Bow Heels: The Spring Shoe Trend That Makes Outfits Cooler and Prettier

Shop the subtle style all the It girls are wearing in Paris.

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Elizabeth Olsen wearing a black outfit with bow heels in Paris
(Image credit: Neil Mockford/GC Images/Getty Images)
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If you're feeling as though being completely over winter has become your entire personality, might I suggest focusing on something else, and might I suggest that something be shoes? Sadly, there are many spring shoe trends that can't be worn until the ice clears, but the one I keep spotting on celebrities in Paris for Haute Couture Fashion Week is all about a subtle detail that adorns a pair of heels, and there are iterations of the trend you can start wearing now.

The trend I'm referring to is bow heels, which draw inspiration from traditional ballet flats. It's basically a heel adorned with a small, delicate bow. It can be any type of heel, but I most often see it in the form of a pump or mule sandal. The former was just spotted on Alexa Chung and the later on Monica Barbaro, both of which were in Paris to attend the Dior show. Speaking of Dior, it's safe to say that Jonathan Anderson's S/S 26 collection for the fashion house, which included many bow-adorned bags and shoes, has something to do with the trend. (I'd be remiss to not mention that Elizabeth Olsen also just wore bow heels in Paris, in the form of Jacquemus slingback pumps to attend it's F/W 26 "Le Palmier" show.) These It girls' outfits, included below, pretty much confirm that modern bow-adorned heels add a cool, elegant, and, of course, pretty feel to any outfit they're paired with.

Keep scrolling to see the celebs and show my favorite bow heels (including the Toteme pair that I think will go viral by spring).

Celebrities Wearing Bow Heels in Paris

Elizabeth Olsen wearing Jacquemus bow heels in Paris

(Image credit: Neil Mockford/GC Images/Getty Images)

On Elizabeth Olsen: Jacquemus jacket, The Small Valérie Bag ($1690) and The High Cubisto Slingbacks ($950)

Monica Barbaro wearing a brown coat and bow shoes in Paris

(Image credit: Aissaoui Nacer/Backgrid)

On Monica Barbaro: Dior dress and sandals

Alexa Chung wearing jeans with bow heels

(Image credit: @alexachung)

On Alexa Chung: Dior outfit and Muse Pumps ($1500)

Shop Bow Heels

Allyson Payer
Allyson Payer
Senior Editor

Allyson is a senior editor for Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2014 as co-founder Katherine Power's executive assistant and over the years has written hundreds of stories for Who What Wear. Prior to her career in fashion, Allyson worked in the entertainment industry at companies such as Sony Pictures Television. Allyson is now based in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a BFA in theater arts. Her path to fashion may not have been linear, but based on the number of fashion magazines she collected as a child and young adult, it was meant to be.