Did you ever wish those Jordans that your brother and boyfriend are rocking came in your size? Did you ever get mad that the kicks you could find in a women’s size 5 were pink? Did you ever look at a pair of six-inch stilettos and ask “but how am I supposed to ball in those?” Lori Lobenstine understands. After falling in love with basketball and sneakers as a kid, Lobenstine pursued her passion for sneakers by founding the site Female Sneaker Fiend, a space for women and girls who view their sneakers as an extension of themselves and hip hop’s fifth element.

FSF has risen to global popularity since its 2005 launch, making inroads into the world of fashion, sports, and hip hop. In addition to getting covered in places like Bitch Magazine, FSF broke off into multiple regional chapters, created workshops on design and customization with female designers, generated petitions to get some of the major brands to carry a wider range of styles and sizes for the female consumers, and hosted a number of parties and events to reach out to various communities. In other words, FSF sought to represent a range of women and girls who view what they wear on their feet as a statement of individuality as well as a political gesture. Out of this project came Girls Got Kicks, a photo anthology with interviews and candid observations from a number of the site’s many followers. It also includes commentary from entrepreneurs like Vashti Kola, Fetti D’Biasi, Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee, Cim Froeling, and Married to the MOB; athletes like WNBA players Essence Carson, Tina Charles, and Renee Montgomery; b-girls like Aruna Vermeulen and Amy “Bgirl Catfox” Campion; and MCs like Eternia, Rocky Rivera, Desdamona, and Maria Isa. All of these women insist that you don’t sleep on the ladies.

I confess that I am not a sneaker fiend. I have a couple pairs of Converses, a pair of Pumas, and a pair of second-hand Reeboks that I should probably throw out. As a feminist, I’m also weary celebrating consumerism as inherently political just because women are the ones doing it. Women and girls always buy things, and individual choice and self-expression aren’t necessarily progressive. So I must admit that I greeted some of the brand consciousness demonstrated by many of the women included in the collection with my head cocked to the side, despite wanting to reserve judgment. To borrow from Kat Williams, why buy one pair of Nikes with light-up soles when you can buy four pairs of knock-offs at Payless? More importantly, what kinds of labor go into making a pair of shoes? Where do they come from and under what conditions are they made before they arrive at department stores and basketball courts? The book does a great job including opinions from designers, distributors, and business owners, but I would have liked some opinions from folks who work in factories. There are some sneaker fiends on the assembly line too.

But I was amazed by the encyclopedic knowledge, resourcefulness, and dedication required of these ladies to find the right pair of shoes and keep them clean. If Legs McNeil believes that Carl Perkins’ “Don’t Step On My Blue Suede Shoes” is a political song because its about personal freedom, then “don’t sleep on the ladies” has political implication as well. Several women note the prevalence of glamour modeling in the game—perhaps mitigating the threat of a comfortable, athletic woman with crispy kicks by having her pose naked. The book is especially critical of the sexist business practices enacted by companies and retailers that assume their main clientele is male and thus don’t make as much of an effort catering to an incredibly knowledgeable and diverse female consumer base.

I especially appreciate how Girls Got Kicks makes room for a number of voices, clothing styles, and body types across generational and international borders. This speaks to the versatility of the shoe, which is comfortable, allows for greater mobility, looks great with any outfit, and works in nearly every situation. Some ladies pair them with dresses or rock heels and Nikes. Other women and girls in this book don’t own one skirt. So while some of the women shy away from using with the f-word to define their politics, but dammit if Girls Got Kicks doesn’t read as feminist discourse. The pictures help, bringing out all the sharp details and vivid colors that put the “move” in movement.