Ferro Joseph M19266PL Black

I went online looking to spend a TOTAL of $200 for TWO pairs of shoes, one black, one brown. I stumbled upon these Ferro Aldo's and was intrigued by the design/style/aesthetic appearance of them. After reading through the reviews of these, as well as the other THREE pairs of Ferro Aldo's I eventually purchased I was hesitant to pull the trigger because I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for; nevertheless I'm like anyone else and love a good deal. That all being stated, these shoes (and the other three pairs I purchased) are actually not a good deal, THEY'RE a GREAT DEAL! For $35.00 I'm more than impressed with these shoes. To reiterate I had my doubts after reading reviews, especially with the concern about the "chemical smell" and was worried that to get to that price they may just be all glued together cheap overseas crud. I can assure you of several things; these are not cheaply made, they're not Florsheims but on a quality scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best I can safely give these shoes a 7 in quality and at that price point that's a far cry from what I was anticipating. The next great thing about these shoes is they are as stylish and good looking in person as they appear in the pictures! I receive compliments daily when wearing these shoes (as well as the other three pairs of Ferro Aldo's) from both male, female colleagues as well as male, female clients/customers. Now to address the "CHEMICAL SMELL" CONCERN; yes the shoes do have a slight "chemical smell" to them upon arrival however I can assure anyone it's not as bad as some reviews have villainized them for. In fact, with all my shoes I always spray them down with a coat or two of generic waterproofing/weather protecting/3m protectant before wearing them and the "chemical smell" from that was far greater than what they came out of the box like. In addition to fully put the "chemical smell" issue to rest, the smell only lasted for about an hour and I had left them outside on the porch to dry from the spraying anyway so after an hour I brought them back in the house and the smell had dissipated to the point of non existence. Comfort wise the insole they come with is surprisingly decent and quality. I do put my own insoles in them but I do so with all of my dress/work shoes so the bottom line on comfort is you'll be just fine with the insoles they come with. There's not much breakin period with these things either, you can pretty much lace em up and roll. OH! Speaking of laces, fun little caveat to these and all the Ferro Aldo shoes is how they're laced right out of the box. In college working at Foot Locker I learned to lace shoes straight across as opposed to criss cross up the shoe, and on dress shoes have always thought the straight across lacing looked better and that's how the shoes are laced right out of the box (silly I know, but it's the little things in life) !!! The ONLY thing to be aware of is sizing with these. I can confirm the sizing runs large. I typically wear a 9-10mens regular width, and ordered these in a size 8 regular width, and could probably have gotten away with a 7 1/2 so keep in mind when ordering to order at least one full size smaller than you actually wear. All in all, these shoes are excellent in every way, and my original plan of spending $200 for two pairs turned into spending only $150 for FOUR pairs all together! Simply put, buy these shoes along with a couple other Ferro Aldo's, save yourself about 70% on each pair, get a GREAT deal, AND receive a GREAT product, you kinda can't lose with these shoes because even if they fall apart within six months I still wouldn't change/amend this review because I paid $35 for a darn good looking shoe. Ignore the "chemical smell" reviews, buy these shoes with confidence, you'll be pleasantly surprised...

Ok, so this is my initial reaction to the shoes, I will likely need to update after some more wear on them.They arrived quickly and well packaged, which is pretty normal for Amazon. When I opened them each shoe was in a sleeve and there was a shoe horn in the box, which proved to be important.There was a very powerful, almost gasoline smell when I removed the shoe from the sleeve. This is not strictly speaking bad because it points not to a gasoline spill, but the presence of shoe polish. Not something you get with every shoe, but it points to some of the manufacture techniques typically seen with a better shoe.I was wearing running shoes from a WO not long before delivery so I kicked them off to try the new shoes on. Tip, white cotton socks are not appropriate with this shoe. They didn't feel good or look good XD.Despite the wardrobe faux pax I found I needed to adjust the laces for a bit more width and use the shoe horn to get them on. Once adjusted they felt a bit snug. I've definitely got a wide foot and would appreciate a bit more room, but it wasn't uncomfortable so I'm good with them as they are.The bottom of the shoe is super slick with no rubber grip. With a bit of wear I expect to have some grip but I'm pretty sure I could slide on the carpet in these just like sliding on a hardwood floor in my socks.All things considered I really like the style and appreciate the apparent quality. I'll be wearing these most of the day next week for a wedding. I'lll definitely want to put them on a few times for shorter stretches before because the leather is pretty stiff and I expect that to work out with some wear.

This shoes are very stylish, but I ignored the warning from others about the chemical smell thinking how bad can it be. Well, it is pretty horrible. It must be the glue used, but it is unbearable and makes me wonder what chemicals are getting into my body through my feet and my nostrils. I tried wearing this shoes a couple of times, but both times other people commented on the smell and my socks and feet smelled the same for hours after I stopped wearing them.I reached out to the company for a refund and they agreed. The problem is that to ship the shoes back I would have to pay about $10 or $15, plus the company charges a restocking fee if they see any wear on the shoe. For a $30 shoe is just not worth the effort. So I decided to try to get rid of the smell with these methods:-Airing them outside twice for 24 hours-Pouring talcum powder inside and out-Dousing them with a lemongrass infusing oil inside and all over the outside where the sole meets the top.-Using an entire 850g can of OdorZout in a closed plastic bag for 36 hours.None of these methods worked. So if you want to pay $30 for a pair of stylish shoes that you won't be able to wear then this shoe is for you.If you own the shoes and know of another method to get rid of the stench please let me know.

Order one size smaller than you normally wear. The shoes arrived darker than they appear in the photos and they do smell very very strong of chemicals/petroleum. I have kept them outside for 4 straight days and the smell has subsided 50%- yet not quite enough to keep indoors. I tried wiping them down to keep socks and pants from smelling like it, but the smell still transferred.UPDATE:2 weeks more and the smell is still too strong to keep in the house. If you're wearing them & standing, the smell is tolerable but if you're sitting & especially driving, the smell is nauseating. It constantly smells like you've spilled fuel all over yourself.