I like Russian leather soles! Hard leather, not suede. But they're very hard to find nowadays.
You have to wear a ballet slipper based on the type of floor you're dancing on. Sometimes suede is better than hard leather, sometimes hard leather is better. It also depends on how you "feel" the floor and how comfortable the sole feels for the floor.
I find that hard leather is better on hard wooden floors that need to be watered. I carry a water spray bottle with me for these situations. In Rusian schools, I am told they water the floors. But in the US hard wooden floors are rarely watered, and dancers use rosin. I prefer to spray my hard leather soles than rosin them.
On synthetic floors, suede often is better.
Just my humble opinion.
balletboy[/i]