I own three pairs of these shoes, two in brown and one in black. They were beautiful, high quality leather and very comfortable. My old brown ones cracked from water damage during the winter so I ordered a replacement. What came in the mail however was nothing like the shoes I own and adored.

The Chief Councils used to be made from high quality leather that would get even more beautiful with age and wear. However now whatever they use is a cheap plastic leather that they PAINT OVER! The paint even started peeling and flaking as soon as I took it out of the box. I saw brown stuff all over my hand that confused me before I realized it was from the shoes. Gently running my finger along the shoe, everything started coming off. A lot of manufacturers airbrush color on shoes for an aged look, this isn't new. The problem is that real leathers absorb colors whereas plastics don't. They switched to a cheap thin leather with a plastic coating to cut costs and it shows.

Furthermore, the interior lining of these shoes used to also be made of a nice high quality leather like quality oxfords do. It was extremely comfortable and soft. The leather lining breathed and had a great texture when walking and ages well. The lining now is COMPLETELY plastic and synthetic. Plastic lining does not breathe so your feet gets sweaty easily. When walking it is very slippery and your feet will squeak with every step. The lining will not soften over time, will not get any better, and when it does it will just crack and flake apart.

Kenneth Cole had a home run with this shoe. Beautiful design and amazing build quality and reasonable price. Someone clearly decided it was time to cut costs and deceive the customer thinking they won't notice. The worst part is even Amazon shows the original version of these shoes on the website with the original leather lining. Definitely disappointing. I will not be buying Kenneth Cole again!