Forget Mules—*These* Are the Classic Anti-Flats L.A. It Girls Wear For Dinner at Giorgio Baldi
Good food, great footwear.

There are three restaurants in Los Angeles that you're pretty much guaranteed to spot local It girls in if you stop by for dinner on any given night. In Malibu, there's Nobu; in West Hollywood, there's Sushi Park; and in Santa Monica, there's the famous Giorgio Baldi, frequented by Rihanna (who's been eating there since the early aughts, around the same time that Lewis Hamilton used to go with ex-girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger) and A$AP Rocky, Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, and Hailey and Justin Bieber. If you're heading to the latter Italian joint, here's a tip for fitting in: Wear slingback heels, a.k.a. the classic shoe trend I spot in practically every paparazzi photo taken outside.
Most recently, the Biebers took to the westside eatery for a date night, with Hailey pairing black Saint Laurent Vendrome slingback heels with a vintage Tom Ford for Gucci minidress from the designer's S/S 2003 collection for the Italian house—the dress recently sold on 1stDibs for close to $4,500—and a small top-handle bag from the brand's same era. As per usual, she finished off the date-night look with her signature tiny sunglasses.
On Hailey Bieber: Tom Ford Gucci dress and bag; Saint Laurent Vendome Slingback Pumps ($950)
What makes Bieber's shoe choice such a popular one is its versatility. She specifically chose a pair with a stiletto heel less than 3 inches high, but you can easily go higher or lower depending on preference and occasion. For a formal event, maybe you go up an inch or two. For a casual jeans-and-tee look worn for lunch, try a kitten heel version. Once you've found a heel height and style that works for you, there's no doubt that you'll wear them again and again, whether you're dining at Giorgio Baldi or not. But if you do, make sure to slip them on. It's practically mandatory.
Scroll down to shop the best slingback heels on the market in 2025.
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Eliza Huber is an NYC-based senior fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and the intersection of sports and fashion. She joined Who What Wear in 2021 from Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a business degree from the University of Iowa. She's launched two columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top runway trends each season. Eliza lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, watching WNBA games, and scouring The RealReal for discounted Prada.
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