The quality of the leather was better than I expected based on some other reviews - it wasn't the softest ever, but it was passable. The primary issue was that the calf opening was much larger than expected, especially since this isn't a wide boot. I have relatively "athletic" calves for a petite (5'1") person, so I was surprised that these gaped more than inch on the outside.  Even though I loved the color, I decided it wasn't worth keeping the boots at the price I paid if they didn't fit better.