These are beautiful! The leather is a gorgeous, dark brown and so soft, yet tough, the liner is soft to the touch and lovely against the skin, the foot bed was true to size, and the width was just right for me. The laces and the buckle are both fully functional, the hardware is heavy and made of brass, and allow the wearer to customize the fit--meaning a broad range of people can wear these and look great! The shaft is fairly tall, in the size 42 it seemed to be about 16.5 inches tall. The soles are rugged, yet bouncy, and the stitching is sturdy. They fit my well developed calves beautifully and looked great and felt great...except...AAAAHHHHHH!!!!! the zipper on the freaking left boot broke! Just trying it on! The shaft of the boot felt a little tighter on the left boot than the right (which is odd, because my right leg and foot are a bit bigger than my left) and when I stood up, I could feel the zipper just kind of...give. I looked down in horror, and sure enough, it had simply opened itself right on up. Why oh why would they put a nylon tooth zipper on a pair of boots like this? The leather itself is heavy, let alone giving an allowance for daily wear and tear. The shaft is plenty wide enough to fit my foot into without a zipper, thanks to the buckle. Even my jeans have a brass zipper!
Ridiculous. *sigh* What a waste!
Needless to say, back they go. Even at the low, low price of $139, there is no way I'd replace the zippers on a brand new pair of boots, even ones as lovely as these. Because they were purchased through Amazon, I know the return will be thankfully quick and efficient--thank you Amazon. So. Yes, I do recommend them. In all other respects, they were truly perfect fit wise and looked great on. They were just what I was looking for. I hope those of you who decide to get these have better zipper luck than I :-D

Delivered promptly and in perfect shape (other than the obvious) by Amazon.