Rockport Cobb Hill Women's Georgina Lace-Up Oxford

I was so excited to learn that New Balance had come up with a dress shoe line. I've been living in NB for several years, now, because of fallen arches and consequent knee problems -- good shoes, but one does weary of wearing athletic shoes all the time. I've missed being able to wear nice, attractive shoes. Although the previous reviews have been mixed, one comparing the writer's own feet to Hobbits' feet made me laugh and decide to take a chance.The shoes arrived this morning and are on my feet for a short trial run. They are beautiful! The leather is so supple, and the varicolored brown is like the colors of good, old saddlery. The heel is a very good height for someone accustomed over a long time only to athletic shoes -- not too high, but dressier than a regular Oxford.I'd rather hoped/expected the sizing, specifically the width, would be comparable to NB, but they are considerably narrower than those most excellent of supportive athletic shoes. I dread my own Hobbit-like feet will spread this gorgeous leather upper over the soles by inches and reduce these really lovely shoes to looking over-worn and ugly, and myself ridiculous and too much like a bag lady. I'm also reminded that, yes, I did break a bone in my right foot several years ago and that shoe is a bit snugger than the left. It's not exactly uncomfortable right this minute, and the arch support promises to be adequate or even good. . . but how would it be if I wore them to that funeral this afternoon and stood at the graveside service for half an hour?I'm thinking about sending these back and trying a half or whole size up, hoping that will give me a bit more room to work with, even though that would probably mean inserts to keep my foot from sliding into the toe and leaving a gap at the heel. They really are beautiful shoes, and I am so tired of nothing but NB608s . . . .UPDATE: I kept these shoes, and I am so glad I did. I started by wearing them to church, and now can wear them to my work, which involves a lot of walking. They and my feet have become accustomed to one another, and they are quite comfortable. The heel is ideal for someone with knee problems, for whom the higher heel of the Sheila pump is probably far too high (and those are such lovely shoes!), only a very little, nice bit higher than athletic shoes'. The arch support is very good, no need for me to add an orthotic insert. And the uppers haven't spread out all over the place, either. We get a lot of compliments wherever I wear them.Oh - and my "hobbit feet"? Very wide and flat, NOT hairy!

The problem for me wasn't the foot width - I'm returning them because the heel was too...shallow? i don't know what to call it when the heel doesn't come up high enough in the back to "grab" onto your heel. It was too short, I guess, so it didn't cup my heel so I kept feeling it slip when I tried them on in the house. I knew that would drive me nuts all day and probably give me a blister, so I returned them. HOWEVER: The leather was nice, i think foot length was true to size, Footbad had a nice softness to it. These just didn't work for me.

I was able to wear these shoes for a full eight hours the first time I put them on. I needed a pair of nice shoes for work and started my search with the Cobb Hill brand because I had such great luck with a pair of black leather boots I had purchased about a year ago. The shoes are stylish and hold up well to a lot of wear. They go well with long pants and the crop pants that I wear in the summer. I wouldn’t wear these shoes for a long walk, but for office walking they are great. And as a project manager who finds face to face communication the best approach I circumnavigate the office several times in a day. The brown color is nice enough for the business casual dress code in my office. The slightly deconstructed finish makes the shoes funky enough for me. I do not enjoy corporate dress so it’s important to be able to put my own sense of style into my dress code. These shoes fit the bill as they are dressy in a very funky way and comfortable even with a small heel. I will continue to shop the Cobb Hill brand because their sizing is accurate, their shoes are high quality and their style is fantastic. I have had these shoes for a year now.

These shoes are just super comfortable and also very cute. They look vintage inspired which really looks high quality. As well they offer lots of support and a modest little heel. I was very impressed by the Cobb hill brand and I will be buying more shoes from them as needed. The leather is very soft and the insole is a nice suede material. I did take the insole out to try my othotic in them and to my surprise i liked the feel of the original insole enough and didnt need to go with orthotics. Usually i have a hard time wearing any shoe for a period of time but i wore these to two holiday parties with no pain at the end of the night. The size was also pretty bang on.

I really love these shoes. They are true to size and very comfortable. The leather is soft and flexible, and the insole provides good support. The lining/insoles are also made of soft, high-quality leather, so they do not rub anywhere and breathe nicely. I can wear them all day! The arch support is not very firm like an orthotic might be; however, they have a touch of metatarsal arch support that my feet really love. I often add insoles to my shoes, but find I do not need them with these. And as an added bonus, these shoes do not make a lot of noise when walking on hard floors. If you hate when people can hear you coming a mile away, you'll love these.Overall, this is a really good shoe. I have been wearing them with suit pants, although they may also look good with tights and a dress. I can't decide if I want to wear them with jeans--in black, I think they may look too dressy with casual clothes, they go best with dress pants/a suit. The brown ones may be more casual, though.