Ballet flats or ballet pumps are a style of

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

. The appearance is inspired by women's ballet shoes, with a very thin heel or the appearance of no heel at all. The style sometimes features a ribbon-like binding around the low tops of the slipper and may have a slight gathering at the top-front of the vamp (

toe box The toe box is the section of footwear that surrounds the toes on closed-toe shoes. Toe boxes that are too tight can cause injuries and foot deformity, foot deformities, whereas wider toe boxes may be used to treat or prevent common foot condition ...

) or a small, decorative string tie. Ballet flats are fashionably versatile as they are often worn with both formal and casual attire.

History

Shoes with a similar shape to the ballet flat has existed since at least the sixteenth century, when men wore a similar shoe, then known as pompes. In medieval times, ballet flats were popular with both men and women. They went out of fashion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the

high-heeled shoe High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels (colloquially shortened to heels), are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wea ...

came into fashion after

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

requested that her

cobbler Cobbler(s) may refer to: *A person who repairs shoes * Cobbler (food), a type of pie Places * The Cobbler, a mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Scotland * Mount Cobbler, Australia Art, entertainment and media * ''The Cobbler' ...

add 5 cm (2 inches) to her wedding shoes. Heels lost popularity quickly after

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

walked to the

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

in a pair of heels. Functional shoes, such as

sandals Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a Sole (shoe), sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear ...

boot A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

s, and flat shoes, prevailed in the nineteenth century. In the 20th century, American fashion designer Claire McCardell commissioned Salvatore Capezio to make ballet flats with rubber soles in fabrics matching her designs, creating the modern ballet flat. They were displayed at an exhibition of twenty years of McCardell's garments at the Frank Perls Gallery in Beverly Hills in April 1953. In 1947, Rose Repetto hand stitched her first ballet flat for her son, famous dancer and choreographer,

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ro ...

. Once actress

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

donned a pair of Repetto's flats, variations of ballet flats became popular and returned as a fashion trend. Repetto flats continue to be made and are designed for outdoor wear, using a variety of fabrics and usually with a rubber sole. In 1957,

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

wore ballet flats with cigarette pants in '' Funny Face'', which also raised a wave of popularity. Some dance schools allow ballet flats as part of their uniform requirements and some school bands require black ballet flats as part of the dress requirements for performances. Around 2005-2010 ballet pumps became highly fashionable, popularised by the wear of top models including Sienna Miller,

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her t ...

and

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's '' Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's '' Twelve Dreams'' at ...

. The

trend A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors th ...

had a temporary revival in 2022, included in the "ballet and trench" style.

Health concerns

A condition known as "

turf toe Sod is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

", where the joint of the big toe becomes inflamed due to strain, is associated with wearing ballet flats to walk on hard surfaces due to the lack of support and shock absorption in the shoe combined with the way a foot's natural shape is contorted to fit within the toe box. Fashion writers advised wearing them sparingly.

Gallery

File:Professional ballerina - ballerina for hostesses, pilots and other professionals.jpg, Plain black File:Proyect 365 - Day 13, Like Girl with new Shoes - Flickr - Lolo ^ Olé^ (Inma).jpg, Variety of textures File:DKNY Bella Ballerina K3404034 Kalbsleder schwarz (5) (15979739794).jpg, Embellishments on toe File:Michael Kors Fulton Moc Ballerina 40T4FUFR1H Animal Print Tigerlook (1) (16406844367).jpg, Prints or solids File:Paar roodgelakte damesschoenen, lage hak, “Corbeau”, objectnr 87051-1-2.JPG, Bright colors

References

Citations

Bibliography

* N. Rexford. Women's Shoes in America, 1875–1930. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University, 2000. page 65 * P. McGinnis. Biomechanics of Sports and Exercise, second edition, Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2005. page 139. * Thompson and R. T. Floyd. Manual of Structural Kinesiology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. page 232.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballet Flat Dance shoes