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Any woman moderately versed in popular culture has seen an photo of a boot nicknamed the “Manolo Timbs.” They are a pair of pointy-toed, suede work boots on a curved stiletto heel designed by the messiah of sexy shoes, Manolo Blahnik.

They made their quiet debut in August of 2002. Devout Blahnik buyers snatched them up immediately. The downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus had already sold out of the Okla Mod boot far before their mainstream appearance.

When Jennifer Lopez released her video for “Jenny From the Block,” in December 2002, she strutted through the video in her Okla Mods and immediately sparked a frenzy.

By the beginning of 2003, photographs of Mariah Carey, Beyonce Knowles, Joy Bryant, Eve and Tracy Ellis Ross sprang up, all of the ladies donning a pair of this hot style.

Manolo Blahnik retailers were bombarded with requests for the shoe. Unfortunately for Dallasites, Neiman Marcus didn’t expect that type of reaction.

“We didn’t have any left by the time J-Lo had them,” Beverly Anderson, a sales associate in the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus said.

The department store started a waiting list and ordered a second stock because of the demand. They immediately sold out again, and the style has since been discontinued.

“We still get 30 to 40 calls a day [about the boots],” Anderson said. “No one else has them.”

The second generation of the Okla Mod comes in spring colors like pink and white. Neiman Marcus already has a standing wait list for them that started in December.

If an aggressive shopper wants to stay ahead of the Joneses, she can start hunting for them in baby blue or black.

Jennifer Lopez sported a baby blue pair in her “All I Have” video and Regina Belle was spotted in an all black pair during the Valentine’s Love Concert at the Bronco Bowl Theatre.

The average retail price on a pair of Blahnik’s Okla Mod is about $650. Buying them from a Manolo Blahnik boutique or department store comes with the bonus of knowing you’re buying a genuine article.

For shoppers willing to make a gamble, bids on eBay for the original camel-colored boots are currently as high as $900. Prices peak at $1,295 on the “buy it now” bid-bypass option. Bids on the black, white, pink and baby blue versions rage from $499 to $750.

However, let the buyer beware because there are a lot of replicas on eBay. Some are bad and some are precise, with prices ranging from $50 to $180.

Very often the cost of style has floored the layman, and eventually another designer swoops in to save the less affluent.

In January, Steve Madden introduced the $149 Hijo, which was almost a carbon copy of the Okla Mod. Though the shoe’s existence was common knowledge in areas like New York City, the Hijo was a well-kept secret in Dallas. It was available by pre-order only, and didn’t arrive at the Dallas Galleria Steve Madden store until Feb. 14.

Assistant manager at the Madden store Vanessa Salinas said they got about 51 pre-orders, and despite a six-week wait, customers were “very satisfied.”

However, before it even arrived at the Galleria, the Hijo was quietly replaced on the Steve Madden Web site by the Hijoo. It looks a lot like its predecessor, but the cuff at the top of the boot is curved and it has a curved seam on the side. These changes make it easily distinguishable from both the Hijo and the Okla Mod.

The Hijo isn’t manufactured by Steve Madden anymore, thus causing another fervor. Buyers that ordered the Hijo received what they paid for, but anyone seeking them now will have to settle for the Hijoo. Desperate shoppers may try to contact stores in other cities or take a trip to eBay where bids on the Hijo peak at $260.

The Hijoo isn’t available in any other colors except natural for now, but it is available with a lower heel (kitten, for those well versed in shoe jargon). It’s called the Lo-Jo and even though it’s not quite as sexy as Hijoo’s almost four-inch heel, it’s a lot easier to walk in.

Though the general public went crazy over the funky new style, insiders have mixed opinions on the shoe.

Anderson wasn’t moved by the Okla Mod and does not own a pair, though she has quite a few pairs of Blahniks. She said she’s not the type to buy something just because a star has them.

“I can’t walk in the heel. But people they say they’re comfortable because of the tread,” Salinas said of the Hijo. “I think they’re a cute boot, but it’s not my style.”

But she said the manager of her Steve Madden store, Miata Cunningham, loves them.

“She even has the cargo pants [like J-Lo’s] to go with them,” Salinas said.

Buy the boot