I am so glad I finally laid down the money and got these boots. When I first opened the box, I was intimidated. After a few days of breaking them in, they are a lot less intimidating. If you have mixed thoughts when you first open the box, just stick with them for a week or so.

You have to dress them down to prevent yourself from looking totally kinky (unless you want to, of course!). They look really sharp with jeans and a black t-shirt. A little too sharp, for me. Dress them down with some colors, and they look really nice. Super cute with a skirt. I've gotten nothing but compliments.

The plaid lining is actually pink, not red. It looked red to me in the picture. The metal holes for the laces are painted pink on the inside of the boot. Also, on the ribbon laces that come with these boots (mine came with regular laces as well), the tip of the lace has pink plastic around it. Gives the boots kind of a feminine touch. I'm not all that into pink myself.

No ankle problems for me breaking them in, as a previous reviewer said.

Grippy treads, great quality. Would purchase again. I'll be getting them in brown, too.