Manolo Blahnik must be my earliest shoe memory. My mother arriving home strewn with white glossy boxes and shoes wrapped carefully in yards of white tissue paper was a regular occurrence in my house. My first pair of 'proper' shoes was a pair of Manolo's aged 13 after I'd seen Gisele looking impossibly gorgeous in a pair of gold strappy sandals (which I still have). I have recently begun to appreciate the beautiful craftsmanship, the elegance of the designs, the simplicity and quirkiness and the fact that reality stars, girl bands and Essex girls haven't quite discovered the secret my mother was keeping all along.

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