Is there any Alternative to Ballet Flats?

I didn't see myself wearing ballet-style shoes until recently. My legs are more like Mischa Barton than Kate Moss, and as this style sits low on the toes and leaves a large, sometimes wide-looking, area on top of the foot, I felt they were unflattering.

However, with all the lovely embellished variations available this year, I can see that with opaques, Capri pants, footless tights etc, almost anyone can wear this comfortable and versatile shoe.

Key features making their debut this season are; the bow (scroll down to see Zu Footwear's Zara shoe featured in purple), the open toe (Tommy Hilfiger shown below) and metallic (such as Witchery's Katie Ballet shown above).

The very flattering open toe draws the eye towards the tip of the shoe, as opposed to the ankle, and allows for some creativity with nail polish. Esprit have a great style which retails for $79.95.

This year, metallics are a great way to brighten up an outfit. I think silver makes the biggest fashion statement, and will feature in the winter palette as well as the coming summer one. Last summer, I lived in my metallic sandals, wearing them almost every day, as they suited everything!

For some additional sources of the ballet flat, Lipstick have an array of colours retailing for $49.99 and Pierre Fontaine and Miss Shop (both available at Myer) have a great selection retailing for $39.95. Of course, Target and Payless Shoes offer the lowest budget buys.

So if you haven't already added the ballet flat to your collection of shoes, be sure to give them a try as they are definitely here to stay!