My Tieks Experience

I have been hearing about Tieks for years now and after tossing most of my flats that no longer fit, I decided to take the plunge. A quality crafted shoe that molds to your foot, no matter the size or width? Intrigued, I ordered a pair of Matte Black flats in a size 9 and 10. Two days later, my new Tieks were at my door.

For reference, I am a size 9.5M/9W in flats. I sometimes wear a 9W since years of dance have ruined resulted in a bunion on my right foot. The 9 was too tight but the 10 fit perfectly. Since Tieks has amazing customer service, I was able to return the size 9 flats without any problems. But despite the seemingly perfect fit, I still felt like the flats were too good to be true. So for almost a week, I wore them around the house for a few minutes everyday. Once I was sure that the size was correct and that they felt comfortable (read: supportive and not irritating to le bunion), I finally wore them outside of the house  to work.

THE BREAK-IN PERIOD

The first day of wearing my Tieks and introducing them to the harsh reality that are the sidewalks of NYC was not a pleasant one. As the day wore on, the flats only felt more and more uncomfortable. They became so uncomfortable that I had to change my shoes by the end of the day. I didn’t even want to think of trying to wear them again but I had to give them another try.

I tried wearing them again the following week and while the first two days of wear were still painful, I could feel them starting to loosen. There continued to be days when I would experience rubbing on my heel and the top of my foot, but the more I wore them, the more this seemed to decrease. After about 2 weeks of consistent wear, the flats started to mold to my feet and feel more comfortable. On a scale of 1 to 10 for comfort, they were at about a 6.

OVERALL…

Even though the flats were a bit too casual for the office, I had hoped they would be better suited for commuting and running errands.I really wanted to love my Tieks, but no matter what I did, they just never felt quite right on my feet. The quality and craftsmanship are excellent and their customer service sets the standard for what customer service should be. But at $175 a pair, it was hard to justify such an expensive pair of flats when the fit wasn’t quite there. With that, the search for the perfect flat continues. (If you happen to have it, please let me know!)