Mariah is on loop in the supermarket and your local cafe is doing gingerbread lattes. It’s officially the silly season. High street windows are filled with ideas for party dressing. There are sequin dresses and strokable velvet suiting, but look down and you’ll spot something a little more unusual. Gone are the customary towering heels. In their place? Sensible flats.
Now, if you are someone who genuinely loves wearing high heels, fine, no judgement, you keep doing you. But if you are someone who feels they should wear heels, rather than actually likes to, then good news – that way of thinking is very much over.
Velvet pumps (above)
£105 at EsskaAfter decades of being indoctrinated into believing heels were somehow superior, representing everything from power to femininity and sex – as immortalised in TV shows such as Sex and the City – fashion has done an about-turn and realised that flats are just as alluring – but with fewer blisters.
Balancing on one leg in the street while attempting to switch from trainers into heels is now considered a bit like eating a sandwich on the go – deeply unchic.
This rational way of thinking started on the catwalks. All the big designer debuts this season, including Jonathan Anderson at Dior and Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, championed flats – from sparkly slingbacks to velvet flip-flops. Even the Cannes film festival got the memo. Ten years after ejecting women for wearing flat shoes, this year the Croisette was peppered with flats, including The Substance’s Margaret Qualley in a pair of two-tone Chanel ballet pumps.
Downsizing is easier than you may think. If you previously opted for a stiletto, shifting to a pointy slingback such as River Island’s embellished leopard print flats won’t be too much of a jump scare. For strappy sandal wearers, may we interest you in a mesh slip-on from Loeffler Randall or Dear Frances? And for those who still worry about flats looking frumpy, get excited about embellishment and texture – there’s nothing dowdy about Bimba Y Lola’s sequined ballerinas or Flabelus’s tinsel-adorned versions.
Snakeprint loafers (above)
£79.20 at John Lewis***
Ballerinas
Satin ballet
£32 at M&SYellow silk
£116 at WhistlesSilver cross-strap pumps
£99 at Mint Velvet £99 at NextBurgundy patent leather
£139.99 at La Redoute £150 at AlohasGold ballet
£22.99 at ParfoisLeopard print
£160.30 at Pretty BallerinasRed patent leather (above)
£170 at Sézane £170 at Octobre Éditions***
Embellished
Bow pointed toe
£111 at VivaiaRhinestone suede
£32.99 at H&MStud point suede
£325 at Me+EmSequin ballerinas
£115.50 at Bimba y LolaSilver studded
£125.30 at AllSaints £125.30 at John LewisStudded suede
£75 at Asos £125 at & Other StoriesBlack courts with silver flower (above)
£24 at River Island***
Pointed Slingbacks
Burgundy studded
£17.99 at Schuh £40 at NextPatent leather
£47.60 at Very £48.75 at ClarksChisel toe tartan
£250 at Russell & Bromley £250 at John LewisSatin leopard print
£34 at River IslandGreen suede
£71 at Dune £71 at John LewisBurgundy crocs
£28 at AsosRose pink wrap-up ballerina (above)
£34 at Next***
Velvet
Zebra print
£145 at ScarossoFarfetch
£225 at FarfetchBurgundy velvet mary janes
£39.99 at OfficeVelvet embroidered
£35.99 at ZaraBow flats
£110 at Penelope Chilvers £175.20 at John LewisRed velvet mary janes
£280 at Ssense £290 at AeydeDiamante strap
£47.20 at Phase Eight £59 at John LewisNude mesh (above left)
£395 at Dear FrancesRed pointed (above right)
£48 at Steve Madden***
Mesh
Leopard print
£140 at AnthropologieShiny pomegranate
£155 at Anonymous CopenhagenWine buckle
£49 at Kurt Geiger £49 at John LewisWhite rhinestone
£35.99 at MangoMirrored studs
£144 at Net-a-PorterFloral embroidered
£35.99 at Pull & Bear £35.99 at AsosBurgundy tinsel (above)
£149 at Flabelus***
Models Esther at Milk, Duni at Body London and Eiril at Mrs Robinson
Styling assistants Roz Donoghue and Charlotte Gornall
Hair and makeup Sophie Higginson using Sam McKnight, Evolve Beauty and Essie
Hair and makeup assistant Lizzie Checkley
Location St Antony’s Catholic Club – The Red House, London E7
