Here's Heidi last summer in an absolutely HIDEOUS pair from Balenciaga:
If Elvis had been a drag queen, these would have had a very special place in his over-taxed heart.
We think there's such a wide range of what falls under "gladiator sandal" that we, shockingly, can't form an opinion as to whether we like them or not. So many of them tend toward gaudy, bondage-inspired monstrosities that we more often than not wrinkle our widdle noses in disapproval.
Then there are the less-obtrusive looking pairs, which we think are more flattering. But there's just something about them that prevents us from loving them. Even in simpler pairs like the ones Heidi's wearing here, they tend to cause the eye to go down immediately. The shoe IS the outfit. Gladiator sandals work best when the wearer shows a decent length of leg and because they can be something of an overpowering shoe, we often see ladies wearing some fairly toned-down, even plain outfits with them.
The effect can be a little bottom-heavy. SJP's also wearing Balenciaga here and while we have to say that from an aesthetic point of view, the shoes are pretty fabulous, we still can't help thinking they look like too much shoe - especially with the outfit Sarah Jessica's wearing here.
[Photos: celebutopia.net]
74 comments:
It looks like lobster traps for feet.
I have yet to meet a pair of gladiator sandals I like...
These bitches need to remember that Russell Crowe said in the Gladiator:
What we do in life...echoes in eternity!"
Jeeeezus, I hate Jesus sandals.
At least they aren't Ughs.
I agree. That blue pair on SJP is way to much shoe for the ensemble.
OTOH, I like the black ones.
Well. . I love them, BUT only as flats with either brown or black leather and paired with longish skirts or very plain summer dresses. And no bedazzler crap on them either.
You said it yourself, these shoes draw the eye downward and that should never be the point of any outfit. It detracts from the beauty of the woman.
I like them but only if they're flat, plain, and if the straps aren't too wide. No bedazzling. Best on tall, skinny women.
I remember a time in the early eighties when day-glo socks with gladiator sandals were the rage (on the street; I don't know about the runway)! At least we're spared a look like that.
"hello, i'm patsy stone said...
Jeeeezus, I hate Jesus sandals."
LOL. Paired with a very casual look, at the beach, with your boyfriend...maybe.
Never been a favorite of mine...the ones that I do like are the flat, plain, dark leather, as others have already mentioned.
The bedazzled crap looks like something Mercedes Ruehl (as Connie Russo) would have worn in "Married to the Mob"....
Amen to all the anti-bedazzlers. I like them okay when they're flat and when they're unaccompanied by gaudy gold. (But as proof of my own inconsistency, I like SJP's heeled version the best of the three you guys have shown today.)
I kind of like the black ones, though I think the ankle strap could be thinner.
Generally, this is a really ugly style, though flat sandals sans bling) with jeans or other casual long pants would be okay.
Speaking of bizarre fashion trends, I was at a concert the other evening (a classical music concert, in a church, though granted on a university campus), and noticed several young women wearing knee-length dresses over leggings or some other form of pant that ended mid-calf, with dark stockings. They were attractive young women with good figures and they all looked hideous! All I could think was, "Thank goodness Tim Gunn isn't here; he'd have a heart attack."
I think they're sexy yet tuff and for those kinky ones out there kinda hot....
I agree with the anti bedazzle crowd.
just my 2 cents!
I had a white pair in the 80's, but I swear I never wore them with day-glo ankle socks.
The black pair in the middle is the least offensive, but I wouldn't wear them because they make your legs look shorter. I think the ribbon wrap around the ankle look is more flattering.
Only the flats!
If you're six years old, sure, why not?
I wore them in the 60's. Laced them up around my calves. They were flat. I'd wear them while riding pedaling a Stingray around the neighborhood.
I just bought these. They are also very cool as long as I don't cinch them on too tight.
But still, I miss the Stingray. That was cooler than the sandals.
hiddy and unflattering on everyone. they should be outlawed! same with those ugly crocs. hate hate hate!
Too manly, I think.
i despise gladiator sandals. they're all hideous.
Like them, but think everyone wears them wrong. They're often not delicate enough for the outfit they're paired with, and I would prefer to see the ones with thicker straps worn with flowier clothing (at the risk of looking a bit retro.)
As our beloved Tim would say - it's a lota look....
Okay --
I'm short and my mother who is shorter and bow-legged taught me a long time ago that anything you wear that cuts the length of your leg makes you look shorter and sometimes squat. If Heidi can't pull off a pair of these sandals, no one can (except maybe Iman).
