Vintage Manolo Blahnik Shoes Black & White Polka Dot Pumps w Low Heels & Buckles
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 36.5 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Uppers are excellent - soles have minor scuffs as shown.
- Seller Location:Portland, OR
- Reference Number:
Manolo Blahnik
There may be no designer with as wide a breadth of references as the fashion and footwear icon Manolo Blahnik, whose stated sources of inspiration for the creation of his sublime shoes include — but are not limited to — Diana Vreeland, ancient Greece, 21st-century architecture, Spanish cinema and Piet Mondrian.
It’s a fittingly robust list for someone who has spent a lifetime in the self-described “pursuit of beauty.”
Born in 1942 in Spain’s Canary Islands, Blahnik had an early exposure to shoemaking: During World War II, his designer-shoe-loving mother enlisted a local cobbler to teach her to make her own footwear from available materials. The young Blahnik was intrigued.
After briefly studying law in Switzerland with the intention of becoming a diplomat, Blahnik moved to Paris, where he took a job in a vintage clothing shop while studying art at École des Beaux-Arts as well as set design at the art school of the Louvre. It wasn’t until years later, however, that he would realize his calling as a shoe designer. In the late 1960s, Blahnik relocated to London, where he worked for both the Sunday Times and Vogue. In the early 1970s, the renowned American Vogue editor Diana Vreeland saw his sketches and urged him to pursue footwear.
After a debut collection for celebrated fashion designer Ossie Clark — featuring models that Blahnik had gotten to know through his work in the fashion industry, among them Twiggy — received acclaim, he created footwear for illustrious dressmaker Jean Muir and apprenticed with professional shoemakers in London to perfect his craft. By 1973 he had bought out the shoe boutique Zapata and made it his own. Bloomingdale’s introduced him to the American market with a collection a few years later.
Vintage Manolo Blahnik shoes are famous for their theatricality, as the designer is well known for the whimsical, fantastical elements he brings to footwear, often in an explosive palette. “I have always approached color in a bold way, from all angles and variations,” he once said. “Always searching for the poetry of an impossible color.” Tack on teetering height as a trademark that took shape from early on.
“Those poor girls couldn’t walk properly, but people loved it,” the designer recalled of his early models. “Sir Cecil Beaton said to me, ‘Is this a new way of walking?’” To take it from pop culture, it indeed might have been: People are still talking about the night that Bianca Jagger dazzled, horseback, at Studio 54 in a Halston dress and Blahnik shoes on her 30th birthday, and, decades later, the footwear icon was rendered a household name during the long-running television series Sex and the City.
Today, Manolo Blahnik remains a virtual synonym for luxury shoes. Find a range of his footwear and handbags on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Beaverton, OR
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Vintage Horsebit Gucci Shoes in Black Suede Size 7.5 With BoxBy FerragamoLocated in Portland, ORThese black suede vintage Gucci shoes have the classic silver horse bit buckles and are marked a size 7 and 1/2 B. The calf suede shoes come with ...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Shoes
- Vintage Open Toe Moschino Purple Tweed Shoes with Beaded Bows Rosettes Size 37By MoschinoLocated in Portland, ORThis is a great pair of vintage Moschino purple tweed open toe shoes with beaded suede bows or rosettes and 3.5” purple suede heels. The shoes are l...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Shoes
- Vintage Pink Slingbacks d'Rossana by Charna 1980s Floral Striped Shoes 7NLocated in Portland, ORThese are wonderful striped floral pink slingbacks by d'Rossana by Charna from the 1980's. The shoes have a large flower rosette trimmed in pink leather. There is a small wedge heel ...Category
1980s Italian Shoes
- Jimmy Choo Black Satin Shoes Rhinestones Feathers Heels Size 37By Jimmy ChooLocated in Portland, ORThese black satin Jimmy Choo shoes are perfect for the holidays! These designer heels have pretty black feathers and rhinestones and are labeled a size ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Vintage Issey Miyake Pleats Please Red & Green Wingtip Style ShoesBy Issey MiyakeLocated in Portland, ORThese vintage Issey Miyake Pleats Please shoes are so unique and so comfortable! The shoes are a play on the wingtip shoe and are in a green fabric with red patent leather trim.These...Category
1990s Asian Shoes
- Jimmy Choo Shoes D'Orsay Pumps in Glitter Champagne Size 37.5 W/ Box & BagBy Jimmy ChooLocated in Portland, ORThese are beautiful Jimmy Choo Logan Shoes in size 37.5 with peep toes. These d'orsay peep toe pumps come with their original dust bag and box. ...Category
2010s Italian Heels
- YSL Champagne Colored Satin Strappy Thick Straw Wedges - 41By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in West Palm Beach, FLYSL Champagne Colored Satin Strapped Thick Straw Wedge - 41. These thick, straw, wedges have metallic champagne colored satin straps interweaving on the top of the shoes. They are in...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoes
- Alexandre Birman Ivory and Gray Python Flats - 36By Alexandre BirmanLocated in West Palm Beach, FLThese Alexandre Birman flats are gray and ivory python. The back is stretchy and the toe is rounded. They are in very good condition with some of the scales being lifted and minor bo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
- Salvatore Ferragamo Brown Patent and Green Snake Loafers - 5By Salvatore FerragamoLocated in West Palm Beach, FLThese Salvatore Ferragamo loafers are brown patent leather with green snake skin. They have brown stitching and are a size 5. They are in excellent c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Jimmy Choo Shimmery Silver Slingback Heels with Bedazzlement - 37By Jimmy ChooLocated in West Palm Beach, FLJimmy Choo Shimmery Silver Slingback Heels with Bedazzlement - 37. These heels have a shimmery silver color. On the slingback, there is a rhinestone ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Manolo Blahnik Black Satin Strappy Heels - 36.5By Manolo BlahnikLocated in West Palm Beach, FLManolo Blahnik Black Satin Strappy Heels - 36.5. These beautiful heels black satin with criss-crossed straps. On the ankle strap there is a gold cl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Antique Pair of shoes in glazed wool twill Bleu de France - Louis XVI Circa 1780Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1775/1785 France Rare pair of Collectible and Simplicity shoes for lady dating from the French Louis XVI period. Wool and silk twill Bleu ...Category
1770s French Shoes