From Head to Toe: Bound Feet, Bathing Suits, and Other Bizarre and Beautiful Things

by Janice Weaver, Francis Blake (Illustrator)

Shortlisted for the Rocky Mountain Book Award

Included on VOYA ’s ninth annual Nonfiction Honor List

Named Notable Book by the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award in the intermediate nonfiction category


Did you know
• in some parts of sixteenth-century Europe, men wore their beards so long that they had to wrap the ends around their waists like a belt to be able to walk?
• the high heel shoe caught on because it was the perfect solution to the problem of hopelessly muddy and waste-filled streets in cities like London and Paris?
• women have, at various times, used soot, ground ants’ eggs, beet juice, and poisonous lead as makeup?

Throughout history we have bound our feet until they broke, piled our necks with jewelry until our chests collapsed, cinched our waists in corsets until we couldn’t breathe. Why do we do these things to ourselves?

From Head to Toe travels across thousands of years and through countless cultures and countries to explore the story of fashion in its weirdest, wildest, and most wonderful forms.

Whimsical illustrations, sidebars, “quick hit” margin quips, and a useful index round out this fun-filled tour of fashion history.

Genres: Nonfiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

JANICE WEAVER is a highly respected editor and the author of several acclaimed works of nonfiction for young people. Building America and From Head to Toe: Bound Feet, Bathing Suits, and Other Bizarre and Beautiful Things were each named Notable Books by the International Reading Association. From Head to Toe was also a finalist for both the Rocky Mountain Book Award and the Ontario Library Association's Red Maple Award. She is also the author of Mirror with a Memory: A Nation's Story in Photographs. Janice Weaver enjoys sailing near her home in Toronto, Ontario.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally fun, informative, full of the sort of factoids that stick in my brain (instead of useful information like Pythagorean’s Theorem), and a quick read. Also, a surprisingly thorough bibliography.