Summer Flats and Sandals on Sloane Street: The 2026 Edit

The long weekend is the moment Knightsbridge swaps heels for something it can actually walk in. With Chelsea in Bloom still dressing Sloane Street until Sunday, this is the best weekend of the spring to try on summer shoes, and the street has rarely had a stronger line-up of flats. Drawing on the Sloane Street edit of the season's best flat shoes, here are the pairs worth seeking out, and how to plan the route.

The case for spending on flats is simple. They are the shoes you will actually wear on a city break, at a garden party and through a day of museum hopping in South Kensington, and the best of them hold their shape for years.

Ballet flats and Mary Janes

The ballet flat remains the shoe of the moment, and the houses on and around Sloane Street have each interpreted it differently:

• Hermès Meli ballet flat, £1,230: the quiet option, and the one that will look right in five years.
• Louis Vuitton Romy ballet flat, in studded mesh at £1,040 or in suede at £760, for a choice between statement and staple.
• Prada gold woven raffia Mary Jane: a summer texture with a metallic twist, ideal with linen.

Loafers and slingbacks

For those who want something more structured for lunches and the office, two pairs stand out:

• Dior Medallion loafer, £1,500, the most polished shoe in this edit.
• Hermès Lovely slingback, £1,160, which bridges day and evening with ease.

Sandals and slides

When the heat properly arrives, these are the ones to have ready:

• Gucci mule with Horsebit, £710, a house signature translated for summer.
• Saint Laurent Babylone sandal, £880, sleek and unmistakably Parisian.
• Tod's sandal, £640, the most travel-friendly pair here.
• Fendi Baguette slide, £990, a playful nod to the house's most famous bag.

Prices are as published at the time of writing, and stock varies by size and boutique, so call ahead if you have your heart set on a particular colour.

Planning the route

The good news is that almost everything here can be tried on in a single afternoon. The Sloane Street directory lists boutiques for Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior, Saint Laurent and Tod's along the street itself, with Gucci and Fendi flagships close by, while Hermès is a short detour to its two-storey boutique on Cadogan Street. Start at the Knightsbridge end, work south towards Sloane Square, and finish with a coffee on Pavilion Road. For our full rundown of the street's boutiques, see the Sloane Street shopping guide.

A practical tip

Try flats on in the afternoon, when feet are at their largest, and walk the length of the shop floor before deciding: a ballet flat that pinches at noon will be unbearable by the end of a summer day. Knightsbridge and Sloane Square stations sit at either end of the street. More ideas are in our shopping section.

Lead image: ell brown via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.