Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik & Christian Louboutin

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By livelonger


Carrie fondling her "other boyfriend", Manolo Blahnik
Carrie fondling her "other boyfriend", Manolo Blahnik

High-end women's shoes

If you've ever caught an episode or two of Sex and the City, you probably remember a reference or two to Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo. Were one of those Mr. Big's real name? Not quite, although Carrie Bradshaw was probably just as enamored of them as she was of her tall, dark and handsome boyfriend.

In reality, Manolo Blahnik is a Spanish shoe designer (his father was Czech, hence the very unSpanish name), and Jimmy Choo is a shoe firm headed by a British woman (although historically actually owned by a couture shoemaker whose original name was Jimmy Chow). Both have been the darlings of shoe lovers in recent years.

However, Sex and the City has come to a close, Carrie's with Mr. Big, and women still want shoes. Really nice ones. So the question is, which of these designers is hotter? Which is making the trendier shoe? Which is cobbling the strappy sandals, slingbacks, stilettos and pumps that have women everywhere swooning?

Let's take a look at the relative volume of searches for Mr Choo, Mr Blahnik and Mr Christian Louboutin, a French up-and-comer in the world of fine women's shoes:

Let's check the trends

Google Trends, Sept 17 2006
Google Trends, Sept 17 2006

A little analysis

So what's going on here?

* Manolo Blahnik is on the slow decline, its chief supporter in popular culture, Sex and the City, off prime time and into syndication (kind of like seeing knockoffs of haute couture appearing in Wal-Mart)

* Jimmy Choo has taken the helm, supported by a PR-savvy head, Tamara Mellon, and hot accessories such as celebrity-adored handbags. A spike in activity occurred in early 2006 when Jimmy Choo announced his departure from the firm who took his name.

* newcomer Christian Louboutin, known for his signature red insoles, has traversed the Atlantic from his native Paris and made a hit in the U.S., popularized by the Olsen twins and Jessica Simpson. His shoes have begun to appear at retailers such as Neiman Marcus, and online.


Hip-hop meets fashion: "Jimmy Choo" by Shyne

Metrolopi of taste

Maybe unsurprisingly, the cities running the largest number of searches are New York, Irvine (hello? the O.C.) and Los Angeles, cities renowned for their pret-a-porter fashion sensibilities and knock-out beautiful women.

Particularly admired in the UK is native Jimmy Choo, who, despite what you might have read, really is a person, although the brainchild behind the brand's style and image is Tamara Mellon, who brought worldwide fame to a small couture brand.



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Comments

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shoelover  says:
2 years ago

Very interesting analysis
xoxo
Shoelover

Secret Hymns  says:
2 years ago

I must agree with the shoelover, it is a very interesting analysis. As a man that on occasion may inherit the daunting task of going with a women shoe shopping, I found that to be very useful in my attempt to hurry along the shopping process when trying to get her to make up her mind and by a shoe. LOL I can just tell her that statistically Jimmy is the shoe to get. LOL

livelonger profile image

livelonger  says:
2 years ago

Secret Hymns: You might want to do an extrapolation analysis to know when you'll have to mention Christian Louboutin instead (looks about 4-5 months out) ;-)

TheEarthsRelic profile image

TheEarthsRelic  says:
2 years ago

ya

gredmondson profile image

gredmondson  says:
2 years ago

Oprah Winfrey has mentioned shoe brands on her show. Do you know if she has had any influence on the shoe market?

livelonger profile image

livelonger  says:
2 years ago

Interesting question. I went to Google and saw on how many pages these designers were mentioned on Oprah's Website. The verdict:
Manolo Blahnik - 133
Jimmy Choo - 46
Christian Louboutin - 4
Looking at the Trends graph above, it looks like Oprah's site is stuck around Feb 2004, or 2 1/2 yrs behind the rest of us. ;-)

Moonmaiden profile image

Moonmaiden  says:
2 years ago

Thanks, this article helped me with some character research I'm doing for a romance novel.

Billy Talent ROX!  says:
2 years ago

love Jimmy Choo!

SMORGAN  says:
18 months ago

Big fan of Christian Louboutin!

I'm not in to wearing huge designer labels on my clothes (they don't pay me to be a walking billboard...) but I love the red soles.

intimo lingerie  says:
14 months ago

I love Jimmy Choos!

chooboy  says:
9 months ago

Lovely, lovely, lovely Jimmy Choo

Guru-C profile image

Guru-C  says:
7 months ago

Dear Livelonger, One thing I find really alluring about Carrie Bradshaw is that she wears high heels at home. Makes so much sense to break them in that way, and looks so glamorous when opening the door!

bag-girl profile image

bag-girl  says:
6 months ago

Where can I get those Manolo Blahnik shoes in the picture

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