Manolo Blahnik Xiafore Rose Ankle-Wrap Sandals

Manolo Blahnik Xiafore rose ankle-wrap sandals, $1,295

I’m not normally a big Manolo Blahnik fan, but it would take a harder heart than mine to resist these little rose-trimmed sandals, which have me longing for summer – even more than I was anyway, I mean.

These have a delicate, wrap-around ankle, and the red and cream colourway should make then incredibly versatile: in fact, the ‘barely there’ feel of the shoe will make it hard to find something you CAN’T wear with then, really. I think they’d look best with an equally delicate silk dress – perhaps also with a floral print, to go with the shoes – but as I said, it’s hard to go wrong with a barely-there sandal, so knock yourself out!

One of the reasons I don’t normally go wild for Manolo Blahnik is the fact that, in recent years I think the brand has become a little too reliant on the ‘Hangisi’ satin pump – otherwise known as “the shoes Big used to propose to Carrie in Sex and the City”. Don’t get me wrong, I like the shoes themselves, but when I looked at the Manolo section at Neiman Marcus this week, other than the sandals shown above, it was pretty much just Hangisi, in every colour imaginable. I’ve shown you them so many times now I didn’t really think it was worth featuring them again, but then I saw this colour…

Manolo Blahnik ‘Hangisi’ satin pumps, $965

… and all of a sudden, I’m starting to see the appeal again. This colour is described as turquoise, but is what I think of as ‘Tiffany blue’. My brain has an almost Pavlovian response to anything that reminds me of a Tiffany box, so naturally I started drooling at the very sight of these: I don’t think they’ll ever be my favourite shoes in the world, but if a pair were to miraculously to turn up at m my door, I don’t think I’d send them away, either!