I'm a Brit Living in Paris—These Are the Classic Flats French Women Are Wearing With All Their Summer Outfits

From suede pairs to Mary Jane styles, ballet flats will always be a spring shoe staple.

Maxine Eggenberger's avatar
By
Last updated In Features
I'm a Brit Living in Paris—These Are the Classic Flats French Women Are Wearing With All Their Summer Outfits
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK)

I have this recurring dream where I'm twirling around the streets of Paris at twilight, wearing a tulle Dior dress and sporting a beret in the deepest shade of noir, all the while carrying a baguette (bag or bread, either would suffice) in the crook of my arm. Of course, you can't twirl effectively in spindly stilettos, so on my feet is another French-girl staple: ballet flats. Naturally, I wake to discover that the Dior dress was merely on subconscious loan and, to my dismay, there's not a baguette in sight. The ballet flats, however, are never far from my feet in reality either.

BEST BALLET FLATS

(Image credit: @tamaramory)

Back when I first started working in fashion, I wore ballet flats on repeat. My job as an intern required me to hotfoot it to designer shops at a moment's notice to pick up clothing for shoots, which would inevitably need to be swiftly returned. Ballet flats allowed me to dash around at high speed while ensuring I looked as presentable as a sweaty 21-year-old could. I soon graduated to loafers, boots and slingbacks for office days, and those trusty ballet flats sat gathering dust at the back of my closet for quite some time.

That was, until I moved to Paris, and I realised something—everyone was still wearing ballet flats. Seriously, every chic woman I stopped to mentally photograph for outfit inspiration had on a pair, and made them look totally elegant no less. I've been on the hunt for a new, grown-up and elevated pair to add to my summer wardrobe ever since.

From my research on the ground, I can tell you that a ballet flat in 2026 also offers surprising versatility. Unlike I used to wear mine back in the day (solely with a skinny Topshop Jamie jean), now Parisians (and to be honest, cool girls all over the internet) are wearing them with basically anything. Statement skirts, workwear tailoring, loose denim, leggings, floaty dresses... you name it and they'll prove you can wear it with a ballet pump (and look chic).

During my recent browsing for a great pair to invest in, I did a real deep dive and thought I would report back on the very best ballet flats I found for every budget. Scroll on, and thank me later.

Shop My Edit of the Best Ballet Flats:

Maxine Eggenberger
Maxine Eggenberger
Deputy Editor

Maxine Eggenberger is Who What Wear UK’s Deputy Editor and has over fourteen years of experience in fashion journalism. She been creating engaging and authoritative content for Who What Wear UK since 2018, covering runway reports, emerging trends, long-form features, talent interviews self-styled shopping stories and columns, including her edit of the best new-in buys. She ensures the highest editorial standards are met across the site, leads the editorial team in their search and keyword planning, works closely with the fashion and beauty team on strategy and continues to pen many of her own articles. Prior to Who What Wear UK, Maxine's contributed to publications including Grazia, InStyle Marie Claire, Elle and Look, amongst others.