This spring, footwear designers set their flux capacitors to 1995, dusted off an old shipment of mules and brought them back to the future. Yes, those backless, heeled shoes, which were slightly unsightly and definitely ubiquitous during the decade of minimalism, are the hottest shoes for spring.
“We’re having a massive ’90s fashion resurgence,” says Joanna Douglas, fashion and beauty editor for Yahoo Shine.
“And there are many trends we thought we wouldn’t see again, like chokers, overalls — and now mules. They looked clunky back then, but even Gwyneth wore them on the red carpet.”
However, they’re an upgrade from the Nine West black, boxy mules or Candie’s throwbacks still lingering in our childhood closets next to that hip-length black blazer from Banana Republic.
“They’re not your ’90s mules,” says Amanda Weiner, Harper’s Bazaar senior accessories editor. “These are flattering — that’s the difference. These feel new again.”
Céline, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Opening Ceremony, Tibi and Alexander Wang have all done their own lust-worthy renditions. The heels are sleeker and embellished, the fabrications are more high end and they have a more architectural bent.
“Céline’s mule featured a really architectural heel. Chloe had a beautiful gold wedge mule. Altuzarra had a pointed toe that looked really sleek,” says Weiner, who started thinking about mules during an appointment with Michael Kors last year. “He was talking about that ‘clack-clack’ sound that they make. Since then, they were all over the important runways.”
But, the new mule has more aesthetic appeal, whether they are more comfortable than their earlier versions is up for debate.
Now excuse us while we take these Tibi numbers (see below) for a stroll.
If you’re willing to take the mule trend for a test run, the one (or all) of these modern styles is the way to go.
Leather “Bee” heels, $375 at tibi.com
Leather “Claire” sandals, $110 at guess.com
Leather “Acaren” pumps, $100 at aldoshoes.com
Faux leather “Fine Day” wedges, $32.80 at forever21.com
Faux leather “Niederman” pumps, $50 at callitspring.com/us
Leather “Eris” heels, $225 at bellenyc.com