Introducing the belle of the ballet…
The ballet flat has long been one of the hardest working pairs in our wardrobe, with the power to transform an outfit. The style lends a classic, everyday note to an otherwise racier outfit, but will dress up jeans and a simple t-shirt with similar panache. We’ll wear them with pencil skirts in the office, then with denim and a Breton for the weekend. We don’t know what we’d do without them.
Recently, we introduced a new brand of ballet flat to Charles Clinkard: French Sole. This British brand crafts smart ballet pumps in a frenzy of colours, prints and patterns, and we’re hooked. From colourful snakeskin (just the ticket with our favourite skinnies) to shimmering metallics (marvellous at an evening shindig) and a jaguar print pony pair, French Sole ballerina shoes are better than the perfect pirouette.
Founder Jane Winkworth began the brand in 1989 when she spotted a gap in the market for ballet flats, having seen them in St Tropez while on holiday. Without being able to find a pair in London, she decided to set up a company that specialised in the flat pumps.
French Sole has since been hailed as being solely responsible for turning the humble ballet pump into a true fashion classic by Vogue Magazine, with Winkworth crowned “The Queen of Ballet Flats”. She has a truly royal following, too. The immensely adored Princess Diana was one of her first royal customers, and today, the Duchess of Cambridge also seems to have a soft spot for French Sole – she’s been spotted in the Henrietta style on several occasions.
Despite their deceptively simple silhouette, each pair of French Sole shoes is lovingly finished by craftsmen shoemakers and artisan tanners from the village of Elda, Spain, in a labour intensive process, which results in an exquisite and unique range in a choice of contemporary colours.
Although French Sole has a wide global following and an endless list of celebrity clientele, the company is still very much a family business, with principle designer Winkworth at the helm.
Effortless, stylish and with a definite sense of fun, French Sole ballet pumps have been consistently on trend since their conception and they’re certainly here to stay.
Shop the edit, below.
French Sole Classic Ballerina
French Sole Henrietta
French Sole India
Shop all French Sole
Pamela Nwaka
February 26, 2017 at 10:35 amIt’s a nice range and I love the orange ballet pumps but they only go up to size 8. I take a size 9. So often I see really nice shoes like these that only go to size 8. Surely this should be changing as shoe sizes have increased over the years.