Repettos in Aix
Repetto was one of my first stops in Aix-en-Provence. I had admired the Cendrillon for years, and the Iconic Pink patent pair became my first. I tried them on and knew they were headed straight into heavy rotation. I’d pair them with an oversized button-down and relaxed vintage-wash denim, or for something a touch dressier, I’d add them to black, cropped pants or long, linen shorts and a black, ribbed tank.
Finding something while traveling gives it a life beyond the purchase. It also allows you to call shopping “collecting memories,” which is useful. This pair will always remind me of that afternoon in Aix and the friend who was with me.
Rose Repetto began making ballet slippers in Paris, circa 1947 in her small atelier. She made them for her son, choreographer Roland Petit. She created the house’s cousu-retourné method, which stitches the shoe inside out before turning it. That construction is why Repettos feel so soft and flexible on the foot. The Cendrillon arrived in 1956 when Brigitte Bardot asked for a ballet flat she could wear outside the studio — a perfectly reasonable request with an excellent result. She wore the shoe in And God Created Woman, and the association stuck.
Jane Birkin later wore Cendrillons with flared jeans and white T-shirts. She also introduced Serge Gainsbourg to Repetto’s white Zizi jazz shoes. He wore them so frequently that they became part of his daily uniform. By the early 2000s, Kate Moss was wearing Repettos with skinny jeans and whatever top or tee. It worked well, as most things do on her. These were never shoes to be saved for the right occasion; they were worn frequently and became part of the everyday.
Fashion is forever declaring the ballet flat as ‘back,’ which seems odd for a shoe that never really left. Cendrillon has carried on regardless, and buying my pair felt slightly overdue. They were the first purchase of the trip. I came home with pink patent Cendrillons and Repetto’s history newly tied to a sunny afternoon in Aix.
Next time, Repetto: the red Camilles.
