swedish hasbeens Women's Fredrica Platform Sandal

///* About this review: Please note that although I mention fit, style, looks, and quality more generally, my review focuses on the fit of smaller sizes of swedish hasbeens (~US 5-6). If this is not relevant to you, you could skip reading this or just skim it. Reviews that detail sizing, fit and comfort can be immensely helpful in making purchase decisions especially for those who are harder to fit sizes - I know I appreciate such reviews, and I try to provide that information when I write reviews. Of course this means my review may not be as interesting for those who wear different sizes or have different concerns. That's completely understandable. But what I noticed is people tend to vote "not helpful" for reviews of how to find a good fit for smaller shoe and clothing sizes - I noticed on others' reviews first and then I got a couple not helpful votes myself. I am sorry to go on about it, but I wanted to suggest instead of voting "not helpful" maybe just not vote at all? If someone has taken the time to post detailed information but it's not relevant to me (like whether jeans are long enough, almost never a problem for me :)) I don't consider that not helpful, I just skip voting. In my case I am not trying to be a top reviewer of or do I have anything at stake regarding votes on my reviews; I don't even review that much. When I do post a review, I do however aim to provide info that can help people make decisions. Not every review is helpful to everyone. But some specific info about fit can be very useful to people when shopping. I can sometimes provide more generally useful information relevant to most people but in this particular review I am detailing fit issues for small sizes, which will be especially relevant to those who have similar shoe issues. *\\\Now on to the review for those who still want to read after that long preamble :)I ordered several pairs of swedish hasbeen shoes recently. I have problem feet and very painful neuroma. I can't wear sneakers at all due to neuropathy. I actually prefer some heel over flats due to knee and back pain. Finding shoes has been hard for some time, but now that I am not as much of a starving student, I am willing to pay for good shoes that fit and don't hurt. Last few years, I have bought several pairs of $200+ shoes in amazon and even kept some. I adore clogs and have worn them since forever. I love a chunky heel in general. The style of these clog sandals especially just spoke to me. The style avoids rubbing on my worse neuroma, design goes with my wardrobe and aesthetic. The shoes are like little works of art, are environmentally friendly, and help us make a connection to natural materials, as well as the design aesthetics of decades past. What I am getting at is overall, there are lots of reasons why I was keen to try hasbeens and I am just a very easy customer to sell these shoes to!Alas, the sizing... Unfortunately I am not sure I can keep any of these due to them running large, especially in length.First, regardless of your size, I recommend you check the sizing against the manufacturer website, where there is a size chart on every model in inches and cm. It's a bit of a hassle, but you do need to check individual styles as some have the same bottom and thus same length, but some differ. They're not all the same, so if you're concerned about getting a good fit, you'd need to check the site for each shoe. You may find you should get a smaller size than you think you need in some styles (and yes that may be tight widthwise, but you do expect to break shoes like these).Style wise the shoes are great. Comfortable heel height with platform. The nature color will go with anything - I don't normally get neutrals other than black, but this promises to age into an even better color and patina. I also ordered the red, which is also gorgeous. I do want to keep one of them, at least; if they were really comfy I would keep both colors, that's how much I like them.Oh, and even my husband kept commenting they were great - and like many men, he sometimes is not so enthusiastic about chunky shoes or clogs.Now the main problem: if you have any size feet but the smaller end, after checking the chart on the manufacturer website, you can size down if needed. That may need breaking in if you have wide feet. This style was just slightly wider than some other hasbeens I tried - but I wouldn't call it a wide shoe.There's a more serious issue for those who are US sizes 5-6 since you can only order the smallest available, 36. There is nowhere to go down. And that for me is clearly very loose for this shoe. In some other styles the length was even longer. Fredrica is both a little too long but also too wide. This happens to me with many other brands too, and sometimes it's salvageable with insoles. This is tougher with sandals though as any significant insole will be visible.It turns out however there is a solution for those who wear small sizes: hasbeens do make a size 35! However amazon doesn't carry it. In fact I haven't found anyone but the hasbeens own site that has the size 35. If I knew they would fit for sure and not irritate my neuroma, I would order there despite the higher price, but Its a risk so I haven't been able to go ahead with that yet.So for now I will beg, Amazon, PLEASE stock some of the size 35 shoes to your prime inventory, even if just a few of each style. I PROMISE I will buy at least one :) But seriously, it would probably save you in the long run to carry a few of these small sizes because as it is, people who wear size 5 to 6 keep ordering and returning shoes. When sizes 5, 5.5, 35 exists, it would be great if you carried them. I love prime shipping and returns - it's made my life much much easier in terms of shoe shopping (I have complex orthopedic and nerve pain issues so trying on at home is 500% better for me. BUT I do feel bad in terms of environmental effects of all the shipping and returns. So far with shoes, I almost exclusively shop at amazon, but I have had to return much of what I order, and 90% of the time the reason is the same: the smallest size is still too big.Amazon, already have several customers on this Frederica model's review alone asking for a size 35! I saw other hasbeens had similar comments. I think you would easily sell the size 35s if you just got a few in stock for each style. I would have totally kept more than one pair of these hasbeens had they fit (I need both a nude and a red shoe).I hope the review helps some people. And many thanks for considering my suggestion, amazon!Thank you!ETA: I returned the red despite how gorgeous the color was against the light wood. I kept the nature color. If I hadn't gotten a great deal on it, I would have returned it also as they're clearly a bit too big on me. I wouldn't walk hours in them due to concerns of stability but they work for a day at work or an outing. Still hope amazon gets 35s in stock as I want more hasbeens!!

