Gladiator Sandals for Men [Trend Alert]

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To be honest, I think gladiator sandals are underestimated and even banished by some people for no good reason. Yes, wearing a sends you back to the times of Emperor Nero of Rome, who had gladiators fight to the death in the arena for his own amusement.

But are gladiator sandals all that bad?

To answer that question, let’s analyse them for a moment:

Gladiators sandals are nothing more than regular sandals with a twist. They go higher up the foot and have more intricate models.

Will this trend catch in 2012?

This might have been a trend back in the days of Julius Caesar but what about nowadays?

I think the trend started as early as 2007 when gladiator sandals appeared in one of Chanel’s collections (for women). For men, gladiator sandals made their way starting around 2009-2010.

Here’s a photo of a guy wearing a white pair with A SUIT! Not the way I recommend them to be worn but – hey – it’s the catwalk.

In 2011 they seem to have gone a step further and became even more present. Could 2012 be the year where they really take off?

Why should men wear gladiator sandals?

One thing is for sure: even if 2011 was their best year, gladiator sandals for men will not completely disappear in 2012. This means that, if you want to try a pair just for trend’s sake, you may do so.

And even if you’re not a trend follower, you may still like the simplicity of gladiator sandals, especially in casual situations. Which brings us to the next question:

Where can you wear them?

Gladiator sandals are an extremely casual type of footwear, in the same league with regular sandals and espadrilles.

This means you can wear them at the beach and even in the city on very hot days.

Bad times to wear them include bars, clubs, dinners (formal or informal) and every other situation that’s more formal.

Dos and dont’s

The first thing to keep in mind when wearing them is this: no socks with gladiator sandals. Yes, the rule still applies and it makes perfect sense.

How to match them

if you’ve been a serious style student of mine (did you get all your style materials I’ve put up for you?), you can answer this question on your own. Since a good pair of gladiator sandals is made entirely of leather, you can match it with other accessories such as:

• leather belts
• (leather) bracelets
• men’s bags
• wallets

On top of that you want the rest of your outfit to be in sync with your shoes. For example, you can wear a pair of brown gladiator sandals with a pair of khakis that you can roll up for a more relaxed look.

Can you think of other ways to wear this type of sandal?

Shoes versus sandals

The title of the article mentions sandals but there are also gladiator shoes. As you might expect, they have a sturdier construction yet, all my advice in this article applies to both gladiator sandals and shoes.

Here’s a photo just so you can notice the difference. These gladiator shoes are from Alexander McQueen:

Lookbook

Ok, let’s see some cool examples of outfits that include gladiator sandals.

Gabriel from Zurich is wearing them with a simple pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a pendant:

… while Filippo from Milan is wearing them with a dress shirt. Notice how he matched the sandals with his bag:

Here’s another interesting attire. it all starts with a simple pair of shorts and a white polo but the accessories are in the spotlight:

Here’s one last photo, my favorite. Brown gladiator sandals, dark blue blazer, striped blue and white t-shirt. Also notice the accessories, all coordinated:

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Would you wear gladiator sandals? Why or why not?