Hey everyone! I promised I would let you all know what I thought about Tieks - so here's the first update!
I held my breath and ordered the shoes. (It made me want to puke, but I'm really trying hard to do the whole 'quality over quantity' thing. Plus, I want a good pair of shoes that I can wear with everything and that will last. I don't want to have to take the time to find the "perfect" pair of shoes every few months. I don't have time for that. I just want a great pair of shoes that I can put on every day without having to think about it.)
Since I'm normally a half-size, I ordered a size up. (I've been known to have a large foot. This makes for a good foundation; though, it's slightly nightmarish when it comes to shoes.) I picked the Taupe. (I figured this was a good color that I could wear to the office and also with my Jeans on Saturday.) I received an email an hour after ordering saying that my shoes were on their way. I was really shocked by how fast that happened!
My shoes came in two days later. The packaging was really cute - and there was a handwritten note. The shoes were cute and comfortable... but, I didn't wear them off of the carpet because I had heard that they stretch out just a bit. While they felt fantastic, I was worried that if they stretched any at all, they would be too big. (Once you wear them outside, they're yours. No returns once they hit the dirt.)
SO - I emailed customer service. I had heard they were great. I was about to find out the truth for myself. (It's just as fantastic as I had heard!) I explained how the shoes fit my feet and asked if they thought if maybe I should try another size. They emailed me back within few hours. (They're on California time. If I'm remembering correctly, my email was answered within the first couple business hours their time. Really impressed with that!) One of their super-nice people (Marisa) talked me through it, and said that while it's personal preference, they did sound as if they might be a tad too big and that I may want to try the smaller size. She walked me through how I could go on the website and put in for a return. They would ship me the shoes in the size and color of my choice along with a return label. I would have two weeks to return the pair that didn't fit. (Yes, you can change color and/or size! I chose the same color, just in the smaller size. If you change to one of the more expensive styles, apparently they just charge the card on file.)
I put my Tieks back in their box and waited. USPS tracking said that I should get my new pair on Friday.
USPS had me in knots. They didn't show up Friday. I did some tracking. After a few days, they were marked as "Delayed" and apparently had found their way to Texas. Want to talk about sad? I emailed Marisa. She said to give it a bit more time since they were still marked "In Transit" to see if USPS could get them going and if they hadn't moved in a day or so, we'd see about contacting them. She would make a note to my account that I would need more time before my original shoes would be able to make it back due to shipment delays.
I did some bemoaning and some praying. I'll be honest, at 29 years old, I was wandering around pouting like my 3 year old because I didn't have my shoes yet. At 2 AM I received a text (Yep, I stalk my mail.) that my shoes had made it from some place I had never heard of in Texas - to Greenville. At 4 AM I received a text that my shoes were in Gaffney. My shoes were on my feet at 11 AM! (I think total time, I waited about 8 days on the second pair? Can't remember exacts.)
These also arrived in a super cute package with a handwritten note. I tried on both shoes. (My sister quickly tried on the size 9's out of curiosity and they were a better fit for her. We wear the same size shoe, usually. Her foot is a tad wider and just that little bit made the difference for her.) I made the decision to stick with the smaller size. I'm really glad I did. I wasn't sure what I thought the first day. I had been wearing a pair of flats that had rubbed my foot raw and so I couldn't tell if they were rubbing my feet or if my feet had just been raw from the other shoes. Two days later, I sent my BFF&E Lindsey the following text: "These shoes are like yoga pants for your feet." So far, I continue to stand by that text. They are super comfortable! I haven't worn another pair of shoes (other than my bedroom shoes) since. They're super soft on top. Those teal bottoms are like tennis shoes. They don't rub my feet. My big toe was a little sore the first day, but I had been having problems with an ingrown toenail. (Ew, Gross. I know... Sorry. Just want to make sure I give you all the facts. $175 is a lot of money for a pair of shoes. If you're like me, you want all the facts before you take the plunge.) Once I took care of that, I didn't have any trouble with that either. I kicked at the pavement to move a nail out of the road, and I got the TEE-TINIEST of a little mark on the very end of one of them, but that was my own stupidity, and I'm the only one that can see it.
As of right now, I'd say that I would hands-down buy them again. I'll try to keep you updated on how they work in the long run!
