Sole Society Shoes

I would recommend Sole Society as a good website to purchase shoes if you're on a budget. Although not as cheap as the other sites, it has more comfortable and classic shoes. The sizing is not consistent, however, and quality is (obviously) not as good as more expensive shoes.


I don't know how I feel about these new "cheapo" shoe sites, like Shoedazzle, Just Fab, etc. I've ordered from Shoedazzle before, and while their shoes are certainly very inexpensive, they're also generally pretty cheap. They're not very comfortable, and don't look very durable upon close scrutiny. Luckily, most of the available shoes are just trendy, faddish shoes, so it's okay if they don't last very long.

Sole Society, in my mind, is one step higher than Shoedazzle and Just Fab. Their shoes are slightly more expensive, and are less trendy and more classic looking. Also, they promise to use genuine leather/suede for a lot of their shoes. Furthermore, Nordstrom sells Sole Society shoes, so that gives them some sense of respectability. (And frankly, their website is a lot more professional, although the Shoedazzle site has improved a lot ever since Rachel Zoe took over.)

Anyway, I watched some Julianne Hough interview the other day, and she mentioned that she was guest curating a shoe collection on Sole Society, so I thought I would check the site out. I've been unimpressed by many of the recent Shoedazzle releases. When I signed up, I got a discount, so I decided to buy three pairs of shoes. Right away, I can tell that the Sole Society shoes are less sky-high, on-trend, and glitzy than the other sites. I would say that these shoes are comparable to Shoemint shoes. They're a little tamer--less club night, more brunch date.

As for customer service, I haven't really had to deal with them so I can't speak to it. I have heard some nightmare stories on the internet about their customer service. I used both their phone customer service and online chat service; both were professional, quick, courteous and resolved my issue. I also found that they processed my refund in a timely manner. One thing I found strange was that they don't have an exchange program--you have to return your shoes for credit and then just buy a different size. Obviously, this seems to take an unnecessarily long time, when they could just as easily do exchanges. Another oddity was that I never received a shipping confirmation, so it was a surprise when the shoes just showed up one day.

Anyway, without further ado, here are the three four shoes I ordered, and my thoughts on each pair

$29.98

These shoes were super cute. They are a pink tweed pump, and I would have loved to wear them with a gray suit on a more casual day. However, they were one size too big. I ended up returning the Size 7's and purchasing Size 6's on final sale, but they were then too small! It is such a shame, because these were my favorite. I guess the search is on for another pair of tweed shoes.

$49.95, but 20% off

These shoes are a great, vibrant hot pink. I wore them to dinner the other night with skinny jeans and a black top. I think that they're uncomfortable though--it's hard to tell because I haven't worn heels in a long time. The shoes themselves were not bad, it's the height that was killer. However, I have been looking for some bright pink pumps for a while, and these are pretty good. I found them true to size.

$59.95, but 20% off

I really liked these pumps. The heel height is perfect. The website says they are made from real suede, and I can believe it. The photo is complete rubbish, and does not show the gorgeous not-quite-teal-green color. Also, the heels are a beautiful cobalt blue, which adds a touch of color-blocking and something special to these suede shoes. I haven't worn them yet, but I can see them working equally well for work and days off. When I wore them around the apartment, they were comfortable and true to size.

As I said, I ended up returning the pink tweeds and ordering a new size. Since they had a final sale going on, I purchased yet another pair of pumps (I know, I know, four pairs of shoes!) I haven't had a chance to catalog my latest round of shoes yet, so here is a stock photo:

$29.98

These were so cute and comfortable. Again, something I can totally see sprucing up a boring work outfit. They're also made from real suede. They look true to the photo above, but I ordered a 6.5 and they fit perfectly, so they probably run a bit large. The problem with these shoes (and some of the other Sole Society shoes) was that the sole was glued on kind of sloppily, so sometimes it was pressed up against the toe box.