To buckle or not to buckle? That is the question I ponder almost every time I’m getting dressed and choosing what flat shoe I’ll wear that day. Lately, like almost every fashion person across Europe, I’ve been swapping my winter boots for the best ballet flats with straps.
Like Victoria Beckham in 1997’s Spice World, determining which footwear option to put on from this category is like choosing between a million identical little black Gucci dresses. But what the average person doesn’t know is that there are actually quite a lot of points to consider when choosing the best strappy ballet flats.
Of course, I could avoid this conundrum altogether and slip into a classic ballet pump. That might be the time-saving solution, yet I feel the band accent featured on the best ballet flats with straps adds another element to my silhouette.
Stylists will agree with me—having a bar spread across the top of your foot gives the eye somewhere to anchor, helping make your silhouettes feel more balanced, cohesive and elongated. Without this focal point, I sometimes feel too much of your foot is exposed, taking me back to the early 2000s paparazzi photos of Kate Moss jaunting about London pubs by consequence. (Apologies to any Millennial women I might’ve upset with this comparison.) Even the most prolific supporters of strapless ballet flats, like the patron saint of this design Alexa Chung, have made the switch.
