Shoes have come a long way in the thousands of years since primitive man first donned bark and animal skins. Originally used to protect feet from harsh temperatures and rough land, shoes have evolved into an article of high fashion and style, a sartorial reflection of class, rank, and wealth. Take a stroll through history with this carefully researched, lavishly illustrated survey of footwear by R. Turner Wilcox, the fashion editor of Women's Wear Daily from 1910 through 1915.
What did Tutankhamen's burial sandals look like? What shoes were the height of fashion in Paris at the turn of the century? The answers are all inside, along with hundreds of meticulously detailed images of every type of footwear imaginable: papyrus sandals from ancient Egypt, Chinese silk wedges for binding the feet, high wooden clogs for navigating muddy streets, English cavalier boots finished with rosettes and buckle trim, French taffeta dancing shoes, satin-and-lace boudoir slippers, kiltie golf brogues, jodhpur boots, American saddle oxfords, and so much more. Spanning centuries of styles from simply practical to distinctively dazzling, The Mode in Footwear is a true find for fashion editors, illustrators, costume designers, and shoe lovers of every kind.