From The Straits Times    |

Let’s do some mythbusting, it’s not only heels that can make you feel sexy and elevated. When styled right, flats of all shapes and colours can give you the same va-va-voom burst of confidence that heels can. Here’s how:

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#1 Pair them with a short hemline

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We’ve all heard of the cleavage vs. legs rule, and this can work when it comes to office wear too. Nope, we’re not proposing you wear a date-night dress to work, but it’s true that the flatter the shoe, the more leg can be on show. Whilst pencil skirts and midi-dresses look more flattering with an elongating heel, in the same way legs look longer and your silhouette slimmer when you wear flats with a shorter hem. Take a cue from this gorgeous skirt suit with a jacket on top, keeping things classy and modern.

#2 Give them the cold shoulder

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Off-the-shoulder tops are as hot as ever, and they’re a trend that works perfectly for Singapore’s steamy weather as well as with flats. Baring your shoulders can be a sexy evening alternative and when you’re showing skin up top, keeping things more demure with some sneakers or flatforms will give you a ‘I woke up like this vibe”.

#3 Fancy footwork

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Flats have undergone a serious transformation of late. If you haven’t seen the lace-up flats trend started by Aquazzura, where have you been? The shoe which spawned a million imitations is still popular, but the street style set are moving on to more of Eduardo’s experimental styles. Try a metallic pair like these Grecian-style pumps or an amp-up of classic loafers in metallic silver.

Kidskin leather flats, $1,006 by Aquazurra from Shopbop

PU and rubber shoes, $55.90 from Zara

#4 Go clean and classic

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Coco Chanel invented trompe-l’oeil ballet flats to elongate the legs. These are the ultimate work and eveningwear flats. The black toe cap shortens your foot and the beige upper gives an illusion of longer legs (though they only come in a limited ‘nude’ palette). They were on the feet of the most stylish at the Spring Summer 2016 shows, here are just a few of our favourites:

 

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Goatskin leather and suede Chanel shoes, $1,080 from boutiques nationwide

 

#5 Crop tight

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Ankles are one of the ‘vulnerable’ zones of our bodies, similar to wrists and collarbones, so if you want to look chic, accentuating this area is a bonafide solution. Cropped trousers, ⅞ leg length and culottes are still the most popular trouser styles, and fortunately they work for showing off our ankles. Add a pair of chic flats to cropped pants and you have a winning fashion maths formula. 

To read up on why we love Chanel’s ballet flats so much and the work that goes into them, see here.