"What, are you getting ready to go fight in the Roman arena, Maximus?" my husband said to me as I laced up my brand new gladiator sandals. I scoffed and told him he knew nothing about style, then burst into laughter, because he did have a point. I mean, they are called gladiator sandals for a reason since they are inspired by footwear the ancient Romans wore. Note the keyword- ancient- and here we are hundreds of years later, still rocking this style.
Its things like this that have turned me into a style fiend. I find it so intriguing to see how we have modernized and repeated trends for clothing, shoes, and accessories based on inspiration from original conception of the item. Case in point- the gladiator sandal, worn by gladiators in ancient Rome while fighting for their life in the arena, to wearing them today with a floral dress to look glam (crazy thought, right?). Another case in point and super trendy item- chokers. The history of chokers started in the late 1700's in France when women wore red ribbon around their necks to pay respects to their loved ones who died by guillotine. Chokers were also worn by prostitutes, ballerinas, and royalty throughout the 1800's (thanks for the details on this, Buzzfeed), made an appearance in the 1990's thanks to Clueless, and now are on the racks at almost every accessory store.
So there you have it- chokers and gladiator sandals, both originating hundreds of years ago from two very different cultures that we are incorporating into our outfits today. While I own chokers a plenty, gladiator sandals are something I had a tough time finding based on my wide calves. I was in the market for a lace-up pair so the straps could be adjusted to fit, and I was being super picky on my search for the perfect gladiators. Thanks to the Vince Camuto store in Pentagon City, I found these Lace-Up Tall Gladiator Sandals by Vince Camuto brand Louise et Cie, for $75 on sale and decided to buy them immediately so I could get plenty of wears out of them for summer.
For this look, I opted for coffee-date glam while meeting my fabulous blogger baes Sarah & Roxanne for coffee and blog talk at the new Compass Coffee location in Chinatown. By mixing the softness of the floral, flirty dress with the hardness of the lace-up sandals, it creates an unexpected glam look that can take you from a fashionable daytime coffee meet-up to a night out on the town. After coffee, we hit the Bar Deco alley which created the perfect backdrop for blog photos. Shout out to Sarah for these fun snaps!
Outfit Details: Lace-Up Tall Gladiator Sandals: Louise et Cie; Floral Dress: Forever 21+, not available online, but check out similar options here, here, here, and here; Medallion Choker: Forever 21; Gold Wing Necklace: Dogeared; Metallic Disco Bag: Gucci; Purse Pom: Michael Kors at Macys; Black Aviators: Michael Kors, no longer available but these are almost identical; Black Wrap Bracelet: Forever 21 from like 5 years ago, so its definitely no longer available, but I found similar styles here and here; Gem Ring: Henri Bendel, not available online, check store for availability or shop a similar pick here.
XOXO
Blonde in the District