Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik & Christian Louboutin
By livelonger
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
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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MANOLO BLAHNIK Shoes Pumps Heels Bronze Mettalic Maryjanes 9.5 39.5
Current Bid: $499.99
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Manolo Blahnik SWAN Satin Shoes Wedding Bridal White Beaded sz 38.5 NIB * RARE
Current Bid: $1590.00
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RED VIBRAM RUBBER REPLACMENT SOLES FOR CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN SHOES HEEL ULTRA THIN
Current Bid: $7.40
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Christian Louboutin Very Prive 120 Roccia Python w/ Red tip 37 7 TPF
Current Bid: $550.00
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Jimmy Choo black tan classic high heels pumps shoes womens 37 7 AUTHENTIC $500+
Current Bid: $59.99
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Jimmy Choo Suede Boots
Current Bid: $275.00
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Jimmy Choo Private Shoes Black Patent Leather
Current Bid: $399.00
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Jimmy Choo Open Toe Turq Blue Printed Strappy Summer Sandals Kitten Heels 40 9
Current Bid: $39.99
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Comments
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
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) ;-)
ya
Oprah Winfrey has mentioned shoe brands on her show. Do you know if she has had any influence on the shoe market?
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. ;-)
Thanks, this article helped me with some character research I'm doing for a romance novel.
love Jimmy Choo!
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.
I love Jimmy Choos!
Lovely, lovely, lovely Jimmy Choo
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!
Where can I get those Manolo Blahnik shoes in the picture
i loveeeee jjimmyyy choossss
I love all the brands of the high heel shoes,and I usually buy them from the website:
manolo blahnik shoes
christian louboutin shoes
Good quality with low price!
With the new Sex and the City 2 movie coming out, it will be interesting to see which shoes are featured. I'm pretty sure the tride and true Manolo Blahniks will always be a Carrie favorite.
I am a big fan of all these designers, especially the Christian Louboutin shoes. I also have a hub on "Purchasing designer shoes online". Liked your other hubs too. Joining your fanclub and would like to invite you to join mine..
Great analysis. You navigate the web and present the analysis well. I love Jimmy Choo but my wallet doesn't.
Manolo's Shoe Blog (not Mr Blahnik...)
- Whose Shoes Wednesday
Manolo asks, whose shoes? - 21 hours ago
- Sergio Rossi Platforms for the Day after the Memorial Day
Manolo says, it is the day after Memorial Day and you are back at your desk, complaining to yourself about the system that requires you to be invisibly chained to your means of production. Yes, you are fairly compensated for your mighty efforts on behalf of InEmTechCoCom, Inc, but still, humans were not meant to [...] - 45 hours ago
- Manolo the Columnist: Gladiator Maine from DSquared2
Manolo says, here is the Manolo’s latest column for the Express of the Washington Post. Dear Manolo, At the end of June I’m going to Dubai for a business conference. For the meetings, I’m going to be in strict business attire, but afterwards, I plan on dressing up and hitting the malls and the restaurants. [...] - 6 days ago
shoelover 5 years ago
Very interesting analysis
xoxo
Shoelover