Gladiators: the strappier the better
June 18th, 2008Gladiator sandals have been trending for two seasons and this year they’re bigger than ever. They’re the “it” Summer sandal for sure, flooding the Parisian footwear market. The look is global, ethnic and edgy and at its best worn flat as it was in Roman times. I prefer gladiators in shades of brown, metal or white. I’m don’t mind black, but they are my least favourite.
Gaudy gladiators are out, but tasteful styles get my thumbs up. It’s about the ankle strap this time around and the strappier the better. The catch? More straps = less comfort. They wouldn’t last two secs on my fussy feet.
Gladiators aren’t supposed to look pretty. They are casual and have a bit of a hard edge, which I find appealing when contrasted with a girly dress, beautiful feet and a nice pedicure. I adore the look with skinny or straight leg jeans, frocks, walk shorts and clamdiggers. If they tickle your fancy, go for it. I’m envious.
An assortment of gladiator sandals. I’ve had one client all season who’s been able to appreciate and walk in this ped. Don’t feel alone if you are bypassing this trend.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Gladiators…. yuk…
June 18th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Angie, you hit the nail on the head when you said they aren’t pretty. I like the way they look, on the shelf, but they are not pretty enough for my taste.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:34 am
I am with Nicole too: I like the way they look on the shelf, but am afraid that they’ll make me look like a duck. So I’m skipping this trend.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:04 am
I like gladiators, although I haven’t tried them on yet. For some reason I never buy them each time the trend comes around. I am more tempted by a pair like this:
http://www.simplysoles.com/Bet.....roduct/490
They lack some of the edge that Angie talks about, which I really like, but perhaps they are a bit more wearable for people with a softer style. On the other hand, I can see some people hating the big gold buttons (which I love).
I really like the Modern Vintage pair, Angie - they have a neat twist that sets them apart a bit.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I love them. I loved them in the 60’s and I still love them just as much now. I am a sucker for a T-strap so maybe that has something to do with it. I love the top center pair.
When I was looking at them in Nordstrom’s the other day a gal who was also looking at them commented to me that there was no cushion or support to them so they seemed impossible to wear except for very young feet. I couldn’t argue with that. My feet were much younger when I wore them last.
Still I love the edgyness and hope to see them on feet all over town.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Rosie, the gladiators you’ve linked to are great. They are “prettier” and a prettier look tends to go down better in the mainstream retail world.
So far, no takers for this look. Let’s see how the day pans out.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I am SO GLAD to see that some other style-conscious folks are shunning this trend. I cannot imagine wearing gladiators. There’s just nothing about them that appeals to me. Even the plainer styles look strange and gaudy to me.
The ONLY pair I’ve seen and coveted are these Cydwoq jobs: http://cydwoq.com/mm5/merchant.....VN-SANDALS
And at $260, it just ain’t gonna happen.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Gladiators aren’t comfortable on my feet, not to mention that they seem to look bigger and my legs shorter, cut off with the high straps. I’ll forgo this trend in favor of ballet flats or wedges with low vamps.
June 18th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Way too flat for my high-arch feet and the straps around the ankle look torturous. I like how they look in the fashion shots but seriously not a real-world look.
June 18th, 2008 at 11:11 am
I think the silver Gabrielle Rocha ones (left in the bottom row) are real pretty. Still, I personally don’t bite.
I really liked the gladiator sandals on SJP in Sex in the City, but hey, I like a lot of things on her that I would never dream of wearing…
June 18th, 2008 at 11:25 am
I don’t like the style of this new trendy sandal at.
I am a short pear-shape, and they look simple awful!
June 18th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Am leaving for Italy tomorrow and will be in Milan where my husband works and always enjoy seeing what they are wearing.
As for your fussy feet Angie have you ever tried a pair of REEF flip flops. They are so comfortable I could wear them all day. I don’t think my feet are as fussy as yours but I can’t wear these flimsy flip flops that are all over. Just wondering. And I do love the gladiators if they are dainty but have to say I haven’t bought a pair yet since I’m wondering if they’ll stay around.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Count me out. They aren’t pretty or comfortable, so I don’t see the appeal. I’m sticking to my ballet flats.
June 18th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Thanks, Angie! Simply Soles has some great shoes. Antje, I like those silver ones, too. Sal, that pair is really cool.
The more I think about it, the more I start to like Angie’s idea about wearing gladiators with dresses. I love the contrast! I live in San Diego where we are always wearing sandals and are quite casual, so I might be willing to do some experimenting here. I might be the odd woman out, though, it seems!
June 18th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Any shoe or sandal with an ankle strap has always been painful for me. The strap pulls every time I take a step. Count me out!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
I have some and i love them! I feel the ones i have are pretty comfortable but i wear all types of heels and things so anything flat to me is easy peasy.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Not for me - neither the style nor the level of discomfort does much for me. No thanks.
June 19th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Well, whatever is IN in U.S/Europe right now, will be IN in Peru next summer (we´re on winter) so yeah… I might expect to see them on the store´s rack.. I don´t know, I´ll have to try them .
June 19th, 2008 at 6:59 am
I might wear these if I had longer legs, but I don’t, so I’ll stay far, far away from this trend. Ankle straps on strappy flat sandals? My legs would look like tree stumps.
June 19th, 2008 at 7:02 am
We have a consensus. These gladiators aren’t going down. Happy feet!
June 19th, 2008 at 8:27 am
I agree with the consensus. I don’t find gladiators attractive at all. Shoes should make you smile!
June 19th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I’m a little late to the party here…but I would love to wear these! Alas, my fussy feet need something else, otherwise, I would. I love their edgy look…I’ve seen several women wearing them and they looked fab…they both had skirts or dresses on and the sandals drew a lot of attention to their legs.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:27 am
The only way I want to consider gladiator anything is if it involves Russell Crowe in a toga. I don’t get this trend at all. You have to have really nice legs to pull it off, or your calves look like a sausage. I can do ankle straps, but not these thick straps.
Plus, if I’m wearing sandals, my feet want to be free. With all these straps, I may as well just wear ballet flats, which are easy to kick off.
But you’re right, if you do wear these, a very pretty pedicure is a must to balance out the manly look of them.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I’ve been tempted to try them…but I hate shoe shopping, shocking I know! They look great on others but we’ll see if I like them as much on me since I’m very short and usually tend to buy shoes that give me a few more extra inches. =D
June 20th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Here’s a possible gladiator style with some support:
http://www.onlineshoes.com/pro.....pcid=82760
June 20th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
please make these go away! Angie, can you do that?
June 21st, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I actually bought some gladiator type sandals at Target two years ago and still have them. They are not as strappy which is fine with me. I hate to bring this up, but gladiators were actually in in the late 80s and I had a pair then. Oh, to think that I actually wore god awful looking shoes that had straps all over them. But I did. I can’t even remember why I bought them. I wore them to the Taco Bell after going to a club. Yikes.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Well, my toes are ugly so I wouldn’t wear these anyway…lol…
July 10th, 2008 at 7:44 am
[…] Gladiators and strappy stacked sandals are the “it” styles for Summer 2008 footwear. Combine the two and you’ve got the next “it” sandal - the stacked gladiator. It’s hectically high, super strappy and hard to walk in for any length of time. It’s the shoe on Carrie Bradshaw’s feet in the recent “Sex and the City” movie. I have a hunch the trend is here to stay. […]