I'm a 6 Wide foot, so I ordered this half a size up (6.5) and it fits perfectly. I'd imagine if you have wide feet you should probably size up as your normal size may be too narrow. The first time I wore these shoes, I ended up needing to walk two miles in them and they didn't hurt my feet at all! No pain, no blisters, no suffering! So breaking them in should be no problem. There's a gold zipper on the outer part of the shoes that doesn't work, it's just for decoration. The inner portions of the shoes (the part of your shoes that face each other) however have black, real zippers, so it's super easy to put on, and you don't need to relace your shoes. Highly recommend!