There are so many different brands and styles of pointe shoes out there that it makes it extremely difficult to pick out which shoe fits your feet the best! Whenever you wear pointe shoes it's important that they are comfortable and are shaped to your feet, as everyone is different. Here's a list of the pointe shoe brands and styles I've been able to collect information about from my own experience, friends, my teachers, and so many more!
1. Bloch
This is probably one of the go-to pointe shoes that many dancers first buying their pointe shoes try. For many these are ideal shoes for them as they have many popular styles including European Balance, Morph, Tensus Demi, Hannah, Jetstream, and Aspiration. In fact, I've tried all of these on and I can definitely say that each shoe is dependent on the person. For me, none of these pointe shoes worked out because I have fairly slim feet and would always sink to the bottom of the shoes. However, I've had many friends who love European Balance's and continue to use them to this day. With Aspiration's they are more of a beginner pointe shoe and many dancers start out using them as they have extremely hard shanks, so it's almost impossible to break them in, but they do have a lot of support. As for Morph's one caution about these shoes is that since they mould to your feet under heat and can freeze they can morph into a shape that can be difficult to work with. Also, they break down a lot faster than your average pointe shoe since these shoes are greatly affected by heat, so it's nice to have that in mind, when trying these shoes on in store. So that's also something to keep in mind when trying these pointe shoes. Jetstreams aren't a very popular pointe shoe but when I bought these I thought that it would be like your average pointe shoe, and they seemed to fit very well at first. However, once I took them home and tried them on they felt very stiff and I was unable to move in them. When I tried on the Hannah's I found the same situation with the shank, although it all depends on the dimensions of your feet, so it's very individual. Check out their website: http://www.blochworld.com
2. Mirella
These shoes are a spin off brand of Bloch, which I love and have now bought at least 4-5 pairs of them. I find that these shoes are like a hidden gem that are suddenly becoming more popular because they fit so well for a lot of people. Since I have fairly slim feet, these worked perfectly for me as they fit like a glove! They also have cushioning on the inside of each pointe shoe, which makes it more comfortable and also quieter when doing courus which is really nice. The style I like to wear is called "Whisper" it also comes in Matte, so if your studio needs to have shoes that aren't distracting these are great. They also have a pre-curved arch that is perfect for someone like me, who needs the extra little push to make their arches compare to those who have naturally beautiful feet. Unlike, Bloch's other pointe shoes they aren't as bulky at the tip and have a slimmer toe box, making it more aesthetically appealing! However, I've also had some other friends who've tried these pointe shoes and found that they were really tight on the toe box, so it all depends on your personal preference. Update: Mirella is a brand owned by Bloch. Check out their website: https://us.blochworld.com/search?type=product,article,page&q=mirella%20pointe%20shoes*
3. Capezio
Another well-known dance brand is Capezio. They make great leotards and tap shoes, as well as pointe shoes. Many of my friends love Capezio pointe shoes and they have a lot of styles that are quite popular including Aria, Tiffany, Studio, and Glisse. I've tried all of these and I think out of these pointe shoes the most popular are Aria's. I tried 1-2 pairs of the Aria's and found that they worked perfectly fine, but I found for me that I kept sinking into them as they didn't offer enough support as they have a 3/4 shank. Also a lot of my friends and I have noticed that when wearing these pointe shoes you have to be aware of your feet at all times, because otherwise your foot will look sickled. Another thing to know when buying these pointe shoes is that they have a square box shape at the toe box, which can become a concern for some. As for Tiffany's one of my friends had these and because she has an extremely high arch it seemed like a good match, since Tiffany's have a very hard shank. However, the shanks were so hard that she could barely go on pointe without worrying that she would fall over. One pointe shoe style that I would definitely NOT recommend are the Studio Pointe shoes. Both one of my friends and I tried these pointe shoes out at a pointe shoe fitting with the creator of the new pointe shoe. The creator was very nice and considerate, and when we both tried them on there they fit great. However, once we wore them to class we both found that these shoes kept falling off of our heels no matter what! We had elastics, double sided tape, and so much more, but it just wouldn't stay on our feet. Neither of us were able to wear these pointe shoes afterwards, as they were impossible to wear. Along with that, they were very difficult to sew the ribbons and elastics on since they had elastic on the heels, so the position of where you would sew your ribbons would be different each time whenever you wore them. As for the Glisse's I found that for me that I was once again sinking in them from the start, but generally they work very well for those with medium to wide feet. Check out their website: http://www.capezio.com
