Mule (footwear)

A pair of red mules (side)

Mule, a French word, is a style of shoe that is backless and often closed-toed. They can be any heel height from flat to high. The style is predominantly worn by women, but not exclusively.

The term derives from the Ancient Roman mulleus calceus a red or purple shoe worn by the three highest magistrates, although there is little indication of any structural resemblance.

High-heeled mules were a popular indoor shoe style of the 18th century, influenced by the patten, a backless overshoe of the 16th century. By the early twentieth century, mules were often associated with prostitutes.

In the early 1950s, Marilyn Monroe popularized the shoe, and helped to break its poor reputation.

Mules experienced some popularity in the 1950s and early '60s, and were seen in 1970s almost exclusively in the form of open-back Scandinavian clogs, but then re-emerged in the early 1990s, especially in its open-toed form (the "slide"), and began to dominate the shoe market for women.

Gallery

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  18th century mules

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  Woman's loafer style mules with a flat heel

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  Heeled mules (front)

Notes

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