It is amazing when a shoe that has not been to market is sold out as Manolo Blahnik shoes are these days. Talk about hot.

When George Malkemus, the New York City-based president of the Blahnik company, was at Neiman Marcus in Palm Beach for a preview of the spring shoe collection, salon personnel pointed out the top sellers of the season, presold to customers before his arrival.

The two styles, the Lla white leather slide with crystal- and jewel-encrusted straps and the Jolie slide with Swarovski-crystal-studded belt-style straps, are, at $830 and $965 a pair respectively, the highest-priced Blahnik shoes of the season. Most Blahnik shoes fall into the $500 to $650 range.

“If it’s the right shoe, women don’t seem to hesitate,” Malkemus says.

The loyalty of women to shoes designed by Blahnik is due to their look and comfort, even when a heel reaches staggeringly high levels, Malkemus says. “It’s not just that they are beautiful and sexy, though that’s what they’re buying, but Manolo spends four months at the factory in order to achieve the correct fit and comfort level for each style we produce for the season.”

“I’m personally wild for Blahniks,” says Beth Pine, vice president and general manager of Neiman Marcus’ Worth Avenue branch, who confesses to a bit of an obsession with the shoes. “There’s just something about them — once they’re on, you are transformed,” she says. “And you can be bloated or have gained five pounds and still just look fabulous when you put those Blahniks on.” via MercuryNews.com