A Day of Firsts

I consider myself pretty lucky when it comes to my personal accessories closet. Through the years I have amassed quite the vast collection of shoes, bags and jewelry. So when trends happen, I can dip into my drawers and shelves and pull out something that is "au courant." Such as these Manolo Blahnik high-heeled loafers. If you look at the September Teen Vogue page, you'll see that it's all the rage right now (once again). The story behind these babies is that I was working at Harper's Bazaar and most likely went home to celebrate my birthday over the long weekend in January. I presumably went to Neiman Marcus' Last Call Sale and saw these Manolo Blahnik brown tassel loafers and fell in love immediately. Even at the tender age of 26, I knew these were the bomb. I didn't own a pair of Manolos and I really, really wanted a pair. And they were $485, marked down to $290, and then marked down again to $165.

But the practical (Capricorn) side of me (and my hovering around $20K yearly salary) definitely gave me pause to purchase them. So off I went back to my tiny studio apartment on NYC's Upper East Side Manolo Blahnik-less. I was working at Harper's Bazaar at the time and didn't get the coveted invitations to the $100 Manolo Blahnik sample sales that are legendary (second to the Chanel and Louis Vuitton ones from years past!). But as I've learned and taught others, "Walk away and sleep on it. If you can't get the item out of your head, it's kind of meant to be."


It looks like it took me about two weeks to make the decision to place a phone order. Lucky for me, they were still in stock. Two funny things, though. The first? I have yet to wear these shoes. Yup, they're still brand spanking new. Fifteen years later, these beauties are fresh out of the box and still rocking in style.

The second funny thing? It looks like I purchased my first Manolo Blahniks on 1/31/96. An auspicious day that will always be known as a day of firsts, I suppose! (Daughter Annabel was born on January 31st of this year!)