My style has changed immensely over the last 3 years, but if you were to ask me to describe my style I would find it hard to do so. I dress way more casual than ever before, but I like to mix in elevated pieces like a statement bootie or a fun bomber. I often pair sneakers with dresses and I love to experiment with layering. My style is more me than ever before and I love how much it has evolved. I won’t say that I don’t pay attention to trends because, well, of course I do! Not only is it part of my job, but as a lover of fashion from very early on, it’s sort of in my DNA. However, I won’t wear something just because it’s trendy—read: Dad sneakers, no thank you!—and conversely I won’t nix something because it’s out of season. I wear what I want to wear, and not only is it super freeing, but it brings out my confidence more than ever. I recently decided that I NEEDED—you all know how that goes—a pair of combat boots. I’ve always really liked the look of them, but until recently I never thought I was really ‘cool’ enough to wear them. Doc Martens may be the originals, but of course I wanted a pair that was a bit more elevated. Enter: The Stuart Weitzman Lexy Boots.
Back in October I included these on my list of fall must haves, and I was already obsessing over all the ways I was going to wear them. When they arrived I ripped open the box, got a whiff of that new leather smell, felt the leather and I think I even gave them a hug as I exclaimed that they were the coolest boots ever. The very next day I waltzed out of my apartment building with a huge smile on my face and my new boots on my feet. I paired them with a long floral maxi dress, a leather jacket and an extra pep in my step. That pep was short lived as no more than 40 minutes later the back of my heels felt like they were being torn apart. I painfully limped my way to the coffee shop I like to work at and by the time I got there I was nauseous from the pain in my feet!
I’ll preface the rest of my sob story by admitting that I’ve never had very great feet. I have flat feet that have undergone surgery (one of them twice!) and yet they still aren’t quite right, but even still I’ve never experienced such pain from a pair of shoes. That first day I wore them I had to take a cab back to my apartment because I literally could not walk. It wasn’t just my heels that hurt at the end of the day it was my entire foot. The leather was super stiff and I was incredibly uncomfortable. I cried from the pain when I got home as I frantically searched ways to stretch boots. I tried a few different methods yet wears 2 and 3 resulted in similar outcomes, though not quite as terrible as the first time.
I walked around my apartment the other night in my pajamas, armed with a hairdryer to heat the leather and 2 pairs of thick socks under the pain evoking culprits as I cried to roommate about how badly I wanted these shoes to work! Returning them wasn’t an option after I wore them 3 times, and I couldn’t bear the thought of selling them because I loved them so much! In the midst of my boot debacle I made it a point to stop and try the next size up to be sure it wasn’t that they were too small. Spoiler alert: it’s not the size of the shoes, it’s the shoes themselves, and well, it’s my crappy feet! The toebox on these boots is super narrow, meaning my tootsies are jammed inside them. That coupled with the durable, but thick leather and lug soul made this a recipe for disaster. I will say that after my intense google search and a last-ditch effort on the 4th wear they seemed to loosen up a bit. Though my pinkie toes were still pinching a bit by the end of the day, the boots did finally seem a bit more bearable. They’ll never be my most comfortable pair of shoes, but I’m not giving up on them just yet!
I no longer suffer for fashion. I’m in charge of my wardrobe – not the other way around.
I’m done with uncomfortable shoes. Have been for over ten years. I have come to the realization that my flat feet will not allow me to wear certain shoes. I’m okay with that. I hopefully have decades of more life left in me, and the last thing that I want to do is waltz around them in uncomfortable footwear.
Life is too short.
I have wide Barney rubble feet. So I don’t mess around with shoes if they don’t fit right I don’t buy them. Sadly so many shoes are too narrow for me, pointy toe out of the question.
Since you made the investment and can’t return them as they’re worn. I would recommend either taking them to a shoe cobbler to widen them. Or if you want to dyi buy a shoe stretcher, but a good one will run around $50. I would probably just take them to a cobbler since you’ve already tried to stretch them yourself just to save yourself the time/energy.
