertisers they love the Manolo and his many internet friends.



And so the Gotham City Online, they have offered the readers of the Manolo the chance to get the free handbag when they buy the shoes. The Gotham City, they have the shoes of the Coach, which the Manolo he likes.

Winter Boots for the Poor Girl

Manolo says, one of the Manolo's many internet friends has asked the Manolo the question.
Manolo, I am most perplexed. Not only am I a poor girl aspring to be superfantastic, but also living in rural Western US, with mud and snow and rain often making it impractical to wear the superfantastic heels. I am looking for an everday shoe that can hold up in less than sunny weather but will not label me a yuppy or a out-of-touch fashion fiend. Is this impossible!?
Manolo says, this question it is difficult for the Manolo to answer, as he does not know what it is that his friend she does for the living.



For the example, if this person she were the worker in the office building, the Manolo he would have the one answer. But, for the other of the examples, if she were the cowgirl of the golden west, the Manolo he would have the different answer.



But, the Manolo he can none of the less offer a few of the words of the generic advice for the winter.



Manolo says, the winter she brings her own problems for those who love the beautiful shoes, what with the rain and the snow and the mud of the ground.



And the poverty, it brings the different problems for those who love the beautiful shoes. Trust the Manolo, he knows what it is like to be poor, so poor that you must make your own winter boots out of the pieces of the insulation and the PVC pipe found at the sites of construction.



Together, with the winter and the poverty, it is most difficult to find the shoes that are worth the wearing, which is why you must save your moneys and buy the best of the shoes and boots you can afford.



Manolo says, of the course, the best shoe for the real winter is the boot, but the good boots they are almost impossible to find them for under one hundred of the dollars. And you do not want to be wearing the cheap boots when the snow it comes. But the Manolo, he has dones the best and has found the boots that the Manolo believes to be suitable for the wear in the winter, yet will not break the your bank.





Lumiani - Aliana T7686 (Ruby)  Manolo Likes!  Click!


Manolo says, this boot from the Lumiani, it has the rubber sole for the traction, and it is most stylish. It also comes in the black and the violet.



Lumiani - Aliana T7547 (Black)   Manolo Likes!  Click!


Manolo says, here is also the ankle boot version of this Lumiani. It sells for just under one hundred of the dollars.


Perhaps where the Manolo's friend she is living it is truly the outback. In the case of that, the Manolo he would recommend the pair of the boots with a little more of the substance. But, again finding the good boot for under one hundred and fifty of the dollars, it is most difficult.



Rockport - Memory Hill (Wheat) - Manolo Likes!  Click

Manolo says, this boot, it is from the Rockport, yet it does not make the Manolo cringe, in the fact, it has something of the classic look of the English riding boot. And it would be a good boot for the rural places in the hinterland of the America, as it is lined with the shearling and has the traction sole.