Is this the new ‘ugly shoe’ trend?
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Move over dad trainers, there's a new 'ugly shoe' trend, and it's actually perfect for riding out the heatwave in style. As with the aforementioned trend, it's slowly but surely taken over my Instagram feed.
It's been spotted on the likes of Pernille Teisbaek, Pandora Sykes, Ropes of Holland and Leandra Medine, and been paired with a Reformation or Realisation type slip dress.
I am referring to the mum mule - aptly named by the Marie Claire Australia team. It is the perfect extension to last season's Marmite trend: the kitten heel (this M&S shoe got SO much love and hate on our feed).
But where the kitten was more of a tiny-heeled slipper, the mum mule is open, and offers preferable minimal support in way of straps. Perhaps a thing criss-cross across the toes, or a wide yet un-adorned strap. It may also come in metallic rainbow colours like the ones your mum used to wear, yet they mostly come in earth tones.
Of course, there is a heel, but it's still very small, no more than 3 inches, and the slimmer the better. See below for some examples:
Shop now: NEOUS Gia two-tone leather mules for £455 from Net-A-Porter
Shop now: THE ROW Chocolate leather mules for £625 from Net-A-Porter
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Shop now: LEATHER STRAPPY HIGH-HEEL SANDALS for £49.99 from Zara
Shop now: Kitten Heels 'Pernille' for around £106 from Edited
Shop now: Fabulicious Rom301/C, Women Wedge Heels Sandals for £29.82 from Amazon
Look to Jacquemus, Neous or The Row for the higher end options, and Mango and Zara for an affordable take on the trend. Either way, shop the style below and embrace all the mum vibes.
Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.
Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).
Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.
However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.
Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.
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