Mandi Cutout Platform Sneaker (Women)

Was so excited about these sneakers as I am not a sneaker type of girl, but found these were chic and I could see myself strutting around in them on my European vacation while being both comfortable and in vogue. Alas, I wore them once for several hours! and was surprised that they were not as comfy as I would have expected, and upon further examination realised the bottom is not really structured for someone with arches (normal) - the base seems quite flat. I put it down to them not being broken in and would have lived with them. But the killer was when I was taking them off I noticed a slight tear by the cut out area at the back. I checked the other shoe and saw it wouldn't be long before a tear appeared in the same place (stitching was already fraying). Strange, because the shoes were not tight and there was no forcing them on or off. Needless to say, they have been returned, but, boy, am I disappointed! I am a big AGL fan and have several shoes by them, and this is my firt negative experience. As an aside, funnily, I usually have to size up one, but in this case, the 41 (my normal size) fit perfectly - I'd ordered a 42 as well to see which fit better, so was intrigued that in this case a 41 worked.