Sex and the Shoe

    In another episode, Carrie attends a baby shower. Concerned
about dirt and germs her guests might carry on their soles, the
hostess asks the guests to remove their shoes before entering her
apartment. At the end of the afternoon, Carrie can't find her
Manolos: they've been nicked by a magpie, attracted by their
beauty and sparkle.
    Having shoes as the protagonists of such a popular TV show
has transformed a secret label known to only a few privileged
fashion insiders into a mass myth at least as far as its followers
are concerned: you can't buy a pair of Manolos for less· than
$400!
    The Blahnik brand has even penetrated the world of rap
music. In Jay-Z's song "Bonnie and Clyde," dedicated to his pop
star girlfriend, Beyonce Knowles, the rap artist promises to love
and cherish his woman by offering her an Hermes "Birkin" bag, a
Mercedes Benz, and a pair of Manolos.
    Manolo Blahnik, the man behind the label, was born in the
Canary Islands in 1943. After studying fine art and architecture,
in the early 1970s he moved to New York, where he met Diana
Vreeland, the legendary editor of Vogue, who encouraged him to
design shoes. His first devotees were the most glamorous actresses
of the age: Marisa Berenson, Jane Birkin, Charlotte Rampling.
Today his shoes can be found not only in high-class boutiques and
on the feet of celebrities such as Kate Moss and Jennifer Aniston,
but also in design museums.
    Manolo's comment on the lengths people will go to for a pair
of his shoes, and for shoes in general, is: "Women love transforming
themselves, and shoes are the quickest and easiest way for
them to achieve instant metamorphosis. And they cost less than a
piece of jewelry, or an haute-couture frock."
    In wintertime, these ladies repair to Courmayeur, where, to receive
their friends, they pull out of the cupboard a slipperlike alternative:
Belgian loafers, inspired by the traditional footwear of
Flanders peasants. Made of felt, with leather trimmings and a little
tassel in the center, these loafers ensure that the lady of the house
always has a smile on her face. If the lady is leftward-leaning, and
the house in question is not the family apartment in Val d'Aosta
but instead a radical-chic farmhouse in Tuscany, she will be wearing
a pair of colored velvet slippers known as friuliane.
    Another fan of comfortable footwear is the ultratraditional
woman. She has always chosen what are known as penny loafers,
the most classic loafers in the world. When she was young she
wore them with a coin in the groove, blushing at the idea of wearing
the penny on the right or the left to indicate whether she was
single or already taken. Later she got married in a downtown
church, and when cracks began to appear in the marriage, she
consoled herself by moving on from penny loafers to loafers with
high, clumpy heels an utter abomination. In fact, the husband
ended up eloping with the baby-sitter.