The best ballet shoes of 2019

Why you’ll love it: For a divinely comfortable fit that molds to your feet for fancy footwork, wear the Capezio Hanami shoe to your next ballet class.

Made of incredibly soft and flexible four-way stretch canvas, the Capezio Hanami gently hugs your foot. Hailed as a “slipper superhero” for ballet shoes by Pointe Magazine, it sports a sleek silhouette, yielding both aesthetic and functional benefits.

Flattering the foot without any bunching or gaping, the Capezio Hanami fits “like a glove” to many users, such as those on Discount Dance Supply where it earned four-and-a-half out of five stars. In my experience, this shoe feels like a second skin and lets you feel the floor. Its snug fit is perfect for people with narrow feet.

The only drawback to the shoe’s lightweight, thin, and breathable canvas is that this shoe might wear out faster those constructed with heavier canvas. This model has a smooth interior lining that adds some reinforcement, but be sure to keep your toenails trimmed!

A stretchy diamond-shaped gusset under the arch in the middle connects the shoe’s toe and heel pieces, enabling full pointing, and flexing. Flat front pleats under the toe don’t add bulk or interfere with fluid movements, like pirouettes. The Capezio Hanami‘s flat suede split-sole patches support secure balancing and turning.

Capezio Hanami earned four out of five stars on All About Dance and five out of five stars on Dance Supplies. Personally, I love this shoe and enjoy it for all of the reasons listed above. My street shoe size is 7.5 narrow and my Capezio Hanami s are 8.5 narrow.

Don’t be startled when you take them out of the box for the first time and wonder, “How am I going to get them onto my feet?” Just insert your toes into the front of the shoe under the conveniently pre-sewn elastics, pull back the shoe to smoothen and stretch the canvas around your metatarsals, and then pull up the back onto your heel.

Pros: Good looking, comfortable, fits like a smooth glove

Cons: Tradeoff for thin, comfortable canvas is less durability, runs small

Buy the Capezio Hanami on Amazon for $16.31 to $88.46 (price varies depending on size)

Buy the Capezio Hanami Girl’s model on Jet for $22.95