Steele claims she doesn't own as many shoes as lots of women, but "I do respond to the beauty of shoes as objects, they can transform your entire wardrobe" she says.
Valerie Steele is a hallowed voice in the fashion world. She is Director and Head Curator at The Museum at The Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, and a seriously chic person.
"There is a bit of Imelda Marcos in many women," is how she begins her fascinating book, Shoes: A Lexicon of Style
The book taps into her views on the obsession, the fetish, and the fashion of footwear, from the pump to the sneaker, the boot to the stiletto. There are no ancient Roman sandals in this book. Instead, you get passion, expert knowledge and informed
opinion like no other. Plus she has access to the greatest in shoes so her book is illustrated with cutting-edge photos and filled with quips and quotes from Tom Ford, Manolo Blahnik, Ann Magnuson, and other shoe aficionados.
In her books Valerie Steele regularly stirs up the debate over high heels, the joys of athletic footwear, and the power of shoes to convey status and sex appeal for the well- shod of every "style tribe." Read her and see if you agree with this opinionated shoe-lover!.
(Valerie Steele is also editor of the journal Fashion Theory. Her previous books include Women of Fashion (Rizzoli, 1991) and Fetish: Fashion, Sex and Power, and, as a fashion commentator, The Corset, The Red Dress, and Fifty years of Fashion.)
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