Palladium Key Largo Sandal (buy it at Endless for $80), in “New Pewter”–worn with jeans and a blousy silk gray top. I had blogged about them before (here) and then decided that I MUST have them. From the company’s description, we learn: “Made in a rural city in France since 1947, Palladium shoes are built to last in natural materials that have been put through a serious round of inspections and stress tests to ensure you’ve got a perfect shoe.” What’s there not to love, right? And so, I recommended the Key Largo gladiator for being comfy, affordable, and good-looking–a holy sartorial trio that’s a challenge to find.

The verdict?

That holy trio holds, no doubt about it, BUT (you knew that was coming, right?)…having to buckle on, buckle on, buckle on, buckle on before leaving the house leaves me somehow dispirited. Also? Do NOT, under any circumstances, wear these if you’re going out shopping for shoes. Taking them on and off is a chore of the highest order. The leather of the straps is thick and the buckle tiny, so yeah, it takes some doing. Which, for the person on the go (and who isn’t, these days) can become pretty annoying.

Also: heed the advice of the reviewers, for these babies run LAAAAARGE. Not a TAD large, but a hefty whole size large. I know! I was surprised, too! I wear a 10, so, taking the advice of the reviewers on Shoes.com, I ordered a 9.5. Guess what? They still look/feel about a size too large. I don’t think I’ve been an 8.5 since 7th grade, so something is amiss here, for sure.

On top of everything, this morning, the second stud from the top on the right sandal decided to pop out, never to be seen again. Was it bored out of its mind with a life of militaristic order and conformity, next to its other obedient fellow studs? Did it suddenly have a bright idea and popped out with excitement? Was it frightened out of its mind by the prospect of going out?

I guess I’ll never know.

What I do know is that gladiators, shmadiators. I’ve scratched this trend’s itch, and I won’t go near it again.

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I know I’ve written about gladiators before, trying to find a pair that was both good looking and relatively inexpensive, because, let’s face, my shoe budget is not on the level of Gwyneth Paltrow or Lindsay Lohan or numerous other stars who’ve been spotted around town in these Giuseppe Zanotti stunners (about $650 at Zappos):

No, I’m more on a Nine West budget here (especially with some recent fashion expenses that I shall leave nameless for now).  Speaking of Nine West! It seems that they have made my perfect gladiator sandal and then they promptly got sold out of it:

Seriously, I can’t find this multicolor version of the Nine West “Jobilyn” for the life of me–although I can find it in about 12 other color combos, most of which are on sale for a little over $50 at Endless. Oh! Le sigh.

But then, the gladiator-shod gods smiled down at me as they made me discover this:

Palladium “Key Largo” sandal, rich in buckles and studs and overall gladiator-y goodness. I can’t decide between the pewter version or the orange version–they’re both very appealing, I must say! And only about $80 at Shoes.com or Endless (shipping included):

I’ll probably go with metallic (metallic is the new neutral, remember?), as I can probably accessorize it better. But I still love the orange! Bonus points: Palladium is a brand known for comfort, and I can already see that, unlike its cousins with ultra-thin, slippery soles, this “Key Largo is seriously padded. Score!

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