Shoes Make the Season

Out of winter boots and into the open air, your feet have another chance to sparkle this season in stylish footwear designed to make a statement.

Style expert Katrina Szish spotlighted some summer styles Monday on The Early Show that are sure to kick your summer into gear.

Szish said gladiators are back — and not at the Coliseum.

“The gladiator shoe is something we saw last season, everyone said (gladiators) are not gonna last,” Szish said. “Well, they’re back again and still making women everywhere feel like goddesses.”

Though in their second round in the fashion ring, gladiators, Szish said, can take you back in time to the ancient days of Rome and Greece. The sandals, Szish said, feature a T-strap with multiple straps going across the foot. In the past, she explained, most gladiator sandals were brown or black. But now, she said, you can find gladiator sandals in trendy metallic colors, bold bright hues, sexy snakeskin and just about every other shade and fabric.

And they’re more diverse than ever, emerging in high heels, low heels and mid heels as full-on gladiator sandals or just in subtle details of the gladiator style.

Szish told The Early Show co-anchor Maggie Rodriguez and guest anchor Amanda Holden that even jelly gladiator shoes have shown up on shelves.

“I’m not keen on the jelly thing,” Holden said. “They forced me to wear those in the showers at camp.”

The gladiators, Rodriguez added, are a throwback to the ’80s Madonna styles.