Gorgeously high heels, an eye for the most beauteous of shoes, and a charming little accent has made The Manolo a celebrated blogger in the world of, as he would say, The Blogs of the Shoe. With plenty of attitude and a charming affection for the “super fantastic girl of the big feet,” Manolo kept his readers around since his blog’s start in 2004 and the subsequent flood of competition. And did we mention that he’s a six-figure blogger? In his own words: “Ayyyy!”
Can The Manolo give us some background on how his first site grew into his impressive blog network?
The Manolo began his humble shoe blog in October of the 2004. There were no other blogs about the shoes on the internets and so the Manolo invented the shoe blog, and it was the immediate success. Thereafter, in January of the 2005, the Manolo started three more blogs. The Manolo for the Brides, and the Manolo for the Men, and the Manolo’s Prada Blog. The first two are still doing very well, although the Prada blog has not been updated in more than two years.
In the spring of 2006 the Manolo started the Manolo’s Food Blog, and the remaining English blogs, Manolo for the Big Girl, Manolo’s Basement of the Bargains, Teeny Manolo, and Ayyyy! were begun in early fall of 2007.
The most exciting recent development is that three months ago, the Manolo launched the Spanish language fashion blog, Manolo Moda. It is doing well, and the Manolo’s Spanish and Latino bloggers are very good.
Who makes up The Manolo’s blogging team today?
The Manolo has ten active blogs and thirteen bloggers. Mr. Henry at the Manolo’s Food Blog. Never teh Bride at the Manolo for the Brides and the Manolo for the Home blogs. Plumcake and Francesa at Manolo for the Big Girl. Raincoaster and Glinda at the Teeny Manolo. Isidore Gallant at the Manolo for the Men, with occasional help from the Materialist. Spirit Fingers at Ayyyy (with help from Plumcake). Patri, Diable, and Diablesse the Manolo’s Spanish-langauge fashion blog, Manolo Moda. And finally, Twistie who runs the Manolo’s Basement of the Bargains, and blogs on the weekends at the Manolo for the Big Girl and the Manolo for the Brides.
All of the Manolo bloggers are very good, funny and knowledgeable, and exceedingly readable.
What were some of the biggest “breaks” for The Manolo?
There have been so many. Although, initially, several very large political and technology bloggers noticed the Manolo and linked in late 2004. In early 2005 several articles and mentions in the traditional media followed, including the mention in Money Magazine, and the short feature article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Of the course, the most exciting moment of all, was when the Times of London reported that the Maestro Manolo Blahnik was the fan of the humble shoeblogger. He referred to the blog as “hilarious”. Ayyyyy! The Manolo the Shoeblogger swooned with delight at the instant he saw that quote!
Can The Manolo enlighten us about his favorite shoe trends this season?
The Manolo is completely smitten with the bold and vibrant colors that have been everywhere this spring. All of the cherry reds, and lavenders, and yellows, and oranges, and green are simply wonderful and so totally happy-making. Likeswise, many of the wilder sculptural heels are marvelous fun, although so few peoples can truly carry off the more extreme versions.
The worst trend, however, are the ridiculous sky-scraper platform heels, 5 or 6 inches tall. They are not flattering, only foolish.
What should every shoe shopper keep in mind when choosing shoes for a special occasion?
That shoes make the outfit. If you wear the cheap or unattractive shoes, you will appear cheap and unattractive, no matter the cost of the gown. And, the converse is also true. Beautiful and elegant shoes make the wearer more beautiful and elegant, and can enliven even the simple black dress.
We like Manolo’s Gallery of The Horrors. If he had to choose one of the worst Shoe Crimes, which one would it be?
The Croc, with out the doubt , the Croc. It represents all that is evil about the modern world; the ugly, cheap plastic object that infantilizes the wearer and abuses the eyes of the beholder. They are peasant clown shoes, for clownish peasants.
Any advice from The Manolo on buying shoes online? Which are his favorite shops?
Zappos is the best of the best when it comes to the on-line shopping. The Manolo is continually surprised by the breadth of their inventory. After that, if one is really intent on the bargains, the Manolo loves Bluefly. But, one must look everyday to find the truly great bargains, as things come and go quickly there.
What surprises does The Manolo have in store for us? Any exciting announcements?
The Manolo has plans on expanding the number of Spanish fashion blogs in his small network.
FabCrush would like to thank The Manolo for contributing his much-coveted thoughts on shoes and blogging! Now it’s up to you to get acquainted with The Manolo’s Shoeblog.
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3 responses so far ↓
1 La BellaDonna // May 2, 2008 at 9:14 am
I wish to make a tiny correction in an otherwise truly excellent article. Manolo for the Brides is helmed expertly by Never teh Bride, rather than Never the Bride – a natural mistake to have made.
2 meieli // May 2, 2008 at 10:07 am
Ta-da! Hopefully that suits you a little better.
3 Never teh Bride // May 3, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Thank you so much for mentioning that, La BellaDonna — I only just now happened to read the interview, and to add my two cents I should say that I love being a part of the Manolo “family!”
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