Napoleoni: flat shoes, contained heels and water-repellent suede
A ballet flat is the low, low-cut shoe that covers the foot without any fastening: it is the best-represented shape on this page, and here it appears in several variants that change the way the shoe stays on. The plain model holds by fit; the mary jane adds a strap across the instep, either a T-bar or crossed; the flat slingback replaces the closed heel with a band behind the ankle, which lightens the shoe and makes it more forgiving on narrow feet; the version with a lace and eyelets closes over the instep like a lace-up, but stays flat.
Heels stay contained: they start at 1 centimetre on the ballet flats and reach 7 on the evening models, with the 2-to-5-centimetre band covering most of the collection. The 5-centimetre spool heel, narrower at the middle and wider at both ends, rests on a broad base and holds more steadily than a stiletto of the same height. On the loafers the 3-centimetre heel sits on a leather welt, the stitched strip joining upper and sole that lets the shoe be resoled rather than replaced.
Suede is the most widespread material in the collection and on several models it is stated as water-repellent, that is treated so that water runs off instead of soaking in: it remains protection against splashes, not a rain shoe. Alongside suede there is nappa, a leather tanned to stay soft, crackled leather, whose surface is run through with deliberate cracks, and embossed printed leather with a python pattern. Suede is brushed dry and never washed; nappa and crackled leather want a soft cloth and a neutral, unpigmented cream.
Underfoot two solutions coexist, and they are not interchangeable. The leather insole absorbs the day's moisture and takes the print of the foot with use, but asks for a rest day between wears to dry; the padded leather insole instead adds a soft layer under the forefoot and is felt straight away, above all on the pointed models and on the heeled sandals. The soles follow the same logic: rubber where grip matters, leather where a slim profile counts, mixed construction on the models that have to do both. To compare other shoes of the same shape, start from the women's ballet flats category.
