Review: J.Crew Viv Printed Flats.

  I've been wanting to try these J.Crew Viv flats for a LONG time. I just couldn't bring myself to bite the bullet at full price ($188). I really wanted the Wild Mushroom (nude), but of course, they sold out in my size before I could get my hands on them. So I settled for these cool snake-print flats instead:

    If you recall, I have slightly narrow feet with very narrow heels, so it is difficult for me to find flats that will stay on my feet without walking out of them. I don't seem to have this problem with the J.Crew shoes I've tried on in store, so I really wanted to see if these flats would work for me (they are only available online). They were on sale last weekend for $129.99 plus an extra 30% off so I could not resist despite trying to keep a low shopping budget this month. I saw a few reviews online, and I was trying to gauge if I *really* needed to size up a half size as the website suggested. I think every review I read said that I should go up half a size (Annie from StylishPetite also said she went with a 5.5 for her size 5 feet), but because my feet are a bit narrow, sometimes I can ignore recommendations to take a larger size.


     Upon inspection...

  

   
....apparently, I can't read. I thought these shoes were leather, but actually they are made of linen. I guess that's what they meant by "printed". Kind of a deal-breaker right there, but I'll go on to review the rest of the shoe.


Fit: These Viv flats actually do stay on my feet as I walk. It was not much of a surprise  since all other J.Crew shoes seem to fit me well. The shoes are narrow as I think most J.Crew shoes are, but I did not find them so narrow that I had to go up half a size. Size 6 (my regular shoe size) fit fine...maybe *borderline* small. If these were leather, I would expect these to stretch out and mold to my feet. Someone with medium width or wide feet would need to size up half a size at least.


Comfort: These are pretty comfortable. There is a decent amount of padding under the feet. The edges were maybe a bit sharp for my sensitive feet, but they are fine. Since they are narrow, someone with wider feet may find them a bit uncomfortable, especially near the toe box where the shoe starts to narrow into a point.


Quality: Good quality shoe. Every J.Crew shoe I've looked at are of great quality, and these were no different. I would expect these to last a long time with regular wear. The soles do appear to be leather.


Look: These flats actually look really nice. It took me a moment to realize that the upper wasn't leather. Obviously when I touched it, the fact that it was a rough material gave it away. The toe came to a good point (not too pointy). I think they would look cute with a pair of skinny pants or a skirt.


Verdict: I did think long and hard about keeping them since it isn't often I find flats that stay on my feet, but I need to be a bit more strict with my spending these days, and despite the good quality, I don't like the fact that they are linen. Overall, it is a nice shoe and if I could be a little more free with my spending I might have actually kept these, but since I can't--return.