This is the summer of ballet flats for men

If you read "men's ballet flats" in the title and felt a flush of indignation ignite your temples, relax. No one is going to tell you to wear the classic pink satin ballet flats that are often unflattering even on women. No less, over the past season, some trendsetter brands have come up with a type of men's footwear for summer that is not quite a sabot, nor quite a loafer, nor quite an espadrille - it is something like a slipper, very low, which we could call discreet if it were not that precisely its hyper-functional shape and its black leather construction (there are other variations but the black leather one seems to be the favorite) makes it similar to the dreaded ballet flat. A common trait of many models is the space they give to the instep of the foot, similar to the classic and somewhat invisible friulana, but with an edginess that has nothing to do with sugary velvets, various frills, or excessive formal delicacy. The men's ballerina is flat and practical, and the designers who have reinterpreted it (including the master of classicism, Giorgio Armani) have made it, some more, some less, a shoe devoid of any particular whimsy or delicacy but rather practical and minimalist. Rather, the new men's ballerina maintains a sense of simple grace, perhaps a bit awkward, but nonetheless aristocratic in its total nonchalance that seems reminiscent of those dandies of Saint Tropez who, as early as the 1950s and 1960s, clearly perceived the distinction between city and resort, between seashore and metropolitan sidewalk.

Saint Laurent SS23

Lemaire SS23

Giorgio Armani SS23

Marsèll SS23

Wales Bonner SS23

Dolce&Gabbana SS23

Doublet SS23

Dries Van Noten SS23

Simone Rocha SS23

Stoffa Collection 03

Sunnei SS23

The Row SS23

Thom Browne SS23

Yohji Yamamoto SS23

Bianca Saunders SS23

Bode SS23

Bottega Veneta Pre-Fall 2023

Casablanca SS23

Thus, if the classic moccasin is far more structured than this "ballet flat," just as the classic lace-up shoe appears bulky and geriatric in comparison, and the various espadrilles and friulanas are, respectively, too shapeless and informal or overly similar to something a rich lady would wear for her vacation in Italy, the new type of shoe is simply suited to warmer climates and outfits composed of airy, light fabrics. After all, men already wear similar shoes, such as boat shoes-this new type of footwear merely streamlines the shape, simplifies the construction, eliminates laces and roundness, and, in short, resorts to a stylistic device that in rhetoric has the Latin name "brevitas," meaning conciseness, simplification so extreme that it becomes almost conceptual. What makes the style so prevalent on so many different catwalks, and with so many different readings, is not so much quiet luxury, which would rather lead to favoring more traditional men's shoes or unmarked sneakers, but the saturation of the footwear market, one of the most profitable after that of eyewear and perfume, which in so many cases seems to have reached its expressive limits - all sneakers end up looking alike, so do all-round or pointed boots, and all derby shoes, monk strap, oxfords and so on. All that is left is to simplify a style, that of the slip-on, down to its crudest essence - evoking the oriental babouches that Yves Saint Laurent wore on his Moroccan vacations, the leather or canvas espadrilles that Picasso wore in his Paris studio or on the beaches of Vallauris, but also the classic penny loafers worn without socks by Hemingway, Serge Gainsbourg or John F. Kennedy.

Ernest Hemingway

John F. Kennedy

Pablo Picasso

Serge Gainsbourg

Gunter Sachs & Brigitte Bardot

Yves Saint Laurent

It goes without saying that such a shoe requires well-thought-out styling: loose pants, off-the-shoulder shirts, and loose, cool T-shirts strictly in solids, even suits when they are oversized and composed of summer fabrics, jeans when placed in ensembles endowed with coolness and sprezzatura. Never mix it with classic sportswear or formalwear since you would simply look like you are in slippers and especially never think you can add such a "strong" shoe in basic outfits of dark slim-fit jeans and blue polo shirts or anything that might resemble even from a distance the business casual outfit of a good family man. There is something decidedly indolent and languid about this shoe that cannot be tacked onto every outfit (imagine the American "college bros" with their outfits of salmon pink shirts, cargo shorts, and boat shoes that ended up at the center of so many memes and parodies) and rather deserves to be the literal and metaphorical foundation of a specifically designed summer look. We are not, of course, talking about eccentricity at any cost-just taste, and boldness, i.e., the ingredients of any good look.