How to look like a goddess in gladiators
YOu’ve got to hand it to the gladiator sandal. Not many accessories have stood the test of time so well — they have barely changed since the Ancient Romans strapped them on to do battle in the arena.
A couple of millennia later we are still winding those spindly leather laces round our calves, albeit it to fight it out for a sun lounger in France.
Why should they have proved so enduring? They are more of a pain — quite literally, sometimes — than other summer staples such as flip flops or this year’s ‘It’ shoe, the pool slide. Some of them take a whole holiday to lace up. There’s all that chafing and rubbing to contend with in places where shoes usually have no business being able to chafe and rub. And then there are the telltale crisscross tan marks up your leg.
These practical concerns haven’t stopped fashion having a real ‘warrior woman’ moment. The Alexander McQueen show, for example, featured iron- clad maidens whose tops were covered in fearsome studs.
Hollywood seems to have got the memo too. In the reimagining of Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter’s glitzy boob tube has been replaced by Gal Gadot’s formidable armour. BACk
in the real world, we may not be accessorising our gladiator sandals with a sword and shield, but we have a perennial fascination with this stylish summer shoe. If you have the time to spend lacing them, the Lahlia black sandals at £42 from Dune ( dunelon
don. com) really are the Ronseal of the gladiator style. They do exactly what they say on the tin.
Personally, I think tanned leather options look an absolute dream on golden skin, so I love the barely-there Spartacus sandals from Office (£45, office.co.uk). Just add a simple white dress and waft through summer.
If you think life is too short to spend all that time lacing a shoe halfway up your leg, there are subtler approaches. I’m always drawn to metallics — the new neutral shade — such as the flat Sozy gladiator sandals from Geox (£ 85, johnlewis. com). The Roman- style straps make them a pretty shoe that is also sturdy enough to run around in.
In fact, I love it when the gladiator goes pretty. Some of the purely rudimentary black and brown numbers can look as if they really did once belong to some Ancient Greek guy. Not so, of course, when they are made of red and white raffia like the Hacienda from Topshop (£24, topshop.com) or topped off with pompoms like the pair from J.Crew (£138,
jcrew.com). A smattering of subtle studs on the block heels from New Look (£25.99, new
look.com) is a nod to the trend that you could wear to work.
If you want people to see you coming, you have to try one of the embellished numbers from Ancient Greek Sandals (see a selection at farfetch.
com). I want to put a pair on right now with a black dress and stomp off (elegantly, I assure you) to a dinner date. While they look complicated, they are deceptively easy to fasten.
I think the reason gladiator sandals endure is because they are still, ultimately, doing what they did for the Greeks and Romans: giving you a light, comfortable shoe that feels powerful. All you have to do is strap them on, secure in the knowledge that you look like a goddess.