So far so good. My son has only worn these a few times. He is walking at 11 months and it is hard to find a size 3.5 shoe with a real sole. Even though these are stage 2 for standing I think they work fine for him.  The have a real sole and seem sturdy enough. They are also higher on the ankle so hopefully give him a little extra support. They are a very dark blue almost black so they match quite a bit of his clothes.  The laces are fake, they open up very big for me to stick his foot in and then everything is held together by the velcro strap. I will say that my son loves taking his socks and shoes off so the one velcro strap isn't very hard for him to remove while bored in the car seat. Just means I have to put them back on his feet before we head out. Highly recommend @ this price point knowing he will outgrow them very quickly.