Immediately after high school, I worked at Sam & Libby. If you are familiar with the Sam Edelman brand, then you know Sam & Libby. It was the predecessor, named after Sam (obviously) and his wife, Libby. (Here's a quick read, if you are interested in learning more.) Anyway, Sam & Libby were famous for their ballet flats, but what they offered me was a wide variety of shoe styles at an affordable price. Naturally, this price was made even better with my 30% employee discount. Within months I had hit thirty pairs of shoes in my closet. It was my inaugural thirty. I'll never forget it.
Where am I going with this? Sam & Libby also introduced me to the mule. A mule is a backless shoe. That's it. Sure, it is often closed toe. But, it can also have an open toe. It's been years since we've really seen the style featured in magazines. I've been in the clog zone for the last few years, which is as close as we've come. Clogs have a wooden sole, but don't really have any other restrictions. If you are thinking of the traditional clog- an open backed shoe with a wooden sole, technically you are thinking of a mule and a clog. Fun fact.
So, I'm starting to see mules coming back and they are more fun than ever. If you don't have a pair, the time is now. Here are an array of my favorites. Enjoy!