Ode to a ballet flat.

When the 'Brown Santa' (i.e. UPS delivery person) tossed the pink package on my doorstep yesterday morning, I was giddy with delight.  Inside?  A new pair of Pretty Ballerina ballet flats!  I'm still not sure how I/we discovered this small store in NYC, but I'm so happy we did!  It was years ago, and I ended up purchasing 2 pairs of flats, one of which was the snakeskin ballet flat.

Image from prettyballerina.us.

I wore these to DEATH.  I lost a pair once (I think in Puerto Rico?!).  I reordered them.  I still love them.

One of the best thing about these shoes is that once you know what size you are in a certain model, you can reorder them in any color or print and they will fit the exact same way.  I'm a 'Rosario' size 39.  Period.  When I'm trolling the website, I click 'women' and then 'Rosario' under 'Model'.  Click, click, free shipping.  Done.  I have 4 pairs of Rosarios 'in rotation' right now.  Other models include the 'Lena' model has a pointed toe, the 'Shirley' has an elastic band around the shoe's opening and a round toe, and the 'Faye' is more of a smoking slipper. 

After an extensive search this spring for a perfect black ballet flat (criteria: rubber sole, structured shoe but not too 'fancy'), I just had to go back to my standard.  And the prices?  Under $200, which is less than the Tory Burch Reva ballet flat.  So today, these lovelies arrived.  Hello new shoes!  Welcome to my closet.

Image from gisy-schuhe.de.

If you find yourself in NYC, check out their stores - the original, shoe-box-sized store is on 1034 Lexington at 74th Street and their new 'flagship' store is located at 27 East 67th Street at Madison (there are also stores in Beverly Hill and Palm Beach).  And figure out what model and size you are for future purchases!

Note:  The return policy is 'tight', like 14 days tight.  And they are shipped with a bag taped like shipping paper around the shoe box.  It's not as easy of a transaction as a Zappos one would be, but it's worth it. ~ JH