What do your shoes say about you? Karn Knutson knows. In this beautifully illustrated and devilishly satirical book, a bona fide shoe-ologist–a girl who's studied footwear since grammar school–reveals just how much your shoes are saying. Thought your four-inch heel said "tall?" Think twice. Thought you were the only one aware of your man-made uppers? Guess again. Chances are your shoes have been clueing your friends and co-workers into much more than you thought. Here's what Karn has to say about just a few of your footwear choices: Do you prefer the Strappy Red Satin? "In the office this is a dead giveaway. You want to be anywhere else but where you are. Preferably with some tall, dark, and handsome man or with friends that make you laugh so hard you snort." Or perhaps you're more of a Skin It and Make It Beg type. "There's something sensibly terrifying about you. You're impeccable in your power couture. Cynicism is your native tongue." Neither of these ring a bell for you? Maybe it's because you're more of a Woven Wanderlust girl. "You live in the suburbs and have a pair of these to match every twin set you own. The most excitement you see is when a PTA meeting gets rowdy over whether brownies are acceptable for the annual Cookies-a-Yum-Yum bake sale." Still nothing? Don't worry--with tons of styles grouped into fun categories like Heels: The Holy Grail, Scandals of Sandals, The Sporty Sorts, and Bad Shoes Happen, it'll be hard not to find the perfect fit. With so many options, Shoe-ology is a veritable department store of choices. A perfect gift for yourself and girlfriends, buy it by the pair!

Until recently, very little was known about medieval shoes. Glimpses in manuscript illustrations and on funerary monuments, with the occasional reference by a contemporary writer, was all that the costume historian had as evidence, not least because leather tends to perish after prolonged contact with air, and very few actual examples survived. In recent years, however, nearly 2,000 shoes, many complete and in near-perfect condition, have been discovered preserved on the north bank of the Thames, and are now housed in the Museum of London. This collection, all from well-dated archaeological contexts, fills this vast gap in knowledge, making it possible to chart precisely the progress of shoe fashion between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries.

their origin, history, uses, and abuses

"Includes more than 20,000 internship opportunities"--Cover.