In case you haven’t noticed, everyone is wearing athletic shorts right now, from tiny Miu Miu-inspired briefs to slightly less tiny soccer shorts. Sorry to your jorts collection, but they can’t compete with this buzzy summer trend, especially now that both Zoë Kravitz and Hailey Bieber have hopped on board. There’s just one thing you need to know before you toss out all your other leg-baring bottoms and stock up on ones designed for gym class: sneakers aren’t the shoes to wear with them. I know they sound like the correct choice, but after studying both Kravitz and Bieber’s athletic-shorts outfits, I can say with 100% certainty that the right shoes to wear are open-toe mules and open-toe mules only.
Bieber wore the combo a long time ago, actually, but when I saw Kravitz’s outfit from mid-July, I instantly recalled seeing the Rhode founder wearing a similar look on her Instagram. She posted the photo of herself wearing a red-and-gold jersey with the number 8 on it, matching red athletic shorts, and a pair of black heeled open-toe mules way back in August of 2023, in a photo dump. Obviously, I saved it immediately.
On Hailey Bieber: Alex Moss necklace
(Image credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)
On Zoë Kravitz: Saint Laurent bag; Manolo Blahnik Jada Heeled Sandals ($825); N21 shorts; Jessica McCormack jewelry
Almost two years later, the athletic shorts and mules look is still clearly going strong, with Kravitz donning the combo in the form of a pair of black-and-white bottoms, a vintage Black History Month T-shirt, Manolo Blahnik open-toe mules, and Saint Laurent’s Baby Icare Hobo handbag. The look, which was coincidentally styled by Bieber’s stylist Dani Michelle, was perfection, as are all of Kravitz’s street-style ensembles.
To recreate these looks at home this summer, keep scrolling. I’ve rounded up plenty of athletic shorts and mules for you to shop.
Shop athletic shorts and open-toe mules:
Umbro
Tonal Checkerboard 3” Short
Edikted
Nikki Nylon Shorts
ZARA
Low Heeled Leather Sandals
adidas
Adicolor 3-Stripes Sprinter Shorts
MANGO
Pointed-Heel Sandals
pacsun
Standard Basketball Shorts
Manolo Blahnik
Jadarona Leather Mule Sandals
superdown
Demia Track Short
Reformation
Clementine Heeled Mule Sandal
athleta
Weekender High Rise 3″ Stripe Run Short
