Review: STEVEN by Steve Madden Sabra Over The Knee Boot

   I know it's in the middle of summer, in fact its ben 100F+/37C+ here in DC, but I'm already looking for boots for the upcoming fall and winter season. Fit issues that petites have are not just limited to clothes, as we are all aware. Knee high boots? Big problem, especially if you have small calves. I, personally, have some 12 inchers. So looking for boots that fit out of the box without having to take it to the cobbler to get some pricey work done can be quite a chore. I love boots, in general. I don't have nearly as much trouble finding a great pair of boots as I do with pumps and flats. With Endless having their 40%, I just couldn't resist looking for a great pair. Knee high boots tend to be a problem if you have small calves, but surprisingly, over the knee (OTK) boots not so much. If you have never attempted to try on a pair because it is so difficult to find a good fitting pair of knee high boots, you should definitely give it a try! If you can find a pair with a buckle at the knee to keep them up, total bonus, but I've found that it's not even always necessary. I already own a pair of OTK boots, which I love. See them here. Many petites are also concerned that an OTK boot will shorten the leg. The way to avoid this is to keep the leg line long by wearing colors of that similar to the boot. For example, if you have a black boot, try a pair of black jeans or leggings are a dark pair of jeans. Same rules apply as if you were wearing knee high boots. 

    I saw these boots from STEVEN by Steve Madden, regular retail price on Endless is $259.90 and on Nordstrom $299.95. They're a leather OTK riding boot and it has a buckle at the thigh (pic from Nordstrom.com) :

 Cute and intriguing. Endless is having a special on Back to School styles ($20 off $100) so their price comes down to $239.90. Nordies is also having their big sale, so the were on sale for $199.95. Do you know what that means? I would get 40% cashback on $239.90 PLUS Endless would price match to 199.95. Here comes the math: $239.90 minus 40%=$95.96. Price matched to Nordies price, $199.95-95.96=$103.99! Great deal for a $300 pair of boots. How could I say no? I have mentioned this before but I am definitely not a fan of Steve Madden shoes. Sizing tends to be weird, materials are cheap and hard, and generally, just painful overall. But I made an exception to buying these here because they are made of 100% leather, and how can you turn down such a good deal? I was pretty excited about these. And here they are (sorry about the lighting again, awkward time in the day for taking pics):

Firstly, if it is an OTK boot, why is the box so small? =/ Strange.

Ah, I see. All folded up. Not cool.

     I pulled them out of the box and my first though was, "Wow, this leather sucks." Maybe I'm just a leather snob, but if you are into real leather bags and shoes, you definitely know what I'm talking about. The leather was not soft at all, and it actually *looked* and felt really plastic-y and stiff. Not a fan already. I didn't even want to put them on, but for the sake of this post I did anyway. I put them on with a pair of grey Hudson skinny jeans, just so they would be easier to see. I had a little bit of a hard time getting them on because the leather was SO stiff:

     From afar, the boot actually looks pretty nice. They fit the leg pretty well without too much bunching or material around the leg. I'm actually wearing them in a 6.5--I tend to buy my boots a half size larger than my regular size because I like to wear thick insoles and thick socks with my boots. They seemed as if they would stay up (even if the leather wasn't so freakin' stiff). If I had saw them on a girl in the street and hadn't known what they are, I would instantly want them. But you know what? Despite being real leather, I could feel the hard materials around my ankles. Bruises were inevitable for sure. And the biggest let down?? I couldn't even walk!! The leather was incredibly hard, especially at the thigh. There was no give whatsoever. Bending my knees hurt because of all the rubbing. It also didn't help that the buckle was just at the top of my knee. Umm...why? That's not the most strategic place to put a buckle if they actually wanted me to be able to walk in these boots. 


     I could not wait to get these things off. They were awful! I don't think I have ever tried a worse pair of boots. OK, maybe I have, but I cannot emphasize how bad these were. And they were trying to sell these for $300?? Negative. 

Verdict: Look nice from far away, but in actuality, they suck. Please, try OTK boots, just not these.