Walk a Mile in My Smules
Suddenly, the hybrid sneaker is everywhere. There’s the sneakerina that combines a sneaker and ballet flat, as Adidas’s Taekwondo Mei and Puma’s Mostro Fey do. There’s the snoafer, or sneaker and loafer, like the sold-out New Balance’s 1906L. And, of course, who could forget the singular sneaker-heel called “Sneex”?
So it doesn’t come as a shock that the sneaker-mule, or as I’m calling it, the “smule,” is making the rounds now. (It’s better than the synonymous “snog,” as in sneaker-clog, at least.) The most common form of smule is what athletic houses have been doing for a while: backless versions of popular sneaker models. I remember Converse’s Chuck Taylor All Star 70 Slip-On from a few years back, and New Balance x Miu Miu’s reinterpretation of New Balance’s 530 SL from 1992. But recently, everyone from Steve Madden and Rachel Comey is making entirely new smules. I’m guessing there’ll be more to come.
I know what you’re thinking. I myself started off as a skeptic. Until I stepped into a smule for the first time. What freedom it is to bare the back of your heel! You could do a sock — half-crew, crew, etc. — except that defeats the purpose. And they’re easier to slip on than a slip-on. Here, I rounded up some smules I’ve tried and more I’d try.
Some smules I tried
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Salomon’s RX Slide 3.0 is comfortable right out of the box. (No wonder why everyone from Cynthia Rowley to Chi Ossé has Salomons.) This is technically a recovery shoe — it’s not what you’d wear while walking 10,000 steps, but it’s what you’d wear after walking 10,000 steps. I could feel my achy soles getting better when I had them on. (Maybe it helps that the beige-greige feels rather medicinal.) Because of the cork insole, there’s a spring in my step. I’m gliding when they’re on my feet. The mesh half on the upper makes them breathable, too. Just note, they run slightly big: I received them in a size 7 and could’ve gone down to a 6.5.
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Vince’s Oasis Runner Mule is based on its Runner Sneaker, down to the logo’d tongue. They remind me of Dries van Noten’s kicks (which, for comparison’s sake, are $585 versus Vince’s $250). As someone who’s nearing wide-footed, I found that these just fit. I could’ve (and should’ve) gotten them in a size 7.5 instead of the size 7 for less break-in time. This doesn’t mean they’re uncomfortable! There are elastic bands on the inside, which stretch around the widest part of my feet. These felt like my Speedcats: low to the ground, with enough wiggle room in the toe box and some cushioning. They were as supportive on carpets as sidewalks.
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Larroudé Stella Mule
You can’t tie the shoelaces on Vince’s Oasis Runner Mules, but you can tie the shoelaces on Larroudé’s Stella Mule (the sister to the brand’s Stella Sneaker). It’s available in either suede or leather, and when I tried the leather I didn’t find it to be stiff in the slightest. (I didn’t even need to pull out my trusty shoe stretcher.) I put a lot of pressure on the balls of my feet, and the cushioned memory foam helped avoid any pain. It’s the one I could see myself standing in for at least an hour straight. And while Larroudé’s sizing is generous generally, these run true to size.
More smules I’d try
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More than 40 years after Michael Jordan’s endorsement deal with Nike, the Air Jordan not only has own Wikipedia page, it’s also available smuled. It’s for the golf course (maybe inspired by years of retirement), and “sailing to the 19th hole after a career low.”
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Like it did with the Speedcat and H-Street, Puma reintroduced the Mostro, which first went on the market in 1999, now sans back. The Mostro Mule features spikes like those on cleats.
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North Face had me with the word Vibram (that’s trademarked). You see the rubber used in many Merrells on these.
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If “vaguely orthopedic” was in the dictionary, these Keds would be synonymous. (New York deputy editor Alexis Swerdloff, for her part, wears Keds nearly every day.)
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Steve Madden Maysa
Not entirely unlike the Miu Miu x New Balance 530 SLs.
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Soon to be on the cool Greenpoint mom near you.
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The Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 was famously worn by Uma Thurman’s Bride in Kill Bill: Volume 1. Maybe the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 Sabot makes an appearance in the much-rumored Kill Bill: Volume 3.
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For when I get a Birkin, or a Firkin, whichever comes first.
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All the look of Prada’s Collapse Re-Nylon and Suede Elasticized Sneakers for $100 less (not including taxes).
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