Shoes by Raissa Bretaña: A Book Review

Shoes is written by Raissa Bretaña, a New-York city based fashion historian. In it, Bretaña shows “the evolution of women’s fashionable footwear over the course of four centuries…(p. 9)” It has 250 pictures of “the finest examples” of shoes from the 17th century to the 21st century, which were selected from museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (p. 9).

I enjoyed the book for the most part. One reason I enjoyed this book was because I found the shoes beautiful. I have a few pictures of my favorites below.

                                                                    

The second reason I enjoyed the book was because of the interesting historical facts the author mentioned.

For instance, in the 17th century, Louis XIV made an edict that the talon rouge (red heel) was to be reserved for royalty (p. 32-33). In the 18th century, the red heel served to be a mark of high status for members of the French court, and they also became a status symbol for aristocrats in other countries (p. 33). However, the French Revolution made the talon rouge and high heels in general go out of style, because both were seen as symbols of the corrupt aristocracy (p. 33). It was interesting to learn how historical events affected fashion at that time, and it made me consider how certain events could affect fashion in stories I might write in the future.

The third reason I  liked this book is because of its size. I find tiny books cute, and they’re easier to carry around.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fashion, fashion history, or simply likes shoes.