I searched high and low for a pump that would look good with a suit and that I could walk in for a good distance. The shoe also needed to be a deep brown, almost black. These fit the bill. The red patent is really more of an espresso color and then there is the slightest hint of a red piping along some of the seams. I agree with another poster that the ball of the foot could have used a thicker cushion. I put in regular dr. Scholl's insoles to protect the shoe's footbed and at the end of a day pounding pavement in the city, the ball of my foot was a little sore. Also, I do not have fatty ankles but at the end of the day, the back of the shoe had left cut marks on the outside of my ankle, behind the ankle bone. I hope this will ease up as i break them in.