I don’t know what to do about my espadrilles

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

S

stephyb92

Member
Feb 6, 2021
7
17
#1
I live in Devon, U.K. and when I was on a city break in Manchester last July I bought a pair of black lambskin espadrilles and a little pouch.
When in the store, I tried on a eur 41 and a eur 40. The eur 41 felt great, I could barely get the eur 40 on. I mean, the top of the shoe was cutting in to the top of my foot and it was embarrassing. But the SA, Gabrielle, told me to get that size because the leather would stretch and the 41 would just look sloppy once the leather expanded. She said they are meant to be a tight fit.
Since then, I haven’t worn them out ONCE. I can’t get them on anymore. They are just too tight.
I wasn’t in a position to go back to Manchester to to the boutique.
I have filled out the contact us form on the Chanel website 3 times since then and had no reply whatsoever. I still have the receipt.
I don’t know what to do, they cost me £650. It was my first ever Chanel purchase and I’ve never spent that kind of money on shoes in my life.
Feeling quite angry and upset that I haven’t had any wear from them and have heard sweet FA from them.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: thundercloud, maxroxxherhandbags, BreezyE and 1 other person
#2
I’m sorry, it’s frustrating when you get bad advice from a SA. I think the best thing to have done (beyond not buying shoes that didn’t fit) was call the store as soon as you got home and realized they didn’t work. You might have been able to post them back.

Now it has been almost a year and I don’t think there is much you can do with Chanel. You could try calling I guess but at this point I think the only option is to try and sell them yourself.

Alternatively take them to a cobbler and see if they can be professionally stretched.
 
  • Like
  • Insightful
Reactions: thundercloud, BreezyE and A bottle of Red
#3
Have you tried putting them on with a shoe horn? I do agree with the advice as the leather on espadrilles is extremely soft and when I first got mine I made the mistake of buying the ones that fit best. After reading advice I swapped them for the size down that felt soooo small and were so hard to put on. The trick is to fold the back of the shoe downed slide your foot all the way in as much as possible and then use a shoe horn to get the heel on. They will feel extremely tight especially over the top and will feel like they are cutting in but they will stretch out and mould to your foot. Try wearing them at home for a few hours. If this fails them I suggest selling them or asking a cobbler to help. But stretching them too much before wearing them may leave them too loose once they have been worn a few times.
 
  • Like
Reactions: papertiger, waterlily112 and SweetPKN
#4
I would try to wear them somewhere short distance. If you cannot even do that, I'd contemplate to sell via a reseller. Shoes shouldn't be this difficult. This is why I don't buy Chanel shoes for fear of regret and fit issues, and very difficult to return. It's like you're just buying a pair of expensive shoes from Saks or Neiman. At least department stores make returns easy.

Sorry to hear about this.
 
#8
Rainbowfish85 said:
Have you tried putting them on with a shoe horn? I do agree with the advice as the leather on espadrilles is extremely soft and when I first got mine I made the mistake of buying the ones that fit best. After reading advice I swapped them for the size down that felt soooo small and were so hard to put on. The trick is to fold the back of the shoe downed slide your foot all the way in as much as possible and then use a shoe horn to get the heel on. They will feel extremely tight especially over the top and will feel like they are cutting in but they will stretch out and mould to your foot. Try wearing them at home for a few hours. If this fails them I suggest selling them or asking a cobbler to help. But stretching them too much before wearing them may leave them too loose once they have been worn a few times.
Click to expand...
This. I own 2 pairs of espadrilles, one in my regular size and one that I sized down by one full size. I can't wear my regular size pair anymore because they've stretched out beyond belief, half of my feet would just slid right out as I start to walk. The pair I sized down still fit very comfortably once the leather stretched out a bit. I think in addition to the length, SA should adjust their recommendation based on the width of the clients' feet as well. I think in my case because I have very narrow feet, so the pair I sized down didn't feel painful or impossible to put on, just pinch my ankles and big toes initially until I wore them a few times around the house.

@stephyb92 - do you still have the SA's contact info? Maybe you can call or text her to see if she can arrange an exchange for you? If not, I'd try wearing them around to the house to see if you're able to break them in or stretch the leather, or bring them to your local cobbler to make some adjustment. Measure the espadrilles to your most comfortable flats to see if it's the width and/or the length that need some adjusting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rainbow.fish
#10
What response are you wanting a year later? (Although that’s still no excuse for no response). While I get you couldn’t go back to the store then they definitely could’ve been shipped back within the return period. You will have to take this as a loss and sell them for less than you paid. Let this be a lesson to not take a year, nor let an SA persuade you to leave the store with uncomfortable shoes! SA can only advise but they aren’t wearing the shoes with your feet. Sorry if this was too blunt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top