Mules are back? - YouLookFab Forum

Category

Shopping

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Mules are back?

shiny

Veteran

Came through my FB feed just now:

http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/va.....y-personal

Is it true?? Can it be???

I'm having such finicky feet problems lately. I duplicated an (expensive) pair of SW giveables because the ones I have had for years are one of the few flat shoes that don't give me blisters. But alas, the new ones I rec'd are different... specifically, the back of the heel rides up about 1/4 inch higher, and rubs my heel in a horrible blister forming way... not in a "oh it's Spring I need to just toughen up my newly pedicured feet" way either. We're talking in a "these shoes just fit poorly and they are NEVER going to break in either" way!

I am band-aids and blister pads and mole skin all over my feet lately!! It's ridiculous. I don't think my feet have changed all that much. The shoes have! Dang you narrow heeled folks who can't keep ballet shoes on your feet!!

Mules may be the ticket, but I haven't thought of them as trendy in years and years....?

P.s. has anyone ever had a cobbler tailor a shoe at the back of the heel so it hits slightly lower? These seems like it may possibly be doable, but it would be an expensive experiment.

Shopping

18 replies

Latest reply was from Jules

Anonymous

Yeah - the leather mules from Gucci are super trendy right now - and I'm all over the look , hoping to find a me-priced knockoff . With cropped jeans, pants, , dresses anything - I love it! Bottega Veneta has some really cool ones that have a deliberately stepped-on back (you know, how we used to wear our Keds back in the day?) ....

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Shiny - I had a pair of shoes that rubbed my heels raw and took them to a cobbler to ask exactly what you're talking about. Turned out all I needed was to add a small heel lift inside the shoe to lift the back of my foot a wee bit. Worked like a charm. Might be something to consider as an under $15 fix.

Diana

Veteran

One of the reasons I like my superfeet inserts is that they lift my heels by about a cm or so. (Plus the arch support of course.). It is not enough to save all shoes for me (I have incredibly shallow heels, low insteps, and overall very low volume feet) but does make many pairs wearable. I use the 3/4 length black ones that fit in most shoes.

I can't wear mules as I walk right out of them (see above re: low volume feet)

Superfeet Dress Fit Three Quarter Length Insoles (Women)

View Info

Top Pick

5

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Loafers and ballet flats don't stay on my feet due to my narrow heels. Nor do pumps without an ankle strap. I like the mule trend for this reason. I selected these Via Spigas.
http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/mule-story

Via Spiga Women's Lauryn Mule

View Info

Top Pick

7

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You read FB more than YLF, Jennifer! They made a comeback in 2014, and are gaining momentum:

http://youlookfab.com/2014/03/.....end-mules/

http://youlookfab.com/2015/03/.....ar-trends/

http://youlookfab.com/2016/02/.....ds-part-2/

Donna

I have had the same problem. This is what I use:
http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Schol.....8&

These just sit in the heel area and can be moved from shoe to shoe as there is no sticky backing. Works great and can be found easily at most drug stores.

shiny

Veteran

Sorry Angie! I'd been in and out of the blog since was curbing my fashion spending due to selling our house -- I missed those posts! Or maybe I saw them but did a "mules, really?" thing in my head and flipped right on by... I over-did the mules when they came around in the past fashion cycles--- but suddenly I'm realizing why I did! Then again I have to wonder how much is it "fashion conspiracy" in that manufacturers are responding to mass market demands and over time rose the heel height higher and higher, then said screw it, let's just offer mules! Do you get what I'm saying about that?

Shannon, I usually don't do insteps because my feet are higher volume. I rarely get them to work, though I see how this might work if it's just the heel... so I'll give it a try again.

Donna, huge hugs to you! That looks like something I can buy inexpensively at my local CVS and give a try this weekend before I fly out on my next trip.

