This is a great looking pair of shoes.  It is my second pair of the "identical" shoes.  I used quotes on identical on purpose.  The first pair was purchased at a Dillards department store.  The first pair was definately softer or less stiff right out of the box.  The second pair was purchased via Amazon and these look the same, have the same numbers inside the shoe, but they are very stiff and will require a couple weeks to break in.  Still a great shoe, but seems odd that those from the dept store would be softer???