Barney feet actually made me chuckle!! I call mine Shrek feet. Besides the surgery I also run long distances so my feet are overall just a mess. It’s funny because I am actually super conscious about them.
You and I are in the same boat. I often refer to my feet as waffles because of the width. I wear booties, ankle boots, knee boots and sneakers all year long because my feet look weird in pumps. Even wide width shoes don’t help me at all.
She should try to sell the boots to get some of her money back especially if she has issues with her feet already.
They seem to slowly be getting better, but I definitely am going to try taking them if I’ve reached the limit of stretch doing it on my own. I definitely learned my lesson this time about making sure shoes fit properly before wearing them outside of the house!
Shoes that are too narrow, have thin soles, high heels, stiff leather, and no arch support… I’ve given up on them all. It’s just not worth it in the long run.
Try ecco for some stylish yet comfortable boots
This review is super timely! You just saved me $$$. I got these looking at your Fall list. They are perfect. Havent worn them outside the house. If they are these disasters, I’m returning them.
If you don’t have feet like mine I bet they’ll be fine, but I HIGHLY suggest wearing these around your house for quite a while first and doing so with thick socks. I’ve been wearing them around my apartment with 2 pairs of socks and using a blow dryer (online DIY method) to stretch them and they are definitely better. The photo above is from yesterday when I was able to wear them all day without getting blisters. My pinkie toes were still pinched but I honestly think that’s bc of my feet and I just hope they keep getting better. I love them so much!
Thanks Kaitlin for letting me know! Let me try this weekend! They are too pretty to let go 🙂 Also waiting for your holiday list! I love your taste. Also do tell more about the red bag you got.
So how did you do?! Mine finally loosened up a ton and I’ve been wearing them once a week since. SOO happy I didn’t give up on them.
I definitely have shoes in my closet that wreck my feet but for some reason I cannot get rid of them. Some I reserve for short dinner trips out of the house and I now have a pair of pool slides under my desk. With all that said I have not bought any “fashion is pain” shoes in a couple of years. Perhaps age does come with wisdom and my feet are happier too!
Hahaha, story of my life! I too suffered for fashionable shoes. But not anymore. I figured that soft leather will always do the trick for my feet, everything else incl my fav Church’s shoes 🙁 which are just soooo stiff, is to be approached with caution.
Have you tried Aeyde? They make some soft&comfortable but nonetheless stylish shoes!
Reminds me of the time I first bought Dr.Martens. In my case though I had to size up eventually (I did realize it way too late so couldn’t exchange but bought a new pair instead). It ended up really well but your story did make me remember how my feet were destroyed while breaking in the first pair.
I’m hoping these end up ok for me too! Fingers crossed!
Stuart Weitzman is, hands down, my favorite brand of shoes. They’re amazing!! Love the boots!
Two weeks later and I’ve FINALLY broken them in! So happy I kept trying and didn’t give up on them, ha!
If that is you in the picture, I doubt that these boots will ever be truly comfortable for you. I can tell from looking at the picture that these are not the boots for you — I won’t bore you with the tells but one of them is the position of your big toe in the boot and another is what is going on at the seam near your pinkie toe. That being said, I no longer wear or keep uncomfortable shoes but if I had spent $600 for a pair of shoes, I would be hard pressed to stick my rule of dropping uncomfortable shoes like they are hot. So I think you should keep trying to break them in for another 3 or 4 wears and if they are not passable by then (note, they will never be comfortable but they become wearable), sell them, donate them to charity, give them to a friend but stop wearing them. Life is too short for shoes that make you cry.
Yes it’s me, and that’s the predicament I’m in right now! They are definitely a bit more bearable after the 4th wear so I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that they stretch a bit more. I’ve certainly learned more about shoes that fit since getting these and I see what you mean about my pinkie toes—that’s where I feel the pinching now.
