christina lee: When in Rome.....

I have to tell you I am not a fan of gladiator sandals. There is something about them that are just, well, ugly. But I think it's ok not to buy into trends if they are not for you. It's also true that trends can grow on you, like a vine that just won't die. You see a trend enough times and you begin to soften to it. For me this happened with leggings. When I first saw them I bristled. They took me back to the days of stirrups when I had pink ones that I wore with a long striped pink and white menwear shirt and flats in the 80's (We have ALL had our moments. I thought I looked HOT). But recently, when I saw Michelle Obama wearing leggings in a family photo with a pretty black and white sundress in my People magazine, I thought she looked so cool and stylish. That tells me I have softened to them. I have been conditioned by all of the coverage of them on-line and in magazines, which is truly what happens with fashion in general. Some styles you like immediately. Others, you become inundated with in the media and your brain becomes conditioned to seeing them. I think it's the same with music.

But back to gladiator sandals. I spotted a woman wearing a silver pair in Target the other day with a black flowy skirt and white tank. And I liked them. I had to ask myself whether I really liked them or if I was just softening to them. But I decided I liked them, because they were not over the top gladiator style. The gladiator style is typically the t-bar across the top of the foot but these were a "gentler" version somehow. There were not like, 12 straps going across, engulfing her foot and leg in some kind of animal trap. When I see those versions, they can look harsh and masculine. I stalked the woman at Target to ask her where she got them. She said Piperlime. So I did some investigating. Check out the softer, gentler versions I found below.

From http://www.piperlime.com/, the black White Mountain Adelaide's are $35.99. The bronze Tribeca pair by Kenneth Cole are $45.00. From http://www.payless.com/, the Kole gladiator sandles and the Ryan heels are both $14.99.