text: I can't believe all the positive reviews on this shoe --- did the others receive a different product than I?<br />First thing I noticed was that the quality looks pretty bad overall.  The leather is hard, brittle, and scratchy on the inside (blister-making material for sure) and the staples in the shoe might be ok for saddles or something but on a shoe it really does look like a fifth grader made it.  I already anticipated this would need a Foot Petal or other insert since the wood surface would probably kill my feet after an hour or so and was as expected from pictures.  I went a full size up as others advised, which was correct, but still overall awkward.  I probably had a half inch of space in the back of the heel but the width of the front fit perfect (any smaller/narrower would be too tight) and the straps connected to the shoe base for the ankle strap were digging in under my foot (again with the hard, scratchy leather.)  Considering the price, I was overwhelmed with disappointment that such a cute shoe went so wrong.