"Explore fashion history with legs at center stage -- from the dawn of civilization through current-day trends. This book examines society's role in moving hemlines and in shaping "legcentric" traditions throughout history. What has changed or stayed the same in the course of fashion eras? How have legs appeared in dance, sport, performance, pageantry, and conventional or outré outfits? Find out how athletics, depictions in literature and art, and motifs in advertising and films reflect our changing times. Discover the styles, attitudes, customs, sex appeal, socially acceptable postures and walks, and more in this comprehensive view of leg fashions through the ages. Enjoy fashions from the waist down through 319 striking images explained in their historical context"--