I love these shoes (I love Italian boots generally lol). I'm a size 8.5 but they didn't have 8.5 and the 9 was twice the price so I bought the 8 (I have boots in a size 7.5 that have never been tight so I wasn't worried), oh...they were soooo tight and hurt really bad. I don't know if these boots are true to size, but they are good quality leather. The first week, wearing them every day, my left heel hurt and the widest part of my foot (where the toe bones connect to the rest of the foot) ached on both feet. Then at some point, week two or three, they stopped hurting completely. Like I said, I love these boots! They do make noise, like the clank of high heels, but I've never owned quality boots/shoes that didn't.