My love of Dansko shoes is pretty well documented, so you can imagine my excitement when I was offered a new pair of Danskos of my choice to review. In fact, it’s been hard to keep quiet about it around here – not having the time to take photos and write a proper view was killing me.

Originally I had wanted to try the Diana, which has received rather mixed reviews on Zappos. I love the design, but knowing that my feet are tricky to fit, I had been hesitant to try them. Turns out that they aren’t a good choice for high-arched folks like me – a couple of emails were exchanged, and Dansko explained to me that “The Diana is designed for a low volume, low arch foot.” Well, that rules me out! Instead, the Mae – the very shoe I had been all wanty over just days before – was recommended, to which I said, YES, PLEASE! In red – er, Pomegranate – of course.

I was very pleased when my Dansko box arrived a couple days later. These shoes are even more gorgeous in person than in photos, and the leather is a beautiful quality and color. And that little black stitching detail? Absolutely adorable.

Okay, so they look great. But how do they feel?

Besides having rather troublesome arches, my feet are a bit on the wide side. This often makes for a difficult fit for my favorite style of shoes – Mary Janes, of course. The combination of high arch + wide forefoot can lead to “hot spots” where the edge of the shoe hits my foot…

Lots of room for my stubby little feets :)

But not with these! As promised by Dansko, these have plenty of room. I wore them, without socks, right out of the box, and on the first day they were trouble-free – comfortable and supportive and no complaints at all. The fit is true to size, similar to the stapled clogs but with a bit more wiggle room in the toe box.

On the second day, though, the heels began to rub a bit, causing me to break out the emergency moleskin I always carry with me. While I’m sure they’ll be fine after another wearing or two, I may wear them with socks* a couple times before going sockless again.

The verdict? I would buy these in an instant. In fact, there’s a good chance that I will buy them in black.

Comfort:

Looks:

Support:

Overall:

Thank you, Dansko, for letting me try out a style from your Golden Gate collection – the first I’ve tried in several years (the last were the Jade, which we here at Chez Shoes love and miss, oh so much). I’ll definitely be expanding my Dansko shoe wardrobe beyond the stapled clogs – in fact, I may have already started.

*I have a *very good reason* to do so. More on that later!