Freed of London

The Freed range of pointe shoes includes:

Classic - Classics are a medium profile, medium vamp shoe.

Classic Pro - best for Grecian feet with a medium profile.  Comfortable shoe that requires little padding.  Designed for flexibility with longevity.

Studio II - dancers with very narrow feet like with these shoes. High vamp. Designed for durability.

Studio Professional - as the name suggests, these are designed for the advanced or professional dancer.

About Freed Pointe Shoes

I love my Freed pointe shoes!   So I hate to say anything negative about them, but I have to be honest.

For many professional dancers, Freed is the Rolls Royce of the pointe shoe - properly fitted, there's nothing quite like them.   They use a unique paste which gives them a lightness other shoes don't have - plus Freed have a seemingly inexhaustible ability to customize any aspect of their shoes to fit any foot. But for students, getting a consistent fit is more difficult than with other shoes!

With other pointe shoes, dancers will talk about the model that suits them best - the Grishko 2007 or the Capezio Contempora, and so on.  With Freed, professional dancers are more likely to talk about the maker that suits them best - because Freed shoes are handmade, and each shoemaker brings his own unique style to the shoe, which affects the fit.   So a Classic made by one maker won't fit quite the same as a Classic made by another maker.  Few online retailers will allow maker requests, which means that every time you buy a pair of Classics, you'll get a slightly different shoe - so before you decide to make Freed your shoe of choice, it's important to take that into consideration.

When I was dancing in the UK, I was always able to get my shoes direct from Freed's shop in St Martins Lane so I could specify my preference.  Here's a photo of the sole of my pointe shoes, showing the maker's mark and other customisation codes:

Freed pointe shoes makers mark