Given my love of extravagant shoes, it’s funny it took this long for me to get a feathery pair. Opportunity presented itself when I saw ATP Atelier’s (a brand that’s close to my heart) collaboration with Browns on sale. I couldn’t jump on it fast enough.
One of my most comfortable pair of shoes, if not the most comfortable of all, is from ATP Atelier. The construction, the fit, the leather – it is all top notch. So I trust it, and there was no second thought about buying these outrageously looking orange mules.
Aren’t they fabulous? They look even more loud on the feet. The feathers are abundant, they stick out in all directions, and they make the feet look larger. I am one orange hat away to look like a sultan chicken (google it, it’ll be worth it. Thank me later).
But I still love them. Not exactly a daily shoe, or office appropriate, but lovely nonetheless. I got size 36 and they fit true to size.
Now, I don’t know if it is because this is not meant to be an everyday shoe, or because it is a collaboration with Browns, or even because the other pair from ATP Atelier I have was bought a few years ago and things changed, but these were not built to the same standard. They are still comfortable, even though the leather is a lot more stiff (but that’s probably because they haven’t been broken in yet), but my issue is with the sturdiness and finishing touches.
The feathers are easily broken, which could be a frailty of the material (ostrich feathers, if I’m not mistaken), but that being the case they should have been applied in a way where I couldn’t step on my own feathers when walking and causing more of them to break. This happens so much in fact that on the inner part of the shoe you can already see the lining where the feathers are sewn (and I’ve only wore them around the house for short periods of time!).
Do you see in the picture below the whiteish part in the middle of the mule, beneath the feathers? That’s where the feathers are attached to. I wish it was more discrete, because as the feathers keep breaking it’ll become more and more visible and it’s clearly not meant to.
I got them at 150€, and at that price, I’m not mad. They have been further reduced to 130€ on Farfetch (although you can get other colour on ATP’s website – not affiliated). This is absolutely an “extra” shoe, something no one ever did or will need – but it’s so much fun to have. They are currently at the right price, and there’s only a few left – now’s the time to get them.
