Stiletto

by Caroline Cox

Book Overview

Stiletto spells sex. Nothing else creates an erotically taut, arched foot or an overall come-hither silhouette quite like the stiletto heel.This exquisite book uncovers the compelling lure of the needle heel. A highly charged symbol, the stiletto suggests a multitude of contradictions - it can be elegant, vulgar, submissive, aggressive, subversive, conventional. The stiletto is phallic but supremely female, it makes the wearer at once vulnerable and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060748133
• ISBN13: 9780060748135
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 2.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 12.0"

Customer Reviews

Fabulous, Fantastic High Heels

For anyone interested in sexual iconography or the history of fashion this book is a must-have for the library. Stiletto high-heeled shoes, much maligned and disdained by afficionados of banality and practicality and anxious medicos who specialize in feet, have outlived and survived all critical attacks meant to make them go away and have a continuing allure despite the fact that it takes practice and balance and mindfulness to walk gracefully in a pair of these lovely, sculptured shoes which are the sexiest footwear ever created. There is even a series of exercises designed for actresses and models to strengthen the feet and legs to make wearing stilleto heels more comfortable and, hence, more fun. And this fine book by Carolyn Cox explains what all the fuss and bother is about and why anyone in her right mind would want to wear a pair of stiletto heels. The large format allows for excellent photographic coverage as well as historic images from the 1950's and 1960's when stilleto high heels, first fashioned in embryonic form by Roger Vivier for Christian Dior, and then further elaborated into the thin, elegant spike we know today, came into their own as a staple of high fashion as enduring as Chanel's "Little Black Dress" which, like a pair of stiletto heels matched with a business suit or an evening dress or a blouse and skirt -- especially a pencil skirt -- is never not elegant. Stiletto heels are pre-eminently feminine and, once you've learned how to walk in them, pre-eminently exciting to wear. Their distinctive click-click on a hardwood or linoleum floor is music to a fashionista's ears. They elongate the legs like no other shoe on Earth, raise the wearer above her customary level of vision and, when worn by someone who truly loves them and is at home in them, radiate a sense of majesty and self-possession and power and sexual self-awareness and just a hint of danger which is elegant, crisp, business-like, decisive, distinctively powerful and the very opposite of obscene or tawdry or clownish or dull or wishy-washy. This is the best book I know of for the reader who wants to immerse herself (or himself) in the history, development, cultural and psychological significance, construction techniques and aesthetic principles of stiletto heels. Once you've read it you'll understand why this shoe design, which seems at first so counter-intuitive as something to walk in, has such a lasting appeal for millions of women world-wide. And you may also come to realize that a well-made pair of stiletto heels is a thing of beauty in itself, formal and geometrically pure in linear design, softly curved and bitingly sharp at the same time, still but poised by shape alone for motion, a delight for the sense of sight, which they can easily saturate. Perhaps the final reason for the lasting appeal and enduring love of stiletto high heels is the reason given by John Keats: "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

Stilettos, Power of Feminity

I loved this, there was alot of great history and sayings associated with the Stiletto. Stiletto's are the ultimate in Feminity and this books shows it. Gorgious color plates, tons of great tidbits of facts, lovely photography. Perfect for the Stiletto Enthusiast. [...]. Stiletto's are the power of Feminity and dates back to a long rich history of the Shoe.

One step beyond

This is a beautiful, smart, and fun book. I have never been a shoe fanatic and was at first skeptical when I received this book as a present, but I was pleasantly surprised as soon as I opened the cover. I loved all the history, whimsy, and gorgeous illustrations found in this book. This is a great one to give as a gift and will add a stylish touch to every library. Anyone with even the slightest interest in fashion, cultural history, or designer footwear will go crazy for STILETTO.

intelligent, forward thinking and well researched

This book is an intelligent historical analysis of the stiletto heel, one of the best of its kind. Its insight into cultural history and psychology is profound. The mass of pictures and illustrations work perfectly with the text. It is ideal for students of fashion and cultural history plus anyone interested in making statements with their clothes.

Fantastic book

This is the best fashion hsitory book I have ever read. It has the most brilliant images and inspiring text. It is a proper history book that makes you look again at a subject with new eyes. I would highly recommend it.