#ballet reference

Let's start with some basics.  If you've watched the anime, you probably already know there are two major different types of ballet shoes.  We refer to these as flat shoes and pointe shoes.  Both men and women commonly wear flat shoes, and the general mechanics of these are the same for both sexes.

Let's compare the elastics on these shoes.  The shoe on the right has more correct placement than the one on the left.  The shoe on the left has the elastics crossed much closer to the toes.  At the end of the day, the purpose of any ribbons or elastics is to keep the shoe on the foot.  When the elastics are crossed further down, this doesn't really do much to help that.  When the elastics are closer to the ankle, the heel is much less likely to slip off.

While the shoe on the left seems to make more sense and is closer to how it is drawn in the anime, the shoe on the right looks a little more like how actual dancers would wear their shoes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Dancers cannot dance on the tips of the toes in flat shoes.  In flat shoes, they balance on the balls of their feet.  Flat shoes are not supportive enough to allow dancers to remain on the tips of their toes.

Let's move on to pointe shoes.  Pointe shoes are probably the most misrepresented articles of clothing in the world.

On the right: yes, good.  On the left: DEAR GOD NO.

Pointe shoes do have a drawstring, but the strings are tucked into the shoe.  As for the ribbons, they stay close to the bottom of the ankle and do not travel up the leg and never are tied in a bow hanging out.  Again, notice how the ribbons are sewn on the shoes close to the instep.  Every dancer has a slightly different placement of the ribbons, but the instep is generally the furthest forward they go.  The ribbons are crossed where the foot meets the ankle for support.

Note the flattened area by the toes.  This is referred to as the platform.  This is roughly a one square inch flat area on which the dancer balances.  

Most dancers sew on elastics to hold on the shoes, since unless your shoes fit absolutely perfectly, the ribbons often aren't enough on their own.  No one wears elastics in the anime since it is a magical world where everyone's shoes fit perfectly.  The length of the vamp (the part of the shoe on top of the toes) differs from brand to brand of pointe shoes.  Mine are a little longer than most since I need a little extra support there.  Note how the shoes taper to a narrower base instead of a literal point.

That takes care of most of the bigger issues I tend to see in fanart.  If you want to read about this in more detail, you can find a post about it on my other blog here.  (I promise this is not a ploy to get more views there.  I don't get any money from the other website, I just am more comfortable with the post editor over there than on this one.)

360 degree view of different shoes in different positions.