As an avid boot collector I relish the entire experience.....from the moment I opened the shipping box and saw the beautiful Donald J Pliner box the wonderful experience began.....packaged perfectly I peeled back the layers of paper and was elated at first glance.  Mind you, these boots are expensive (for me at least) at purchasing them was not done on a whim.....I looked at them about 3,000 times and finally HAD to pull the trigger....after fussing over which color to choose that is!  I selected the espresso color and could not be happier with how beautiful these boots are.  I grabbed two pairs of sock (one thick and one thin) to try them on with and as a true size 7, had to go with the thin socks not because of the foot fit but because of the ankle fit.  I am 5'4", 135 lbs. and can wear every type of boot but these were tight in the ankle area and extremely stiff overall.  I felt like I was walking in paper towel cardboard for the first few hours at work (driving was equally wonky as breaking took a few attempts to get used to) but as the day wore on they softened up and stretched quite a bit.  I felt the inside zipper rubbing my ankles for most of the day and will switch to thicker socks as soon as I am able.  The arch support doesn't exist and I can feel the cold street through the bottom of the boot which is a bit disappointing especially for the price.  Once they stretch out more I will add gel inserts and thicker socks to make them more comfortable.  While I am not totally thrilled with these boots as I dreamed I would be, I will keep them and work with them until we are best buds....I wanted the black suede pair too (which is why it took so long for me to make this purchase - couldn't decided between the two colors) but will not be buying them now.  I have a pair of loden dulce vita Lujan boots that fit perfectly right out of the box for half they price and don't think we girls should have to work this hard to break in a pair of $400 boots....just my opinion....I'm also not thrilled to find out they are made in China now...also did not receive any compliments on these at work as I did the Fergie Ledger 2 boots that look just like these but are not real leather (something to think about if you are a boot collector like me!).  I do recommend these but only if you are willing to do the work to make them comfy!!