This sandal is apparently the "ugly comfort shoe of the year" in the same way that Earth shoes and Birkenstocks found their way into our hearts years ago.  According to a recent article in Slate online magazine, this shoe has long been the shoe of choice for German grandmothers who want comfort and don't care about style.  But some Hollywood stars "discovered" them, and now their ugliness has become chic, and these have become all the rage among the glitterati.  The Slate article was illustrated by a slide show depicting some pretty heavyweight celebrities sporting this shoe.  This particular style, the mule slide, comes in a variety of colors.  It has a leather upper and an extremely lightweight cork sole.

I actually don't think they are all that ugly.  I'm a middle-aged working woman, and I found these sandals in this off-beat pink and snake print style rather attractive.  That being said, they are not nearly as comfortable as my cruddy old pair of Birkenstocks, or my more stylish Sperry Topsiders.  The leather is stiff, and the inside of the leather upper is a tad rough.  Although the shoe did not rub a blister on my foot, it did leave a red sore line on my foot by the end of the working day.  I was wearing them without socks or knee-highs with a pair of slacks.

If I had been blown away by the comfort factor, I would be ordering these in several more colors.  And perhaps the leather becomes more soft with wearing.  But my initial reaction is  that these are not any better than many of the summer slides you can find in a nice department store.