Forget Mules—*These* Are the Classic Anti-Flats L.A. It Girls Wear for Dinner at Giorgio Baldi
Good food, great footwear.

There are three restaurants in Los Angeles that you're pretty much guaranteed to spot local It girls in if you stop by for dinner on any given night. In Malibu, there's Nobu; in West Hollywood, there's Sushi Park; and in Santa Monica, there's the famous Giorgio Baldi. The latter is frequented by Rihanna, who's been eating there since the early aughts (which is around the same time that Lewis Hamilton used to go with Nicole Scherzinger), A$AP Rocky, Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, and Hailey and Justin Bieber. If you're heading to the Italian joint, here's a tip for fitting in: Wear slingback heels aka the classic shoe trend I spot in practically every paparazzi photo taken outside.
Most recently, the Biebers took to the westside eatery for a date night, and Hailey paired black Saint Laurent Vendome Slingback Pumps with a vintage Tom Ford for Gucci minidress from the designer's S/S 03 collection for the Italian house (the dress recently sold on 1stDibs for close to $4500) and a small top-handle bag from the brand's same era. As per usual, she finished off the date-night look with her signature tiny sunglasses.
On Hailey Bieber: Tom Ford for Gucci dress and bag; Saint Laurent Vendome Slingback Pumps ($950)
What makes Bieber's shoe choice such a popular one is its versatility. She specifically chose a pair with a stiletto heel less than three inches high, but you can easily go higher or lower depending on preference and occasion. For a formal event, maybe you go up an inch or two. For a casual jeans-and-tee look worn for lunch, try a kitten-heel version. Once you've found a heel height and style that work for you, there's no doubt that you'll wear them again and again, whether you're dining at Giorgio Baldi or not. But if you do, make sure to slip them on. It's practically mandatory.
Scroll down to shop the best slingback heels on the market in 2025.
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Eliza Huber is an NYC-based senior fashion editor who specializes in trend reporting, brand discovery, and the intersection of sports and fashion. She joinedBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing in 2021 from Refinery29, the job she took after graduating with a business degree from the University of Iowa. She's launched two columns, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter; and reported on everything from the relationship between Formula One and fashion to the top runway trends each season. Eliza lives on the Upper West Side and spends her free time researching F1 fashion imagery for her side Instagram accounts @thepinnacleoffashion and @f1paddockfits, watching WNBA games, and scouring The RealReal for discounted Prada.
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