We tested 5 Instagram-famous flatsthese are the best
— Recommendations are independently chosen by Revieweds editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.We at Reviewed are just as curious about those flashy products we see in our Instagram feeds as you are. For our 'As Seen On IG' series, our writers buy them and put them through their paces to find out if they're actually as good as they look onlineor too good to be true. Spot one that we've missed? Email us at AsSeenOn@reviewed.com.
If you have two feet and attributes that social media bots might identify as female-skewing, you know what Im about to talk about. Scroll through Instagram for just a moment, and youll see them: the flats. With their eye-catching, colorful, trendily fonted ads, each (mostly) direct-to-consumer shoe brand has a similar range of claims: durability, presentability, and comfort, and priced just high enough to beg the question, are they worth it?
I dont have an answer to why flats are so inescapable on the photo-sharing app, but I did get my hands (well, feet) on pairs of five of the most prevalent brands among the adsAllbirds, Rothys, Tieks, Birdies, and Everlanes Day Glove ReKnitsto see which ones are the best value for your $100 (give or take) a pair. Below are all the Instagram flats I tested, ranked in order from best to worst.
1. The best all-arounder: Allbirds Tree Breezers
Allbirds Tree Breezers are cute, comfy, and an all-around great pick.
The Allbirds brand is most commonly associated with its runners, a lightweight, sneaker-like, universally beloved shoe. But Allbirds also makes ballet flats, called Tree Breezersand to me, they are (also) perfect. Made with a wool insole, sugarcane-based soles, and a soft woven upper comprised of eucalyptus pulp (the tree in their name), the flats are light, airy, and breathable, yet sturdy enough to hold up to long walks. They dont reinvent the look of ballet flats but they look perfectly nice, with a classic almond-shaped toe. Theyre also machine-washable, though in my two-month time wearing mine, they havent acquired any odors or dirt thats required laundering.
One small qualm? Sizing. The flats fit me just rightI am usually a size 9 and sometimes an 8.5, and the size 9 I ordered fit greatbut a lot of reviewers on Allbirds site say they run small. On the other hand (er, foot), when a Reviewed editor bought a pair on my recommendation, she found they ran large in the back due to the stretchy, supple material they are made of. She has a narrow heel and has trouble in general walking in flats without stepping out of them in back, so this may not be a universal experience. Still, its something to consider, particularly if you have narrow feet.
On the plus side, Allbirds makes it super easy to return or exchange its shoes. Click the link in the shipping confirmation email, answer a few questions about why youre making the return or exchange, print out a label, then take the box to either a FedEx or USPS location. If youre between sizes, it may not be a bad idea to order two pairs and keep the one that fits you just right.
The bottom line: Allbirds Tree Breezers are lightweight, comfortable, and the way to go when it comes to Instagram flats.
Read our full Allbirds Tree Breezers review
Get Tree Breezers flats from Allbirds for $98
2. The most slipper-like: Birdies Starling
Birdies feel almost exactly like slipperswhich may or may not be good, depending on what you're doing.
Birdies' loafer-like Starling flat claims to feel just like a pair of slippers. After wearing them for about a month, I can say this is 100 percent truewhich is both a boon and a detriment to the shoe. Basically, Birdies are great when youre hanging out somewhere and staying relatively stationary, like your home or office, where you might want to look presentable and dont walk around a lot. But the plush, cushiony material insole is the opposite of breathable, so if you walk for more than 10 minutes (or five on a hot day), you can expect your feet to get very, very sweaty. They cant be washed in a machine, eitherBirdies recommends deodorizing by sprinkling the inside with baking soda, letting it soak in, and dumping out the excess.
Also, the velvet material looks a little cheaperand picks up more schmutzin real life than it does in photos. That can be rectified by picking another (if more expensive) upper material, such as leather, suede, or satin, or by keeping a lint brush handy.
The bottom line: Birdies are nice-looking shoes that are as comfortable as slippers, which is great if you want to wear them at an office, but not so great if you have to walk any distance to get there.
