I live in Chicago and typically have no luck finding fabulous looking shoes at an affordable price in any of the stores. The shoes that are in my price point are usually frumpy, uncomfortable, or cheap looking so I decided to not waste my time or energy shopping for shoes at stores, and would only look online. After searching the internet for a sophisticated flat that didn’t look like it belonged on a teeny-bopper I somehow came across a flat by The Frye Company.
I’d never heard of the company but apparently I was in the dark because it’s the oldest continuously operated shoe company in the US. The company’s been making shoes since 1863 and it takes over 190 steps for a shoe to be produced. Their boots have even been worn by Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders and by soldiers in the Civil War and Spanish-American War. Even though they specialize in making cowboy and other work boots, after visiting their website I was surprised to see that they make really stylish and chic boots and shoes for women at affordable prices, and the best part is that the Frye company uses quality leather for both the upper parts of the shoe as well as the soles.
After looking at the array of shoes and flats for women the hardest part of my decision wasn’t whether I should buy the shoes, but which shoe I was going to buy. They make platforms, flats, southwestern style shoes, peep-toes, basket weaves, and even more styles of boots, the list just goes on and on.
I chose to buy a shoe called the Anna Multi-Strap in gold (the shoe wasn’t exactly the right shade of gold on Frye’s website), and after looking at other sites, I saw that shoes.com offered the best deal for the shoe so I purchased it from there. The shoe has about four different straps that go across the middle of the shoe, and because the leather isn’t smooth (it’s cracked leather so has pebbled texture) it looked a little dorky to me, but after trying it on with pants, only two of the straps show and I loved the way it looks. It’s really elegant and can be dressed down with jeans and a cotton shirt, or dressed up with slacks and a blouse.
The shoe was comfortable when I tried it on, but after wearing it for a couple of hours to a local store I did have three small blisters on each foot, one on the back of the foot, the other on the pinky toe, and the last on the side of my big toe. Luckily I wasn’t that far from home so my feet weren’t in that much pain. I’d wear these shoes again because unlike some shoes I’ve had that were painful because of thick and tough leather, the leather on these shoes are really soft. I definitely think that they just need to be broken in fully because they really are a comfortable shoe. I also can see just by the attention to detail given to the inside of the shoe that the makers made an effort to make it as gentle on the foot as they can.
Despite the blisters I was so impressed by this one that I purchased an open-toed gladiator style sandal by the Frye company and this shoe convinced me that they truly make great shoes. The leather is soft and comfortable didn’t irritate my feet and the sole of the shoe makes me feel as if I’m walking on air.
I’d recommend Frye shoes to anyone who’s looking for a beautifully designed, classy looking shoe that’s affordable, versatile, and comfortable (though you might have to break a pair in). All in all after seeing their selection and wearing two of pairs of their shoes I’d give the company 4 out of 5 stars.
