Saturday, October 16, 2010

Shoe Review






 
I usually don't buy shoes for the full/list price online that I haven't touched, inspected, tried on and/or fallen in love with in person. But a year ago I was willing to make an exception for these:

Seychelles Women's Orchestra Boot
Seychelles Orchestra
Nothin too snazzy but I was interested in keeping these boots for at least 5 snowy and slushy Chicago winters and looked forward to how they would look when they got a little seasoned.  Also, a lot of the reviews on this boot were saying that the shaft was too big for their legs.  This was great news for me because at the time I had big calves.  I've lost considerable calf weight since then resulting in the pics above. But yes I was stoked about their potential in my head.  When I got them I was still excited but was disappointed at how stiff the leather was and they were kind of roomy at the ankle. Not an ounce of butteriness but I was walkin it out at least 4 times a week with these on and happy because they were still cute and comfy.  Two months passed and the thin rubber sole starts coming undone and flapping every time I walked, the paint on the faux wooden stacked heel starts to peel, and I was getting heated EVERYTIME I looked at these puppies.  I couldn't believe that after a couple of months of walking, I couldn't wear them anymore.  I kept thinking that I have bought shoes that were 1/10 of the price but definitely 5xs the quality.  This just wasn't acceptable.  I bought them full price on Amazon and so much time had passed that I wasn't able to resolve my issues with them so I wrote Seychelles directly:

"Comments:  To whom it may concern,
 
I was a potential loyal customer of the Seychelles brand. On October
12th I bought the Orchestra boot via the amazon website. I had no
problem paying full price for the boot because of the original style.
Unfortunately, after 2 months the boot is falling apart.  Also, I bought
them in October from the mentioned website making them nonreturnable
which is not your problem but the fact that the boot is falling apart
is.
After a few wears the paint on the rubber around the toe is peeling off.
This is not an issue I should be having with $170 boots. Also, the
material that was used to resemble a wooden stacked heel is peeling away
like paper. After a month of wear(didn't start wearing them until
November) these boots are an embarrassment to me and should be to your
company also.
Here's a picture so you guys can see your craftsmanship: 
http://tinyurl.com/yb82vtw
It seems whatever glue you used to attach the rubber sole to the plastic
heel has disappeared. I was hoping to have these boots for at least the
season and the next but this is making me think that Seychelles are
overpriced for the quality that you provide. I have written a review
about this on the retailers website to reflect all of the problems I've
mentioned.
 
Thanks for listening,
Kristen Culp"
The next day an EXTREMELY nice young lady responded offering to replace my boots and I accepted.  I really wanted these boots to work and I was really happy that they were so swift with offering a solution. This was a year ago when I received the replacement pair.  Fast forward to yesterday and I am looking at the plastic that was covered by a design that was supposed to resemble a wooden stacked heel.........on my replacement boots. Ah well, you live and you learn.
 
I'll probably wear them for a couple of more months before I try to get the heel totally replaced if its not too expensive because they're still adorable.

I have one other pair of flat patent leather Seychelles that I haven't worn yet.  They aren't that comfy, but that's my momma's fault (I have wide feet).

 
 
I love the color on these and the shape of the toe. Imma wide footed gyal that loves pointy shoes. Jeesh.  I once had a flat pair that were POINTY and TOO comfy and they were too cute. I wore those to the ground. ANYWAY, focus.  These flats are nice but I was kinda miffed that the paint is coming off of the sole and I haven't even worn them out of the house yet. (still trying to stretch them a little bit.) Oh, also the patent leather around the heel is buckling.   I'm not having good luck with Seychelles, it seems but I can say for sure that who ever is conducting the aesthetic part of the shoe designing is doing a great job.  I definitely would have more Seychelles if I hadn't had my experience.