“These are sort of orthopedic Spartan shoes.” (Cynthia Rowley, on gladiator sandals of her own design)

Are you as conflicted about gladiator sandals as I am? On the one hand, gladiator sandals are, along with ankle cuff sandals, undeniably the It shoes for summer 2009. Celebrities are wearing them; reporters are writing articles about them; I reluctantly point out that a Cathy cartoon even took gladiator sandals as a topic.

On the other hand, I am not alone in thinking that gladiator sandals may not be the most flattering shoes ever to touch pavement. And, let’s not forget: There was a Cathy cartoon about them. How can we ignore that?

My mind aswirl with this conflict, I set out with a single objective in mind: Create a short list of flattering and comfortable gladiator sandals, that don’t cost a fortune (in case - at some point - they go out of style), and that actually could be working pieces of a non-celebrity wardrobe. Let’s answer once and for all if this is a trend worth embracing.

My first step was to check out the designer scene, to see what the big boys were up to. And, boy, are they making some gorgeous glads! Not surprising, of course; this is what they do. With his numerous gladiator styles, Giuseppe Zanotti seems to be the king of the genre, but the sandals from Stuart Weitzman, Sigerson Morrison, and Alexander McQueen are also gorgeous. Of course, for one reason or another - too expensive, too high - these shoes may not be right for us (though, if you are up for a splurge, now is a great time to do it).

However, they can at least inform our choices: Perhaps we can find the designer touches we like - the metallic finish, the delicate straps - in a more downscale version.

With this in mind, I visited a few of my favorite online shoe stores, intent on building our short list:

• Zappos.com: Zappos has, not surprisingly, a huge selection of gladiators (a whopping 958 pairs). I sorted by Most Popular, and opted for the Sam Edelman Ginnie ($72 and up) — an adorable and up-to-date style that comes in orange, teal, orchid, and other colors.
• Heels.com carries a fine selection of young, edgy and heeled glads. The Chinese Laundry Bootsy in reptile gold ($68.99) manages to combine a bunch of summer ‘09 trends: gladiator, cork, and animal skin, so that’s the one I went for.
• Piperlime.comhas moved on to fall trends, so is not presenting too many choices for glads. Nonetheless, Rachel Zoe picked the Matt Bernson gladiator ($170), and I have to say I agree with her.
• Shopbop.com offers a phenomenal selection of gladiators, and it was really hard to pick just one pair (so I chose two, both by Ash). The Maya Woven flat thong ($116) is just really cool, and lets you participate a bit in this summer’s tribal trend, while the bold and very literal Sari Flat Gladiator Boot ($142.50) is also fabulous.

With our short-list in hand, I tackled the hardest part of our mission: What in the world do you wear with gladiator sandals? None of us wants to suffer the ridicule that rained down on Gwyneth Paltrow, when she paired her gladiators with a toga dress.

Luckily, the web being the web, I found lots of good advice. The Fashion Police put together a very comprehensive guide, suggesting anything from short shorts to feminine dresses. The Style Observer suggests wearing them with a romper, so, depending on your view of rompers, take that advice with a grain of salt. Finally, according to Ed Burstell, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of accessories and footwear at Bergdorf Goodman, quoted in this article from the NY Observer, “ go with casual, they go with denim, they go with summer dresses at all lengths.”

So, are we convinced yet? I am! I say, embrace the gladiator!