I've been wearing these shoes since they arrived a few days after I bought them. They come with white laces, thank goodness. (although they looked a lot better than the red in the photo) The red is a nice bright red that goes with the picture. If they had an 8.5 I would buy them as the 9 seems half the size. I forgot ammo usually lasts a long time. Anyway these shoes are the best and my dad (who grew up in the 70's) loves them so much!