This Spring’s Why You Need:

The Ballet Flat

Fashion Trends never fail to emulate our grievances and exultations. Fashion is our unspoken response to joy, pain, anger, disgust, and frustration. Through silhouettes, embellishments, hemlines, and cuts we scream what we don’t dare vocalize. Fashion Week 2023 reflects to us the ways that we’ve learned to cope: lean into the sadness with Givenchy’s big black coat, find peace within the far off and whimsical with Chanel’s 60’s prints, and everything in between. Inevitably, I am reminded of the Great Depression period’s obsession with opulent evening gowns and their ability to relieve just a bit of American misery. This upcoming Spring, in line with the fantastical and in response to war and illness, the ballet flat will reemerge.

As always, there’s nothing new under the sun. Ballet flats’ origins are rooted on the stage beginning as a ballet heel.  In the 1700’s, ballet dancer Marie Camargo, in order to achieve better footwork, exchanged the heel for a flat. During the 1900’s, designer Claire McCardell commissioned Salvatore Capezio, an Italian shoemaker with a special interest in ballet pointe shoes, to design an off-the-stage version of the ballet flat. Ballet flats continued to gain traction amongst the masses after Rose Repetto, Italian designer, hand-made her son’s dance shoes for his performances. Bridgette Bardot, a former French actress and 50’s sex symbol, requested Repetto to design a pair of ballet flats for her upcoming movie And God Created Woman. From then on, ballet flats were worn by “it girls” such as Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, and Princess Diana.

This Spring’s ballet shoe looks a bit different from Camargo’s and, instead, more like Miu Miu’s 2016 version of the ballet flat. Miu Miu’s ballet flat was romantic with its satin upper and string bow laying at the top of the shoe box. What caught our eye during 2016 was the edgy twist, the leather straps and the mismatching ribbons snaking their way all the way up to the ankle.

While the ballet flat is a subtle nod to the whimsical world, today’s ballet flat is less edgy by embellishment than in 2016. Miu Miu’s modern day satin ballerinas come in red, black, white, brown, and baby blue. They’ve kept the classic, feminine shape, and string bow, but exchanged the leather straps and ribbons for a simplified elastic band with Miu Miu’s logo knit into the side. Leather, metallic, big satin bows, a square toe box, or the iconic tabi toe can specialize your ballet flat if the Miu Miu style isn’t your forte.

The strength of the ballet flat lies in its versatility and “no age restriction.” You should not fear having fun with the ballet flat. The power of the shoe stems from its symbol understood by everyone around the world. The origin of the ballet flat is rooted in its original wearer: the ballerina, a respected, reserved, resilient, powerful, and graceful performer. They gracefully dance across the stage, not giving way to the pain they feel throughout their bodies. With this preconceived view of ballet flats, there are various ways to liven up the style of the pair of shoes without giving up professionalism and respectability.

For a casual event such as brunch on a Sunday, you should piece together the wardrobe must-have with your favorite pair of jeans and a graphic tee. Another casual outfit you should carry in your fashion artillery is your ballet flats accompanied with a black midi skirt, a body-hugging black cropped tee, and bright colored knit sweater tied around your neck. To fully embrace the feminine, ballet-core aesthetic, I recommend pairing the black Prada flats with the ankle straps with a white baby doll dress, gold jewelry, and white socks. A more fun and playful pairing is the Simone Rocha Crisscross Metallic Napa Ballerina Flat in the color Clementine, ripped mom jeans, and a graphic tee. The Simone Rochas come in the shade mint as well which adds a touch of youthfulness and play to your wardrobe.

One of my favorite qualities of the ballet flat is its ability to be worn by all ages. Many women have expressed how difficult it’s been to find pieces they feel expressive in while still being considered age-appropriate. The classic, feminine, and respectable body of the ballet flat gives us freedom to play around with textures, colors, and embellishments to fulfill any need for expression regardless of our age.

You should expect, during this upcoming season, to find different variations of the ballet flat, right beside you, dancing down the street. Find divinely feminine strength in your pair of ballet flats this Spring by keeping in mind the origins of what you choose to wear. As we sort through the rubble of the pandemic and exist amidst the War in Ukraine, we transform into ballerinas, still retaining our beauty and grace amongst fire. Poet Luis Garcia Montero said it perfectly when he wrote, “A ballerina resembles a tear.”