Publisher Description

From Medieval leather poulaines and dainty Victorian satin slippers to the iconic platforms of the 1960s and the gravity-defying designs of today, shoes have always been for than just functional. Focusing on the V&A's world-famour collection, Shoes explores the innovative and the elegant, the practical and the high-tech, and the way in which shoes have defines fashion moments throughout history.

Notes

A chronological history spanning across the medieval era to the present day, this title features over 120 illustrations and includes examples of both male and female footwear.

Author Biography

Linda Woolley specializes in early and medieval textiles and dress and has written and lectured widely in these fields. She is a former curator in the V&A's Department of Textiles and Dress. She is the author of Life and Leisure in the Devonshire Hunting Tapestries.

Lucy Johnston is an expert in historical dress and a former curator in the Department of Textiles and Dress at the V&A. She is now a freelance curator and museum consultant specializing in fashionable dress, shoes and rural workers' clothing. Her publications include 19th-Century Fashion in Detail.

Table of Contents

Introduction • 1. Medieval Gothic and the English Renaissance • 2. Heels, Buckles and Bows: The 17th Century • 3. Taste and Elegance: 1700 – 50 • 4. Fashion and Revolution: 1750 – 95 • 5. Form and Function: 1795 – 1836 • 6. Innovation and Experiment: 1837 – 1914 • 7. War and Glamour: 1914– 39 • 8. Street Style and Street Fashion: 1939 – 79 • 9. Style by Design: 1980 – 98 • 10. Contemporary Icons: 2000–The Present • Glossary • Selection Bibliography • Major Dress Collections Featuring Shoes • Authors' Biographies • Acknowledgments • Index

Review

'An amazing and extensively researched volume' - New York Journal of Books

Promotional

An impeccably researched history of shoes and fashionable footwear through the ages, with examples drawn from the Victoria & Albert Museum's outstanding collection

Promotional "Headline"

An engaging and authoritative overview of the history of footwear from the Middle Ages to today, illustrated with rare and luxurious examples.

Details