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Born Arletta questions

Ariadne

Veteran

I *still* haven't filled the hole in my shoe-drobe left by the death of my ballet flats. I keep coming back to the Born Arlettas, but I'd have to order them from the US and/or ebay and wouldn't be able to try them on first. I'm hoping those of you who own them could help me out with a couple of questions--

Do they run narrow? If anyone owns a size 8, could you measure the width at the widest point?

Do they make your feet look long? Some oxfords I've tried on really do that.

How dark is the charcoal color?

Are they 8-hour walking shoes?

TIA!

Shopping

19 replies

Latest reply was from Ariadne

kellygirl

Veteran

The charcoal is gorgeous--very rich and dark but definitely dark grey--not black. I'm a 7 in almost all of my shoes, sometimes a 7.5. I tried the 7 in these and they felt a little on the snug size width wise. I'm not sure if my feet were swollen but I would have sized up to a 7.5 so that I could wear them with socks. These have a more rounded toe--I don't think they lengthen the foot at all. Just my 2 cents.

Ariadne

Veteran

I'm usually an 8 but sometimes an 8.5 (I take an 8.5 in Clarks, for example), and my feet are on the wide side for sure. Do you think maybe I should be looking for these in 8.5?

kellygirl

Veteran

I know a bunch of forum members will chime in--this is a popular shoe around here. I wear a 7 in Clarks and my foot is pretty average--maybe slightly on the wider side of normal. The length of the 7 was good but I could tell it would be too snug with socks and my intention was for these to be a fall/winter shoe.

Diana

Veteran

I have two pairs of Arlettas. Mine are a 7.5, so I would think the 8 would be pretty close. And I happen to be wearing them today so I can measure them right now (plus I even took a bad ipad photo for you!). They are 3.5" at the widest part of the foot, which on me is right at my big toe joint. I would say that they DO run narrow - I have narrow feet and very shallow insteps, but I do have a bunion. They don't bug my bunion, especially after wearing a couple times - the leather is quite soft and will stretch even if it feels tight at first. I'm not sure someone with wide feet would be able to wear them though, especially if your feet are wide at the heel (mine are super narrow at the heel and more normal width at the front.) I bought my true size.

Definitely 8 hour shoes for me! I add a 3/4 length arch support because I have terrible flat feet. I also always wear secret socks for comfort and they don't show at all. If you are planning to wear these barefoot I will mention that they have the typical annoying Born footbed covered with rough stitching (but a sock or a cheap insole will fix that problem). And they do not make my feet look long. I find that some of the more menswear-inspired oxfords do have a very elongating look because there is a lot of space between the laces and the toe, but the combo of the almond toe and the brogue detailing on the arlettas actually visually shortens the front part.

I don't know about the charcoal color - my grey ones are a discontinued old grey color that was more distressed and lighter. I remember someone here posted a K/R and I thought they were black but turned out to be charcoal, so I'd say they are pretty dark.

ETA: Mine (both the gold ones in the photo and my grey ones) are really distressed but I believe that this season's colors are not distressed at all.

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RunnerChick

I have these too, but have not yet worn them.

Diana, don't know if mine is the K/R to which you are referring. Ariadne, if you want to take a look at what folks said, or if you want pics, you can go to: http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....rletta-k-r. These are the charcoal, but they look almost black. It works for me, as it bookends my hair well.

I'm not sure if I will keep them yet; with my wardrobe (which is not as edgy as Diana's), these shoes (especially given the color) can come across as sensible, and while my footwear is all about comfort, I'm not sure I am ready to go to "sensible" yet.

I have pretty narrow feet too, and I'd say (without actually giving them an 8 hour workout) that these will last me at least 8 hours.

Ariadne

Veteran

Thanks for the input everyone, this is so helpful! Diana, I love your gold ones. Those would be wonderful for in the summer. What secret socks do you wear, specifically? I need some badly.

I *think* my feet are wide at the front but not at the heel. I'll measure the booties I was wearing today and see how they compare to your measurements, Diana. Interesting about the various grey colours. What I want is the lighter more distressed grey, and I was thinking that was the charcoal--didn't realize it's actually a discontinued colour. These are the ones I was looking at on ebay:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Born-Ar.....756wt_1087

They must be the discontinued colour (stone, maybe?) because they look much lighter than the ones you posted, RunnerChick.

I am a little worried about them coming across as Sensible Shoes. What I originally wanted to find was a pair of flat two-tone oxfords in lower-contrast colours, like black and pewter or black and cognac or black and nude, or something like that, but no luck.

