Do the dance shoe with L'Atelier Repetto

Plié over to LAtelier Repetto for custom ballet flats in any combination of shades...

By ELLE UK and NonePublished: 15 August 2011

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Ballet-inspired fashion demands a street-wise slip of a shoe. Ever since Brigitte Bardot asked Repetto to make her a robust pair of ballet shoes to wear outside, women have looked to the classic flats to soften jeans and render chiffon frocks casual (or just to get them from A to B, with all of the ease and none of the pain of a dancers leaps across the stage).

Today, Repetto launched a bespoke service in its area of the Shoe Gallery at Selfridges. Clients who visit LAtelier Repetto can design their ideal ballet flats from a choice of 252 colours of leather and loads of ribbon trims. Orders are sent to Repettos Dordogne factory for assembly and return box-fresh and foot-ready about four weeks later.

At £345, theyre about double the price of off-the-shelf shoes, but anyone hankering after chartreuse leather flats with a fuchsia trim can find them herewith a choice of three different heels too.

To those who supposed that the onslaught of brogues, slippers and loafers spelled the demise of the ballet flat, know this: theyre popular in Paris. The most sought-after colour is carmine (colour no. 10), the pure-red hue chosen by shoe pioneer Bardot.

Ruby slippers, anyone?

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