🥿
Flat Shoe
flat shoo
Definitions
1
Clothing · Footwear
common
A women's flat shoe without a raised heel, typically resembling a ballet flat or slip-on style. Used to represent casual, comfortable footwear or fashion accessories.
Often used in fashion contexts, shopping discussions, or when describing outfit choices.
Finally found the perfect pair of 🥿 for work! So comfy!
Instagram caption
Office dress code: business casual. Heels or 🥿 are acceptable.
Work email
Represents practical yet fashionable women's footwear, often contrasted with high heels to indicate comfort or casual style.
2
Activities · Shopping
uncommon
Used by retailers and consumers to indicate shopping for women's footwear, particularly casual or comfortable styles.
Common in online retail, social media shopping posts, and fashion discussions.
Spring sale! All 🥿 30% off this weekend only!
Retail marketing
Often appears in seasonal shopping contexts, especially spring/summer collections.
Evolution Timeline
2018
Added to Unicode 11.0 as part of expanded clothing and accessory emoji set.
Growing demand for fashion-related emoji options beyond high heels.
2019
Gained popularity as symbol of practical women's footwear in contrast to high heels.
Increasing cultural conversations about comfort over fashion in women's clothing choices.
Cultural Context
Flat shoes represent the practical alternative to high heels, often symbolizing the choice of comfort over traditional feminine fashion expectations.
Younger generations increasingly favor flat shoes over heels, reflecting shifting attitudes toward practical fashion and rejection of uncomfortable beauty standards.
The flat shoe emoji emerged as women's footwear options in emoji form expanded beyond the stereotypical high heel, reflecting more diverse representation of women's fashion choices.
Regional Variations
United Kingdom
Often called 'pumps' or 'ballerinas' in British English, especially in fashion contexts.
United States
Often called 'flats' or 'ballet flats' in American English, commonly used in fashion contexts.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Occasionally used in shopping contexts or when discussing comfortable alternatives to formal footwear.
Gen_Z: Frequently used in fashion TikToks and Instagram posts about sustainable, comfortable style choices and thrifting hauls.
Older: Less frequently used, typically in practical discussions about comfortable footwear options.
Millennials: Often used when discussing work-appropriate footwear or practical fashion choices for busy lifestyles.
Common Combinations
🥿👠
Contrasting comfortable flats with uncomfortable high heels.
Often used to show the difference between practical and formal footwear choices.
🥿👜
Fashion accessories or outfit coordination.
Used when discussing matched accessories or complete outfits.
🥿✨
Stylish or new flat shoes.
Often used to highlight a new purchase or particularly fashionable pair of flats.