Chantelle`s Diary

Hi guys today in this blog post I am going to be talking about the History of Ballet Flats. Ballet is something that has always been something special to me. I took ballet classes when I was younger and it felt magical to me. Now, when it comes to ballet flats I knew that these flats were something different. It is not like you’re regular flat or shoe and when you dance in this shoe you can feel how different it is. That is why today I want to give some history fo this ballet flat and how it came about in the world of dance. I hope you all enjoy!

So, let’s start with the fact ballet flats were not flat at first they had hells on them. A popular French ballerina Marie-Anne de Cupis de Carmargo was the first to get credit with the flat style. Marie-Anne executed the “entrechat quatre” technique during one of her performances. Marie Taglioni was another performer who set the bar when it came to ballet flats. She was a star in the ballet era in the 1830’s and she pioneered the defying en pointe (“on point”). A crazy fact is that a pair of Marie Taglioni’s shoes were being cooked, being served with sauce, and were being eaten. In the late 19th century and early 20th century Anna Pavlova, a Russian prime ballerina, helped shape the pointe slipper by having the sole hardened and the tope had the boxy flat shape that we do see today.

About 3 decades later Claire McCardell who is an American sportswear designer decided to popularize the ballet flats which were part of her 1941 collection. Brigitte Bardot, who was also trained as a ballet dancer, asked the woman well-known for French footwear brand Rose Repetto and she designed a flat that happened to be softer and more comfortable. These shoes were called “The Cendrillon”. Ballet was also a huge inspiration for fashion brands like Valentino, Giambattisa Valli, and Dior. Dior even decided to collaborate with the American Ballet Theatre. There has been a good chunk of fashion houses that collaborated with dance theaters.

In the early 20th century Sergei Diaghilev who is an art critic and ballet enthusiast founded/opened his own dance company. He turned to designers and artists like Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, and Henri Matisse for inspiration as well. Margaux a a New York based brand was leading a contemporary realm and Alexa Buckley and Sara Pierson who funded this company created ballet flats that were first a suede style that came in custom and sizing that was off-the-shelf. Flats have been a huge essential for women for about 70 years.I find it so interesting to incorporate art and dance together because dancing is an art and to see it come together is a masterpiece. We see so many stars like Michelle Obama, Audrey Hepburn, and Meghan Markel who wear flats and rock them. I believe whether it is regular flats or ballet flats they will always be in style. These shoes will forever be comforting and highly elegant and in general they go with every outfit and you are still going to look great. So, get yourself some nice flats or get some ballet flats and dance away!