Platform Mary Jane Shoes: The New Heel for Your Fall?

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Flat, low-heeled or platform, more or less delicate or imposing, there are thousands of baby shoes, but they are all recognizable by their straps that embrace the top of the foot and never let go. Today, we’re going to decrypt them in their platform version and see how to wear them well to be stylish on the pavement without looking like a playground.

When did baby shoes first appear?

Before strutting down the catwalks around the world, the history of baby shoes dates back to the early 15th century. The pair was particularly popular with King Charles VIII, who found them incredibly comfortable for his six-toed feet. With their rounded toe, they offered space and good support, and were therefore highly appreciated for accompanying children’s first steps. This style remained popular until the time of Charles IX, which explains why the style is sometimes named after him.

Also known as Mary Jane across the Channel, the pair was initially popular with both girls and boys. However, in certain cultures, such as the Imperial China, baby shoes were characteristic of boys’ shoes. While in the 1930s and 1940s, they were mainly intended for girls in America and Europe.

The 60s brought baby shoes back into fashion, notably through the “Riot grrrl” counter-culture movement, which highlighted “kinderwhore” styles and looks, with a slightly more electric baby doll vibe. The pair was thus dissociated from the aspect of children’s shoes and fully integrated into women’s wardrobes.

In recent years, baby shoes have taken on a new look, with a reimagined silhouette, much more creatively worked, presenting themselves as sandals with imposing heels, and riding the oversize trend.

Slipping into various styles, the pair allows for many variations and is more seductive than ever, as demonstrated by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, who believed in miracles when she came face to face with a relic of Mary Jane with slim heels.

How do baby shoes make a comeback in current fashion?

Trends often make a comeback for two reasons:

• Famous people wearing pieces that go from “has-been” to must-have items that everyone wants
• Films or series that captivate critics to the point where viewers want to identify with the characters by wearing the same fashion trends. This is something we have seen with Stranger Things, which brought back 90s style.

For baby shoes, two hit series, also available on Netflix, played a role in helping the pair make a comeback in the hearts of fashionistas. On one hand, Bridgerton Chronicles, which launched many trends and set off a frenzy on social media, and highlighted baby shoes in their slim and neo-bourgeois version.

While the stylist of the series Emily in Paris, who revealed in an interview her choices for creating the characters’ looks, opted for a much more modern and original version of baby shoes with platforms for Camille. A pair that is both vintage and imposing, to give character and uniqueness to her outfits.

What are the different models of baby shoes?

As a chameleon with its many variations, baby shoes come in various appearances, allowing them to be paired with different styles of clothing. They can have a silhouette similar to ballet flats, which have also made a strong comeback in recent months, with a neo-bourgeois appearance, or a bolder and more imposing version with pop colors and platforms…

Baby shoes seem timeless, regardless of their model, and are establishing themselves as must-have shoes in our wardrobes.

Ride the wave of the vintage baby shoe trend

One of the first styles associated with the piece is the neo-classical style with a Bridgerton spirit. With influences from the original 19th-century model, we find baby shoes in a slim version, with a rounded toe, “pointed toe” and a small heel. All accompanied by multiple straps and often a shiny finish.

You can wear the pair in a preppy look, with dresses or skirts, paired with an embroidered collar shirt and a fine cashmere cardigan. A Blair Waldorf vibe for those in the know. This model also fits perfectly into everyday life to create the perfect office outfit. And for a transition into autumn, a pair of sheer tights can easily be added, bringing elegance to the outfit. The flat version will allow you to go from work to lunchtime to happy hour on the docks without any calf cramps. And to the combo of “elegance and comfort,” we say yes!

Dare to make a fashion statement with platform baby shoes!

If you prefer more eccentric looks to those that are a little too classic, you’re in luck! Color block, glitter, towering trapezoidal heels… Women’s baby shoe models are making a strong comeback right now, with new appearances.

We’re seeing models with square toes, going against the pointed toe trend and breaking the too-classic aspect of the pair. With disproportionately high and uniquely shaped heels, they have become the new pumps with square heels of the moment. While still featuring straps or buckles, these new versions are modernized while retaining a timeless yet more feminine and less childish spirit.

This style inspires designers, and we owe part of the return of baby shoes as it shoes to Julia Tomedano, the creator of the Nodaleto brand in 2018. With her graphically reimagined XXL heels and ingenious curves, she offered a new perspective on this pair.

These heeled sandals are photographed being worn by personalities who strongly influence trends, such as Zendaya or Léna Mahfouf, who has made a name for herself in the fashion world in recent years, giving her even greater visibility and appeal. And if the pair is so popular, it’s because it fits into the retro, 90s vibes aesthetic that has been enveloping recent trends. Versace, Miu Miu, as well as mainstream brands, the model is making its mark with everyone.

With a wide range of offers and models, platform baby shoes are more than ever finding their place in everyone’s wardrobes, allowing for more or less original looks. Whether you’re about to go out for cocktails on a rooftop, go to work, or have a day out with friends, baby shoes find a place for every occasion, presenting themselves as the centerpiece of an outfit.

For lovers of old-school and original piece combinations, socks are more in vogue than ever when paired with baby shoes. In a schoolgirl version, with white socks, the combo brings a touch of class and vintage style. For fans of patterns, very pop, 70s looks can be created, and even go with the seasons, like autumn sweaters covered in pumpkins!

If you don’t want to draw too much attention to your feet, you can choose a more subtle way to include baby shoes in your outfits. In their black version, matte or shiny, they lengthen your silhouette while adding a discreet touch of originality with a trapezoidal heel. Blending in with your outfit, another piece can become the centerpiece, such as pants or a blouse.

By opting for a colorful model and pairing it with rather simple and monochrome pieces in the rest of your outfit, you create an elegant outfit with a worked and thoughtful touch, all in simplicity.

The variety of baby shoe models is actually the secret behind their longevity in fashion. Being able to adapt to different personalities and styles, whether sober and classic or pop and eccentric, the pair also adapts to different times of the day, between meetings, brunch with friends, or drinks on rooftops.

And if you’re drawn to the heels of baby shoes, which are more elaborate and original than ever, and you want to extend their spirit into cooler days, know that square or trapezoidal heels are also making their way onto boots and ankle boots!