PRODUCT REVIEW: Black Metal Plate Sandals from New Look

I recently visited my local New Look store and instantly fell in love with a pair of shoes, Black Metal Plate sandals. As always when considering purchasing a pair of shoes I think about whether it would go with things I already own and I knew these shoes definitely would. However, owning so many black pairs of shoes I wasn't sure whether I actually needed them or just wanted them, but then I reminded myself of the saying 'If a lady can say how many pairs of shoes she has she doesn't have enough' and the fact that I could guess roughly how many persuaded me to take the shoes to the till and make them the newest part of my ever growing shoe collection.

I haven't purchased shoes from New Look in over 10 years and wasn't too sure about how good they were. I usually tend to buy shoes quite a bit more expensive than those in New Look because usually the more money you pay the better the comfort, longevity and quality of the shoe. However, I wanted to see whether New Look shoes are just as comfortable as my more expensive pairs, because they're just as stylish.

You may recall in a previous post of mine (click here to view) I said that Gold Metal Strap Sandals are big right now, well they still are and they're all over the high street. New Look has got in on the action with these sandals and went a step further by not only having a gold strap for the ankle but also including one by the toes, something a little different from the others out there. This was definitely one of the factors that led to my purchase.

The heel is very chunky which I tend to find adds a great deal to the comfort of the shoe, usually the chunkier the heel (no matter how high) the more comfortable the shoe the longer the wear. The heel is also not too high so that adds to the comfort and also, despite the array of gold, allows the sandal to be worn more casually than higher heeled shoes.

I tend to find that black shoes stay looking new for longer than other colours as dirt doesn't show up as bad. Although with the material of this sandal, it may need a little love and affection every so often to keep it in good condition. Additionally, I'd strongly advise against wearing it in harsh weather conditions, though I'd doubt anyone would wear open toe sandals in the snow or rain. To clean the sandals I'd advise wiping them down with a damp cloth.

One thing you have to take in to consideration is that they're made for wide fit. So if you have quite narrow feet, though these sandals look great, unfortunately they wouldn't work for you. My feet are neither wide or narrow and I found the shoes (especially the ankle strap) to be very wide, which is the sole reason why I came to the painful decision to send the sandals back to the store. The size four were the perfect width but being a size UK 4.5 my feet were slightly to long for the sandals. So if you do have quite wide feet you'll be happy to find that these sandals would fit you perfectly, you can party in them throughout the night and not have sore feet in the morning.

I'd certainly recommend these sandals to ladies with wider feet who prefer lower heels, they're both comfortable and look great. They come in a UK size 3 to 7, are also available in stone and cost a mere £24.99. What a shame they don't have them in regular fit. :-(