Gladiator sandals lend to Grecian trend

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” is a pretty apt description for the tough choices facing many women when selecting summer style.

On one hand, there’s nothing easier in summer than slipping on a sundress, a pair of flip-flops and running out the door. It’s a season when comfort and convenience are at the forefront of fashion choices. However, how do you balance the niceties of comfort with the necessity of looking well dressed?

Enter Grecian style and the gladiator sandal.

With a focus on airy design and versatility, Grecian-inspired dresses are perfect for the hot months of summer. Opting for plainer dresses made from light-weave fabrics can present a world of opportunity to create many different looks with simple, relatively cheap accessories. Accessories like large, braided belts are proving to be very stylish and used for cinching looser dresses to fit tighter in the waist.

Belts create a classic, flattering silhouette and maximize versatility for dressing in the style. It’s chic and comfortable. The relative simplicity of the design looks grown up and classic. Also, it can easily be dressed up or down depending on the circumstances. These dresses are the perfect summer option.

But if you’re looking for a little style on your feet, the ultimate accessory for embracing your inner Greek is the gladiator sandal.

These sandals offer a convenient compromise between looking good and feeling good when the occasion calls for something a little more formal during the hot summer months.

A classy gladiator sandal made from good leather that is beautifully adorned can easily stack up against most high heels in formal occasions.

Even though flats have a bad reputation for being too casual in some situations, gladiator sandals offer a more comfortable alternative to stilettos, despite heels being the typical go-to shoe for formal occasions.

“I think they’re usually pretty casual,” advertising junior Megan Abbott said. “But if you find the right kind of shoe, they can be pretty chic.”

They’re also great for dressing down an outfit. Stiletto heels in the summer seem like overkill, especially coupled with shorter hemlines and more casual fabrics.

Gladiator sandals make many outfits more versatile. While a dress can seem inappropriately dressed-up or revealing in heels, flats immediately make any dress more casual and a little less suggestive. They’re a less sexy alternative to sweeten up a dress — not to say that gladiator sandals can’t be sexy.

“I don’t think sexy flats is an oxymoron,” social work junior Natalie Sernick said. “With gladiators, you can look good without having to wear four-inch heels.”

Gladiator sandals are all over this summer and many stores offer variations to the look to suit any taste. Forever 21 offers a simple, metallic silver gladiator sandal for $23.80. If you’re looking for color options, DSW has a Steve Madden sandal in six different colors for $29.95. Another sandal option in tan leather with turquoise detailing is available at American Eagle Outfitters for $39.50.

There are tons of ways to go with this design, from the very expensive to the relatively cheap. But remember, simplicity is best and exercise caution when choosing your sandal. Sernick warned against selecting any of the varieties that lace high up the leg.

“Don’t have too much going on,” Abbott said. “Look tasteful and not too glitzy.”

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