Meeting Manolo Blahnik

"This is the Sex and the City shoe!" he proudly yelled.

I stood there....speechless.

I'm never speechless.

Never.

But standing here, in front of my Sole Mate, I suddenly had no words.

He turned to the man on his right, "Look George, it's the shoe from Sex and the City!"

George nodded and smiled at me.

Suddenly, thankfully, I spoke.

"And now we know it's NOT an urban shoe myth!"

"Oh that's right! Ha, ha, ha! That's right!" He laughed.

I laughed too. Mostly because I was so starstruck and just really, really happy.

I was standing in front of Manolo Blahnik and he was holding my brand new black, patent leather Mary Jane shoe.

The shoe guru was making a special appearance to greet fans at Neiman Marcus in Boston.

Even with a sprained right wrist (his writing hand) he was signing shoes and copies of his new book featuring his sketches, "Manolo's News Shoes".

When he arrived at the store everyone in the shoe department cheered and clapped. He stopped to wave before taking his place behind a table, in front of wall decorated with his shoes.

He's used to the fanfare now, but he never planned for it.

That's because he never set out to be a shoe designer.

When he was 17 he traveled from London to America with a photographer friend to see the editor-in-chief of Vogue at the time, Diana Vreeland. Blahnik had some drawings to show her.

He told Lisa Armstrong in a recent article in Harper's Bazaar, that he was "beyond terrified" to meet Ms. Vreeland.

But that one meeting changed his life.

In the Bazaar article, he credits Vreeland for starting his shoe design career, saying Ms Vreeland told him "Your drawings are really magnificent. You should concentrate on shoes."

The rest is fashion history.

Blahnik's shoes have been featured in museum fashion exhibitions and on the feet of many celebrities. The most recognizable is of course, Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker who famously strutted her way around New York City in many a Manolo design.

One of the most famous being the "urban shoe myth" shoe: the black, patent leather Mary Jane. Parker's character Carrie Bradshaw, finds these shoes when she is a freelance writer for Vogue and gets to explore the Vogue fashion closet. "The Manolo Blahnik black, patent leather Mary Jane! I thought these were an urban shoe myth!" she exclaims as she puts them on despite the size not being quite right.

But the fit was right for me. And so was the choice of my very first pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes. I bought those black, patent leather Mary Janes. For this once in a lifetime event, I bought a second pair of the same shoe and watched with complete and utter joy as Manolo Blahnik put his signature on the bottom of my shoe.

"I'm putting these in a shadow box on my wall, I can't wear them!" I told my Sole Mate.

"Splendid idea!" he told me.

"May I have a picture with you as well?" I asked. I was told he does not like a deluge of flashing camera lights and that I should ask and not assume he'll take a picture. But don't think he's uptight or boorish.

He's the complete opposite!

Funny, animated and just all around adorable in his cream linen suit and bow tie, he said, "Yes, of course I'll take a photo with you! It will be my pleasure!"

I walked around to the back of the table and took a spot I never thought I'd be in.

I stood next to Manolo Blahnik.

There were camera flashes all around and I realized photographers from the local newspapers were taking pictures of us too. He's just that adorable.

I thanked him over and over and told him how much I loved his shoes.

I moved around to the side, about 5 feet away from the table and watched in amazement as around 250 women waited patiently to meet the man who makes fantastic footwear.

He joked with the brides, asking if they were really getting married after he signed their shoes.

I heard one woman proudly tell him her father was a shoe cobbler. He loved that.

He even stopped to pose with one of his four-legged fans. A woman who is a constant client in the Neiman Marcus shoe department had her cute canine with her. I asked George, Manolo Blahnik's business partner in the Americas, if Mr Blahnik had a dog.

"Oh yes, he's had dogs all of his life. Right now he has a black lab."

At Mr Blahnik's request, the woman held up her dog so he could get a better look...and give the pooch a pat on the head.

He never stopped smiling or signing. You could tell he was loving every minute.

As he should. At 67 he shows no signs of stopping.

I for one, am very glad. And I can probably speak for his legions of fans when I say I'm pretty sure they're glad too.

I couldn't stay to watch him sign every shoe. I was in the city for Boston Fashion Week and I had to get to my hotel to check in and get ready for another fashion event that night.

I didn't want to leave. Just being around him makes you smile. He's incredibly charismatic and energizing. Characteristics you can see in his designs.

Designs I LOVE to wear. I have seven pairs of his shoes and have my eyes on a fabulous boot from his current collection.

I waved to Manolo who smiled and waved back and made my way around the line to the escalator. But before I got there, one of the models who was showing off a Manolo shoe stopped me.

"How was it?!" she asked me excitedly.

I smiled and thought about what an amazing afternoon I just had.

I looked at her and said just one word.

"Fabulous."


Want to see more pictures of Manolo Blahnik? You can find them on my Facebook fan page at:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Fabulous-Fashionista-Files/140944165939514?ref=sgm