STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

sfclinevandy · Coach

Payless

clothes_horse · Dooney & Bourke

oooo, i love the first pair and the last pair!

gypsyfreak · Coach

They have cute shoes, but I'm afraid to buy from them. However, I've been eyeing these and may stop buy their B&M to try them on.

I also like these. Also $16.99

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

I have the last pair in green and they seem pretty comfortable...I haven't been able to wear them for an extended period of time yet...still winterish here.

laken1 · Hermes

Payless is just so hit or miss - i went in there today to get these - they were cute in person & comfy but they were out of my size & are out online.

But i didn't see hardly any of those shoes in the store so it's hard to tell until you see them in person - like i really like those green plaid ones, but the store near me has never had them in stock so i'm hesitant to buy them. I did see those botom wedges that you posted & they looked too plasticy for me.

I have started to try to mix some inexpensive shoes into my shoe wardrobe, but i haven't been really successful thus far!

Drew · Gucci

I would really like to know the quality of Payless. I haven't bought anything there since having the WORST experience with a pair of shoes I bought from them.

I was a young, broke waitress and I needed black shoes for a new job, so I went to the cheapest place I could think of, Payless, and bought a pair of plain black shoes. How embarressed was I when on my first day on the job - in my new pair of shoes - the bottom of one of the shoes basically came off mid shift, and I had to tape my shoes together (and they wouldn't stay - I had to do this the rest of the night) all ghetto-fied and work. Not only did I end up with no shoes by the end of the night, but I might as well have thrown out what little cash I had to begin with. (I think I ended up borrowing shoes until I could buy a pair - how sad is that?)

That was probably 7+ years ago, and I realize things could have changed, so someone please clue me in on the quality these days.

LoMish · Kate Spade

i have a couple of pair of payless shoes and have never had any problems except that some don't fit anymore cause my feet shrank...sad day...but i have a really great pair of pink tweed slingbacks that are amazing!!! so i would check it out...i've never had any bad experiences..and the comfort level is decent

Elle · Hermes

Payless has actually upped their quality in the last few years - I would say about 1/4 of my shoe-wardrobe is from Payless, and I've had a couple pairs for 2-3 years and they are still fine and perfectly wearable. They aren't usually the most comfortable shoes in the world (the heels anyway) but it's nice to be able to add some fun/trendy shoes in to the mix without blowing your budget.

BTW, if you are iffy about ordering before you're able to see/try on, you can order them online and have them shipped to the store for free. If you don't like them or don't want them when they come in, they'll refund your money right there in the store.

I usually find that their stuff runs narrow, too.

Luv2Shop · Kate Spade

I like payless for those shoes you need to go with one outfit you have. Then the price is nice and you dont need them to handle a lot of wear and tear. I wouldn't go there for boots ( usually I get 1 brown and one black pair for the winter season and they need to be durable) or other shoes you would wear on a daily basis, but the trendy shoes they are carrying now are soooo great! and who can go wrong with those prices. Expensive shoes are just as uncomfortable as cheap shoes in my opinion. Go for it!

bliss · Dooney & Bourke

With payless it is hit or miss. I can honestly say that the ones I have haven't been a whole lot different from my more expensive shoes. I think it's all about the fit of the shoe. They do run narrow probably and I like that because my feet are narrow. Other than that I've never had a pair fall apart on me but then again I rotate shoes a lot and only buy from Payless when it's the spring and summer and they have trendy shoes on sale.

Chic · Marc Jacobs

I love payless, I have some shoes that are seriously 2 years old and I wear all the time and still look great and have held up wonderful. I am a huge critic on quality after being in retail for so many years and if you look hard you can get some great things there. There are some really bad things there, but look hard and you will be surprised!

fashionista L · Coach

Cute shoes!! I am going to have to go there and check stuff out!

honey · Gucci

i got those payless mocs from last fall. i love them. they are comfy and have held up well.

SheilsBabe · BCBG

I'm with honey on the payless mocs. Mine have held up great and are so comfortable, even more so than my target ballet flats. A friend of mine got a pair of basic black pumps from there that look like something from steve madden. She wears them for everything from job interviews to clubbing and swears they're comfortable.

berryahou35 · Dooney & Bourke

yup, alot of my shoes are from them too (like the mocs!) but I don't really like they shoes they have so far. Hopefully they'll come out with more soon!

kenzie · Chanel

I have a few pairs of shoes from Payless and they're okay. My biggest issue with them is that they aren't leather so it's harder to really break them in, so if they hurt the first time you wear them, then they're always going to hurt. I'm not really a fan of Payless. I think that alot of the shoes look plasticy and the quality is hit or miss (forget about most fall/winter shoes). I'll only go there in a pinch.

halleybird · Hermes

I have these and I really like them. IMO, you really have to see Payless shoes in person, as they are hit & miss.

PS - I have a $2 off coupon they sent me when I ordered. I won't use it before I move (and if I move it, it'll get lost), so PM me if you want the code (I think it's one-time use).

jah · Dooney & Bourke

Well, I have a little inside dirt on Payless, since I worked in their corporate office as a merchandiser right out of college. Anyway, in terms of quality, they have an extremely large quality control department, rigid quality standards and a huge quality lab. All shoes are tested in the lab, wear-tested (I got bunches of free ones) and machine tested. They actually have podiatrists on staff to recommend the correct sole width, flexibility, frame, etc. Of course, this then has to be communicated to the Asian factories and sometimes things get "lost in translation".

Anyway, all that being said, most of their shoes are synthetic (some are leather, but it is cheap leather from Brazil) and a vast majority of the shoes are made in Taipei. It is just a general thought that a shoe that isn't made of leather isn't going to bend or breath as well and thus might not be as comfortable, so Payless to keep the shoes cheap can't get around this fact. The thing I always found interesting is that when I worked there the average selling price for all shoes was $11.87, which sounds really cheap, but the average cost including shipping, materials, labor, the whole she-bang was $5.62. Now that is not a bad margin.

Anyway, after being surrounded by Payless shoes for over a year (they would line the cubes with the new shoes for the season), I now cannot set foot in a store. The smell of synthetic leather makes me cringe.