Second Update: I am upgrading my initial review from a 3-star to a 4-star. Why? Because since the shoe has been broken in, and since I put my own orthotic in it, and since it has softened up quite a bit, I have come to see its value as a walking shoe. With the custom orthotic, it actually is quite comfortable. It no longer is as small as it was when I first got it, though -- you can see from my last review update-- because the toe-box is almond shaped and not round, even though there is a lot of room to wiggle my toes, the big toe does get moved toward the other toes and therefore there still is some tolerable discomfort (but I think it will go away). I am starting to appreciate its sturdiness now. The sole still slips a bit on wet cement, but I haven't fallen -- yet. And while the tan still is ugly, I'll confess -- I broke down and got a black version of these because I have so many black jeans and the black looks better with the jeans, even if all I'm doing is dog walking. Black looks a whole lot better than the mushroom. I am so vain that this matters even while dogwalking at my home, away from town, where I don't imagine anyone would ever see me. The black ones were lots more comfortable than the mushroom ones were right off the bat. Same size. Not sure why. I got this shoe to use for dog walking and just around the house. It isn't at all pretty or cute, which is fine because I can mess it up and spill stuff on it and wash it and if it doesn't look so great when I finish washing it (haven't yet done so), that isn't the end of the world. I am saving my nicer shoes to wear out. I was counting on two or three things, though. 1) Comfort, 2) Arch Support, and 3) Stability -- for when my German Shepherd Dog sees a squirrel or a rabbit or other wild animal in my hilly and rural neighborhood. As for comfort, the shoes are just okay. Nothing like my NoSox, slip-on style that is very similar and comes in mesh or suede, though. They are more rigid than those, which, I hope means they are durable. I am giving this pair a chance -- will come back and alter the review if they soften up a bit. UPDATE: I WORE THEM ALL DAY yesterday and they loosened up so much that my feet were actually sort of sloshing around in them when I went on my dog walk today. So, I took a chance and removed the insole and put my own orthotics in them. Ahhhhhh.... this is what arch support is SUPPOSED to feel like. The shoes have none. I am not by any means flat footed. I have good arches, but it feels so good to have arch support, nonetheless. The heels seem a bit big, though. Maybe that is from having to squish the shoe a little with my foot in order to get them on. It is surprising how much they loosened up after just one day. I can only imagine how much more they will soften up. And I do intend to come back and leave word here. The rest of this review was written earlier and not changed as it is still accurate: After the NoSox, these seem a bit too hard, even though they're not really uncomfortable. Also, I ordered my regular size figuring they'd have a little give if I wanted to wear socks. Nope. No give. So, I probably can get away with really thin socks or knee-length hose under pants. (Who wants to wear knee-highs to walk a dog or just work around the house in jeans?) The toe box is big and there's plenty of room to wiggle my toes, but they were NOT easy to put on. Maybe if they stretch out a little I can wear socks with them. Also, in the "comfort" department, I should add that although there is a tab or loop (you can see it in the photo) behind the heel to use for pulling them on that loop is a joke. I am a normal-sized woman, 5'5" tall, and I do NOT have fat fingers or large hands. I cannot even put an index finger through the loops. I tried with my baby finger and still could not use it to pull on the shoes. I ended up using a shoe horn. The first time I tried them I took them off to examine the sole and put them on again. The second time using the insert-toe, slam-the-toe-against-the- floor-a-few-times-to-insert-foot-deeper-into-the-shoe-and-then-step-down-into-the-shoe-to-squish-down-the heel-and-move-it-up-and-down-a-few-times-until-there-aren't-any folds-behind-the-heel method. That is one of the reasons I say that socks are kind of out of the question. They'd be stretched out before I even got on the shoe! 2) Arch support. NO. I don't really feel that. I was hoping not to have to put my orthotics in them because it's aggravating to have to keep switching them from one pair of shoes to another. I do not even know if there will be room in these to use my orthotics. The footbed is removable, so maybe so, if they conform to the shape of the shoe. 3) Stability: There ARE lugged soles. Not the heavy-duty, construction-worker type where the sole (from the side) resembles the blades of a saw, but with 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick ripples that contain deeply embossed smaller diamond shapes, squares, a heart, V-shapes, and triangles and other geometric shapes. It turns out that I DID wear these outside once to pick up the mail (so I can't really send them back because you're only supposed to try them on inside the house). It also happens that in sunny Southern California where I live, despite the drought, it actually rained last night and the long concrete driveway was slippery. Oops! These shoes, that are supposed to be stable and good for dog walking, actually SLID on the concrete. Luckily, I did not fall, but I almost did. When I bought these, I figured if the shoes had soles with lugs they would not slip. They LOOKED to be industrial-quality rubber and slip-resistant. However, it turns out that the soles are sort of hard... not really very porous. Maybe even -- despite the lugs -- kind of slick. So, I cannot count on them in wet weather or on paved mountain streets particularly if the dog pulls.... I can just envision myself waterskiing down my hill (if I'm lucky). When I looked online again, I also saw that these exact shoes range in price from $ 29.30-$85.29. Pretty big discrepancy. So, when I clicked on the shoe and called it up, the price I was shown was $56.96. So, why is that? Why wasn't I shown the full range? Obviously, I would have bought the $29.30 ones instead of paying almost twice that much. And who ever would pay the full $85.29 for an admittedly ugly pair of shoes? I guess I am a bit of a sucker. Don't feel right about returning them since I've worn them outside while trying them. But at least I can give you a warning on what to expect. I wonder if all those people who said they were so wonderfully comfortable had tried the other shoes above (I hesitate to keep mentioning the name as I don't want to appear to be advertising, and beside, I think that the other company might stop making the shoes I mentioned above that I DO like so much. I bought several pair, but those are nice enough to wear out so I hate to "use them up just at home" as I can do with an ugly pair that I won't wear out (if that makes sense). If I had not worn those other shoes, I might think these were fairly comfortable. If I'm wearing a comfy shoe, it needs to be really comfortable!). Even some of my hiking shoes are super-comfy (but, alas, those are for hiking, not to wear around the house, because they also are super-cute hiking shoes). I realize I sound like a perfectionist here, but -- as a female -- I am picky about shoes. I have a ton of them and I love my shoes. If a shoe is wonderful, people should know it so they can buy a lot of them so the manufacturer will keep it in stock from year to year. Maybe these will soften with time and have more of the qualities I'd hoped for, but after wearing them for half a day, it doesn't look like they'll ever get five stars from me. I guess I'm auditioning them for the time when the other company stops making the ones I really love.
