Go ‘Horns! – It’s the Great Pumpkin!
Shoe Diva Contributor: bastet
Here is my long awaited post. I will try to keep it short (for me) on words and sweet…
I joined Greta Flora’s Facebook group, where they have a running list of limited edition shoes they have available and saw a really great pair of shoes that I instantly loved.
These were the shoes I saw:
I saw them about 2 days before I got my first pair of Greta’s (in October) and as soon as I saw that the size was right, I wrote to find out if they were still available. They were not, but the shoes I got from Kathleen were great. Greta Flora is a respectable company…so I asked if they could make another pair for me, in a slightly lower heel. They said yes.
After almost 3 months of waiting, this is what arrived at my doorstep…
And if I loved the UT Longhorns (I hate football), and orange patent leather, these would be great but did I mention just ow much extra work I had to do to save up for these???
They do fit, and are very well made. The flower is HUGE (but not the red suede I loved on the other pair)…and they do have the saffron foot bed and straps I wanted…but all that other PUMPKIN color…OYE!
So, I love Greta Flora. They couldn’t even make all orange look truly horrible. I will still buy their shoes (from places I can return to). But I am seriously unhappy that they didn’t tell me they were out of the reddish reptile material for the heel….
Now what to do? Tell me readers…do I leave them alone, and glory in their orange-ness?
Do I make some effort to at least change the flower color? (Patent can’t be changed.)
Stone the back and flower with Swarovski?
Combination of any of those?
Comment away!
I agree that the original pair has an extra je ne sais quoi, but your pair is lovely, too. The orange is still bright and unusual.
I don’t think the stones add anything to the design, though. I like that the shoes themselves are eye-catching (and elegant) without the additional bling.
Comment by
Lana — January 27, 2010 @ 11:38 am
Hey Bastet – I saw those on the tangotacion website and loved them, too!
It’s a bit like those ‘spot the difference’ pictures in comic books
Okay, from my monitor it looks like
ORIGINAL PAIR:
1) suede/ matt leather
2) graduating shades from muted tones of gold to deep orange
3) laudable sized flower that looks in proportion
BESPOKE PAIR:
1) patent/ shiny leather
2) shades of BRIGHT gold to orange but NOT graduated (didn’t another shoe sister on here have a similar experience with a bespoke purple/pink pair?)
3) HUGE flower
So, unless you asked for anything other than the same pair but with a lower heel I would suggest you would have the right to demand your money back and be able to return the shoes.
It’s not just the differences in the individual elements – the overall feel is totally different. The original pair have a lovely overall softness about them – with the natural tones and the matt suede (can’t tell if it’s suede or just matt leather).. this also brings out the nice reptile texture. The bespoke pair, whilst not unpleasant are a completely different animal.
I think the fact that they have put the lighter shade in the middle instead of taking it from dark to light is grounds enough for money back.
I would stick to your resolution to only buy off the peg from now on.
My commiserations – you must’ve been really disappointed to not get what you wanted!
Comment by
Light Sleeper — January 27, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
Hey LS! Correct on all counts…and I have pondered writing them again about it.
In my previous experience with 2 other companies who also didn’t get a special order right, asking for a refund got me exactly nowhere and at least these do fit (the other 2 companies didn’t even get that right) so I’ve already worn them.
I am most definitely sticking to my no special order guns from now on. My new motto is “unless I can stand over you and smack you if you try to do something I didn’t ask for” or “full money back guarantee- pay after successful completion”, I ain’t buying it special order.
Comment by
bastet — January 28, 2010 @ 8:48 am
Ha ha, good motto!
The shoes are cute in their own right when you don’t compare with the originals.
I find it disturbing that they have made this mistake before http://www.tangoshoedivas.com/shoedivas/?p=90
Why do they do this??? Very odd!
Comment by
Light Sleeper — January 28, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
Ah! I thought that comment sounded familiar…
Comment by
bastet — January 28, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
For me, the main problem is the larger flower, especially the patent. They just over did the shoe with this. Don’t add anything else. Have you tried to contact them armed with both photos?
Comment by
Lisa Diane — January 29, 2010 @ 10:50 am
yes, I had the same problem with the sequence of the three colours of my custom pair (and I fully agree – it gives the shoe a totally different look), but i was surprised when they offered me a full refund, and they were more than willing to make another pair for me. I guess I can’t complain , really (or rather, the fact that I did complain/express my dissatisfaction meant that I got what i wanted in the first place)
Comment by
niki — January 29, 2010 @ 9:28 pm
Lisa- yes- I have tried a couple of times emailed them with the original photo that I asked for and so far have not heard back as of yet.
Comment by
bastet — January 31, 2010 @ 7:33 pm
Bastet, I like your pair better than the original one. It looks more fun, more modern to me in those colors and shapes. And the flower size seems fairly proportionate with the rest of the shoe.
I understand you may feel disappointed since you did not get what you initially wanted, but from the point of view of someone who had not expected something else, I am just seeing a very nice pair of shoes.
Comment by
Frances R — February 5, 2010 @ 4:01 pm
Hey they look great to me too! You could dye the heel a darker shade? You can buy shoe dye or take them to a shoe repair shop. I wouldn’t put the crystals on the back I think it might be too much.
Comment by
Fern — February 7, 2010 @ 11:55 pm
From your photos, I think your new shoes look much better on than off. It’s also hard to compare photos that weren’t taken under the same conditions – lighting, background, etc. The colours and textures look different in each picture. I wouldn’t add anything to them, but I might have a cobbler remove the very outer ring of petals on the flower (if doable) just to balance the proportions. All the comments about bespoke shoes are making me nervous – hope mine (from raquel) are what I’m hoping for!
Comment by
tangopassionista — February 14, 2010 @ 3:47 am
thanks for all your posts. I am guessing the overall feeling is just leave them be…
tangopassionista- I hope your shoes come out fine. I’m sure there is a better than average chance they will. I just seem to draw the short end of the stick repeatedly. I doubt my results are not completely typical.
Comment by
bastet — February 17, 2010 @ 8:40 pm