I read the other reviews about removing the buckle but that truly does not help if you cannot get your foot that far to begin.  The boots are cute and look to be very comfortable.  The shaft of the boot is just not enough to get purchase to shove your foot through enough so I've not been able to wear them.  I am hunting down a shoehorn or something else to see what I can do as I don't want to give up hope on them.  a loop in the back or a zipper would've done wonders, I wonder why they never add these to any of their boots that I've seen.