Ballet Flats: Throughout History, and The Best Vegan Ones on the Market
Supposedly a ballet flat is a very important shoe to own. I personally don’t own any, but there have been many times I wished I did. The problem is there are usually never any good vegan ones.
Ballet flats are very practical. They are a flat shoe, so they’re easy to walk in, and yet also they are extremely chic. They call to mind Audrey Hepburn, Briggite Bardot, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, and other glamorous movie stars from yesteryear.
I’d like to do a post sharing some of those iconic photos of these glamorous women wearing these simple flat shoes to show everyone how a ballet flat was classically worn. I’d also like to share the perfect vegan ballet flat I’ve found, available for purchase online or at your local old navy.
These are the best looking vegan ballet flats I’ve seen. They have great reviews online too, are very inexpensive ($21.50) , and come in many colors.
available here.
And now onto our history lesson.
The first person one thinks of when one hears ballet flat is Audrey Hepburn. Why? She only wore flats, and she looked amazing. 
You gotta love her! She never looks like she is trying to impress anyone in unwalkable high heels. She puts her own comfort first and foremost, while still looking amazing. How DOES she do that?
Here is some inspiration for how one can as they say in fashion magazines “get the look”! This girl is doing a fantastic job. As we learn from Hepburn, ballet flats are great to wear with capris.
Another iconic ballet flat wearer, was a laid back girl from St. Trpoez, and a hero in the animal rights movement–none other than Brigitte Bardot. Let us study some images:
She looks amazing!
My dear animal loving readers, was this post helpful to you? Do you have a better sense of how ballet flats were worn throughout history? What do you think of Ballet Flats? Do you like these Old Navy ones, or do you prefer a more embellished style? I prefer the classic look of the ballet flats worn by these old movie stars.
They look really nice, but they would be made in a sweatshop. Personally I would believe an animal being slaughtered for leather is worse than a human being enslaved and paid barely enough to survive, but I would rather avoid both situations.
I’m trying to find a pair of vegan sweatshop-free classic mary jane ballet flats at the moment. So difficult.
thanks for your comment, and i agree with you. i also believe an animal being slaughtered for leather is the greater of the two evils–not maybe the most common opinion. similarly it makes me annoyed when there are eco friendly shoes made in a sustainable way but with leather, since i think slaughtering an animal is worse than using up unsustainable resources etc, even though i do respect and agree with eco/environmental causes. it would be great if old navy could show videos and photos of the factories where there shoes are made. that’s what i would do if i had a shoe company to set people’s minds at ease. Maybe it is a nice respectable factory, but maybe it isn’t. you never know, and you seem to know more about this subject than i do. i’d love to hear your thoughts on another post i wrote “are shoes made in china necessarily unethical?” http://marthaflatley.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/are-shoes-made-in-china-necessarily-unethical-in-your-opinion/
i need to research more about sweatshops, though i have seen a disturbing youtube video about it.
also, these might not be exactly what you’re looking for but you could try them…
http://www.etsy.com/people/TheGeneration
they are handmade linen ballet flats and mary janes sold on etsy. let me know if this helps!
Sorry for the late reply! I stumbled upon this yet again whilst looking for these vegan mary jane flats. I have not yet found them. I think I’m too picky! I’ve seen the Etsy handmade shoes before, (by the way thanks for the link!) and they’re not quite what I’m looking for, they’re too dainty.
I’m hoping one day Vegetarian Shoes in the UK will make them-their flats are really cool.
About the sweatshop/Chinese made issue, I think what we really need to do is let companies know about our dissatisfaction. I have boycotted Chinese made companies. I do this because it is a matter of supply and demand. It is not that I am abusing workers by putting them out of work; that is as silly as saying to buy battery farmed eggs because otherwise the chickens will be killed. I don’t buy eggs at all, but still.
If we buy Chinese made with no assurance of ethical standards, it is only fueling the industry to exploit people more. If we do not buy them, and email companies about the fact that we will not purchase from them without some kind of assurance that human rights are being maintained, they will feel pressure and demand for ethical products, and the ethical market will expand. I hope that one day consumer demand will raise the living standards of those in worse conditions than ours.
On the subject of Chinese made products, this is a report which includes details of the working conditions in factories such as Victoria’s Secret and Old Navy.
http://www.itglwf.org/lang/en/documents/ITGLWFSportswearReport2011.pdf
I hope you find it of use!