These shoes are rubbish compared to the ones I've bought before. In the past they were tied to the new balance brand. Eventually Rockport took over the production of these shoes. ROCKPORT completely changed the shoes and made them cheaper. I wore my new pair for two weeks and got blisters on my heels. This is my fourth pair of Dunham Blair shoes (in the last 6 years) and I feel like my take on these shoes comes from a huge fan with a thousand hours in them. The first pair I wore felt like I was wearing trainers. They were sooo comfortable, and since then every pair has felt the same (before my new pair, the exact same model of shoe, the Blair). In comparison, the new pair's leather feels almost fake (like plastic) and cheap. The old pairs I had were very pretty and soft like a second skin. The new pair has little to no padding around the upper over the heel and ankle. This caused me great pain. They rub my healing through my socks causing blisters and pain. After a whole weekend of heavy use, I stopped wearing my new pair. I never had to break in previous shoes, they were ready to go out of the box, this pair I thought maybe they would break in a few days (I tried to give them a chance), they didn't get any better. I live in work shoes. Comfort is the number one reason why I chose Blair Dunham shoes. unfortunately these are no longer the same shoes as in March 2021. I ask everyone who once liked these shoes to look elsewhere. I used to be the biggest fan. Too bad the new owner ruined these shoes.