When a designer It item begins to take hold, it’s not uncommon to see it pop up on all the celebrities and It girls of the moment within a several-month timespan, but when a designer item maintains its hold across decades and whole generations of well-dressed women, well, that’s when it becomes truly eternal. Such is the case with many of Manolo Blahnik’s iconic heels, but none are more relevant than the Callamu Mules and Callasli Slingbacks.
Throughout the ’90s, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was a loyal wearer of the Callamu Mules, a simple pair of kitten heels with a crossover-strap design, which she famously wore to many black-tie occasions with dresses and maxi skirts. Since then, the heels haven’t wavered in popularity, but this winter, Hailey Bieber has made the Callasli Slingbacks, a near-identical pair finished with a slingback strap, her new go-to. Hers are sourced from vintage seller The Vintage Marché, and her back-to-back outings in them have put the timeless heels back at the forefront of our minds.
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In December alone, Bieber wore her Callasli Slingbacks three times, and each look included a pair of straight-leg jeans, a statement top, and the classic strappy heels.
For her 29th birthday, Bieber opted to pair her sequin top and Levi’s jeans with gold Callasli Slingbacks, which she sourced from The Vintage Marché.
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In one of the most beloved CBK images of all time, she’s wearing a fluted black skirt with a crisp white button-down tucked into it and a pair of black Manolo Blahnik Callamu Mules. It’s a timeless look that continues to be repeated to this day.
The most stylish minimalist dressers have lined their closets with the Callamu Mules that complement the staples in a pared-back closet especially well.
While the mules do lean sophisticated, fashion people are mixing them with more romantic silhouettes, like bias-cut dresses and slip skirts as well.
If you ask me (and many fashion people would agree), a pair of Callamu Mules in a neutral hue is one of the best shoe investments you can make.
Vintage curators like Lili Aghaei of The Vintage Marché and Julia Rabinowitsch of The Millennial Decorator are driving a renewed desire for vintage Manolos by sourcing classic styles like the Callamu and Callasli with croc embossing that bring a modern sensibility to the timeless styles.