{"product_id":"square-toe-criss-cross-ballet-flat","title":"Square-Toe Criss-Cross Ballet Flat","description":"\u003cp\u003eA flat cut on a squared last and held on by two elastic bands crossed over the instep. The maker files the upper as 二层牛皮 — split-grain cowhide, the layer beneath the top grain — which is what a leather flat at this price is made of, and worth saying plainly rather than writing 真皮 and leaving it at that. The lining and the insole are both 猪皮, pigskin, which is the part that actually touches the foot; the sole is rubber, cemented to the upper. The toe is square. The maker files the head shape as 圆头, round, and its own photographs disagree with that field: the front edge runs flat across with softened corners on every frame, so the headline and the pictures are what we have followed. The same goes for the closure. The listing sells a 方扣, a square buckle, and there is no buckle anywhere in the frames it publishes — the instep is elastic, which is why the shoe goes on with no fastening and why the crossing sits slack when the shoe is empty. Sizes run 34 to 40 on the continental scale rather than the 35-to-40 run most flats here are sold in, so a 34 and a 40 are both genuinely available. Three colourways: black, wine red and olive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSplit grain, said out loud\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost leather flats in this market put 真皮 in the headline and leave the material field blank, because 真皮 covers split leather as well as the top layer. This one files 二层牛皮 — split-grain cowhide, the layer under the top grain — and files 猪皮 in the lining and the insole. So it is a real leather shoe, it is not a top-grain one, and the price is honest about which. Split grain is also the more forgiving of the two on a flat: it takes the crease across the vamp without cracking.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTwo elastic bands, and no buckle\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe listing sells a square buckle and files 搭扣, a buckle closure, in two more fields. There is no buckle in any of the photographs it publishes. What holds the shoe on is two flat elastic bands crossing in an X, anchored at the sides. In practice that means the shoe goes on without a fastening, the strap gives as the foot flexes instead of cutting across the instep, and there is nothing to come loose or to replace. It also means the crossing sits slack when the shoe is empty, which is exactly what you see in the frame shot on the bed — that is the elastic at rest, not a fault.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA real 34 and a real 40\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe maker files 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 on the continental scale. Most flats on this platform run 35 to 40 with a line telling you to size up, which quietly drops the two ends of the size curve. Here both ends are listed, so a small-footed customer and a large-footed one are served by the same style — which for a shop buying ten units a style is the difference between stocking it and not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDetails\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eColour:\u003c\/strong\u003e Black · Wine red · Olive\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSize:\u003c\/strong\u003e EU 34–40 — seven continental sizes, filed as 34,35,36,37,38,39,40\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Split-grain cowhide upper (二层牛皮), pigskin lining and insole (猪皮), rubber outsole (橡胶)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSole:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rubber (橡胶) on a cemented construction (鞋底工艺 粘胶鞋)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeel:\u003c\/strong\u003e Low — the maker files 低跟[小于3cm(含)], under 3 cm including the heel, block heel (粗跟)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Low-cut (鞋帮高度 低帮), held on by elastic rather than a buckle, so the strap gives as the foot flexes. Width and instep: DETAILS TO BE CONFIRMED with the maker.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCare\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePigskin lining is not corrected grain and will darken where the foot sits. That is the material behaving normally, not a fault.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSplit-grain cowhide shows a scuff more than a top grain does. A neutral cream polish worked in with a cloth, rather than a brush, brings it back.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe maker publishes no washing or care symbol for this shoe. Ask before retailing it — that is a quote question, not something to read off the photographs.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy we chose it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBecause the square toe and the elastic crossing are both sold in the listing and both contradicted by one of its own attribute fields, and the photographs settle it — this is a copy that had to be read rather than copied. And because a leather flat filed in EU 34 to 40, with a real 34 and a real 40 instead of a note telling you to size up, is rarer in this market than the price suggests.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne piece is fine.\u003c\/strong\u003e Buy a single piece at the price shown, or ask for a trade quote from ten units — written by a person, never read off a table.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TAVERRIN","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":47642805797036,"sku":null,"price":118.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Wine red","offer_id":47642805829804,"sku":null,"price":118.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Olive","offer_id":47642805862572,"sku":null,"price":118.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0783\/5726\/6604\/files\/01_c8ce9cfe-5b1c-48f2-82f7-972c48bf4863.webp?v=1792287684","url":"https:\/\/shop.taverrin.com\/products\/square-toe-criss-cross-ballet-flat","provider":"TAVERRIN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}