As far as colours go in the beauty spectrum, burgundy falls right in the middle of black (invisible) and tan (too fucking loud). Neutral without being bland, and flattering on basically everything; denim, camel, grey and black. Throw in good construction and you have yourself a shoe that will get way more wear than you would think possible from something so blatantly coloured.
The perfect shade will fall closer to oxblood or mature wine versus raspberry or plum but as soon as brighty burgs veer into statement territory.
Moving on to construction. This is where most mules fail for me. With nothing to grip your ankle like a heel counter does, a mules fit needs to be basically perfect where most other shoes can be downright lazy. Look for something with a tight vamp, a short heel or chunky heel versusSkinny and with leather or leather like material with some body to it, as opposed to thin, floppy suede. A square or rounded toe will hold up over time better as well, as a pointy toe will crease more.
Wearing them is honestly the easiest part. Tucked under wide leg trousers they’re ideal, with just enough colour showing to tie your whole outfit together. Midi skirts and simple dresses are another go to that mules can finish off better than a flat sandal, but without feeling as overdressed as a heel.
Rolled denim and a basic sweater is also an obvious win when it comes to cooler weather. Once spring and summer roll around bare ankles will obviously be your best bet but throwing on a skinny with an opaque knit is a great way to rock them into fall without feeling too trendy.
Speaking of trends…while these aren’t shoes I would wear on my wedding day or to an evening event by themselves, they’re amazing for in between. Maybe you have dinner plans thats just fancy enough that you feel like heels are required, or an office that lets you have some fun. Maybe you just have too many wedding invites where you know you should be wearing something cute but will spend the whole time chasing children/traveling/busyALLY drinking. Mules are like tacos; great any time, but also perfect when you don’t want to stress about dinner.
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