I posted here a few months ago to get some feedback on my progress and everyone was so nice and supportive! You folks gave me the confidence to try more difficult patterns. I’m so pleased with how everything has turned out and it’s all thanks to your encouragement that I even attempted to make these cuties.
Hi everyone! I recently purchased Shapen's Orchid barefoot sandals and wanted to provide some input for anyone who may be thinking about buying them; especially those ordering them to the US as Shapen does not accept any returns from the US.
I reviewed their size charts, measured my feet several times, and trusted the few sources I could find about their comfort/fitment for different volumes of feet. Everything checked out so I placed my order and was very excited to find that they fit beautifully in length and width. However, after trying to buckle the strap, I realized that they did not fit in one the measurement I had not considered. The strap was too short.
Listen folks, I have a high volume foot but I figured that since I have chicken ankles I would not have to worry, but I was wrong. I tried to tighten the slack, mess with the strap orientation, but even on the loosest notch the stitching was digging into my ankle and I could not flex my foot without a serious possibility of ripping the strap entirely.
Luckily, there is a bit of room to add an additional hole to the end of the strap, but buckling it that far down places the transition from the round portion of the strap to the flat connection end front and center of the ankle and it's a bit of an eyesore. Since the shoes are not returnable I will unfortunately be taking them to a local cobbler to have the strap extended in the least visually off-putting way. It is disappointing considering the cost of the shoes and the cost of duties/fees, but overall they are are well made and stylish.
Long story short, if you have high volume feet or thick ankles, just consider whether they're cute enough to justify the cost of an alteration at a cobbler.