Thought the shoe looked cool, but it smelled so strongly of synthetic material (like gasoline) that I was never able to wear them. I tried every suggested remedy I could find. I left them out in the summer sun for two weeks straight. I put them in a bag with charcoal for two weeks. In an act of desperation, I even ran them through the washing machine and then dried them in the sun.  Nothing worked. Here we are two years later and they're still unwearable. Ive tried a few times, but any time someone comes near my office, or if Im in a meeting, theyll say, Oh! Did you spill gas on yourself this morning?  For me, this was a hard lesson in you get what you pay for.