4. Grishko
I've had many friends who love Grishko and even studios that will only use Grishko pointe shoes, but then there are others who avoid them altogether. It really depends on the style, size, who's fitting your shoes, your feet, and what feels comfortable. For me, I tried on the Grishko 2007's and the Grishko DreamPointe's and personally I found that they were very hard, which I wasn't quite used to at that point, so for dancers out there trying to buy pointe shoes with hard shanks due to breaking them in too fast, frequent usage, and/ or gorgeous high arches, than these might be the shoes for you! Check out their multiple styles on their website : https://www.grishko.com
5. Freed of London
For the Freeds, I had heard a lot about them, do I decided to try them out at the store. However, when I wore them they didn't fit quite right :( The ones that I tried were the Classic Professional and the Studios 1. For a lot of people these pointe shoes are their favourite and Freeds are a great brand. I bought a practice tutu for my ballet exam and one of their leotards and they fit great, which I was happy about since I ordered them from England and I wasn't sure about how their sizings were over there, but they were very accurate and true to their sizing chart! Check out their website: http://freedusa.com
6. Gaynor Minden
Gaynor Minden's are a very popular pointe shoe among professional ballerinas including Alina Somova, Evegenia Obraztsova, Svetlana Zakharova, Michaela DePrince, to name a few. There are a ton of other professionals who also where these pointe shoes daily and love them. I can't quite remember which pointe shoe style I tried on while I was at the store, but I do remember that the shank was very hard as it's supposed to be made out of elastomerics, which are shock absorbent and never go soft or break (or take a long time to do so). However, I found them a little too hard, so that I couldn't even bend them one bit. Although, for those who dance a lot these might be the shoes for you! Check out their website: http://www.dancer.com/index.php
7. Russian Pointe
I tried on the Rubin Russian Pointe's and found them to be quite rigid. For many ballerinas however, they work quite well especially with those with high arches! They are also great for those who go through shoes like there's no tomorrow! In fact, many professionals use these pointe shoes for just that reason! I would definitely recommend trying these shoes on before buying them online or elsewhere, so please make sure to try them on first. Check out their website: http://www.russianpointe.com
8. So Danca
One thing that I found when I tried on the So Danca pointe shoes is that they are kind of clunky and hard to move in. There are currently four different styles of the So Danca pointe shoes although, at the time I only tried on one of the styles, which were the Aurora's. I was absolutely fascinated when I tried these shoes on though, mainly because of the name of the shoes! I thought how cool would it be to wear shoes that are named after a famous ballet where the main character, Aurora is a princess? Unfortunately, they didn't work out for me although, you may be the next lucky princess. Check out their website: https://www.sodanca.com/women/shoes/ballet/pointe-ballet.html
9. Leo's
I remember trying on the Leo's excited because they looked so pretty, or at least the style that I tried on at first. Mainly because the toes of the Leo's were very thin at the top making the pointe shoes look almost effortless. For me they didn't work out, or at least the pair that I tried on. I'm not quite sure if they were an old style or if they still carry them but currently they carry 2 styles one with a split sole and the other is a full sole under the name Premier Pointe Shoes. Check out their website:http://www.leosdancewear.com
10. Suffolk
Initially I had never heard that much about Suffolk pointe shoes until my friend tried them out. She also knew that I had trouble looking for pointe shoes so she told me that I could try them on to see if they fit. After trying them on they seemed to fit just fine with some minor changes that could be fixed. However, over time as my friend began to wear them she noticed that they were as hard as a brick and couldn't bend them no matter how much time she spent with them. They also made her feet look sickled when they weren't and were kind of loud and clunky. Although, there are so many acclaimed dancers out there who swear by these pointe shoes and love them to pieces. Which is also one of the main reasons she tried them in the first place. She ended up having to break them down into broken downs, but wasn't able to actually use them as pointe shoes, but all in all it wasn't the right pair of pointe shoes for her. But many professionals also love them so don't be afraid to try them out as there are also 3 different classes of pointe shoes: The Company Shoe Collection, The Corps de Ballet Collection, and The Premiere Collection. Check out their website:http://suffolkdance.com