I wear size 6/36 and this is what I purchased but it is slightly bit. I then visited the Swedish Hasbeens website for sizing information and size 36 measures 9.3" while size 5/35 measures 9.1". Unfortunately Amazon doesn't carry size 35 and this is what I need. My shoes usually measure 9".I've done a research online and since this is leather it will stretch so unfortunately I can't keep them since they will stretch more and they are already a little big. It's such a shame because $70 is SUCH a great price!!! This style (Frederica) is sold for over $200 and just Amazon has this sale.Yes, I can tell they are stiff and it will take time to break them in but I think it will be worth it.A lot of people online said they wore socks with these first to break them in, others have conditioned the leather with olive oil (which is a suggestion on the S.H.'s website), other have used band-aids, and a spray to prevent the leather from rubbing against the skin.Do a little research on how to break them in. Don't attempt to wear them to a park for the first time.AMAZON, please get these in size 5!!

These arrived on June 6, 2014. I am a size 9-9.5 and I ordered the 39 BR/9 M in Nature and these fit perfectly. Yes - they are stiff when they arrived. I wore them out everyday for a few hours each day initially to break them in. Around day 3 I treated the leather and the wood with EVOO per the instructions and this gave a nice patina to the leather.A month in they are extremely comfortable and do in fact stretch and mold to your feet. The wooden sole is very comfortable and fits my arch perfectly. The height is flattering but is counterbalanced by the platform at the toe, so you get the effect of a heel without the extreme arch in your foot. I can wear these all day and not feel any discomfort in my feet either on the toes, ball or arch, which is rare.Overall, these were a great deal (I paid $76 late one Saturday night), and I would recommend holding them in your wishlist until the price comes down, which it will. The color is very versatile and is truly a wear-with-anything style. Very pleased with the shoe and the purchase through Amazon.

Beautiful shoe in the box, on the shelf, on my foot. I seriously just want to gaze upon them. I have high arches, so arch support is non existent in most shoes. I wore a band-aid on my left foot where the pinky toe and the band of leather meet b/c it's a problem spot for me no matter the shoe. I wore for at least 8 hours the first wear (a wedding) with no blisters or complaints. I did wear 2 new pairs of Swedish Hasbeens 2 nights in a row, so the bottoms of my feet were a little achy by the end of the 2nd night. I drive stick-shift - was able to drive in these no problem but probably won't again to avoid wearing the heels down. I had lots of compliments on my footwear at the wedding. Versatile shoe, too. Dress up, be casual, wear shorts - these puppies go with everything! Other comments mentioned the clod hopping noise clogs produce when walking - I didn't have this experience, but I do tend to tread lightly regularly - people don't usually hear me coming.

First, these shoes are adorable. With regards to comfort, I've worn them a couple of times and they are pretty comfortable. I think once they are more broken in they will be very comfortable. I did spend a fair amount of time wearing them around the house to break them in before venturing out and used a commercial shoe stretcher spray, which I think helped a lot. My one complaint is that it only came in whole sizes. I am between a 7-7.5. So, I sized down and they feel a little small, but I am sure that an 8 would have been too big. I'm hoping that as they stretch out more they will fit better.