Yeah, You *Have* Been Wearing Athletic Shorts With the Wrong Shoes This Whole Time

Here's how to style them correctly.

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Zoë Kravitz and Hailey Bieber wearing red T-shirts with athletic shorts.
(Image credit: @haileybieber; Courtesy of Saint Laurent)

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.

Hailey Bieber wearing a red-and-yellow soccer jersey with red athletic shorts and peep-toe mules.

(Image credit: @haileybieber)

On Hailey Bieber: Alex Moss necklace

Zoë Kravitz in New York City wearing a red T-shirt that says "Black History Month" on it in red letters with black athletic shorts and peep-toe heeled sandals by Manolo Blahnik.

(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 (thus becoming the first person to carry the not-yet-released style). The look, which was coincidentally styled by Bieber's stylist Dani Michelle, was perfection, as are all of Kravitz's street-style ensembles.

To re-create 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:

Eliza Huber
Eliza Huber
Associate Editorial Director

Eliza Huber is currently the Associate Editorial Director at Who What Wear. She joined the company in 2021 as a fashion editor after starting her career as a writer at Refinery29, where she worked for four years. During her time at WWW, she launched Go Sports, the publication's sports vertical, and published four (and counting) quarterly issues tied to the WNBA, Formula One, and more. She also created two franchises, Let's Get a Room and Ways to Wear; profiled Dakota Fanning, Diane Kruger, Katie Holmes, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter for WWW's monthly cover features; and reported on new seasonal trends, up-and-coming designers, and celebrity style.