G.H. Bass & Co. Women's Wayfarer Penny Loafer

So, I wear a size 8.5. or 9 for shoes. I ordered a 9...it was entirely too large. So, I re-ordered the shoes, in a size 8.5...still to large. Again, I ordered a smaller size. It fit but was still a little roomy. Fine. So they run larger, at least for me.Now my real problem: I have only had these shoes for a month, and the heel is already broken on one shoe - the rubber has separated from the sole, and the other is starting to break as well. I work retail, and although I move around a lot, I have never had a pair of shoes be ruined this quickly. Ever! Definitely not happy. Also, this is the only review I have ever made. That's how un-happy I am.

They are well made, a good quality product but a pale shadow of what my original Weejuns were like. The leather is very pliable immediately and they have become comfortable after only a week. I was able to wear them to work ( as a visiting nurse) on week two, after just wearing them around the house the first week. So they will not last for 20 years like my first pair did but then I might not either! ;-)

I usually wear a 9M, but with past experiences I knew to order a 8.5M and it fit like a glove. If your not used to a stiff leather sole then I wouldn't recommend them for you. But if your use to well made leather shoes and don't mind going through the process of breaking them in, then you wont have any problems at all. I had a couple of wear blisters on my ankles for a week but it's nothing a couple of well placed bandaids couldn't fix or cushion. These are really great shoes that will last you a good long while as long as you care for them. I own more pairs of Bass shoes actually and always get compliments when I were them out on the town.

Sizing is very difficult with these Bass loafers. I had them years ago and needed to replace them. I found these a big larger than I normally wear. They tend to slide off a bit in the back. I'm always a size 6 and I'm not sure if a 5.5 would be better because they do fit in length. I would recommend going into the store to try them on before ordering here. The price does fluctuate greatly so keep an eye on them to get the best price.

This shoe runs very large. I wear a size 6, and I read the reviews that said to order down so I ordered 1 size down (size 5, smallest size offered) and it's still too big. I bought some pads to go in the back of the heel to avoid blisters, because these will give them to you until you break them in. The pads help take up the extra room and they fit much better. The shoes look very stylish but I'm having a hard time breaking them in because they are very stiff. I knew they would be from all the reviews I've read even on other sites. But everyone says after you get them broken in they will feel good. It's just going to take time I guess. If you do order I suggest ordering 1 whole size down and getting some heel pads.

I have always loved Bass shoes and have a pair that I bought 10+ years ago that have held up better than these. These are definitely not the same quality shoes from years ago. I bought 3 different pairs - black, tan and burgundy and each pair has the same issues. The soles wear out within a few months. I bought a pair last year as well and within the year, the soles were so thin that if it rained, water would seep in the bottom of the shoe. I thought I would try again but sadly, the same thing is happening. In addition to the sole issue, the color is coming off and leaving tan spots on my black pair. Granted, this is the pair that I wear the most, but it's not like I wear them 24/7. I am extremely disappointed.

Love them!!!

I purchased these for my grand-daughter since her school required either penny loafers or saddle shoes, she of course chose penny loafers. These were burgundy in color and fit her well. Since she wears them everyday I thought she would need another pair in black, this is where it got a little weird. The burgundy pair were $42.68 and I could not get the black pair in her size. I went shopping online and found what I thought were the same shoes at Shoebuy.com for $109, big jump in price. When they arrived they were too narrow and the heel had an imprint on it the other shoes did not have. I returned them to Shoebuy.com and went back searching on Amazon for a black pair again. This is when I noticed the Shoebuy.com shoe were Weejuns Whitney and the Amazon are Weejuns Wayfarer except for the heel they look identical and are priced about the same. I ordered the black pair on Amazon and they came today and sure enough the shoe is much more flexible than the Whitney version. Not sure what's going on here because the sizing should be the same. BTW I won't be buying from Shoebuy.com because they advertise as free returns but actually they charge a $6.95 restocking fee and they put in very small print. Another thing I don't know why this pair was so inexpensive but all others cost over a $100, in fact after I purchased these the price went to over $100.