Columbia Vallejo....

I bought the Columbia Vallejo from Zappos.com during the winter, and I have finally gotten some chances to wear them. I believe I paid somewhere in the $50 range for them, but to be honest it has been about 4 months ago so I can’t really recall the price- but I do know that it wasn’t really all that expensive.

When I find a shoe in my size I feel pretty lucky considering I wear ladies 5. I needed a pair of brown sandals to replace some that were falling apart. I didn’t want to get some cheapies like I was replacing, because they had become worn out too fast. Also, I didn’t want to sacrifice comfort either.

Like I said, I bought the brown, but I think there is a black available as well. The color is a lighter brown, and it has contrast ecru colored stitching on the outer edge of the footed and around the area where the footed meets the lower part of the shoe, which is black. The stitching is also around the edges of the strap. These shoes go on like flip flops in that there is a piece of material that goes in between the first two toes. These shoes have about a ½ inch heel on them as well. There is the Columbia logo written in an off white color in the heel area of the footed, but when your foot is in there you can’t see it.

As far as fit goes, these fit just right and I don’t find that they are too wide nor are they too long. I don’t have a problem holding them on while I walk either. I was really surprised at how much padding there was in the shoe to be just a sandal- they are really comfortable and offer way more padding than other sandals. Also, when I get a pair of sandals like these I always worry about the area that goes in between my toes, because sometimes it can irritate me- and I can remember countless times having to either wrap bandages around that area or modify the shoe somehow so I could wear it. But, I had no trouble with these shoes in that area even after walking on them for hours I didn’t have any irritation.

Also, you can clean this shoes with a soft nylon brush and wipe them with a damp cloth and mild soap and then air dry them and they will come out fine, but please don’t machine wash these or stick waterproofing stuff (like those sprays you can get) on these.

All in all, I was really impressed not only with the comfort of these shoes but the quality- they were really well made and I haven’t had any trouble with the stitching coming out or any other problems. The only thing I can think of that may be a con is that these aren’t all that dressy, these are a casual shoe, and some may not like paying that much for something that isn’t dressy. But all in all, I would totally recommend these to anyone, as long as they realize it’s a casual shoe.