I tried to wear these as much as I could within reason which includes going to lab every day, walking the dog, and traveling. Because the leather is somewhat delicate and burnished, etc. I elected not to wear them in wet conditions, which is a frequent enough occurence in Chicago.
The leather is soft and has broken in nicely I think. It's hard to capture in photos but the variations in shades of red is quite striking and the shoes have been complimented often. The shoes were a bit tight on my pinky in the beginning but loosened up soon enough and I can wear them all day comfortably. Admittedly having these shoes around animals maybe wasn't the wisest call and those marks are reflected on the surface. I'm excited to see how these continue to age and change colour!
My feet are wide and the right one in particular has a higher instep but these shoes have been comfortable throughout for my feet except at the beginning when my pinky would rub against the edges. My feet don't feel squeezed at all and fit pretty nicely!
I don't believe I have an expert eye to assess construction quality but it looks good to me and has held up well despite being somewhat tough on em. I think it's a great design that can be dressed up or down without much effort. Ive heard them called "fancy" but they don't feel out of place at the dog park either imo. The hand finished burnishing is very nice as well
Probably wouldn't wear in wet conditions but has held up well otherwise and I can happily walk on them all day.
I wanted shoes that I can wear in a wide range of social situations and don't think I could have asked for a nicer pair.