Velvet Ballet Flats

Improper shoes, both in size and shape, are the number one reason behind foot-related problems, with 60% of kids losing some anatomical health in their feet by age six. Given that the bones in a child’s foot do not fully develop and harden until at least age 13, the shoes that your child wears in the early years are incredibly important.

Dressy kids’ shoes are often mini versions of adult shoes with narrow, tapered toe boxes, stiff soles, and raised heels, which can negatively impact gait and posture. Our TenForm® Fit System takes a different approach. Designed in collaboration with doctors and awarded the APMA Seal of Acceptance (The American Podiatric Medical Association), our Velvet Ballet Flats support healthy development and natural movement in growing kids. Prioritizing a natural shape, our shoes mimic a child’s bare foot with wide, foot-shaped toe boxes to match the asymmetrical splay of their toes and flexible, zero-drop soles for optimal ground feedback. Dressy shoes can often be uncomfortable. Our Velvet Ballet Flats feature soft heel padding for all-day comfort, from special occasions to everyday wear. 

Our Velvet Ballet Flats also come with our signature removable insoles featuring Spot the Cheetah, which help parents verify their child’s size and encourage kids to put their shoes on independently. The matching cheetah pattern on the insoles fits together like puzzle pieces, making it easy for your child to identify left and right. 

Our proprietary TenForm® Fit System is designed to support natural movement and healthy growth at every stage. Grounded in medical insights and biomechanical research, TenForm® ensures every Ten Little shoe is built around how children’s feet actually grow and move, prioritizing anatomical shape, balance, flexibility, and comfort without compromise. TenForm® supports healthy foot development through:

• Wide, foot-shaped toe boxes for natural toe splay

• Zero-drop construction with no heel raise for proper gait and posture

• Minimal soles for optimal ground awareness

• Flexible soles that bend and move with growing feet

We recommend using our Size Guide, where you can download our Printable Fit Finder, take our Fit Finder Quiz, or view our Size Chart to determine your child’s best size in Ten Little.

We do not offer different-width shoes, but our shoes have adjustable velcro straps to obtain the proper fit. They were specifically designed to mimic kids’ feet, three-dimensionally, with plenty of room for wiggles. They have been successfully tested with a variety of foot shapes, including both wide and narrow feet. If you are using our fit finder or insoles to check your little one’s fit, please note that these are best used for matching the length of the feet to the right shoe size and do not represent the three-dimensional fit of our shoes.

You can double-check the fit of your current Ten Little shoes using the removable cheetah insoles in your child’s shoes. Simply remove the shoe insoles to see where your child’s toe lands in relation to the size band. In the proper size, your child’s longest toe will land right within the cheetah print line. If their toes go past the line at all, it’s time to size up! We also recommend saving our shoeboxes, which have printed size guides inside them.

When it’s time to size up, we will text and email you a reminder to check if your little one is ready to graduate to the next size. If you have any questions about sizing or size-up notifications, you can email hello@tenlittle.com.

Our Velvet Ballet Flats and Mary Janes are both crafted with our signature barefoot friendly fit with soft padding found in the inside heel, and can each be paired with either an everyday outfit or special occasion attire. That said, the velvet upper of our ballerina-style flats is less suited for all-day play and may appear a tad dressier than our Mary Janes, which are made from a soft, durable synthetic upper.

Yes! Our Velvet Ballet Flats accommodate AFO/SMO orthotics, braces, and high-volume feet due to their natural shape—just remove the insoles.

Absolutely—dressy has never been this comfortable with our Velvet Ballet Flats. This sophisticated and timeless velvet ballet flat is a great option to make a statement for holidays, birthdays, or other special occasions. The padded heel pads ensure that your little one will be comfortable through every twirl or shimmy.

Both the upper and outsole of the shoe can be spot-cleaned using a clean, soft cloth dampened with water, with the addition of a mild soap as needed. You can also try using a magic eraser on our outsoles to remove scuff marks or scratches. We don’t suggest machine washing because multiple washes or constant submerging in water can start to break down the shoe materials. It’s best to remove the insoles before hand washing and let the shoes air-dry completely!

Our shoes are made to mimic your child’s natural foot shape and do not come with arch support. Arch support in infant and toddler shoes is not recommended for them to develop a healthy arch and the muscles around it, unless advised by a doctor. If your child needs arch support, Ten Little shoes fit with orthotics - just remove the insoles.

Yes! Our Velvet Ballet Flats are PETA-approved vegan and made with a smooth velvet upper and natural rubber non-slip outsoles made from the milk of the Hevea tree. Like all of our shoes, our Velvet Ballet Flats are non-toxic, cruelty-free, and made without animal products or by-products. Our materials are rigorously tested to ensure that they are safe for your little ones and exceed the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s standards for children’s products.