Some 2000 and odd years ago, an otherwise civilized Roman Empire would get the same kick out of gladiator fights that we now get, say, from watching professional football:

As you can see from this ancient mosaic, gladiator footwear was serious business, complete with over-the-knee plates to protect the precious shins. Those shin-plates have been underrepresented in the long and glorious tradition of classical paintings, which more often than not depict sturdy, beefed-up warriors wearing the most ridiculously fragile footwear contraptions, made of delicate strings woven and attached in fanciful ways. They’re also underrepresented in the current resurgence of the so-called gladiator-trend sandals, because, let’s be honest, if anything, we want to showcase our shins, not protect them from the world (although in certain crowded subways that wouldn’t be such a bad idea–but I digress).

And so! I’ve finally accepted the fact that gladiator sandals are EVERYWHERE, I mean, just pick your shoe store of choice, online or not, and voila! There they are, and they have been there for a few seasons now, so I can’t willfully ignore them any longer. For here’s the thing: I stayed away from gladiators because they tend to “cut” the foot from your leg, often with bulky plates and multiple ankle straps, and disrupt the natural lines and the illusion of “elongated” that I so direly need to create. Which is to say, I’ve often thought that unless you’ve got wispy legs like a runway model, why, those gladiators are likely to turn you into the spitting image of those two beefcakes duking it out in my introductory mosaic. And that’s not a good look for me, is all I’m saying.

But! I think I’ve reached the critical point in time when I’ve got to get into a pair of gladiator sandals, or my summer wardrobe my life won’t be complete. A cursory perusal of my favorite shoe haunts on the internet has presented me with approximately 322,485 handy choices, give or take two. Ayyyyy! to quote the Manolo. What to do? After a rigorous selection process consisting mainly of “let’s just stick to one website, or I’m going to shoot myself,” I’ve narrowed down my choices to two:

The curiously-named Dolce Vita “Daisy-11″ sandal, in gold or pewter (probably gold, since gold and gladiator go together like that), $60 at Piperlime:

Or, the more high-end Cynthia Vincent “Dinah,” $200 at Piperlime (hey, Zappos has it listed for $214–what’s up, Zappos? Piperlime’s delivery is also free, you know!):

They both have that classic woven look on the vamp, and multiple ankle straps (which are pretty cool, if you ask me). I’m not completely sure I should spend so much money for a shoe that might as well go out of style next year (what? it’s been known to happen!), but the Cynthia Vincent sandals do have a quite excellent design. On the other hand, the Dolce Vitas are cheap and attractive and definitely satisfy the gladiator tooth. What say you, Internet? Which should I choose?

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Dear readers, I have officially come to the end of my shoe pictures from Japan.  And it’s only appropriate that that end be the most common trends of Shoes on the Street.  I have to say that while I envy the Japanese women (and men) some individual shoe styles, I don’t envy them their constant wearing of pointy-toed high heels.

Case in point, these two pairs.  Please note that both were observed on women who were clearly walking around Kyoto sightseeing.  Yes, that’s gravel in one and uneven stone steps in both.

Ouch!  My feet hurt just thinking about walking around in those shoes all day.

Same thing goes for these sandals, which I’d expect to see on someone’s feet for a night out on the town (a mainly seated night out on the town, if they were on my feet), but were also being worn around a park full of temples and shrines.

Apart from the heels thing, the other major trend (which I’ve already mentioned) on the feet and legs of Japanese women everywhere is decorative socks and stockings.  I bought myself a bunch of them, because they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes and styles.  Here are a few in their natural habitats.

I was head over heels for this pair (and the shoes are nice, too), which reminded me in a major way of those John Galliano lacey socklets that I loved last year.

This pair is pretty basic black, but check out the embellishments on the shoes themselves.  A frilly sock on top of that would just be overkill.

And this last photo was a woman who was wearing black knee socks with a double frill of lace around the top edge (think garters), but what I loved about the shoes is that they’ve got a little click-clacking charm hanging down from the underside of the sole right at the heel.  If you look at the larger version, you can see it more clearly.

And there it is, Shoeblog readers out there.  Shoe photos of Japan brought to you by Jitterbugbaby.  I now return to my regularly scheduled Stateside shoe-scoping, and will keep my eyes open for fun international shoes only via the miracles of teh intarwebs.

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I was sighing over the perfect Zanotti rose sandal a few weeks back; in the meantime, I’ve discovered that it also comes in blue, wanna see?

Yep, still pretty, still out of my price range at $550.