Ariadne

Veteran

Okay, my super comfy Aldo booties in size 8.5 measure 3.5" across at the widest point. Maybe my feet aren't wide after all? I recently noticed many of my shoes are too small and have started buying size 8 or 8.5 when I used to buy 7/7.5. I thought my feet had grown, but perhaps I was just wearing the wrong size all along and that's why I thought my feet were wide! Then again, I have trouble finding sandals that I can get on my feet and that have footbeds my feet don't spill over the edges of...

Diana

Veteran

Ariadne, I'm pretty sure the ones I have are the stone color in the ebay link.

I like the secret socks that are a little more substantial than nylons. I have a few pairs with padding at the ball of the foot that are great - unfortunately I got them at somewhere like TJ maxx and I don't know the brand. But my new favorites are these smartwool ones! They are a little pricey, but very comfy, seem durable, don't fall off, and actually come in sizes so they fit correctly.
http://www.zappos.com/smartwoo.....1b2166becc

I should add though that I don't wear ballet flats so I can get away with slightly higher vamp secret socks. I don't think you could wear these with ballet flats. (Although to be honest back when I did wear ballet flats I never, ever found any secret socks that did not show in them.)

ETA: In addition to the footbed width, you might need to consider the shoe depth too. I have really low arches and shallow insteps so my feet are very shallow from top to bottom. I'm not sure a really high arched foot would be comfortable in this shoe, although I did have room for an arch support in there, so maybe.

Ariadne

Veteran

I have no idea if I have a high or low arch or what my foot depth is. How do you tell?

Thanks for the sock links! I also never ever found no-show socks that didn't show with ballet flats. I don't think they exist. I want something to wear with booties and Cons, and oxfords if I ever actually buy them.

Diana

Veteran

Hmm, not sure how to tell what one's foot depth is. I think high arched/deep instep people often have problems getting things like pull-up Frye boots on over their foot. I on the other hand always have extra room at the top of the foot (above the arch) in my Fryes. I can also almost always add a 1/2 inch arch support in most of my shoes and they still fit.

(So the way I actually found out that I have shallow insteps was that I was knitting some socks and knitting the heel/instep to the depth stated in the pattern made them enormous on me. But, unless you knit, that's kind of a useless metric.)

Ariadne

Veteran

Interesting. I have lots of trouble getting pull-on boots onto my feet so I bet I have a high arch or deep instep or both. I had to get my Fryes stretched twice before I could get them on without a sweaty, epic battle.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Here I am in my brown Arlettas. http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....-three-not (pic 1)

They were a bit narrow in the forefoot when I first got them but are fine now after several wearings. To me they are 8-hour plus shoes. I think they are true to size, and the tie feature allows you to make them looser or tighter to fit your foot. I don't wear arch supports, and these have a little bit of support, and a good cushion between foot and floor.

I love mine. I just got the charcoal gray ones today! I do like the velvet ribbon laces, too. But they come with regular cord laces also. They are size 8. The widest part of the sole is 3.5 inches, but if I squish the leather upper flat and measure the widest part on the top of the shoe, it is about 4.25 inches. The leather is soft.

Ariadne

Veteran

Very pretty! If anything, based on yours and Diana's photos, they make feet look small. cjh, if you get a chance, could you measure the length for me too?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Can't help on the Arletta sizing but to test for high arches, you can basically just look at your foot...or dip it into water and put on a piece of paper. http://www.runnersworld.com/ar.....-0,00.html

A high instep is a separate thing, though they are usually associated, I believe.

http://www.superfeet.com/foot-......aspx?FL=H

biscuitsmom

Veteran

Have you looked at these? They are comfy and come in different widths and colors....I have the bronze/drk brown combo...http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/mu.....tback=2765 Also, with Nordies great return policy, you can try them for a month or two and return if they dont work out!

Ariadne

Veteran

Those are nice, biscuitsmom! I like the wine colored ones. I suspect they'd be too dressy and classic to mix well with my clothes, though. They're also probably too pricey for me, once I factor in duty and shipping to Canada. Have you shown them in any WIW posts?

Ariadne

Veteran

Eep! I bought the stone ones on eBay. Cross your fingers for me that they work out!

Diana

Veteran

I hope they work out for you! I love mine.

Here is a photo of my stone Arlettas. I think they were a little darker when I first got them, but you can see that they are now actually the same color as the stones I'm standing on!

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Ariadne

Veteran

I love them, Diana. I hope they work out for me.