Who Said Flats Have to Be Uninspired

A year ago an associate footwear editor working for a fashion trend forecasting company said that flats are not as elegant as heels, but they do enable more movement. That is so unfair to flats because it makes them sound uninspired, utilitarian and well…so boringly practical.

The truth is that the designer flats, including the ballet slipper style, are far from ordinary and have no relationship to grandma’s slippers that were standard wear when roaming the house. Place a Giambattista Valli python flat sandal with cut-outs and laces next to a standard issue flat with the little bow that won’t stay tied, and you have to wonder if these shoes could possibly be related. It has to be an illicit relationship.

Women should have realized that heels were getting way too much credit after Carine Roitfel, editor of French Vogue until January 2011, admitted she had been known to wear heels while wearing a tracksuit. Let’s face it…not everyone can wear high heels with grace even if the shoes are frighteningly expensive and incredibly luscious in design. You still have to be practiced in the fine art of balancing while walking on the equivalent of railroad spikes. Of course, if your idea of an outfit is not complete unless the heels are in place, take heart…there are stunning designs that will make your shoe loving heart melt while adding elegant lift to your whole appearance.

Cinderella Flats…

Still, it’s good to know that grandma’s flats have become Cinderella in every sense of the word. The simple black or brown flat has morphed into the Givenchy leopard woven sandal and the pink and white Chrissie Morris Lulu cut-out sandal. Event the classic Lanvin leather ballet has fashionable secrets like a hidden inner wedge at the heel. Flats have transformed from the ugly sisters into princesses at the ball.

Here’s a fashion scoop though for those of you who secretly love flats but are afraid to come out of the shoe store, so to speak. Celebrities have been wearing stylish Lanvin, Repetto and Chloé flats for many years. It’s just that no one was talking about shoes much 5 years ago, at least not like today. There are also those celebrities like Victoria Beckham who made us believe she would only wear heels but was photographed in an airport wearing simple black flats that looked suspiciously like grandmother’s house shoes.

The Right Thing to Do

Flat shoes are showing up everywhere including the fashion show runways. Heels are not dead, nor should they be, because there are times when you need a lift. You might want to create an imposing image in the office as you ask for a raise or stand tall among the socialites at the cocktail parties. Yet there are more times when slipping on a deep hot pink colored patent oxford by Nicholas Kirkwood is exactly the right, and comfortable, thing to do.

Grandma’s flats are history…long live the deliciously scalloped ballet flat. You may not be able to look everyone in the eye while wearing your flats, but it won’t matter anyway. The other person will be much too busy looking down at your shoes while wondering where she can get a pair of Givenchy leopard print leather woven flat sandals like yours. They just look so stunning it’s hard to even recall the flat shoes of yesteryear.

On the other hand, isn’t that exactly the way it should be? Flats are clearly fashion forward…just like you.