This Shoe Color Trend Is Chicer Than Black, Burgundy, and Brown

By Swedan MargenJuly 30, 2025

All throughout my elementary school days, I wore a uniform, and part of that uniform stated that I could only wear shoes in one of three colors: black, brown, or navy. As the sartorial contrarian I am (and always have been), I chose the latter, a choice that put me at odds with basically everyone at my school. It didn't matter, though. I loved my navy-blue ballet flats and wore them even when I wasn't in class. When elementary school ended, however, my navy flats didn't join me. In fact, I never really thought to wear the color in footwear form again, with black, brown, and burgundy shoes all taking prescedent. That is, until recently, when a few styles began popping up in the elegant shade, helping me to remember why I favored them way back when.

Kaia Gerber and director Gus Heagerty prepare for their New Play Reading Series at Williamstown Theater Festival for Rianna Simons 'White Girls Gang' in Williamstown, MA. Kaia rehearsed the reading at Manton Center at The Clark Institute and returned to a dorm building at Williams College.

On Kaia Gerber: Repetto Cendrillon Ballerina Flats ($300)

Repetto

Cendrillon Ballerina Flats

Alaïa and Miu Miu are both members of the navy-blue shoe club, as are classic shoe-makers like Manolo Blahnik and Gianvito Rossi. My personal favorite pair? The Cendrillon flats from Repetto, every French girl's go-to brand for comfortable, yet elegant shoes. And I'm not the only person who holds them near and dear. Kaia Gerber, who frequents the Cendrillon flats in a variety of different colors, also has a navy-blue pair, which she wore this week while preparing for a New Play Reading Series she's participating in at Williamstown Theater Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

The model and actress styled her flats effortlessly with a matching athletic skort, a red T-shirt, and a black sweatshirt on top. The outfit could've easily been worn with sneakers, but her choice of footwear added a sense of formality to it that sneakers wouldn't have. Even so, the same shoes could easily be dressed up further by switching out the skort for a pair of white jeans or black trousers and changing from a sweatshirt into a sweater or white blouse.

Shop the shoe color trend that's chicer than black, burgundy, and brown below. Trust someone who's been wearing navy-blue shoes since the 4th grade—they're really that good.