Every girl should have at least one pair of ballet flats in their shoe collection. Get the right pair and you can wear them with everything from evening dresses to jeans. But where should you buy them from? Everyone sells them, from New Look to Net-a-Porter, but only a few places make them right. You'll be wearing these a lot, so you may as well splash out. Read on for our top picks...
Jane Winkworth's French Sole / London Sole has long been a favourite of in-the-know Audrey Hepburn wannabe's. The low cut flats are paticularly gorgeous and give you some serious toe cleavage. City toe and sturdy flats stand up to more wear and tear, and if you pop into the Sloane Street store, you can have party flats customised to suit you. Prices start at around £50 / $135 for classic leather flats (shown above).
FrenchSole.com (UK) / LondonSole.com (US)
If you want to know whether a brand is reliable or not, check their current customer base. Cult French ballet pump makers Repetto supply shoes to Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and their shoes are now available in the UK via Toast. At £115, they're not cheap, but what's good enough for Ms Bardot is worth saving up for...
Holly Dunlap is the lady who's responsible for making the metallic ballet flat an absolute must and a modern classic. While Repetto cater to the French A' list, Hollywould sells to, um, Hollywood! Her shoes are loved by Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz and Liv Tyler, and Gwen Stefani wore Hollywould on her album cover. Classic gold ballet flats are $195 a pair. Ankle tie pumps (above) are $230. The striped floral pumps (top) are around $250.
