Just for you: a fun exercise in editing

Doing a bit of research on designer handbags and shoes (I know, tough job) I came across this ad at Footcandy Shoes:

"Slouchy and soft in croc-embossed leather. This bag is completly lined in nylon with zip clousure pocket and accessable cell phone pocket. 6.5in handle drop with decrative tassel detail. 12"H X 15"L X 5"W"

And this brilliant bio...

(I'm sure there are more gems to be found at Footcandy, but, sadly, I couldn't spend all day there.)

Manolo Blahnik

Manolo Blahnik began his extraordinary career in the Seventies and continues to be a champion of timeless and beautifully crafted designs. His shoes are synonymous with high glamour and full-throttle sex appeal and have become as famous as the women who wear them. Born in 1943 in the Canary Islands to a Spanish mother and Czech father and raised on a banana plantation, Blahnik's formative years could not have been further from the fashion capitals of the world. He began by studying architecture and literature at the University of Geneva but abandoned his studies after just a year in favor of moving to Paris 1968. He moved to London two years later where he worked briefly as a photographer for the Sunday Times and immediately fell into the fashion set, making friends with Paloma Picasso and photographer Eric Boman. During a trip to New York in 1971 with his new friends, Blahnik was introduced to Diana Vreeland, then the editor-in-chief of US Vogue, by Picasso. At the time, Blahnik wanted to be a theatre designer but, once he had been persuaded to show her his sketches and after admiring the shoes he had on - a tiny Edwardian pair from Portobello Market - Vreeland insisted that he "should concentrate on the funny little things on the feet". And Blahnik obeyed. His first collection was designed for Ossie Clark in 1972. In 1973, he opened Zapata, a boutique on Old Church Street in London which soon became regularly frequented by Bianca Jagger, Marie Helvin and Jerry Hall. Now universally known as 'Manolo's', Blahnik's shoes are coveted by a long list of famous clientele from celebrities to royalty. Bianca wore them to make her famous Studio 54 entrance on a white horse in 1977, and Diana, Princess of Wales wore them to the Serpentine Gallery in 1994 on the night that Prince Charles admitted his infidelity on television. Madonna once described shoes designed by Blahnik as "better than sex" and added that, "what's more, they last longer". Later, his name became even better known when his designs took 'supporting roles' on the hit television shows Absolutely Fabulous and Sex And The City. A craftsman with an impeccable eye for detail, Blahnik plays the major part in the creation of his designs, from the initial sketches to creating his own advertising campaigns which always feature his drawings. In 2003, he was honored with a retrospective exhibition of his drawings, memorabilia and collections at the Design Museum in London.