From the picture, these boots look nothing special. Paying hundreds of dollars for shoes that hurt (aka that don’t fit properly)? Big NO! I love to take a look at the CL forum. Always a good laugh reading about these ladies desperate because their cherished CL heels are a nightmare to wear. What is wrong with people purposefully suffering all day in their shoes?
My favorite brand for shoes is Bottega Veneta. It’s the right fit for my feet, and awesome style.
Sadly, you are probably someone who just shouldn’t order shoes online unless you already own at least two other pair in the same model from the same brand. I’ve also learned that some brands just don’t work for me. Much as I love Ferragamo Varina flats, I can’t find a pair that actually fits right. On the other hand, shoes from Gucci and Tod generally fit great. I tried on some really cute slip-on sneakers from Bottega Veneta and they were wrong for me in so many ways.
Back in my salad days, I worked in a shoe and sporting goods store. We had to repeatedly tell customers that the shoe that’s perfect for your best friend might be a nightmare for you. Until you develop a track record with specific styles from specific brands, don’t buy shoes without trying them on. Esp if you have problem feet. Sorry about that, Zappos, no shoes from you!
How about taking them to a cobbler/shore repair and explaining the issue to see if they can be stretched, or rough spots inside can be cushioned in some way?
“Would you suffer in the name of fashion?” Oh, hells no!! Those don’t even look like “combat” boots. As another poster commented, they really don’t look like anything special…so I’d not be tempted to spend $600 on them. I’ve never had good luck with Weitzman footware. I truly hope you find a way to make them work.
My feet are flat also. I’ve had and continue to have my share of shoe issues although over the last 20yrs or so I have a much better handle on what works and what doesn’t. In my youth I wore heels that hurt like hell because well that’s what everybody else was wearing. Now I don’t wear heels over 2 inches and only if I’m going out and someone’s driving LOL 99% of the time it’s sneakers and comfortable flats with arch support.
This kind of made me laugh. I stopped wearing this brand of shoes years ago for this very reason.
I don’t wear anything that makes me uncomfortable. I feel your pain!!
I’ve never really noticed that I would need to purchase a wide before, but maybe in some cases I do, I guess SW runs a bit narrow. I did notice that they have some offerings on their website in wide, but of course not these! Worth a look for you though.
I put gaffer tape over the sore bits on my skin till the shoes break in.
Great tip!
I recently learned that you can permanently damage your toenails due to wearing shoes that don’t fit right and put too much pressure on your toes. So, be a little wary if they’re still pinching on an ongoing basis!
So sad when they don’t fit right. 🙁
It’s true—I’m a runner and I’ve ran in too small sneakers! The end result is not pretty.
SW shoes run narrow. I have given up on them. Done with the blisters, rubbed raw heels, bunions in the making, and hobble walk they have given me. Not worth it. They do not want my flipper feet as customer.
And I am extreme glad that now we can discuss in this community our passion for shoes together with bags! I am pretty sure those two shananigans go hand in hand together :)) Excellent move purseblog, I love it!
I have always, since I can remember, had a passion for shoes. As a little girl, I remember playing dress up w/my sister, in my mom’s sky high pointy-toe 50’s style pumps, & ballroom dresses she no longer wore! If I had a choice between accessories (shoes, handbags, jewelry) or clothes, accessories would win the day, every time! Accessories make not only the outfit, but the woman! (in my humble opinion!) ????
This is why I stick to Born and Frye only when it comes to boots
I feel your pain! My feet are the one hindrance to really getting my style game together. I have flat feet, extremely wide feet, and bunions, what a triple header! And now add bad knees to that. Although, I think I have evolved a style that works with that and my reliance on sneakers and flats with thicker soles. As far as casual lace-up boots I found a great pair from Gentle Souls at Saks Off Fifth – wide enough (with a wee bit of shoe stretching on one foot) and luxuriously lined in well padded leather, I need to check out more from this brand.