Ballet flat

Last updated
Ballet flats Table full of ballerina shoes.jpg
Ballet flats

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.

Contents

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. [1] [2] 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. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

History

Sketch of a ballet flat with a contrasting toe Ballet flats.jpg
Sketch of a ballet flat with a contrasting toe

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. [8] They were displayed at an exhibition of twenty years of McCardell's garments at the Frank Perls Gallery in Beverly Hills in April 1953. [9] [10]

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. [11] 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, [12] the shoes started a revival in 2022, [13] included in the "ballet and trench" style. [14]

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. [12] Fashion writers advised wearing them sparingly. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Footwear</span> Garments worn on feet

Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slipper</span> Informal footwear

Slippers are a type of shoes falling under the broader category of light footwear, that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pointe shoe</span> Ballet shoe with stiffened toe for dancing en pointe

A pointe shoe, also referred to as a ballet shoe, is a type of shoe worn by ballet dancers when performing pointe work. Pointe shoes were conceived in response to the desire for dancers to appear weightless and sylph-like and have evolved to enable dancers to dance en pointe for extended periods of time. They are manufactured in a variety of colors, most commonly in shades of light pink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandal</span> Type of footwear with an open upper

Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a 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 can sometimes be blurry, the common understanding is that a sandal leaves all or most of the foot exposed. People may choose to wear sandals for several reasons, among them comfort in warm weather, economy, and as a fashion choice. Usually, people wear sandals in warmer climates or during warmer parts of the year in order to keep their feet cool and dry. The risk of developing athlete's foot is lower than with enclosed shoes, and the wearing of sandals may be part of the treatment regimen for such an infection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mule (shoe)</span> Type of shoe

Mule is a style of shoe that has no back or constraint around the foot's heel. Mules have a history going back to Ancient Rome but were not popularly worn until sixteenth-century Europe. There, mules were bedroom slippers and not worn in public. Through the centuries, mules have changed in style and purpose and are no longer just boudoir shoes but are worn at any time, for any occasion. In addition to Western examples, mules come from cultures such as Turkey and Egypt, and appear in popular culture, from famous paintings to iconic celebrities' shoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slide (footwear)</span> Open-toed slip-on sandal shoe

Slides or sliders are a type of light shoe that is characterized by having a loose heel that holds on to the foot from the front. Like flip-flops, they are typically employed in casual situations, in addition to being unisex footwear worn by both sexes. Sliders are distinguished from flip-flops by their vamp strap which does not separate the big toe from the rest of the toes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-heeled shoe</span> Footwear that raises the heel of the wearers foot significantly higher than the toes

High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels or pumps, 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 wearer appear taller, and accentuate the calf muscle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1990s in fashion</span> Costume and fashion of the 1990s

Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Court shoe</span> Type of shoe with low-cut front

A court shoe or pump is a shoe with a low-cut front, or vamp, with either a shoe buckle or a black bow as ostensible fastening. Deriving from the 17th- and 18th-century dress shoes with shoe buckles, the vamped pump shape emerged in the late 18th century. By the turn of the 19th century, shoe buckles were increasingly replaced by black bows, which has remained the contemporary style for men's formal wear, leather or patent leather evening pumps ever since. This latter style is sometimes also called an opera pump or opera slipper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballet boot</span> Style of high-heeled footwear

The ballet boot is a contemporary style of fetish footwear that merges the look of the pointe shoe with a high heel. The idea is to restrict the wearer's feet almost en pointe, like those of a ballerina, with the aid of long, slender heels. When upright, the feet are held nearly vertical by the shoe, thus putting nearly all of the body's weight on the tips of the toes. However, a properly tight fit will hold the shoe to the wearer's instep and heel, thereby reducing the weight on the wearer's toes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1820s in Western fashion</span> Costume and fashion of the 1820s

During the 1820s in European and European-influenced countries, fashionable women's clothing styles transitioned away from the classically influenced "Empire"/"Regency" styles of c. 1795–1820 and re-adopted elements that had been characteristic of most of the 18th century, such as full skirts and clearly visible corseting of the natural waist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980s in fashion</span> Costume and fashion in the 1980s

Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dress shoe</span> Shoe worn for formal or business dress

A dress shoe is a shoe to be worn at smart casual or more formal events. A dress shoe is typically contrasted to an athletic shoe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire McCardell</span> American fashion designer (1905-1958)

Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer of ready-to-wear clothing in the twentieth century. She is credited with the creation of American sportswear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Informal wear</span> Western dress code suited for office use

Informal wear or undress, also called business wear, corporate/office wear, tenue de ville or dress clothes, is a Western dress code for clothing defined by a business suit for men, and cocktail dress or pant suit for women. On the scale of formality, it is considered less formal than semi-formal wear but more formal than casual wear. Informal or undress should not be confused with casual wear such as business casual or smart casual; most situations calling for “informal wear” will usually tolerate casual dress to varying extents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1900s in Western fashion</span> Costume and fashion in the decade 1900–1909

Fashion in the period 1900–1909 in the Western world continued the severe, long and elegant lines of the late 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson Girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment.

This is a list of existing articles related to fashion and clothing. For individual designers, see List of fashion designers

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sportswear (fashion)</span> Fashion category of relaxed day clothes, originally separates

Sportswear is an American fashion term originally used to describe separates, but which since the 1930s has come to be applied to day and evening fashions of varying degrees of formality that demonstrate a specific relaxed approach to their design, while remaining appropriate for a wide range of social occasions. The term is not necessarily synonymous with activewear, clothing designed specifically for participants in sporting pursuits. Although sports clothing was available from European haute couture houses and "sporty" garments were increasingly worn as everyday or informal wear, the early American sportswear designers were associated with ready-to-wear manufacturers. While most fashions in America in the early 20th century were directly copied from, or influenced heavily by Paris, American sportswear became a home-grown exception to this rule, and could be described as the American Look. Sportswear was designed to be easy to look after, with accessible fastenings that enabled a modern emancipated woman to dress herself without a maid's assistance.

Throughout its history, the costume of ballet has influenced and been influenced by fashion. Ballet-specific clothing used in productions and during practice, such as ballet flats, ballerina skirt, legwarmers, and leotards have been elements of fashion trends. Ballet costume itself has adapted aesthetically over the years, incorporating contemporary fashion trends while also updating fabrics and materials to allow for greater freedom of movement for the dancers. The classic ballerina costume with a tutu and pointe shoes debuted in the 1830s. Ballet costume is marked by the innovation in lightweight materials such as tulle, chiffon, and organza.

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. 1 2 "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

Further reading