I really want to love these shoes. Since switching to barefoot shoes two years ago, I bought these in black close to a year ago now, and keep trying to love them. I want to leave an honest review to help out potential buyers and to leave some constructive feedback. It is true that they are way more comfortable on my toes than regular flats. They are a nice design considering the wide toe box, so for those reasons they are a step up from regular flats. However, I have more frequently chosen to wear my regular booties (no wide toe box) over them, because they are so uncomfortable in other ways. There is no breathability, so my feet get incredibly sweaty even with socks (which does not happen with any other shoe I wear); the toe box is not wide enough, or as wide as my other barefoot shoes, so even with the step-up from regulars, I'm still uncomfortable (and the leather has not stretched or softened much); taking the insole out helps with the toe box issue, but doing so makes them gappy above my feet; my feet cramp by the end of the day because they are gripping the shoe to keep it from falling off (the shoe is slightly too small but still too gappy for my narrow feet); it's not a light-weight shoe and feels rather heavy and clunky when I walk; it's not as flexible as other barefoot shoes I own; and, least importantly, the tan-colored inside shows on the outside a little bit when I'm wearing black tights/socks, which ruins the look.
Again, I'd love to love these shoes, and my hopes were so high when I saw they were actually a stylish pair of barefoot shoes, but unfortunately I am not pleased, overall.

First, I am a big Xero shoes fan -- about 85 percent of my shoes are Xeros, and I love shoes so I have a lot of them! Big, big fan. And I love that you are offering dressier options as well as the original sporty models. It's so hard to find a dressy shoe that doesn't cram the toes into a point (so painful!). The wide toebox is great, though maybe just a touch too low profile for those of us with big fat big toes. Honestly, though, I've never had a dressy shoe that didn't rub the top of my big toe, so it might be me, not you. I hope that'll lessen with time as the shoe breaks in and the leather softens.

Things I love - the overall design. It's classic, versatile, and amongst those of us who feel that high heels are soooo out of style nowadays, perfectly acceptable in corporate or even black tie settings. No toe cleavage! The v-shape and little bit of texture on the side are flattering and feminine. I love that it's all leather.

My only real gripe is that the whole shoe doesn't need to be so wide. The width of the toebox fits perfect, the length is perfect, but around the middle of the foot and the heel it's just way too wide. For your sporty options and sandals, you have the great lacing system that allows for adjustments (love that!). But since you obviously can't do the same with flats like these, I would argue this is one time you should consider offering different widths. The current one I'd consider a "wide" - and in fact according to the sizing on the sole of the shoe, the factory that manufactured it does label it as a wide size. I would absolutely love this same shoe, same design, same toebox, but in a "regular" width otherwise.

Anyway, I can make these work, as thankfully I don't need dressy shoes too often. And these are more comfortable than most, so they'll work just fine.

Keep doing what you do, keep improving on your designs, and I'll keep on being a big fan :)

Overall, I was quite disappointed with the lack of consistency in the manufacturing of the Phoenix leather flat. I ordered a few sizes in both brown and black to see which fit best. I noticed that all the blacks tended to have a tighter band going across the big toe bone digging in and causing a lot of pain while their brown counterparts did not. One of the brown ones had an odd pinch on the right toe top bone, but the same size in the black did not have this problem. I've loved every one of my other XeroShoes and was really hoping to get a dressy set for my collection. Greatly disappointed in the manufacturing quality of these ones. They were very tight because of the leather, and so the toe box wasn't the same feel as it should be for that size like in other models. Since the leather isn't as flexible as fabric, I think XeroShoes needs to take that into account when designing a leather shoe to give it the same feel as others. So I would recommend ordering a size up to compensate for the lack of give. Also, I was disappointed the brown wasn't truly a brown. It is more of a purplish rosy brown. I'll see if I can post a picture comparing my brown Tari's to the brown Phoenix. Really sad these XeroShoes didn't live up to my love for XeroShoes and hoping XS will divert some energy away from all the running shoes and into the dressy shoes.

I appreciate the support Xero gives for exchanges as it took a couple of tries to get the right professional flat in the right size. I tried the knit ones first, and they were simply too narrow. I wish they weren't because they look great.

I had to go up a whole size for length and width in these shoes to work. I wasn't sure at first that I would really end up liking these, because I'm a bit of a shoe snob, and the leather doesn't feel very high-end, but I've tried some other, more expensive, higher-end barefoot flats, and while they might be prettier, they have not ended up fitting as well, so these are the shoes I come back to almost every workday. They are not wide enough for me to use correct toes with the liner in, and I have not tried that with the liner out as I don't want to distort the shoe too much. But they work really well, and as I have strengthened my feet, calves, and posture over the last 6 months, they have become super comfortable. I don't think about my feet all day long anymore, and as a teacher, I spend most of the day on my feet.

One pair I ordered had what looked like a minor cosmetic defect, a slight pucker at the top of the big toe, but I figured that as I wore them, that would work itself out, and it has. Leather adapts.

I own black and raspberry. If the brown were a warmer tone, I'd get a pair of those, too. I definitely wish that many, many more fun colors were available. That's a big downside to switching to barefoot shoes--lots of running shoe choices, but little that feels great to wear in a professional setting.

I do love the little style detail on the outer edge.

Thanks for making these fun and affordable!