I'm sort of a fan of the FitFlop "mini-wobble board sandals", which I wear around the house, because although they don't appear to actually do anything to make me more fit, they're pretty comfortable, at least for short periods. One thing I definitely don't have the sartorial panache to pull off, however, is the flip flops with the cute dress look. On me, it looks much less casual chic and much more like I've just escaped a house fire and was lucky to have anything on my feet at all.

FitFlops has addressed the, um, need, for dressier flip flops by coming out with a few new styles more appropriate for wearing when you're not at the beach. The Aurelia Gladiator is either so ugly it's cool or maybe just trying way too hard, I'm not sure. The Gladiator sandal is supposedly THE trend of summer 2008, but other than admiring the look on Gwyneth, I haven't really seen anyone manage to wear them without looking like someone who works at a Gladiator-themed mall restaurant.

At the very least, if you wear these, you'll have some amusing pictures that you'll be defending by saying, "they were so HOT in 2008, seriously!". And possibly, you'll have some added muscle definition in your creatively laced up legs.

The Aurelia is a limited edition designed in collaboration with Kirna Zabete. The black kid leather is $150 and the snakeskin is $165, both at Kirna Zabete.