2018 Variety Magazine In Ballet Slippers

Barbra Streisand accessorized her soft rose outfit with a pair of leather ballet flats for her recent Variety Magazine photos shoot. In this Feb 2018 cover issue titled “Oscars 2018”  Barbra was interviewed by Ramin Setoodeh and photographed by Russell James. On March 5, she released a truth alert correcting some of the inaccuracies in the article including that it mistakenly had made her sound like she didn’t want to be in Funny Girl. 

Ballet flats like Barbra’s are extremely comfortable to wear because the soft pliable leather molds to fit the shape of the foot. Primarily a ballet shoe, these are extremely versatile for rehearsal wear or other types of dance. They also make a great comfy slipper to wear around the house. Women began to dance ballet in 1682, twenty years after King Louis XIV of France  ordered the founding of the Royal Academy of Dance. At that time, standard women’s ballet shoes had heels. Mid 18th century dancer Marie Camargo of the Paris Opéra Ballet was the first to wear a non-heeled shoe. After the French Revolution, heels were completely eliminated from standard ballet shoes and they were replaced with the ballet flats we have today. The most popular brands of soft ballet shoes on the market are Bloch, Leos, Capezio and Grishko. Barbra’s flats are made from soft graded leather. They have a pleated toe and a full suede sole with a cotton lining. There is an adjustable elastic draw string which ties into “antennas” at the toe. These shoes generally come with elastic ankle straps which can be sewn into the shoe based on personal preference. These pale dainty shoes combined with the shades of rose in Barbra’s outfit and décor resulted in gorgeous photos.