How to choose a ballet flat: toe shape, heel and fit
A ballet flat is the low, closed shoe that stays on the foot with no fastening, held only by the shape of its upper and its topline: no laces, no straps, no zips, which is why the fit depends almost entirely on the last it is built on. Every model available on this page has an upper made entirely of leather and goes on with no opening.
The heel measures 1 centimetre on both. One centimetre is not a heel in the usual sense: it is the thickness of the sole under the heel, and it means the foot lands essentially flat. Walking with no drop between heel and forefoot spreads weight across the whole sole of the foot instead of concentrating it at the front, which is why a ballet flat can be worn for many hours at a stretch; in exchange, the thin sole passes more of the ground to the foot than a thick one does, and on hard paving you feel it by the end of the day. That is the trade-off that defines the category: a wide contact surface, less protection.
Toe shape is the variable that changes the size. A round toe follows the natural line of the toes and fits true; a tapered toe closes the space at the front and extends the shoe beyond the foot, so the same number comes up narrower. On the pointed models in this selection the store's own fit note is explicit: anyone buying this shape for the first time is told to take a size up. It is worth following, because on a shoe with no fastening there is no way to claw back half a size.
The footbed is leather on every available model. Leather absorbs moisture through the day and releases it while the shoe rests, so alternating two pairs extends the life of both; over the first weeks it takes the shape of the arch and the fit settles. Where the upper is suede, care is dry: a stiff-bristle brush, always worked in the same direction. The rest of the category is gathered in the women's ballet flats.
