water damage, deterioration, mildew?

I bought these shoes from Farfetch - they were sold by Chuckies New York. Sale price was $348.
They arrived in a SW box, but the box is very beat up. The shoes look brand new, but have an odd odor - I am not sure if they are chemically smelling or mildewy. I left them out of the box for a couple of days and most of the smell has dissipated. I am concerned that maybe they were subject to water damage, not stored right or something else. It has now been about 4 days and the smell is almost completely gone and I do not see any damage to the boot itself. Should I keep these? Thanks so much for any help.

STUART WEITZMAN
'Schizo' stretch boots

Farfetch ID: 11553049
Quantity: 1
Size: 36.5 IT

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The white dust bag I received with my SW boots (new from the store) had a weird disgusting chemical gross smell that showed up a couple of days after. The other colour dust bag from a different pair was ok, but the white one had to be thrown out.
 
I bought these shoes from Farfetch - they were sold by Chuckies New York. Sale price was $348.
They arrived in a SW box, but the box is very beat up. The shoes look brand new, but have an odd odor - I am not sure if they are chemically smelling or mildewy. I left them out of the box for a couple of days and most of the smell has dissipated. I am concerned that maybe they were subject to water damage, not stored right or something else. It has now been about 4 days and the smell is almost completely gone and I do not see any damage to the boot itself. Should I keep these? Thanks so much for any help.

STUART WEITZMAN
'Schizo' stretch boots

Farfetch ID: 11553049
Quantity: 1
Size: 36.5 IT

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Thanks for reposting. I know we're really not supposed to converse on anything other than authenticity on that thread. Without having your boots in hand, I can't tell you what's going on with them other than they're authentic but if the odor is dissipating after only 4 days I wouldn't worry about it if you see no damage to the skins. I don't think it's mildew as in my experience true mildew doesn't go away and if it lessens with being dried it does come back when the item is wet. Definitely keep your boots dry and out where the leather can breathe. Make sure that there is no area on the leather or lining where you see flaking-if you see that with pieces of leather or lining rubbing off you've got dry rot and they should be returned. My guess is that they were just stored somewhere without enough ventilation and once they air out they'll be fine. Do they have a metallic finish or is that the picture? Metallics can have a slight chemical odor from the process. Again, if the leather isn't bad (which you can tell by just slightly rubbing your hands on the skins in an unobvious spot) I think you're OK.
Also, check the rubber sole to make sure it's not the problem. No soling is meant to be twisted and torqued but if you gently flex it you'll know if there's a problem there.
I had an issue with smoke on a Prada I bought from Japan and I buried it in a bag of cat litter (don't laugh) for a few days and it took all the odor away. Report back and hope they're fine.
 
Thanks for reposting. I know we're really not supposed to converse on anything other than authenticity on that thread. Without having your boots in hand, I can't tell you what's going on with them other than they're authentic but if the odor is dissipating after only 4 days I wouldn't worry about it if you see no damage to the skins. I don't think it's mildew as in my experience true mildew doesn't go away and if it lessens with being dried it does come back when the item is wet. Definitely keep your boots dry and out where the leather can breathe. Make sure that there is no area on the leather or lining where you see flaking-if you see that with pieces of leather or lining rubbing off you've got dry rot and they should be returned. My guess is that they were just stored somewhere without enough ventilation and once they air out they'll be fine. Do they have a metallic finish or is that the picture? Metallics can have a slight chemical odor from the process. Again, if the leather isn't bad (which you can tell by just slightly rubbing your hands on the skins in an unobvious spot) I think you're OK.
Also, check the rubber sole to make sure it's not the problem. No soling is meant to be twisted and torqued but if you gently flex it you'll know if there's a problem there.
I had an issue with smoke on a Prada I bought from Japan and I buried it in a bag of cat litter (don't laugh) for a few days and it took all the odor away. Report back and hope they're fine.


Thank you so much!! I feel a lot better now. They are not metallic - it was just the picture. I am not seeing any problems with the sole or the leather. Today the smell is basically gone!