I enjoyed reading this fashion history. I was surprised at the early history of the boot and it's fashion rise and fall and rise again. I really enjoyed reading about many of the personalities behind the scenes. The book is a more serious look at fashion and social history than I was expecting. The text is accompanied with lots of wonderful illustrations. Anyone with an interest in women's history and fashion history will enjoy this book.

If you love boots, work in fashion or just love the history of things we use everyday you'll love this book. The history of styles and how they have evolved and yet they stayed mostly the same repeating with usually minor changes. I am confident I can recognize where a style of boot originated from. The pictures and illustrations are well done and expand even more on the history. I found the way each boot fit into the history of the times happening extremely interesting.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book

A really fascinating look at boots as fashion from the 1920's to the present day. It's full of pictures and stories about shoe designers & celebrities.

I really loved that it went beyond the obvious in so many ways. We learn about trends and how they showed up in the press, how high-end fashion trickled down to the masses, and changing styles in boots.

It's a great look at something iconic. I wish there were more books like this.

Made for Walking is an interesting look at the history of the boot in the 20th and 21st centuries. By far the most fascinating part for me was the beginning of the book, looking at the general trends that pushed the boot into mainstream fashion wear for the very first time. As the book progressed, there was less discussion of the 'whys' of boot styles and more simple name-dropping of designers, models, and influences, which did get a bit repetitive (essentially, boots change with skirt/trouser styles). I would have liked to see deeper analysis of the feminist power of boots as opposed to a straight-forward history of styles.

However, this would make an excellent coffee table book for people who have an interest in fashion, or an obsession with suede boots (which is what made me pick this up in the first place!). It's fascinating to see the styles change over the decades, and I learned a lot about the fashion of the first half of the 20th century. This is well worth a read.

This was a fun read for sure! I love shoes/boots and one of the most exciting things for me is to see shoe exhibits in museums :). Made for Walking had great photos, interesting tidbits/fun facts, and general history that made me look at boots in a new light. The gender-specific viewpoints were interesting to note; comic book heroines in boots look simultaneously feminine, yet masculine enough to show their fierce side. Practical boots versus impractical (I lean towards the impractical side of shoes!), the history is fascinating in all aspects. A great present or coffee table book to have on hand :)