Also, SJP is very bow-legged and should never ever wear anything that draws attention to her pins, especially shoes that emphasize her ankles where the bowing begins.
A difficult look, best done in small doses and judiciously.
Ugh. I whole-heartedly hate them! I think they're so ugly.
every outfit would look far more chic with a more traditional shoe, a nice strappy (but not gladiator-y) sandal, or a pump, or maybe even some ballerina flats, especially the first outfit Heidi is wearing (looks like wash day, doesn't it?)
j.
Gladiator sandals = feet cages. FUG.
"If Elvis had been a drag queen, these would have had a very special place in his over-taxed heart." AND "Too much shoe"
that is why I read you boys! LOVE IT! Almost always reading my mind.
However, I think I might like the shoes Kanani provided a link to... I need to see them on! But agree that for the most part they (gladiator sandals) belong on 4 year olds.... and of course gladiators
Any shoes that make Heidi Klum look like she has piano legs should be banned from the planet.
they tend to cut you off at the ankles and make legs look shorter and stumpier...
Oh yeah, we all want cut off ankles and the short and stumpy look...
@ maryann: ssssssssh! don't say it! no mentioning 80s trends - you might wake them up and bring them back to horrible zombie half-life!
i work the short and stumpy look EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE! cursed by genetics (thanks mom!).
these sandals are ooky. i had some much thinner ones that wrapped up my legs when I was about 12. in 1991.
i also have to say, though, that i don't like ballerina flats, at all. aesthetically they displease me *almost* all the time; they look cheap and low class. amy winehouse is exemplary of this. for me personally, because i have weird joint issues, i cannot wear totally flat shoes without ending up in pain. so i'm annoyed that the flats trend has totally swept the cheap-shoe aisles of america.
I personally think that gladiator sandals are a crime against humanity. They just scream " I am trying to be edgy" but they just look like ass...or more like an ass in full bondage with a ball gag. It always looks like a case of the shoe wearing the person.
LMFAO at Bill and the lobster traps!
Russell Crowe called and said he want his shoes back!
A simple calfskin ( no patenet) leater pair in black or a beige is the way to go if you have to wear a glatiator and your over 25. Oh and just a note they shouldn't come above ankle length.
Trend whore that I am, I love the look of gladiator-inspired sandals, but only those without all the bedazzlement or bells 'n whistles. Personally, I prefer the scaled-back styles or those with a more urban feel.
Over the years, SJP has worn them many, many, many times (she's the responsible party for their return, y'all!) and has nover, ever, ever looked either amazing or fabulous in them.
Heidi, I'll give a pass, because she's quite well-known for her frequent fashion missteps.
- edina -
"Tlo said: If Elvis had been a drag queen, these would have had a very special place in his over-taxed heart."
THAT just made my day.
I had a pair of gladiator sandals in 7th grade. I also had a David Cassidy poster on my wall. I wouldn't revisit either trend.
As for the ones worn by SJP; I think she's too tiny for so much shoe. And with the way her toes look like they're close to hanging over the edge, I hope she's had a tetnus booster.
--GothamTomato
"The effect can be a little bottom-heavy."
That's exactly it, and that's why I avoid them like the plague.
Yup, they're slowly creeping back in the stores. I HATE them!
That's a whole heap of NOs.
Bottom-heavy--that's IT. You just nailed why I don't like gladiator sandals. I'm 5'2" and don't need anything dragging my look groundward. Also, they remind me of Sunday School pictures of Goliath, who rocked the look, but he was like nine feet tall.
Unless you are in the arena slaughtering lions, or a lady of the WWE, gladiator sandals are a big NO.
I think them with a pant.
Well, not the Eurotacky ones -- you're doing Something Funny Happenened on the Way to the Forum on a cruise ship.
-- desertwind
Ugh... that "think" is, of course, "like".
-- d'wind
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! i've always hated the look of gladiator sandals, and felt i was just out of touch with the trends... just too, too heavy and clunky. the black ones on heidi are not as bad as the rest, but i just don't like the look. they cut off the leg & make it look shorter. (and at 5'9" i have pretty long legs, but i still hate the look)
hate/loathe/abhor/despise galdiator sandals.
please stab this trend with a stake though its heart.
Sorry boys, but I'm all about these shoes.
I just think they make the wearer's feet appear to be about 6 sizes larger. Something about the strap location on the ankle just strikes me as wrong.
