5 mistakes to avoid when wearing closed-toe sandals The best shoes of summer, but with a touch of caution

If the news hasn't reached you yet (and by now it should have), closed sandals, mules and clogs are the new standard in summer footwear. "Are we really going out in slippers now?" lace-up shoe fans always ask — and thankfully, nobody listens to them. Far be it from us to gatekeep and look down on lace-up shoes. Yet anyone who knows the thrill of mules knows something the rest of the world doesn't.

Some distinctions are in order: for convenience, in this article we use "mules" as an umbrella term covering everything from actual mules — with a bit of a heel and no platform — to clogs with a platform but no heel, along with slippers, slides, sabots, slip-ons, and whatever else you care to add. The experience, appearances aside, remains the same: a shoe with no laces, wearable without any particular mechanical effort, very close to a slipper but never as fragile or homey as one.

Some mules may feature a strap or band around the heel for added security (purists will tell you a true mule has nothing around the heel), but we could reach a reasonable compromise by saying that a mule never has an upper that wraps around the entire foot.

Wearing mules and clogs isn't all that complicated — the styling practically takes care of itself — but there are a few precautions worth taking to avoid faux pas that could ruin your look. After all, as they say, the devil is in the details. And what follows is a list of five details you should never overlook.

1 – Rubber Clogs Against Bare Skin

The idea of your bare skin in direct contact with a synthetic surface when the outside temperature ranges from twenty to thirty-five degrees is always a little unsettling. We're human, after all, and we all sweat. If the clog is made of leather, suede, canvas, straw, or any organic and even vaguely breathable material, you're forgiven — it's the famous Riviera aesthetic, after all, a little dishevelment is part of the deal. But if you're wearing rubber or plastic clogs, there's no point in roasting your feet in that furnace — put on a pair of matching socks and you'll stay as fresh as a daisy.

2 – Out-of-Control Colors

You can love mules and clogs while still admitting that, as footwear, they're a little borderline. That's why it's important not to make them the absolute center of attention in your look. The already somewhat childlike and naïve silhouette of a mule or clog isn't helped by wild, garish colors. To avoid looking like someone who stole their shoes from a six-year-old, it's better to stick to neutral colorways or at least understated ones — your flair should come through in your choice of style and overall look. Remember: these are shoes, not road signs.

3 – Quirky Socks

Socks with mules and clogs are a hotly debated topic (see above), yet in many cases they need to be worn. Let's be blunt: absolutely no to no-show socks, ankle socks, or socks with patterns and tiny prints. The sock should be terry cloth, should reach roughly mid-calf, and can be colored — but always and only monochromatic — and, in the statistical majority of cases, should not clash openly with the other colors you're wearing.

4 – Clogs and Evening Wear

We live in a world where the sneaker-and-suit combination has stopped being as cool as it was in 2016, so the combination of a dressed-up look with such sporty shoes is more jarring than ever. Clearly, this applies more to the sportier clog than to the mule, which can certainly be more elegant, even if it remains fairly casual. So if you're thinking of doing what Nicholas Braun (also known as Cousin Greg to the initiated) did at the 2020 Emmys — pairing a formal suit with clogs — or following Kanye's lead in wearing Birkenstock Boston Clogs with a navy blue suit, think again.

5 – The "Ballerina" Effect

The dreaded ballerina effect occurs when the sole of a mule or clog is so thin that the wearer appears to have no separation from the ground, forcing them into a duck-like gait, as though they were shuffling around. As mentioned above, the difference between a clog and a mule lies precisely in sole thickness, which, regardless of the style chosen, should exist to some degree. The flaw is even more pronounced when the shoe in question is a very flat canvas slip-on, or the classic house slipper that many West Coast celebrities love to wear out in public, flaunting a certain insouciance. Needless to say, for celebrities and the rest of the planet alike, it's not exactly one of the greatest style choices ever made.