These are just not well finished. There's no question that the structure of the shoe is high quality, and my son has found them to be comfortable and supportive as a new walker. He's been wearing them and walking for about 10 weeks now, and the topstitching is loose in so many places. The grosgrain ribbon is snagging on the velcro of the shoes. So far there have been no functional ramifications, but I obviously expect more from $44 toddler shoes. The strap is also too easy to take off, and we don't even bother putting on my son's shoes until we arrive at our destination in the car or are about to walk outside to play. Otherwise he just takes them off, plays with them, and makes all the stitching worse. Such a bummer. They are so cute and have so much potential.