Adi Shoes from CSN Stores review

Remember these? As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, CSN Stores contacted me about potentially doing a review. I agreed to do it and was sent a $35 gift certificate, which I used on the $36 pair of shoes shown above. New pair of shoes for one dollar! Yay!

When I was looking for something to buy, I immediately gravitated toward grey non-boot shoes. Despite my adoration of the color grey, I didn't have any grey shoes, just boots. Last year, at the school at which I worked, one of the students had a beautiful pair of grey suede (maybe leather?) wedges and I immediately, upon seeing her, realized that I really wanted a pair also. So when CSN Stores gave me this opportunity and I saw the studded beauties from Adi Designs Women's Tampa shoes, I thought that it was time to fulfill my dream of grey flats.

As I was a high school Spanish teacher last year, I'm used to grading things on a check / check-plus / check-minus basis. So I thought it would be fun to "grade" my new shoes and ordering experience as if it were subjunctive homework from a tenth-grader.

Use of site: √+
- CSN Stores was a breeze to use and super-convenient. I especially liked that it shows you what you've been viewing previously (not that that's a novelty, but always appreciated). It lets you know when your product has been shipped and lets you track it.

Shipping: √-
- As a site that sells apparel, it is in competition - purposely or no - with sites such as Zappo's or www.endless.com, sites that pride themselves on their quick shipping. I ordered my shoes on a Saturday and got them nine days later. Tracking them made it that much more tortuous. However, shipping on many products is free, as it was on these shoes.

 Amalía was pretty excited by the arrival of the box

Overall Product: √ / √+

- The shoes are pretty cool. They looked exactly as they did on the site:

See? pretty, huh? And super-neat. I'm really glad I went with them. I feel a little ambiguous about the whole ankle-strap thing because I've read that they're not very flattering. I had a pair of ankle-strapped leather shoes once upon a time and I always thought they were cute.

Oh, hi, teal tights! Don't worry about it, people. I know that the buckles are at a suspect place at this picture, but see? Not so unflattering. Here's a full shot:

Meet the rest of my living room! So don't worry about my outfit here. Just focus on the cuteness and surprising flattery of the new shoes. Not bad, eh?

I also really like the stud detailings on the toes and ankle straps. I don't have any studded products, so these shoes take me straight to bad-ass land!

That's a nice touch, no?

Comfort: √
- I haven't worn these for an outing yet, so I can't speak too much about the comfort, but the brand is known for its comfortable shoes, so I have hopes. I think there'll need to be a break-in period though.

Quality: √
- Let's face it: this is not an expensive shoe. The sticker on the bottom of the shoes reminds me that it's all made of man-made material and, frankly, it shows. There seems something a little ... plastic-y? About the whole thing. Also, the left shoe has a couple of flaws at the toe (some of the "leather" seems to have scraped off and there's another little flap that's loose):

You can see the two teensy flaws on the left shoe. Also, the bad-ass studs!

Overall satisfaction: √+

 - I think these shoes are adorable; they fit a niche in my wardrobe that needed more edge (and grey); they're basic, but with some unexpected details that make them memorable and fun. My experience with CSN Stores was also very satisfactory. Although I wish they sprung for faster shipping, their shipping is free, so there is that. Anyways, I'm glad that I was able to have this opportunity. Thanks, CSN Stores!