Get the Birdies Starling flat from Nordstrom for $95
3. The ugly duckling of comfort: Everlane Day Glove ReKnits
They may not win any beauty contests, but Everlane's Day Glove ReKnits are extremely comfortable.
Everlane sells a lot of sensible, office-appropriate apparel (as well as a mean cotton t-shirt). So its no surprise that its leather flats, called Day Gloves, are a favorite among those who like the brand. In June, Everlane released an updated version of the flats, the Day Glove ReKnits, which have a woven fabric upper, putting them squarely in the competition of comfort-forward Instagram flats.
Heres the deal on the Day Glove ReKnits: They are some of the ugliest shoes I have ever seen, thanks to an upper that covers way too much of the top of the foot. They look like a pair of slippers that one might wear when in the hospital, and not, for example, paired with skinny jeans or a sweater dress. That said, style is subjective, and Everlane reviewers seem to like the way they look. Plus, the stretchy, sock-like upper combined with the cushioned leather insole make the shoes very comfortablenot quite at the level of the Allbirds or Birdies, but close. However, unlike Allbirds, these cant be machine-washed.
The bottom line: If comfort alone is what youre after (and you like or don't mind the look), the Day Glove ReKnits will serve you well.
Read our full Everlane Day Glove ReKnit review
Get Day Glove ReKnit shoes from Everlane for $98
4. Pretty but painful: Rothys The Point
Rothy's look greateven after a lot of washesbut can be extremely painful.
I was excited to try out Rothys, which are made out of recycled plastic bottles, making them machine-washable and supposedly indestructible. Not to mention, I found the pointed style more refined-looking, as flats go. To test them, I got two pairs: One I wore for a month, and the other, I washed and dried every day for a month. This experiment was half successful. The shoes that got 20-plus consecutive washes were unchanged by the end.
But wearing the Rothys was a painful, bloody experience (which, I suppose, makes that washability even more valuable). The back of the shoes rubbed against my ankles so violently that my skin broke within about five minutes, and I spent the rest of the first day hobbling and replacing my Band-Aids. I was so scarred (not literally, but it _could _have been) by my first experience that I didnt want to put them back on had I not been paid to do so (such is the life of a product-review journalist). The fit and feel of the shoes improved a bit each day, reaching a level of wearable comfort about a week in: no more broken skin, but as I found the arch support lacking, I had sore soles by days end. For me, Rothys gain points for their style and durability but lose most of them (understandably, I think) for tearing up the back of my feet.
The bottom line: If youre OK with keeping bandages close by for at least the first week you have your Rothys and dont need much in the way of arch support, and you covet the look of a pointed flat, Rothys will work for you. But if youre specifically looking for comfort in your sensible flats, get another pair.
Get the Point shoe from Rothys for $145
5. Overpriced and overrated: Tieks
Compared to other shoes, Tieks aren't special enough to justify their cost.
Tieks is a leather flats brand with a devoted fan base that includes a wide range of people, from elementary school teachers to Oprah. All of themm praise the shoes' long-term comfort, ability to roll up into small balls to tuck into a purse, and trademark bright blue solesa status symbol that screams to the club, yup, I spent almost $200 on these bad boys.
But when I tried the pricey flatsthe most expensive of all the brands we triedthey fell (ahem) flat for me. For starters, the break-in period nearly broke me, as the backs of these shoes broke the skin, repeatedly, on my heels over the first few days I wore them. This was on par with my Rothy's experience, only at a higher cost and without the benefit of being able to throw them in the laundrybecause Tieks are leather, they cant be machine-washed. The insole has some cush, but its thin, so it ultimately felt just OK after walking and standing for long periods of timenot shoes Id want to wear if I were up in front of a classroom all day. I also found their style unimpressive. The leather looked wrinkly on my feet, and the upper seemed so thin that my big toe might poke through at any moment (though in about a month of wears, it didnt).
The bottom line: Tieks dont do enough to justify their cost. If youre excited about the prospect of packable shoes with blue soles, dont mind doing some (painful) work to break them in, and you hang in circles where Tieks are revered, I wont talk you out of getting them. But in terms of both comfort and aesthetics, you can get other flats that do much more for less money.
Get Tieks flats starting at $175
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.