VINTAGE SHOES

Collecting and wearing twentieth-century designer footwear

by CAROLINE COX

Foreword by Christian Louboutin

See other books on collecting click here

New hardcover book with dustjacket, 224 pages with beautiful full-colour and B&W photos throughout. Published 2008

Decade by decade, the lavishly illustrated Vintage Shoes: Collecting and Wearing Twentieth-Century Designer Footwear recounts over 100 years of shoe history, from Andre Perugia's designs for society women in the 1920s to the red-soled shoes from Christian Louboutin favoured by celebrities today. Accompanied by archive images, stunning fashion photography and specially commissioned photographs of rare period footwear, the most collectible and fabulous footwear designs are showcased. An invaluable reference as well as a visual delight of times past, the book explores the key designers, technical developments and cultural influences that shaped shoe fashions, revealing exquisite and groundbreaking work from such luminaries as Salvatore Ferragamo, Charles Jourdan, Roger Vivier, Beth Levine, Vivienne Westwood and Manolo Blahnik.

Vintage Shoes is the ultimate guide to the most exemplary women's shoes from the turn of the twentieth century through the present day. Accompanied by detailed text, this beautiful book offers breathtaking images, stunning fashion photography, and exquisite period footwear designs from the most collectable and fabulous designers.

Each chapter focuses on a specific decade and is a rich survey of each era, revealing how footwear has been influenced by fashion, society, and world events. The most important designers and signature looks are examined in great detail and are accompanied by myriad examples of each type of shoe style. Finally, each chapter ends with a Key Looks feature showcasing all the important shapes, materials, and iconic designs that defined the era.

Vintage Shoes concludes with a shopping and collecting guide, offering advice on sourcing and caring for vintage shoes, along with a glossary of the most influential and collectable shoemakers of the last century and a guide to museums and collections. This book is an invaluable resource for lovers of fashion and shoes, as well as a visual delight revealing exquisite and groundbreaking work from the most talented and innovative designers of the twentieth century.

About the Author
Caroline Cox, professor of cultural history at the University of the Arts, London, is a leading fashion authority whose work explores the relationship between fashion, beauty and culture. Her books include Lingerie: A Lexicon of Style (2000), Stiletto (2004), Seduction (2006) and Hair and Fashion (2005), which had an accompanying catwalk show at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Caroline lives in London, England.

Vintage Fashion, the companion book to Vintage Shoes is also available - click here

 Vintage Shoes by Caroline Cox