Everywhere I go these days, ballet flats seem to follow. They’re found under library tables, scuffing across the Arbor walkway and tucked beneath baggy jeans at coffee shops.
When heels and sneakers feel overdone, ballet flats always return as a comfortable and stylish alternative. They aren’t just attention-demanding statement shoes, but timeless pieces that keep coming back.
That’s the thing about ballet flats: they never really disappear. They fade into the background, wait patiently and reemerge when fashion gets tired of trying too hard. After years of towering Dr. Martens platforms, chunky sneakers and heels that prioritize shock value over comfort, ballet flats are a return to keeping things soft and sleek.
There are two main ballet flats circulating right now, and they’re saying very different things.
On one end, there’s the balletcore flat. Satin or soft leather, often baby pink or off-white or muted silver, they may be finished with a thin bow or delicate strap. These are the ones worn with tights, leg warmers, wrap tops and skirts that move when you walk. Leaning into girlhood and softness, they feel romantic and a little impractical, like you just came from dance rehearsal.
On the other side lies the office flat. Structured, neutral and sensible with black leather, an almond toe and no unnecessary frill. These flats are paired with work slacks, blazers and historically, skinny jeans. They signal adulthood and practicality, the classic shoe to choose when you want to be taken seriously.
What’s interesting is that both of these versions reject the heel, instead emphasizing ease and softness. One is romantic, the other functional, but both challenge the idea that femininity requires discomfort. You shouldn’t have to squeeze your feet into six-inch pointy-toe pumps to look put together.
Of course, ballet flats didn’t start out as practical shoes. Their fashion origin story is basically inseparable from Audrey Hepburn. In “Sabrina” (1954), she pairs simple ballet flats with her soon-to-be signature capri pants outside the Larrabee building, creating a look that feels super timeless and modern. Hepburn’s consistent appearances in flats, both on and off the screen, made them chic and effortless.
In her prime era, ballet flats became shorthand for a “certain kind of woman.” Effortlessness became the epitome of taste. But fashion has a short attention span and that softness eventually fell out of favor. Heels took over. By the 1970s, bigger shoes, sharp silhouettes and spectacle became the goal. Ballet flats faded into the background, associated more with practicality than style.
Then came the 2010s, when ballet flats staged a very specific comeback. Paired with skinny jeans and oversized bags, they returned in a distinct workwear context. They were office-friendly, sensible and sometimes — let’s be honest — flirting with twee.
Alexa Chung helped make them feel intentional again, styling them with a studied nonchalance and cool-girl messiness. Around the same time, Amy Winehouse was often photographed in Gandolfi pink satin ballet shoes, the kind dancers actually wear. Her version felt personal and slightly undone, reminding people that flats didn’t have to stay safe to be stylish.
Still, ballet flats hadn’t fully reclaimed their fashion status. That came later.
At their fall 2022 runway show, Miu Miu reintroduced the ballet flat with confidence. With satin and leather iterations fitted with delicate straps and coquettish bows that nodded directly to classical ballet slippers, they felt nostalgic without being costume-like. Girlish, but sharp. Suddenly, ballet flats weren’t just acceptable again — they were desirable.
Off the runway, the look was quickly picked up by familiar fashion icons. Lily-Rose Depp’s signature ballet pumps tied the style to a kind of French-girl chic shorthand that young girls everywhere love to romanticize. Bella Hadid incorporated flats into her “model-off-duty” look, Devon Lee Carlson leaned into bows and tights and Kaia Gerber made them look almost studious.
Now, ballet flats are one of the most versatile pairs of shoes. They’re worn with low-rise baggy jeans, bootcut denim, long skirts and mini skirts with tights. Slouchy leg warmers are pulled over them. They peek out from under sweats or yoga pants, paired with tanks and wrap tops in full ballerina fantasy mode.
What unites all of these looks is the emphasis on movement. Ballet flats are shoes you live in. You walk, sit, sprawl, stretch, dance and exist in them. They move when you move.
As a microtrend, balletcore has popularized soft baby pinks, whites and light greys. Bows, tights, wraps and boleros all work together to create softer silhouettes. It’s adjacent to coquette, but more grounded in physicality and motion.
Balletcore can be pretty polarizing. Some people see it as regressive or overly nostalgic. Others find it freeing from traditional norms of what feminine clothing should look like. What’s clear is that it centers softness at a moment when fashion often spotlights harshness.
That’s what makes ballet flats interesting right now. Choosing soft femininity can feel subversive. Wearing something gentle, comfortable and traditionally feminine pushes against the idea that power has to look sharp or severe. Ballet flats don’t try to dominate, but instead exist consistently, comfortably and intentionally.
Maybe that’s why we keep wearing them. Ballet flats don’t chase relevance because they don’t need to. Time and time again, they’ve been introduced, abandoned, revived and reimagined, yet they remain fundamentally the same. Trends come and go, and they show up when we’re ready for them again — when comfort feels chic.
The most timeless style choices are usually the easiest ones. Which is probably why, no matter how many times we move on, we always end up right back in ballet flats.
Arna Churiwala believes softness never really goes out of style.
