Manolo for the Men

Manolo says, once again the Dia de San Valentin it approaches! And woe unto the man who neglects his duty in the matter of providing to his beloved the Frenchy chocolates, the fine wine, the red flowers, the fancy perfume, the jeweled trinket and/or perhaps the weekend trip to Paris.

Such the man the Manolo he would not care to be on the day after the Day of the Valentine.

Thus, it once again falls to the Manolo to remind his men friends to open the hearts and the wallets during this the most important day of the year for the matters of love.

Yes, perhaps your woman she says to you that she “could not be happier” than to recieve your traditional gift of the Whitman’s Sampler, presented as it has always been, in the Wal-Mart bag with the receipt for the auto parts and sweat pants still inside.

Trust the Manolo, if this happens again this year, your woman, she has died the little inside.

And yes, the Manolo he knows perfectly well that you cannot buy the love, at least not at that price.

Indeed, he also knows that the true love it is not dependent on the giving and the receiving of the gifts, that we should love and be loved irrespective of the quality of the gifts that are involved.

Yet, at the same of the time, it is only natural that we should wish to shower our beloved with those frivolous things which make the life more pleasant, those things which indicate the esteem in which the beloved is held in our hearts,

Thus the Manolo he would urge his men friends to take the time, to spend the little moneys, and to consider carefully that which is to be given. It is most important.

Manolo says, the Manolo he has received the question from one of his many internet friends.

Dearest Manolo, My name is Lady Prisspott, I am the unofficial fashion advisor to the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC. Many of these dear boys, while gifted musically are often found lacking when it comes to a thorough knowledge of men’s evening wear. You see, the chorus wears tuxedos for their concert and many of the gentlemen wear shoes other than that which her Ladyship would find acceptable. Some even have simultaneously demonstrated an unassailable confidence and appalling lack of taste and breeding by wearing black sneakers with their tuxedo. Her Ladyship has prepared for the membership a short primer on formal wear however a thorough and authoritative discussion of the history of men’s evening slippers as well as a guide to the most excruciatingly correct choice of evening footwear has been harder to research. Her Ladyship would greatly appreciate the benefit of Manolo’s encyclopedic knowledge on the subject.

Do not the Manolo get started on the disgraceful state of the modern American formal wear! If the Manolo sees one more pastel ruffle shirt, or the brightly-colored plaid cumberbund and matching bowtie set he will hurl. Especially do not mention the shoes! Ayyyyy! The shoes, the shoes! Such horrors.

Ideally, there is only one type of the shoe that the man should wear with the black or the white tie, it is the opera pump: the low black patent leather slipper with the discreet black gros grain bow (pinched or straight).

This shoe, it is the final, unchanged remenant of the 19th century formal wear, the only item still sometimes worn, that would have been worn by the gentleman who was to be received at the royal court 150 of the years ago.

Such the gentleman he would have appeared in the knee breeches with the silk stockings. Today, the knee breeches they are gone, the cut of the coat it has changed, the neck tie it is different, but the formal shoes, they are the same. And so these they are the original “court shoes”. (The word “pump” for the shoes, it is thus the derivative of the word “pomp”.)

In the general, the American men, when they can be wrestled into the formal wear, do not wear the opera pump, mostly because they believe it to be too sissified for the mucho macho man to wear. In such cases, the plain toe, patent leather or highly shined calf blucher or oxford, it is the most appropriate and suitable substitute.

Any other option, it is ridiculous.

Manolo says, the Manolo he reminds you that your mother, your darling sainted mother, she is waiting by the phone for you to call and express your gratitude for giving you the sacred gift of the life.

Does she not deserve also, at the least, the flowers, and maybe the box of the fancy lad chocolates?

What? Are you not grateful?

Yes, you will show up on the Sunday afternoon to take her to the Steakhouse of the Outback for the pseudo-Australian meat-fest and deep-fried onion, but is this the blooming thing that she would really want?

Is not your affection, expressed with the simple, traditional gift and your most heart-felt love preferable?

The Manolo he reminds you, you are not the Eminem, you love your mother, be nice to her on this the most special day (after your birthday) on the motherly calendar.

By the way, this advice, it also applies to the man who has the wife and the children. If you are this man you must be certain that your wife, the mother of your children, she is also honored on this day.

Trust the Manolo, now is not the time to be stingy.

Manolo says, as part of the on-going process of the adult education of the man, the Manolo he would like to take this opportunity to say to you: send your mother some of the flowers .

One of the problems that many mens they have is that they do not understand the power of the flowers to make people, women, happy. Most of the men they send the flowers in the rote fashion, on the special occasions, like the Day of the San Valentino or the Day of the Mothers.

Although this it is fine, much better are the flowers that arrive out of the blue for no reason at all, or just because you were thinking of your mother, or your favorite auntie, or your sweetheart.

In the opinion of the Manolo you do not need the reason to send the flowers to the womens in your life. Although, if you desire, you may say they are for the Easter and/or the Passover, as your respective religious case it may be.

So, take the advice of the Manolo and send the mother the flowers. It will make her happy, and that is more than reason enough to do it.

Manolo says, the Manolo he takes this opportunity, as the service to the public, to remind his many men friends that the Day of the San Valentino it approaches, and that the man who in his life has the woman, would be unwise to forget this.

This is why the Manolo he would tell you to buy the fine chocolates from the France and the red flowers, the good wine, maybe the jeweled trinket, and perhaps the mid-winter trip to Paris, with the great promptness, so as to avoid the disaster that is the Day of San Valentino forgotten.

Here, however, is the word of the warning about certain catagories of the gifts, most of the importantly, the perfume. Under no of the circumstances should the man buy for the woman the perfume of cheapness. This, it is worse than the buying of no gift at all.

The women, they know that the perfume it is the very personal thing, and so it is important to buy the perfume of the highest quality, one with that is subtle rather than strong. Which is why the Manolo he can do no other than recommend to you this:

Manolo says, yes, the Manolo he has the “issues” with the House of The Chanel and it’s current evil head designer, however, this it does not erase the fact that the Coco, she was the genius. And the Chanel N^o 5 is the most classic perfume, one that is subtle, sophisticated, and suitable for most of the womens.

Here is the tip to the men friends of the Manolo: don’t be the skate of cheap on the Day of San Valentino, buy the big bottle.

Manolo says, the Manolo he is sorry but he must now take the Vice President Cheney to the shed of the wood for being ridiculously underdressed for the ceremony at the Auschwitz.

The Manolo he reminds you that you must always, always, dress for the occasion. This ceremony, it was the ceremony like the funeral. You would not wear this to the funeral. It is ridiculous.

In this picture, all the Dick Cheney he needs to be prepared for the outing to the frozen tundra is the hat made of the cheese.