In our biweekly series, editors share the item so versatile, so chic, so comfortable that they wear it over and over and over again—whether it be a basic white tee or a super-trendy jumpsuit. Prepare yourself (and your credit card) for some guilt-free shopping.
My personal style can best be described as "barely holding it together." Black sweaters that won't show food stains, dark-wash skinny jeans that go with everything, collared button-down shirts to show that I tried—everything I own is low-key, earth-toned, and unlikely to crease, tear, or stain. So when a friend gifted me a pair of hot-pink Rothy's pointed-toe flats, the shoes famously made from plastic bottles and beloved by Meghan Markle and Emma Roberts, I was...intimidated. I'm not a "pretty hot pink shoe" kind of person. I'm barely a "can dress herself in the morning" kind of person.
But the moment I slipped on this shoe I—much like Cinderella—was transformed. More specifically, my work uniform was transformed. The addition of a bright, sophisticated flat to my otherwise funereal attire had a magic effect—it created the illusion that I'd planned my outfit around the shoe, like my wardrobe of neutrals was designed to better show off the scene-stealing pointed toe flat.
So of course I felt good in these flats. But, as my mom reminds me with alarming frequency, just because I feel good does not mean that I'm dressed for the occasion. (If I could, I'd wear jeans to my own wedding.) Yet whenever I slipped on these shoes, whether I was going to brunch, the office, or the dog park, the compliments rolled in: Oh wow, I love those pink shoes! (More than once, someone pointed to their own feet and squealed, "Matching Rothy's!") As for my mother, a woman regularly horrified by my commitment to casual wear over all else, she considers my pink shoes manna from heaven.
And though I'm not not enjoying the compliments, the reason I keep returning to these neon beauties is because they're so damn comfy. My flats began life as water bottles, a material hardly known for its comfort level, yet now they feel like snug house slippers. Proof: Even when I stopped going into the office in light of COVID-19 restrictions, I kept wearing these shoes. I mean, Meghan Markle literally wore them to the beach instead of flip-flops.
Meghan in her Rothy’s.
To the beach?, I hear you say. Well, in the perfect lazy-girl hack, these flats are designed to be tossed in the washing machine and cleaned that way. (Word to the wise: Do not throw them in the dryer afterwards. Thankfully, the shoes stretched back out after a few wears, but please learn from my mistakes.)
At $155, these are more expensive than your average pair of flats, but unlike the "dressy" or "casual" binary that separates most, this is the shoe that can do both. I wore my black pair hidden under a long dress to a wedding (they're that comfy) and then with pants at the post-wedding brunch the next day (they're that pretty). I have The Point in pink, black, and navy, and as long as it isn't freezing cold out, you can find me wearing them:
I probably haven't filled you up with confidence in regards to the rest of my fashion sense, but that's okay. Buy the flats and send me photos of how one builds a non-neutral outfit around them. My mom will be ever so grateful.
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