I bought these to wear with my wedding dress, as well as with every day wear. I bought my exact size and put nike inserts in them (from my nike free) and they fit perfectly with the inserts, and are so comfortable. I'm a big time boot wearer, and wear them daily. I would never wear boots without quality inserts. It really does change the fit to feel perfect enough for every day wear. I live in the city and do a LOT of walking. I walked about 7 miles in my boots yesterday, with no calous and no blisters. I was comfy the entire time. Without the inserts, my heals slip and it's tough to get a good fit around the ankle. It just doesn't feel "right." With the inserts, it laces up and fits PERFECT with no heal slip, and ankle sits in correct place for lacing. Things to be expected with all Doc': squeeking and breaking in phase. My fiance has an 8 year old pair that still kind of squeek, but not like my new pair. They look perfect and my fiance was stuper stoked when he saw me wearing them. I love the height of these: they fit just above mid calf on me, and I'm 5'3. They look cute rolled down, but I see myself wearing them laced up to the top more frequently. The laces are standard and I have to loop them around the top once before tying which is what I have to do with most of my boots. I have upper averave size calves and I imagine a thinner girl might swim in these, but that can be a cool look too. All in all, I'm pumped about my purchase. Especially docs priced under a hundo.