I originally tried these shoes in the silver in an 8 wide width in a store. They were super comfortable and 8 was my street shoe size. The only problem was that my toes were sticking out past the shoe in the front. Apparently this is desired among prof ballroom dancers. I wasn't sure, as I'm just a beginner and wanted to be sure about the sizing, esp given the price, so I ordered the 8.5 medium width on Amazon. Again, the shoe was very comfortable - I have slight bunions and the best thing about this shoe is that there is enough leather in the front to cover up the bumpy sides of my feet, but at the same time, the leather is slashed (look closely at the picture) so that it easily moulds around the shape of your feet. Also, the upper is leather, the lining is synthetic, and the sole is suede for dancing.

However, the 8.5M didn't really work out. My toes were no longer sticking out way too much, but now I had tons of space in my heel, especially when I stood on tiptoe. So I guess the 8W was the right size. Anyway, I think it depends on your toes which size you go for. I took a star off for sizing issues and also, the shoes are a 2.5 inch but feel like 3 inch and the arch isn't really high enough to give support for hours. As a result, I did not feel that stable in them and returned them.