What’s the one type of shoe you MUST have? What’s the one type of shoe you can wear with 95% of your outfits? What’s the one type of shoe you can wear to any occasion – indoors and out, sitting or standing, formal or informal? What’s the one type of shoe you should own in every colour imaginable?

Ballet flats, of course!

Ballet flats are an amazingly versatile shoe. You can wear them with jeans, dress pants, shorts, capris, skirts, and dresses. Ballet flats are comfortable enough that you can walk or dance in them for hours, and chic enough that you can wear them to cocktail parties and fancy-dress events.

Ballet flats also travel well (then can squish down to just about nothing without ruining them and leave plenty of space for shopping while you are away from home!), and they are a classic shoe that will never go out of style.

But why do you need to own ballet flats in every colour imaginable?

Although ballet flats can go with 95% of your wardrobe, if the colours don’t work, you’re in for trouble!

Take, for example, these dark grey Jimmy Choo ballet flats:

Gorgeous, aren’t they? And they look great with a dark green dress, black capris, or a brown skirt. But they look a little clunky and loud when paired with white dresses or beige / nude skirts. That is why a nude ballet flat is fundamental to your shoe collection:

The above shoes (from Aldo) are super cute and subtle enough that they can really be worn with any light-coloured outfit. They are perfect as your staple summertime shoes! They’re also a really nice indoor ballet flat to own.

So what about the in-between outfits? The brightly-coloured skirts and dresses? Or what if you just want something a little bit more special in your ballet flat? That’s when you need a lovely metallic ballet flat, like this one (Clarks):

I like the above sparkly, silvery white flats for when I need a little extra sparkle in my step. Metallic ballet flats are nice because they, like the nude ballet flats, can go with many more types of outfits.

Although these are three fundamental colours that you want in your ballet flats (dark, nude, and metallic), I really recommend that you get as many as possible in all kinds of different shades! Bright red, navy blue, gold, green, black… the options are endless, and you will discover how your shoes can really bring out the rest of your outfit when paired correctly. Go nuts with your ballet flats!

What is your go-to shoe? How many types do you think are necessary to go with your wardrobe? What do you love about ballet flats the most? Share in the comments section below!