A Penchant for Flat Footwear
Monday, October 13, 2008 at 1:44 PM 
Photo used with kind permission from photographer Hemen H. Mehta
Ever the style pragmatist, Mrs. O has been open about her preference for flats, citing her 5’11” height and the pressures of the campaign trail, not to mention keeping up with her two girls. We’d go further and say she often uses flats as a deliberate choice to bring her overall look – quite literally – down to earth. For the DNC finale in late August, we saw Mrs. O use a classic pair of black patent flats to set off a stunning Thakoon print cocktail dress (note the family’s shared rose colored palette and penchant for black patent flats). Had the dress been paired with, say, black patent heels instead, the effect would have been different: perhaps more high glamour than her usual, pared-down yet personalized style.
Flats – once the exclusive preserve of the very young or the very elderly – broke back into the mainstream in 2005, where they now seem set to stay. For those of us who love shoes and are fans of the flat, they can uniquely combine a happy practicality (walk, don’t totter) with real feminine flair: embellishments which can look tacky on a pair of heels look quirky and interesting on flats. A view Mrs. O seems to share when we see her here again in a favorite pair of silver flats given standout and texture via the layering around the toe. High end brands like Miu Miu, Sigerson Morrison and Jimmy Choo have taken ornamentation to the extreme over the past few seasons, while cult brands like Repetto take their inspiration from their definitive dance roots.
The question for now is will Mrs. O stick or twist in the style stakes as election day draws closer?
If it’s the former, we wonder whether she might take her taste for a well-placed bow or floral brooch to her flats:
Reader Comments (2)
Everyone is talking about Michelle's Election Night dress.. but can you track down the shoes for us?? These are uber-chic basics that I'd like to add to my closet. Thank you!
where did she get her snake skin shoe? she has them on with her J. Crew outfit.