in the mood; In a new book, photographer Eric Boman re-creates the poetry that goes into the making of a Manolo Blahnik shoe.(Blahnik by Boman: Shoes, Photographs, Conversation)

Byline: Julia Reed

By now there's scarcely a woman in the Western world who isn't aware of the remarkable transformational qualities of a Manolo Blahnik shoe: the elongated calf, the improved posture, the self-confidence so easily summoned. What the wearer-distracted by the stunning sight of her own toe cleavage or a suddenly slender ankle-often forgets is what the beholder never does: The shoes themselves are works of art.

For years, Manolo appreciators have had to find their own ways of enshrining these masterpieces. My beloved chinchilla mules once graced my living-room mantel for months; a Polaroid of another breathtaking pair made from the feathers of peacocks and guinea hens still occupies prime space-next to a Melendez still life-on my bulletin board. Finally, Eric Boman has put together a book of real pictures-the first book of photographs of Manolo Blahnik shoes ever published-in Blahnik by Boman: Shoes, Photographs, Conversation (Chronicle). In some 150 gorgeous images, not only does Boman accord the shoes the respect they deserve as objects, he all but deconstructs them.

"I wanted to pinpoint what Manolo's creative process is," Boman says, "to show that when he designs a shoe it is not about what is fashionable or in the air. It's all to do with his reminiscences, experiences with people he's known, movies he loves. He grabs onto whatever he can." Likewise, Boman created mini-universes for each pair of shoes he was allowed to choose, without interference, from Blahnik's vast archive. A pair with an intricate cutout vamp, for example, was photographed on a doily with meringues from Boman's neighborhood bake shop-"Manolo loves sugar."

The fact that the two ...