Mule shoe

Mule, a French word, is a style of shoe that is backless and often closed-toed. Mules can be any heel height - from flat to high. The style is predominantly (but not exclusively) worn by women.^{[citation needed]}

The term derives from the Ancient Roman mulleus calceus a red or purple shoe worn by the three highest magistrates,^[1] although there is little indication of any structural resemblance.

History[edit]

High-heeled mules were a popular indoor shoe style of the 18th century, influenced by thepatten, a backless overshoe of the 16th century. By the early twentieth century, mules were often associated with prostitutes.^[2]

In the early 1950s, Marilyn Monroe popularized the shoe^[1] and helped to break its poor reputation.

Mules experienced some popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s, and were seen in 1970s almost exclusively in the form of open-backScandinavian clogs, but then re-emerged in the early 1990s, especially in its open-toed form (the "slide"), and began to dominate^{[citation needed]} the shoe market for women.

Gallery[edit]

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  18th century mules
 
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  Red mules (front)
 
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  A pair of green mules
 
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  Woman's loafer style mules with a flat heel
 
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  Woman's Maryjane style mules with a wedge heel
 
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  Various styles of mules in a shop window