I’ve been wearing ballet flats for years, I used to stock up during London Sole’s yearly sale, with adding a few pairs during the regular season, often buying duplicates. The London Sole boutique on Maiden Lane closed it’s doors long before the pandemic and I had to swing by a London Sole location while traveling to London in 2017. Unfortunately they didn’t really have what I wanted in my size, but I had to come home with a pair. While in Paris I did purchase a pair of Repetto’s in a black patent leather. Loving ballet flats like I do, I had to do a little research and this is what I found.
Ballet flats went out of style after Catherine de’ Medici asked her cobbler to add 5 cm to her wedding shoes and then heels went out of style after Maria Antoinette walked to the guillotine wearing a pair.
Audrey Hepburn brought back ballet flats and then the American designer Claire McCardell had Salvatore Capezio make ballet flats with rubber soles to match her designs. In 1947 Rose Repetto designed ballet flats for her son, who was a famous ballet dancer and choreographer, Roland Petit.
However Repetto didn’t make it on the worldwide stage until Brigitte Bardot wore a pair of Repetto’s, instantly creating a media frenzy, since then ballet flats have been here to stay.
I ended up purchasing my Repetto’s for a lot less, since we didn’t have to pay taxes. There are other brands but Repetto is the quintessential ballet flat one brings home from Paris.
Here’s to running around chic…..
Run Around Chic 