What’s a Blahnik?

I recently realized not everyone knows what Blahnik in this blog’s title refers to. Silly me, I thought everyone knew what these beautiful things are! But, people keep asking “What’s a Blahnik?” So, I figured it’s about time I answered the question.

Simply put, Blahnik refers to shoes made by the famous designer, Manolo Blahnik. But to me, it’s more than just a shoe. It symbolizes friendship, perseverance, self-assurance, and the first chance at a fun dream. Before we talk about what it means, we need to talk about when & where it all started.

The story begins in St. Paul, MN, in a small two bedroom apartment with a best friend and college roommate of 4 years. Instead of me telling you this story, I asked her to share with you the story behind my (slight) obsession with these shoes.

Here’s Dimpho:

In college, Zainab and I, like most college aged girls, were obsessed with Sex and the City. During our junior year, Target had a Black Friday special, every season for $10! We immediately jumped on it. Unfortunately, other people had the same idea and Target sold out before we could acquire the entire series. Luckily, they offered rain checks. Over the next six months, we scoured Targets hoping to complete our collection. Every time we purchased a new season, we’d sit down and watch it end to end. For us, it wasn’t necessarily the storylines as much as the style. The series taught us about creating our own signature style. I thought of myself as a plain Jane with funky accessories, while Zainab was into bold colors and patterns like the time she had yellow pants. But both of us loved the shoes!!! Especially Carrie’s favorite designer, Manolo Blahnik. However, since we were broke, we bought our heels from Paylessthat pinched our feet, but we loved them.

In 2008, the first movie was released and of course, Blahniks played a special role. We watched Carrie prancing all over Manhattan in her Blahniks, hanging out with the girls, writing for Vogue, and planning her wedding. She finally had it all. Until she didn’t. Her world fell apart when she was left at the altar. At the end of the movie, what finally reunited her with her one true love were a pair of satin, cobalt blue, crystal encrusted toe Manolo Blahniks. Carrie left them behind and had to go retrieve the never-worn-before shoes, and who happened to be waiting for her, shoes in hand? Her true love. He got down on one knee, told her she was the one, and slipped the shoe on in the most gentle and loving way. Cheesy? We know!

Fast forward to 2012 and my college roommate, best friend, and sister for life is getting married. Who do you think she wanted to share the special occasion with? Me of course but those satin, cobalt blue, crystal encrusted toe Manolo Blahniks as well. And she did, walking down the aisle, posing for pictures, and dancing the night away. Forever embedding a shoe into the history of our friendship and the rest of her life.

Thanks Dimps! I miss those days of just vegging out all day on the couch and enjoying our DVDs. Who said growing up was fun?

What Dimpho didn’t mention, is the show helped me discover my style, confidence, and comfort with my body. And that’s why I fell in love with those shoes.  Being a college student and subsequently enrolling in graduate school for 6 long years meant my dream of owning the shoes would not come true for a very long time.  So instead, I kept a picture on my blackberry and continued to slowly save towards fulfilling my dream of owning them one day. For the first time in my life, I was pursing something other than a career goal, and it meant a lot to me. When my future husband came into the picture, he, of course, learned about my dream (or obsession!) and as a symbol of our love, he gave me the satin, cobalt blue, crystal encrusted toe Manolo Blahniks as a wedding present!

So there you have it friends! The Blahnik in Blahnik Baker is about a dream, a beautiful pair of shoes, and confidence in me. It may not have anything to do with baking – but for me, the shoes and baking represent success and fulfillment in my personal life and it just felt right for the title of my blog.

PS: this is the only picture where you can see I am wearing the shoes! I forgot to raise the dress all day for the pictures!