For many of us, Repetto has always been THE ballet flat of choice. Cute, authentic, slightly difficult to obtain, owning them represents a certain quality of being in the know. I remember when I first went to the Repetto store on the Rue de la Paix in Paris and was in awe over the entire wall, floor to ceiling, of wooden cubbies filled with pink satin toe shoes. The pair of ballet flats I bought on that visit were instant favorites and I wore them so often they barely lasted a summer.

Being somewhat diminutive in stature, I tend to prefer high-heeled boots, stilettos and towering platform sandals. But there are some times and outfits that call for a ballet flat. This Spring I found myself in ballet flat deprivation and went on a search.

My first find were a beautiful but insanely expensive pair of Christian Louboutins. I had been drooling over them all Winter and thought they were sold out everywhere, but miraculously found a pair in my size on a department store website. They must have consolidated from stores because previous searches on the same site turned up nothing. Alas, the Boston brick sidewalks that are death to high heels are turning my tres cher blunt toed beauties into a cobbler’s nightmare. I think it’s time to retire them and save them for special occasions before I wear away any more of the precious leather and red soles.

One day not long ago, a Gilt Groupe email featured shoes by Bloch. I’d never heard of Bloch, but since they were flats I gave them a look. Low and behold, they are a ballet shoe maker who has expanded into making fashion shoes. Apparently they’ve been around since 1932. Where have I been? As often happens with GG, my size was not available in the style I wanted – the Stardust Square.

A Google search yielded plenty of sites selling Bloch shoes, but none of them had the ones I wanted. Until, miraculously, they turned up on Zappos.com. Stardust Squares in both black and gunmetal. The gunmetal pair was on sale even. I bought them on the spot.

While the square toe of my Blochs doesn’t have the cunning gathers of the Christian Louboutins, it does have a certain something that simple round-toed ballet flats are lacking. Butter soft leather and a cushion under the heel make them so, so comfy. And the heel is ingeniously designed, with an angled rubber section on the outside edge, just where anyone with a turnout wears out our shoes first. I’m in love. And I am going to get the black pair immediately.

Move over Repetto, I’ve found a better ballerina.