But! Never fear! Rose seems to be a popular sandal flower this season. Poetic Licence has issued this pretty version that’s selling like hotcakes (plus, it’s double the rose!):

The red version is $80 at Piperlime or Endless, $88 at Anthropologie; and if you want it in gold, Zappos is barely holding on to their last pair in a size 8.

Anthropologie also has this pretty-pretty raffia rose sandal, for $188:

Then there’s this adorable French Sole “Serenity” sandal, $202 at Zappos (also comes in a black/cream raffia combo):

But wait! There’s more! How about this darling Moschino sandal, available in yellow or red? ($354 at Zappos):

My, my, roses are really in season this spring, aren’t they? Go grab a fresh one while they’re still in bloom!

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You may have noticed that I’ve been mysteriously silent for the past two weeks.  Or maybe you haven’t, because Shoesense and Shomore have been keeping you footfully entertained.  But I’ve returned.

And where have I been, you might ask (that is, if you’re one of those who noticed my absence).  Exploring Japan is where I have been.  It was my first time there, and I was all over the country, so the main focus of the trip was not shopping.  I mean, I love to shop as much as (and often more than) the next girl, but this time it was really about the sightseeing.  And that’s not even getting to the terrible dollar exchange rate, which worked as a very effective retail deterrent.

But it’s all relative, right?  Not much shopping is different than no shopping at all.  I’m only human.  And when I walked into the Tokyo Takashimaya Times Square entrance and saw this display, I was, of course, lured further in.

So, further in I went.  And discovered a whole line of shoes by Tsumori Chisato, a Japanese designer whose quirkiness and style I’ve long admired, but isn’t easily accessed in the USA.

It was actually these that first drew my eye to the opposite side of the shelf pictured above.

But I manfully (womanfully?) resisted.  It was, after all, the first day of the trip, and who could predict what other things would be in store.  But I kept thinking about them as I watched the Japanese women walk to and fro on pavement and gravel and cobblestones in their stiletto heels.  And by the end of the trip, when I discovered that our hotel in Kyoto wasn’t far from the Takashimaya store there… well, a purchase-minded visit became a rather high priority.

Into the store in Kyoto I went.  And out I came with these red patent leather lovelies (which are actually the same shoe as four colors on the bottom shelf in the first Tsumori Chisato picture).

They’re surprisingly comfy, actually.  They look very narrow when they’re not on my (rather wide) feet, but the individual pieces of leather over the toe all stretch and move by themselves, so the effect isn’t a toe-squishing one.  And keep your eyes peeled for this look, too (the multiple strips of leather gathered up over the toes).  It was all over the place on lots of Japanese shoes in stores and on feet.

The other thing that was on many a Japanese foot was crazy fun little socks (colors, lace, sparkles, bows, toeless… pretty much you name it, I saw it somewhere) that spice up a pair of pumps or flats or t-straps or pretty much any shoe with an open area on the top of the foot.  So I had to snag a bunch of them, too.  That’s what the gold bit in the above picture is.  And in case you can’t see it clearly, here’s a separate photo.

So I came home from Japan a happy shoe lover.  And a happy OCD shoe lover at that, because I was able to bring home the shoes in their shoebox, which can now be used for the careful storing and protection of the new babies.

Stay tuned for some more photos of shoes from Japan as I get them sorted out from the depths of my camera’s memory card.

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To be completely honest with you, both of these booties kinda scare me. On the one hand, you have the fierce two-tone patent Yves Saint Laurent booties with a solid wood heel vaguely fashioned after a beating stick, and on the other, ominous-looking Givenchy peep-toe booties, ever-so-slightly reminiscent of a fat elephant’s trunk.

Can you imagine their dialog if they ever find themselves alone in a showroom together?

YSL: Hey, Dumbo. Whaaaaz happening?

Givenchy: Hey, who are you talking Dumbo, butt-stick?

YSL: You must spend a lot of time lacing up, lacing up, lacing up…

G.: Listen up, Pinocchio. You think you’re smart but you know what? You haven’t even got a peep-toe hole. That’s right. You’re soooo last season.

YSL: Hey, peep-show, see this patent tip? It has a lead core and it’s reinforced with industrial-grade rubber. You’re going to find that out the hard way when I step on your peeps.

G.: And you have yet to experience of the awesome fierceness of my 200-lb heels. Do you see this? Wait, let me turn around: is that better? I can crush you like a roach.

YSL: Awww. We should get married and have a small army of warrior-booties together.

….and I believe they lived happily ever after.

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