I have been auditioning some loafer mules as inside shoes this week. I think it was Suz who suggested in a previous thread of mine that I try a metallic mule as at-home footwear. I work from home, so my at-home footwear actually gets the most wear of any shoe in my closet! The wooden-sole clogs I had been wearing as winter house shoes are worn out, noisy, and just not very polished. They were purchased in 2002 and have done their duty so I was game to try something new.

The funny thing is, I’ve had a poison eye for flat loafer mules, because every time I see them in an outfit they look too much like slippers to me! But, the idea of wearing them *as slippers* actually turned out to be appealing.

In the picture below, on my left foot is a velvet mule from Ann Taylor. On my right foot is a leather style from Boden. They are really similar, right? The shape, style of the vamp, etc. look almost identical to me. Well, the velvet mules are great — super comfortable, perfect for my needs. The leather ones fall right off my foot at the first step!

I think this is because:

• The lining of the metallic mules is VERY smooth and slippery. The lining of the velvet mules is ever so slightly grippier. (The metallic mules do stay on my feet decently well when worn barefoot, because my skin provides the grippiness. I suspect that’s how this style is meant to be worn — but for my purposes, I need mules that will stay on when I’m wearing socks.)
• The vamp of the metallic mules is slightly taller — that is, built for a thicker foot. There’s a bigger gap between the top of my foot and the shoe than there is in the velvet mules.
• The toe box of the metallic mules is a bit narrower, so my foot is pushed backwards and out of the shoe. (The metallic mules are actually slightly longer than the velvet mules overall — but they *feel* smaller.) Meanwhile the wider toe box of the velvet mules invites my toes in. Note: I don’t have wide feet — actually they are quite narrow.

I think it’s just fascinating how these tiny differences in shape make a huge difference in how the shoes function for me, so I thought I would share.

Oddly enough, I ordered the velvet mules on a lark. The metallic mules were much closer to what I thought I was looking for. If I had only ordered those, I probably would have dismissed this whole style as unworkable/impractical because they fall off my feet! I also learned that in this footwear style, I prefer some kind of detail to break up the expanse of the vamp (like the embroidery on the velvet mules). So this episode is also major evidence in favor of giving a wild card a bash!