I had an older pair of black riding style boots by Madden Girl? (I think) that I had purchased on this site. I wore them out for 3 years until they looked so bad I had to replace them. I looked at a lot of boots trying to find a similar pair and read all the reviews for comfort before deciding on these. I was really pleasantly surprised when they came. I love the style, they look really cute on. Even though they are synthetic, they don't have a super shiny, fake look and they are very comfortable. I can't speak for durability as they are brand new, but very comfy and so far I love them. Maybe they will give me the 3 years my other ones did.