People from all around the DFW area came to Neiman Marcus recently for the opportunity to see Manolo Blahnik

Manolo Blahnik once said that his “shoes are special shoes for discerning feet.” Apparently there are many, many discerning feet in Dallas.

On the afternoon of Sept. 21, Manolo Blahnik made a personal appearance at Neiman Marcus North Park. There, he proceeded to do press interviews, take pictures with fans and of course, sign some of his magnificent shoes for overjoyed patrons.

There was a line around the store almost an hour before Mr. Blahnik was even scheduled to arrive. In the spirit of shoes, the event included foot models (only their feet were visible), champagne, Manolo shaped cookies, buff men in Manolo Blahnik logo tees holding silver trays of Manolos and more pairs of Manolo Blahniks than either Sarah Jessica Parker or Imelda Marcos possess. People waited in line for more than an hour to get their shoes, books and other Manolo items signed.

At the front of the line sat a little Spanish man in a butter-colored suit with thick round black glasses and perfectly combed titanium-white hair. With only a few moments to speak, many of his collectors told him how much they love his luxurious footwear and a lucky few snapped pictures with him.

With a polite tone and a very thick accent, he quietly responded to each and every one who came to see him. One woman, with the most beautiful eggplant colored Birkin 35, showed up with a picture of her personal Manolo collection (more than 300 pairs of perfect posh pumps) for Mr. Blahnik to sign. He was nearly as delighted to see her, as she was to see him. The event was a complete and utter success.

Later that same evening, the Shak was host to the “Kül Walk on the Wild Side” patron party. For those who are unfamiliar, “Kül Walk on the Wild Side” is an event where shoes and fabulous prizes are auctioned off to benefit charity, this year the beneficiary is the Human Rights Campaign.

On display, for those who were fortunate enough to have tickets, were six of the one-of-a-kind shoes to be auctioned off. With food and drinks from Palomino, the Shak was the perfect trendy yet intimate setting for this event. With custom shoes by Oscar de la Renta, Medium and yours truly. Quite a buzz was generated around the various couture footwear. This was a great precursor to the event, to be held on Oct. 21 at Kül Gallery in downtown.

All in all this was a great day for shoes. At the “wild party” an impeccably dressed elderly woman came up to a friend of mine and told my friend how much she liked her Manolos. After quickly flashing the bottom of her black lace peek-a-boo pumps, exposing a personal note from Manolo Blahnik, she looked at the woman and said, “I know, right?” She looked back at me, and we both giggled. I think it’s contagious.

For more information on the “Kül Walk on the Wild Side” and the charities it benefits visit kulwalkonthewildside.org