Ok, so I went back and forth on these for months because of the mixed reviews.  SOOO glad I ended up getting them anyways because I wear them at least twice a week!  I'm a 7.5 in flats and heels and an 8 in boots.  These are true to size and the 8 still gives me room to wear socks with them.  Apparently there are a lot of people out there who are not aware of the fact that you must wear socks with leather boots.  I mean..duh!  That is the only reason I can imagine these having any weird smell because mine smell absolutely fine.  I work in a lab so I'm on my feet all day and in these shoes I don't even feel like I have boots on all day.  They are very comfortable.  Oh, and every time I wear them I get tons of compliments all day long!  You will not regret this purchase!!