Timeless and elegant Ballerinas
Inspired by local women of Hamburg, High Heels Society also agrees, that sometimes we all can go from high heels to no heels but which flat shoes are elegant to wear? Today, I would like to share some useful information you all should know about the most elegant and popular type of flat shoes ever and still until today - Ballerina flat shoes.
From the history:
Ballerina flats are also called Ballerina slippers, Flat pumps or Court shoes in British English. The history goes as far as the 16th century, when men wore a similar shoe, then known as pompes and in Medieval times they were popular with both men and women. They are descendants from the footwear worn by ballet dancers “a pointe shoe“ and that’s where the name “ ballerina “ or ballet flats comes from. Ballet flats only went out of fashion in the 17th and 18th century, when the high-heeled shoe came info fashion.
In the 1930s in Spain, there was a similar version called “ manoletinas “ shoes ( this is how the flat ballerina shoes are still called in Spanish today ) which were made for the famous bullfighter Manolete and are still a norm in the area.
CLASSIC BALLERINA FLATS took off again when Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn wore them in 1950’s.
Brigitte Bardot wore specially made Cendrillon ballet flats by a designer Rose Repetto , who was making shoes for dancers at that time, in her movie “ And God Created Women “ in 1956. Brigitte loved the comfortable but elegant slippers-as-shoes and adapted them as her signature Parisian style. Cendrillon ballerinas are an iconic product for the Maison Repetto and can be purchased also today. Shop Maison Repetto: click here
“Elegance is the only beauty that never fades”
Audrey Hepburn’s flats were made by an Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo for the movies “ Roman Holiday” in 1953 and “ Funny Face “ in 1957. Her flat shoes become an iconic style of hers and Audrey inspired many women on how to be feminine without high heels by wearing ballerina flats also with elegant evening dresses. Audrey ballet shoes and other amazing flats are available today at Salvatore Ferragamo boutiques and online. To shop, click here
Also, flat shoes will most probably never fade out of style and the timeless ones are definitely ballerinas.
In 1957 Gabriele Chanel started to make her famous Two-tone slingback shoes with the little heel and later in the 1960s she also made the Two-tone flats which are really iconic today and are considered to be a good investment item for any woman’s closet. Shop classic Chanel: click here
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