On Sunday, I had the privilege of accompanying a friend on a celebratory shopping trip and brunch at Barneys. JM (the friend in question) had received a rather big promotion at work a few days prior, and she wanted to commemorate the occasion with her first pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes. Her new title includes the words “vice president,” so a pair of shoes certainly seemed to be in order, and I was excited to go along on the shoe shopping mission, along with our friend Casey. Originally, a pair of cap-toed Manolo pumps was the desired prey.

Casey and I urged JM to try on a few more pairs before she got to her One True Loves, though, because you should always make the most of shoe shopping at Barneys, right? Even though they hadn’t been the impetus for the mission, as soon as JM put on the Manolo Blahnik PP Pumps in aubergine suede, above, all three of us knew that they were going to be the winners. There’s a reason the BBs have been around for so long and in so many colors and materials – they might be the perfect pump.

Try as we might, it’s impossible to totally evaluate a shoe on the Internet. How a shoe looks and feels on the foot is just as important as anything else about it, and as soon as my friend slipped these on, all of us just…knew. It was a magical shoe moment. Nothing says VP like a pair of truly boss shoes, right? These fit that description, and in multiple colors, materials, embellishments and heel heights, there’s probably a pair in the Manolo diaspora to fit your aesthetic. Another great thing? Blahnik doesn’t raise prices nearly as much as most other designers on his level. Buy through Barneys for $595.