I tried on a pair once and I felt like my feet had turned into clown feet. I'm tall and have feet large enough to prevent me from falling over when the wind is blowing, but with the glads on I looked completely ridiculous.
Good Lord, ladies, why would you want to wear these shoes, particularly if you are short? (I'm looking at you, SJP!)
Feet always look disproportionately large in these things...so unless you want to look like Minny Mouse or Daisy Duck, run the other direction!
Fug, fug, fuggity-fug. The black ones are OK because they're simple and the straps are much thinner than the others. But I still don't like them.
And I guess it's not a gladiator sandal, but I also hate the sandals that lace up your leg.
I'm with you. Totally ugly. Don't understand how they *ever* became popular outside of 5th Century Rome. After 16 centuries, it's time for this fashion trend to die!
Never. Just, never.
coco puff said: "same with those ugly crocs. hate hate hate!"
Agreed! I know it's a bit off topic, but those heavy plastic POS's are worse than gladiator sandals IMO.
For proof, watch Top Chef. Richard wears pink ones! On a grown man?!
No, no, a thousand times NO!! Among the ugliest style of shoes ever. My grandmother's orthopedic shoes were more attractive!!!
-----StkrShock
*barf*. I absolutely hate this shoe trend. Die die die!!!!
I think they work if they have more of a heel on them, because if its just flat it makes the foot look ridiculously long and wide.
I had them when they were around in the 70's and can't get excited about them...they weren't comfortable with all the bondage straps!
no, if Heidi can't carry them off no one, I mean no one can. Remember Laura's cute lace up black espadrilles?
TLo, thank you for bringing this atrocity to our attention. You have done a great public service. Now we must rise up as a nation to call for an immediate end to this scourge, this blight, this travesty.
They're hideous! I would never wear them!
The black pair is OK, but that first one is something you'd see on the set of a Roman movie.
I happen to love gladiator sandals, especially the high-heeled ones they're having right now. It makes the whole look a little bit more casual and fun. However, I do think that they're best in solid colors.
http://www.style.com/slideshows/parties/041608GAP/18m.jpg
http://www.style.com/slideshows/parties/041608GAP/18m.jpg
8m.jpg
None of the pictures look like they fit the foot--
toes over the end, and off the side...
yuck!
Although this may not be Heidi & SJP's fault-- their minions may have purchased the wrong size or wrong fit.
The first handful of comments here are hilarious.
I have sandals with long laces that tie up around the legs and I get tons of compliments on them. They give the "Roman" look without the heaviness of these examples. But I guess they're not so much of the moment.
And I agree with another comment about bad fit in general with sandals --feet hanging over the sides & toes out the front. HATE that.
Nothing says flattering like a flat sandal wrapping around the ankle. The second pair isn't bad, but you do have to have skinny ankles to pull it off.
Rami togas.
Gladiator sandals.
I'm hoping the little round shield will be the next trend. Cool. Assured. And handy on public transportation.
-Ignatz
"hutchlover said: For proof, watch Top Chef. Richard wears pink ones! On a grown man?!"
Or Mario Batali. He lives in my neighborhood and I see him all the time wearing crocs (in snow fence orange), with socks (pulled up) and shorts. Even in winter.
I don't get it.
--GothamTomato
hate 'em, always have hated 'em...
there's a reason for the fall of the Roman Empire...
I like them with casual looks, with a cute minidress or denim.
Not a big fan of the gladiator sandals especially the first pair; just plain ugly.
Now, a bit off topic but I will try to defend the crocs. I wear them quite a bit because they are amazingly comfortable (and not at all heavy as someone suggested). As for the colors, my sister says you just have to embrace the ugly and go for the brightest color possible.
Alright, let the disparaging begin.
So tell me son, do you like gladiator sandals?
Sorry, I'm just having an Airplane! moment.
Crocs are ok in their place--as utility shoes, not a fashion statement. And people suffering from diabetes get a pass.
Sarah Jessica Parker was a dancer. She has dancer's feet, which means they are not beautiful. Any shoe that exposes her entire foot, including her toes is not a good shoe for her.
At the very least, ladies, if you expose your toes, please get a decent pedicure. Men, too.
That first pair looks like Kit Pistol glued some Rolos to them...
Is that Heidi in the first picture? Really? She needs to fire whoever let her go out in a housedress that looks like it was made by a fifth grader.
And don't even get me started on those hideous shoes. Blech.
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