Dinner for Two: Five Complete Looks for an Evening Out
Five complete evening looks, each with the dress or top, the small bag, the heel and the earrings, from Tom Ford, Balenciaga, Vivienne Westwood and more.
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The Designer Ballet Flat: Ten Pairs Worth Owning, and Who Each Suits
Alaïa, Miu Miu, The Row, Ferragamo, Gucci and more: the ten designer ballet flats we would buy, from £285 to £1,090.
By Taiwo AdedayoEvery piece here has been chosen by our editors. We may earn a commission on some products.
The ballet flat has stayed in every good wardrobe for years now, and the houses have given it a different character each. These are the ten pairs we would buy, from £285 to £1,090, all in stock now, grouped by the kind of woman who will wear them most.
The quiet ones 
Miu Miu and The Row
Miu Miu’s black satin ballerinas have a bow and an elasticated band with a knitted logo, the pair that restarted the whole idea. £750.
The Row’s Elastic flats look exactly like ballet slippers: supple ecru leather made in Italy, a round toe and one thin strap. They go with a full skirt or with jeans. £800.
For evening 
Manolo Blahnik and Christopher Esber
Manolo Blahnik’s Polmana is black satin with a pointed toe, a double strap and gold-tone buttons: a flat that goes to dinner. £780.
Christopher Esber’s Minette is black mesh with crystals and an ankle strap, for the party where you want to dance. £765.
Under £300 
Bally and Stuart Weitzman
Bally’s Ballyrina is black lambskin with criss-cross straps and a buckle, £300. Stuart Weitzman’s Felicity has a buckle and a bow, £285. Both have the look of the pairs above at a third of the price.
How to choose
Think about where you will wear them most. Every day: The Row or Miu Miu, which go with everything. A statement: Alaïa’s studs or Christopher Esber’s crystals. Work: Ferragamo or Gucci, which read as a proper shoe. Evening: Manolo Blahnik’s satin. A round toe is the most comfortable; a pointed or elongated toe, like the Polmana or the Vittoria, looks smarter with tailoring.
Watch: the ballet flat, back again
Every pair in this story
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