Le Monde Béryl started with a problem that sounds simple until you try to solve it: how to make a flat shoe that can cross a city, a dinner and a late walk home. Founders Lily Atherton Hanbury and Katya Shyfrin looked to the Venetian gondolier slipper, ballet shoes and riding boots for the answer. The best flats here keep that practical origin visible in their clean lines and quietly unusual materials.

The pumps and mules add height without losing the label’s sense of movement. The founders met through work in the art and jewelry worlds, and that background shows in the way a buckle, weave or metallic finish is treated like a small object of interest. Keep the outfit simple and let the shoe make the argument.

The boots are the more architectural side of the collection. Suede, leather and snake-effect finishes give the familiar shapes enough tension for a long coat or a narrow trouser. They are not background shoes, so wear them when you want the lower half of the outfit to have a clear opinion.

Our honest take: Le Monde Béryl is strongest when it stays close to its original idea, a beautiful flat for people who walk. The heels are persuasive too, but the flats and Mary Janes have the clearest reason to exist and will earn their cost faster. If you take one thing away, choose the pair that fits the way you actually move through a day, not the one that only works when you stand still.