At the London premiere of Charlie’s Angels at the Curzon Mayfair on November 20, 2019, Elizabeth Banks, who stands 5ft 4½ (163.8 cm) and wears a US size 7 shoe, stepped out with her husband, producer Max Handelman, in a black Versace Spring/Summer 2020 look finished with barely-there black strappy sandals.
Elizabeth Banks and husband Max Handelman attend the Charlie’s Angels premiere at the Curzon Mayfair in London on November 20, 2019
The minimalist heels left almost nothing between Banks’ feet and the red carpet, with fine black straps crossing the toes and ankles and slender metallic stiletto heels adding height. Close-up photos also show her feet shifting noticeably forward in the sandals, leaving several toes extending beyond the front edge of the footbeds.
That barely-there silhouette was already familiar territory for Banks. At ELLE’s 2014 Women in Hollywood Celebration, she paired a floral Michael Kors dress with black Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandals, one of the decade’s defining minimalist red-carpet shoes.
Elizabeth Banks wears black Versace strappy sandals with her cutout dress at the Charlie’s Angels London premiere (Credit: Mario Mitsis / WENN)
Elizabeth Banks Pairs Versace With Barely-There Black Sandals
Styled by Wendi and Nicole Ferreira, Banks wore a black Versace Spring/Summer 2020 dress with an asymmetrical draped bodice, an exposed midriff, and gold-tone Medusa hardware accenting the waist.
The look also continued Banks’ established relationship with the Italian fashion house. For the 2013 Met Gala, she wore an Atelier Versace gold tuxedo-style look with custom Brian Atwood sandals named the “Elizabeth,” another example of her preference for striking eveningwear paired with attention-grabbing heels.
Elizabeth Banks wears a black Versace Spring/Summer 2020 dress with an asymmetrical cutout and gold-tone Medusa hardware
Banks complemented the black-and-gold palette with Beladora and Retrouvaí jewelry, including onyx and diamond pieces, while keeping the footwear visually restrained.
The sandals featured thin black straps, open square-ish toes, ankle fastenings, and narrow metallic heels. Their stripped-back construction allowed the sculptural Versace dress to remain the dominant part of the look.
Why Did Elizabeth Banks’ Toes Extend Past Her Sandals?
The close-up makes the fit issue particularly noticeable. Banks’ toes extend beyond the front edge of the sandals, while the positioning of her heels suggests that her feet had slid forward inside the shoes rather than the sandals simply being uniformly too small.
It’s a familiar red-carpet footwear problem. As our roundup of celebrity toe-overhang mishaps shows, high-heeled sandals can make forward slippage more likely. A steep heel pitch shifts the foot forward, and minimalist sandals offer little upper structure to keep it in place.
Elizabeth Banks’ feet slide forward in her minimalist Versace sandals, leaving several toes extending beyond the front of the footbeds
Banks was hardly alone. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley experienced a particularly revealing version of the same problem in black patent Gianvito Rossi sandals: her shoes appeared reasonably well positioned when she arrived at an event, but photographs later in the evening showed her feet sliding forward into noticeable toe overhang. That progression illustrates why a sandal that initially appears to fit can look very different after time spent standing and walking.
Banks has also worn other versions of this exposed-foot look. At the 2016 Movies for Grownups Awards, she paired a Roland Mouret dress with orange Tamara Mellon Frontline sandals, a minimalist design that uses transparent PVC inserts to create an even more barely-there effect.
Why Minimalist Strappy Sandals Remain a Red-Carpet Staple
The appeal of this type of shoe is largely visual. Thin ankle and toe straps expose most of the foot and create very little interruption between the leg and the floor, making the shoe easier to pair with complicated dresses, vivid colors, or statement silhouettes.
The Stuart Weitzman Nudist became one of the best-known examples of the style during the 2010s, but the basic idea stretches back much further. Minimal strappy evening sandals were prominent during the streamlined fashion of the 1990s and have remained a regular choice for red-carpet stylists.
Banks’ Charlie’s Angels sandals followed that same formula: a narrow heel, minimal straps, and just enough structure to hold the foot while allowing the Versace dress to command most of the attention.
Elizabeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels Premiere Look at a Glance
- Event: Charlie’s Angels London premiere
- Date: November 20, 2019
- Venue: Curzon Mayfair, London
- Dress: Versace Spring/Summer 2020
- Shoes: Black Versace strappy stiletto sandals
- Styling: Wendi and Nicole Ferreira
- Jewelry: Beladora and Retrouvaí
The premiere came during the promotional run for Charlie’s Angels, which Banks directed, co-wrote, produced, and appeared in. Although much of the discussion at the time centered on the film’s box-office performance, her London appearance offered a more lasting fashion moment: a sculptural Versace dress paired with one of the era’s most enduring red-carpet shoe silhouettes.
Why Black Dresses and Minimalist Sandals Work So Well Together
Banks’ Versace look follows a red-carpet formula celebrities return to again and again: when a black dress already has a strong silhouette, barely-there sandals add height without another competing element. Thin toe and ankle straps leave most of the foot exposed, creating a cleaner transition from leg to shoe and allowing cutouts, embellishment, texture, or tailoring to remain the focus.
The approach works across very different interpretations of the black dress. A simple two-strap sandal can disappear beneath a dramatic gown, sharpen a little black dress, or balance an outfit that already has plenty of detail. Black-on-black makes the effect especially seamless, while metallic heels or transparent PVC can create a similar visual lightness.
👠 Black Dresses Barely-There Sandals: Celebrity Styling Inspiration
- 🖤 Kaia Gerber paired a shimmering black Marc Jacobs column gown with minimalist black sandals, keeping the footwear quiet beneath the dress’s texture and long, clean silhouette.
- ✨ Jenna Dewan grounded a sequined black Julien Macdonald gown with Neil J. Rodgers “Brooke” sandals, whose slender straps left the shimmering dress firmly in focus.
- 💎 Scarlett Johansson wore Aquazzura Minimalist sandals with an embellished black Dior gown, using slim patent straps and transparent PVC panels to make the heels appear even more pared back.
- 🖤 Lea Michele finished her black Cushnie et Ochs dress with Stuart Weitzman “Nudist” sandals, pairing an embroidered, sheer-hemmed LBD with one of the defining two-strap sandals of the 2010s.
- 👗 Jordana Brewster paired a sculptural black David Koma dress with black Stuart Weitzman “Nudist” sandals, letting the dress’s geometric metal detailing provide the visual interest while the shoes stayed deliberately simple.
- 🌙 Chrissy Teigen wore Saint Laurent “Jane” sandals beneath a black double-slit Roberto Cavalli gown, allowing the slim ankle straps and stiletto heels to appear through the high slits without visually weighing down the dress.