My First Manolo Experience

By that I mean I tried them, of course, not that I bought them. It'll happen one day, but just not now! :P

So I was at Bayview Village the other day...
...when I came across this store that I can't remember the name of, which had all these designer shoes on sale.  Even Manolos.  As wrong as that sounds, I was delighted because I'd ALWAYS wanted to try some on but I just could never get the guts to ask someone to bring me some to try when I was clearly not going to buy any, you know? I didn't want to waste the salesperson's time and make extra work for someone just to fulfill myself.

Besides that, actual Manolo Blahnik boutiques are notoriously intimidating and pretentious - the Manolo store in the Salamanca district of Madrid, where I was living, was really secluded and had multiple signs on the windows stating that you MUST ring the doorbell and wait for someone to answer in order to enter - you can't just walk in.

Anyway, I was at this store at Bayview Village, and they had all kinds of designer shoes lying around in all kinds of sizes (many upscale stores will only have tiny sizes on display so people have to ask to try them), so I decided to go for it.

I looove the classic black Manolo slingbacks and there happened to be one on display in my size, so I went for it.  As you can imagine, all the shoes on display were not in the best state - it kind of hurt me inside to see Manolos so ratty - how could anyone treat them this way?! - but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

So I grabbed.  And I tried.  And I promptly fell in love.

The leather - it was buttery, buttery soft, and I'm sure not just because they've seen better days.  The cutting was masterful.  I've never had shoes hug my feet so perfectly, ever.  Now, these slingbacks weren't ideal for me because they're a bit too open on the insides (they're not pump-style) so my flat feet are too visible, but I enjoyed the experience anyway.  The heel was very well-placed, right in the middle of where all my weight centers.  The craftsmanship was excellent.

And the rumours are true - they are very comfortable.  Having said that, because they are heels and they are pointy-toed (and because I've met shoes that were comfortable to try but not comfy to wear for longer periods of time), I'm sure they wouldn't be comfortable after a few hours of standing or walking, but they were pretty much as comfortable as pointy-toed heels can possibly be, and certainly comfier than any I've ever tried before.

The price tag for this basic model was about $600, on sale for maybe half price.  Naturally, I'm going to save up one day and purchase a pair in mint condition from a Manolo boutique to get the full experience. ;)

Please pardon the flat foot! :P