text: I'm quite disappointed with the pair I recently bought for my daughter. She got her first pair of Minnetonka mocs two years ago, when they fit her just right. They were light, soft, comfortable and had minimalist moccasin feel with thin rubber soles and hardly any padding inside, which was exactly what we were looking for in kids shoes. She wore her first pair for 2 full years, because the leather just kept stretching as her feet grew from size 2 to size 4. On the outside hey still look like they've only been worn for a month or two, not two years - that's how well they held up. The little rubber dots on the soles have rubbed off in some spots but they just look smoothed out, with no holes in the soles. Apparently the design has changed since then significantly. Here are the key differences we noticed:  *The rubber on the soles is about twice as thick, with ridges on the heels instead of dots all over. My 11 year old daughter only wore them for a couple of days and the rubber ridges and rim that goes all the way around the soles have started to shred in the heel area. *There's a stiff fat seam right in the center of the back of the heel, covered by heel flap. My daughter does not like it. *The insole is cut longer than necessary in the back of the heel and curls up slightly, adding more discomfort to the heel area. *The insole is not one continuous piece, but ends right before the ball of the foot. *The insole is thickly padded in the heel area, which, combined with the thicker rubber on the sole, eliminates the minimalist feel of the shoe. How disappointing. *The overall craftsmanship has declined, with less attention being paid to the construction of the leather upper. (see photo, fringe flap not secured at the edges, shoe rim is left unfinished near the fringe)  So all in all, this is not the same shoe that my daughter enjoyed wearing for the past 2 years. It feels and looks much cheaper, even though we paid less for it two years ago. The *feel* of moccasin is not there anymore, just the look. I'm giving it two stars instead of one, leaving some room for the benefit of the doubt in hopes that the shoes will soften up in the heel with a bit of time and wear. I will try to update the review once we see how the shoes hold up, although I don't have much hope for the shredding rubber on the soles. If you are new to these mocs, you probably won't know what you are missing, but if you are a return customer, like we were, I suggest you consider the changes in the design mentioned in this review.  UPDATE: reducing the review to one star. The dye in the leather bled all over my daughter's feet when she got them slightly wet, leaving her skin orange. The shoes went straight into donation box after that.