text: I am in absolute shock that this pair of shoes is an absolute fake!!! Definitely stay away!!! What an ignorant person I am to only find out now. I went shoe shopping with friends at Nordstrom last weekend and was surprised that the Birkenstocks sold at Nordstrom are ten times nicer than the ones I purchased here. The exact same pair at Nordstrom has glazed, anti-humidity layer covering the entire soft wood foot bed of the shoes and an extra layer of velvety feeling material covering the top of the soft wood foot bed. The pair listed here has absolutely NONE of these features. I was always surprised by why people are raving about birkenstock as the pair I purchased here is neither very comfortable nor stylish. Now I know why…So disappointed about Amazon for carrying such a fake… Be careful, definitely don't buy!