I just worry that an insert may work on the heel but is going to change the arch, creating a different set of problems everywhere else. All else fits just fine, it's just this part in the back which is clearly hitting me in sensitive zone about 1/4 inch too high. I am in a size 6-6-1/2. I wish shoe manufacturers would scale accordingly. It's like the back of the heel is designed for a 5'8" tall size 9, not size 6 at least 4 inches shorter, including in heel length.

Donna's solution is cheap and accessible enough to give it a whirl. Ultimately, looking at the shoe, I have to think it's really not that hard for a cobbler to just slice a curved 1/4 inch section off in the back. Or maybe I got a pair that was cut wrong. Which brings me to my frustration with shopping for shoes ONLINE instead of in the store. Had I tried these on the store, I'd never have bought them because instantly I knew they weren't right. I bought them online because I was duplicating a pair that were absolutely right. Why aren't these comparable?

To make online sales viable manufacturers really have to get on board and figure out that consistency is everything.

always trying

Veteran

I remember mules from the 90's. I bought some much like the Via Spargas. First wearing to friends BDay party. Walking across the slightly slopin yard to the door I just walked right out of the shoes. That was the first and last time I wore them. maybe some with a higher heel would work, but I am a no gonna try. This is a trend not for me!

rachylou

Veteran

The old mules were heeled. I remember esp. The kitten heel mule. Today's mule is either really high heeled or an old man slipper. I like the old man look myself, hehe.

chirico (Chiara)

(website)

Veteran

Sorry for your shoes problems, very annoying.
I am not ready for mules, nor for the whole 90s revival. I am good with the 70s, in another 20 years I'll be good with the 90s.

Anonymous

Oh I hope they're back!!! I have always loved them. My problem will be finding mules that are sufficiently wide. I'll start looking on Saturday.

Anonymous

The '90s simply wasn't my decade for style, so I think I'll pass. Besides that, I remember how those mules were so annoying to wear. I need shoes that don't slip off my feet, especially now that I have foot and ankle problems.

Murph11

Veteran

Love mules! Happy to see them back!

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Haven't found my miles yet but love the look with wide leg trousers.

shedev

Veteran

Yipes, I'm one of those small heeled girls that can't wear ballet flats. Sorry=( I didn't wear mules in the 90s and I'm likely to give them a pass this time around. There are many other footwear options out there. I also wear heal inserts. It will be the easiest thing to try, and may open up more options for you.

catgirl

Veteran

Can't get these to stay on my feet! But I am interested in seeing you all sport them.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Mules are perfect for someone as lazy as me. I hate laces. I like the manly oxfords and loafers but haven't bought in. Sneaker mules, check. studded clogs, check.

'Classic' Slip-On Sneaker Mule (Women)

View Info

Top Pick

1

'Rafe' Clog (Women)

Sale

View Info

Top Pick

1

'Felix' Oxford Mule (Women)

$294.95 $191.71

Sale

View Info

Top Pick

2

'Felix' Oxford Mule (Women)

$294.95 $191.71

Sale

View Info

Top Pick

1

Jules

Veteran

It's funny because when I remember 90s mules, I remember the worst blisters I ever had.. they became a weeping infected mess and I actually went to the doctor, in the US (Canadians will appreciate we generally avoid getting billed for health care... but I was quite paranoid about flesh eating disease thanks to poor Lucien Bouchard. Well this is a 90s flashback all around!).
Now I wish I could say that this sensitive area across the top of my foot meant that I didn't get heel blisters, but that would be incorrect. Many strappy sandals are also an issue.

Thought this article was hilarious:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08.....y-shoe.htm
"Shoe misery will supplant your entire wedding experience. No matter how
beautiful the ceremony, how wonderful the day, your memories will
revolve around a pair of painful shoes, as immutably and irrevocably as
the earth revolves around the sun:

Will and Kate’s wedding, that was the time I bought those damn British shoes that fit great in the toes but were too big at the heel that the salesman said I could fix with pads. Boy, would I like to meet
up with him with a baseball bat and go De Niro on his head. "

And this more recent piece by the same author:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03......html?_r=0