This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

For too long, the Keds and heels divide was a painful reality, with very little in the way of dance shoes in between these options.  With the explosion of new swing dance shoe companies in the past few years, the options have increased, but often the flats offerings were limited to oxfords.  Knowing how much work goes into starting any company, it stood to reason that shoe companies would offer those items that are already a sure thing, but even then one of the most common complaints I hear from women is that they just want a cute, flat dancing shoe.  With Charlie Stone stepping away from the dance shoe market by eliminating leather soles, where does that leave us?

What I hope I am seeing is a trend toward cute, flat dancing shoes.  At All Balboa Weekend this past weekend, I saw Re-Mix Vintage Shoes’ brand new Giulia model, a flat sandal with a leather sole in Re-Mix’s impeccable vintage style and colors.  I have owned other pairs of Re-Mix’s flat sandals with rubber soles and love them, so it is exciting to see their take on a flat dance sandal in colors that compliment my vintage clothing.  Not to be outdone, I spotted Saint Savoy’s announcement that their Riviera shoe (one of my favorite Balboa shoes) will now be a flat sandal – nothing was lost in translation, the proportions on this shoe look so lovely and I imagine I will see a lot of this shoe pop up at events in the fall after they launch.

Thanks so much to dance shoe companies for listening – I am so excited to be able to direct newer dancers to more flat shoe options that are not only comfortable, but also beautiful.