A pattern has emerged in the way we choose to dress our adult selves, with many of us sartorially regressing to styles and silhouettes that defined our childhood wardrobes. Back in our teens we couldn't wait to move on out of smock dresses and pointelle underwear, and yet here we are wearing just those 20-plus years on. One piece we're surprised to be coveting right now is the classic Mary Jane show.
The familiar one-strap style might have been the first shoe we ever wore (anyone remember school shoe shopping at Clarks?) but the appeal endures as the street style set are turning to them time and time again and wearing them in countless different outfit equations. They're as good with as they are a . The way to wear Mary Janes now is in ballerina-adjacent styles with voluminous silhouettes and brilliant white cotton socks pulled up over the ankle.
The simple styles have come to compete against our ubiquitous trainers for an everyday shoe that is as neat as it is comfortable, as polished as it is accessible. It feels a little more special and jaunty than its fellow flat-soled sisters, while their closed toes work well for the . A cacophony of options in this bracket abound whether you're going for Alaïa's all-out studs, ' woven leather option or John Lewis' viral pair.
Once, Mary Janes were synonymous with Carrie Bradshaw declaring style an 'urban shoe myth' in season four of Sex and The City, but it's the flatter, wear-everywhere styles that have become a wardrobe's MVP in 2.