Although there's already a ton of commentary online about people who are untrained in ballet wearing pointe shoes for cosplay, this is my blog about my pet peeves, so here I go!
I have a long background in ballet, and one thing I know for sure is this: pointe shoes are ONLY for people who have put in the time, effort, blood, sweat, and tears required to EARN the right to wear them. So if you're into cosplay and you don't have the serious ballet background necessary to earn the right to wear pointe shoes, please don't. Not only can you hurt yourself--even seriously, like breaking a bone--but you devalue and demean the effort REAL ballet dancers put into earning their pointes.
But wait! All is not lost! There's a type of ballet shoe that looks--to the untrained eye--just like pointe shoes. They're called demi-pointe shoes and are used in some classrooms to get pre-pointe students acclimated to the hard feel of pointe shoes, without actually being made to support a dancer on pointe. Here are some made by Russian Pointe:
As you can see they look just like real pointe shoes because, basically, they are real pointe shoes. They simply haven't had some finishing touches added to them, e.g., there's no shank (the hard part of the sole that supports the foot while en pointe). To any casual observers, these will definitely pass as pointe shoes, so you can proudly wear them knowing that they give your outfit that certain something it needs, yet you're in no danger of harming yourself.
Just to be clear: demi-pointe shoes are not intended for pointe work, period. So don't be tempted to stand on your tip-toes even though they have a [somewhat] hard box. They're just for looks, not for pointe!
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I love the fact that this is a pet peeve!!!!!
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