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Ballet flats or ballet pumps are women's shoes for everyday wear which are similar to/inspired by a 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) and sometimes a tiny, decorative string tie. Ballet slippers can be adjusted and tightened to the wearer's foot by means of this string tie.

Ballet flats are especially popular for women and girls of all ages, being worn as a fashion trend and as a more comfortable alternative to high heels with everything from casual wear to formal wear and everything in between from jeans, shorts, skirts, dresses and leggings. A number of schools allow ballet flats as part of their uniform requirements and many school bands require black ballet flats as part of the dress requirements for performances.

History

The essence of 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 only went out of fashion in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when the high-heeled shoe came into fashion after Catherine de' Medici requested that her cobbler add 5 cm (2 inches) to her wedding shoes. Heels went out of fashion quickly after Marie Antoinette walked to the guillotine in a pair of heels. Functional shoes – sandals, boots, and flat shoes – prevailed in the nineteenth century.

American fashion designer Claire McCardell commissioned Salvatore Capezio to make ballet flats with rubber soles, in fabrics matching her designs, which was an instant hit, creating the modern ballet flats. 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. Once actress Brigitte Bardot donned a pair of Repetto's flats, variations of ballet flats became wildly popular and returned as a fashion trend. They are also often referred to as ballet pumps or ballet sneakers and designed for outdoor wear, using a variety of fabrics and usually with a rubber sole. In 1957, Audrey Hepburn wore ballet flats with cigarette pants in Funny Face, which also raised a wave of popularity.

Around 2005-2010 ballet pumps became highly fashionable, spinning out from the wear of top models including Sienna Miller, Kate Moss and Mischa Barton, the shoes started a revival in 2022, included in the "ballet and trench" style.

• Examples
• Plain black
• Variety of textures
• Embellishments on toe
• Prints or solids
• Bright colors

Health concerns

A condition known as "pavement toe", a thickening and warping of the toe-nails was associated with wearing ballet flats to walk on hard surfaces. Fashion writers advised wearing them sparingly.

References

Citations

1. Sourcing, 11 21 2015 | Fashion Fabric (2015-11-21). "Fashion Archives: The History of the Ballet Flat". StartUp Fashion. Retrieved 2019-07-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
2. Stimpert, Desiree. "Shoe Glossary: Ballerina Flats". LiveAbout. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
3. "Arizona Girls Willow Ballet Flats Slip-on Closed Toe". JCPenney. 2019-07-29. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
4. "Concert Dress". www.newhartmusic.com. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
5. "Concert Attire Expectations". HILLCREST Middle School. Archived from the original on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
6. Program, Stevenson Instrumental Music. "Student attire requirements - Dec 5 Concert". www.stevensonbands.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-30. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
7. "Weddington Middle School Band: Concert Dress". Weddington Middle School Band. Archived from the original on 2023-01-01. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
8. White, Constance C. R. (1998-11-17). "Celebrating Claire McCardell". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
9. Yohannan, Kohle (1998-10-15). Claire Mccardell. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 9780810943759.
10. Marcus, Stanley (2001-01-01). Minding the Store. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 9781574411393.
11. Casa Couture. "The History of the Ballet Flat" Archived 2016-11-08 at the Wayback Machine. casacouture.co. December 2012. November 2016.
12. ^ "The best ballet pumps and how to wear them | Times2 | The Times". The Times. 2022-05-04. Archived from the original on 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
13. "The best ballet flats you can possibly add to your spring wardrobe". 25 March 2024.
14. Walker, Harriet. "Trench plus ballet pumps: The très chic combo".
15. Julia Guerra (2 August 2022). "Ballet Flats Are Trending — But They're Actually Terrible for Your Feet". InStyle. Retrieved 26 April 2024.

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.

Further reading

• W. Rossi: Why Shoes Make 'Normal' Gait Impossible Podiatry Management, March 1999: pp 50–61. Unshod.org. 25, October 2006.

External links

• Media related to Ballet flats at Wikimedia Commons

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