Alexa Chung Is Pressing Pause on Basic Leather Ballet Flats for This Trendier Style

I'm not sure that any other celebrity is as synonymous with ballet flats as Alexa Chung is. We know that she's been wearing them for as long as she's been in the public eye (which is a long time), even when they weren't "trendy." Speaking of ballet flats being trendy, that's been the case for a couple of years now. Celebrities and everyone else still love and wear them, but they don't feel quite as fresh as they did back in, say, 2022. But Chung has a remedy for that.
While walking with fiancé Tom Sturridge in London this week, Chung looked as chic as ever in a classic "Alexa Chung" outfit. She paired a long leather coat with a sweater, straight-leg jeans, and her go-to ballet flats (with socks). But instead of traditional satin or leather ballerinas, she opted for a patent leather pair. And since patent leather is a current shoe trend, they instantly made her outfit look even more forward than basic ballet flats would.
If you're on board with the patent leather ballet flats trend, keep scrolling to see how Chung styled them and shop the internet's best pairs.
Shop Patent Leather Ballet Flats

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.
-
Adam Sandler–Coded Outfits Are Still Going Strong—5 Ways to Style Baggy Shorts This Summer
Fashion icon first. Comedian second.
-
If I See You Swap Your Classic Ballet Flats for This Specific Alternative, I'll Know You Have Chic Taste
Don't think about it—just do it.
-
7 Parisian-Chic Looks I'm Copying This Summer—Even If I'm Stuck in NYC Traffic
I'm mentally in France RN.
-
Before You Invest In Mesh Flats, Consider the Newer Version I Keep Seeing Fashion People in Lisbon and Miami Wearing
Copenhagen, New York, and Barcelona, too.
-
Is It Just Me, or Is Every Cool Girl Suddenly Pairing Ballet Flats With This Anti-Denim Pant Trend?
You probably already own it.
-
This Is *the* Ballet-Flats Color Fashion People Will Buy for the Remainder of 2025
As seen on Bella Hadid's Instagram.
-
The Only 3 Denim Fits That Still Look Good With Ballet Flats
Because it's all about balance.
-
No Seriously, These 7 Elevated Summer Pieces Always Get Me Compliments
I plan to wear these on repeat.