The ballet flat has come back with vengeance. They have become a new staple for both a business casual outfit as well as a way to elevate a basic bodysuit-and-jeans look. While the ballet flat is making its way back into the fashion industry today, it’s easy to forget where they started for most of us –– in the 2000s.
Ballet Flat’s Humble Beginnings
Let VALLEY take you back to 2012 –– you are getting ready for elementary school. You throw your hair into a ponytail with a bow or hair clip to make it pop. Your favorite Justice shirt was laid out the night before, and is ready to make its hallway debut. Pairing your outfit together, you select a pair of jeggings your mom insists are “just so cute” (in a few years, you will realize she was wrong).
Now, it just comes down to the shoes. Of course, you go with your black ballet flats –– your old reliables. They are easy to slip on, are nicely broken in and allow your staple-sparkly pieces to stand out.
The 2000s ballet flat worked with everything, whether paired with a plaid capri or a skater dress. These shoes came in all kinds of colors and styles, including added buckles, gems, and even a small heel. While this shoe was definitely blister-inducing at first, once broken in, it allowed kids to have comfort, style, and versatility.
In summary, the 2000s children’s ballet flat walked so that the sophisticated, upscale 2020s ballet flat could run.
The Comeback
Ballet flats took a break from the fashion scene, especially with the dress-down shoe era due to the popularity of stylish sneakers. But, this shoe has come back as more elevated than it once was in the 2000s. Rather than rhinestones and buckles, ballet flats today can be found with little bows, skinny straps and in cherry red.
With their inspiration of actual dancer ballet flats and pointe shoes, the ballet flat’s reinvented connotation is similar to its ballet origin –– elegant, poised and professional. Basically, these shoes are the “clean girls” of the shoe aisle.
While the shoe’s overall look has changed, for some, they may be paying homage to their younger, plaid-wearing selves. This is not only a comeback for the ballet flat, but a comeback for the ballet flat-wearers; the ones whose former ballet flats are boxed away in their parents’ house. As young adults today, people are embracing their love of their favorite childhood shoe.
So, to all those who swore by their rhinestoned ballet flats in the third grade, now’s the time to grab yourselves a new, adult-sized pair. As you pick out your mature ballet flats, remember your younger self, and even though that child had a lot of fashion “no”s, you can thank them for their confidence in the ballet flat –– who would have thought that you would be sporting them today.
Found a new way to style your 2020s ballet flats and have outfit inspo? Let us know by tagging us @VALLEYMag on Instagram and X!
