What I Like About the Everlane Day Mary Jane Flats
Long story short, these flats absolutely live up to the hype. I get blisters super easily, but was able to wear these beauties right out of the box with no rubbing or irritation. On a particularly warm, humid day I did find that the strap rubbed a bit, but a little dab of Vaseline fixed it right away. I always carry bandages with me should my feet start to blister but have never had to use them in my 11 weeks of wear-testing. As for the materials, the leather is buttery soft, truly a dream to wear. And the elastic strap is neither so tight it leaves a mark on my foot, nor so loose that it sticks up—it sits solidly in place, offering support and style without irritation. A friend told me she has even worn her Mary Janes with the strap tucked under her foot to shake things up, but I found this to be too uncomfortable to wear for more than an hour, and definitely too annoying for walking around.
Everlane’s Mary Jane flat iteration, a new release following the trend of ballet flats with straps, has more of a square toe than the OG Day Ballet Flats ($148). Based on photos on the site, I expected more of a hard square look, but once on they do soften a bit, leaving you with something halfway between an almond toe and a true square toe. The benefit is that these flats can play into either trendy silhouette, giving them better longevity than a shoe with a more definitive shape. They also don’t show any “toe cleavage,” if that’s something you want to avoid.
As you’d hope from something as basic as a brown ballet flat, they go with almost anything—jeans, midi dresses, miniskirts, slim-fit trousers, you name it. The only item I didn’t love wearing them with was cropped, flared jeans (the look was a bit too close to the quirky capris/flats combos I wore in the early aughts), but that is really just a personal preference.
