Product Review: Pepper suede flats

Pepper suede flats
Item 90697
Click here to visit product page
Regular: $148.00
Select colors now $69.99

I was super excited to see these shoes being offered by J.Crew awhile back. I just thought they looked adorable! I did my best to restrain the urge to get a pair when they were priced at $99.99. However, when they went on sale for $69.99 (plus an additional 20% off during their sale) last week, I could not resist any further. :)

The Pepper suede flats come in four different shades: Bistro orange, chocolate, bright azalea, and sour lemon. I personally choose to get the Bistro orange pair (even though I had not seen a pair in person beforehand). Now that I have the flat, the Bistro orange shade looks very much like a bright red. In fact, I took my red pair of Lucia suede ballet flats (Item 86214) to compare the colors- the Bistro orange Pepper suede flats is just a tiny shade more "orange" than the red shoe. (However, the difference in color is very minimal. I had to strain to see a difference in color.) I don't mind too much that the Bistro orange is more red than orange, even though I would have preferred a more orange shoe (since I already have a pair in red).

Much like the Liv Metallic Ballet Flats that I reviewed in an earlier post, the Pepper suede flats have an extra bit of cushion (when compared to previous ballet flats offered by the Crew). The extra bit of cushion is not the same kind of support you would get from a casual sneaker, but enough for me to be happy with.

The fringe detail (e.g. the puff ball on the tip of the shoe) is quite cute. (Especially cute when paired with a knee length skirt!) The fringe detail was a bit "smooshed" (since it was packed in tightly by J.Crew before being shipped), but I was able to easily fix it (so it looks completely fine now).

I am also surprise how well the shoe fits (which is true to size) and stays on my feet considering the shape of the shoe itself (which is a d'Orsay cut).

Also, the same complaint I have of all their ballet flats applies to the Pepper suede flat: the soles of the shoe are very slippery. I will need to adhere a "safe step sole pad" (that non-skid rough, rubber-like pad) to the bottom of the shoes (which costs about $2 at any Wal-Mart).

What are your thoughts about the Pepper suede flats? What do you think about J. Crew's ballet flats in general?