MARY JEANS: A GREAT PALATE CLEANSER BETWEEN TWO SEASONS

Two weeks ago I asked what it’ll take for designers to feel comfortable taking creative risks again. The question was born from a surge I’d noticed in the offering of flat mary janes across commercial brands like Larroude, J. Crew or Aeyde, in more stylistically distant iterations like this pair from Khaite’s Fall 2022 .and the most pervasive end-of-summer classic Italian style made of velvet and recycled bike tires-for-soles.

This is actually neither here nor there when you consider the basic principle: mary janes are a compelling style choice right now, and for this particular moment, the classic Italian ones make for a great bridge shoe between summer and Fall. Casual enough to take the place of a sneaker, but still formal enough to wear through different use cases. So how to style them without looking like you’re stuck in a passed season or era of life?