Cowrie Shell Beaded Lace-Up Gladiator Sandals

Cowrie Shell Beaded Lace-Up Gladiator Sandals

Cowrie shells have carried meaning across East African cultures for generations — worn as adornment, traded as currency, given as gifts marking fertility and status. Here they're set into a beaded lace-up strap, sewn in a single line down the center of a dense rainbow beadwork border in black, white, red, green, orange, blue, and yellow. It's one of the more labor-intensive pieces in the collection: every shell is hand-selected and stitched into place after the surrounding beadwork is finished, so the whole strap has to be built in the right order or the shells won't sit flush.

The dark leather straps run the full length of the foot and cross up into a cord lace that ties at the ankle, giving you a gladiator-style fit with real adjustability — not just a slip-on. A bold, culturally rich piece for anyone who wants their sandals to actually say something.

Sizes: US Girls 10–13, Youth 1–3, Women's 5–11