If the Shoe Fits

Do you have this in black? And red? And gold?...

"I did not have 3000 pairs of shoes. I had 1060."

So said Imelda Marcos, the infamous first lady of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, after fleeing the impoverished country in 1986. The name Imelda became synonymous overnight with gross overindulgence in the face of suffering and a warped brand of modesty.

So, what could be more appropriate then a line of clothing, jewelry and, of course, shoes, called the Imelda Collection? The unrepentant 77-year-old recently launched the collection to head-scratching fanfare from Manilla to Miami.

Santiago "Ted" Ravelo, president of the Filipino Community Association of South Florida and onetime candidate for mayor of North Miami, was charitable in his assessment. "She has very good taste in everything she wears."

Ravelo, age 70, left the Philippines in 1979. Unlike some older Filipinos, he holds few grudges against the Marcos family and doubts the Imelda Collection will spark much outrage. "As long as it is affordable, for old time's sake, people will patronize it." -Rob Jordan