Are LK Bennett shoes worth the price?

[issy196]

Starting a new job in about a month or so and desperately need some decent new shoes.

The nicest ones I seem to have found are these LK Bennett ones - www.houseoffraser.co.uk/shoes-and-boots/lkbennett-floret-closed-courts/d759162.pd?ef_id=WjGChwAAASr@DxiK:20180222185311:s
The only issue is the £195 price tag. They're more expensive than any shoes I'd normally buy, but I'm also aware of the fact that I'll be wearing them for 12 hours a day. Has anyone had experience with these shoes or other LK Bennett ones - are they comfortable enough for work and would they last me a few years?

The other options I've been looking at are a Kurt Geiger pair (£100), Dune Aurora (£70), Stuart Weitzman (around £300). Stuart Weitzman seem to have good reviews but a little too pricey for me, I haven't seen much written about the other two.

Otherwise if anyone would like to suggest some other shoes I'd be grateful to hear those too! My only criteria are black suede court shoes, heel between 3-4 inches. For some reason I prefer the soles to be cream rather than black. Decent quality (not New Look or Primark!) and comfy enough to wear all day, but not going to break the bank - I'd say my limit is around £200, assuming they'd last a while.

My feet and I thank you all in advance!

specialsubject Sat 24-Feb-18 09:40:25
12 hours a day in spike staggerers? I just want to know what the job is...

masochistic perhaps

TSSDNCOP Sat 24-Feb-18 08:46:44
welsh are you DH? grin

No kids until old but a lucrative career, plus I'm quite fat and shoes always fit grin

So do handbags

I like LKB courts but I have to say that I found sledge uncomfortable and precarious and did not buy them for that reason.

I can be in LKB courts for 12 hours, but my job is office-based with meetings and calls, hence a lot of sitting around with walking to different rooms in the same building, often on the same floor, mostly carpeted, in between.

Agree blueshoes LKB courts can look fab for a day at the office. I love mine and can handle wearing them for the day, but mostly office based in my job. Do let us know what you decided to get OP

I had some once, from an outlet store, and they were the best work shoes I've ever had. Butter-soft leather, engineered so that I could walk in them comfortably even though they were high, and just beautiful. I couldn't afford to pay full price for them but if I could, I would.

I do like mine a lot have them on for work quite often. Can you remember which ones you wore for work Asqueekingintheshrubbery?

LK Bennet Floret shoes are the most comfy heels I own. I've got 3 pairs! I struggle with other heels. They are absolutely worth the money in my view, but they are often available reduced so why not wait for a sale or at least one of the many mid-season 20% off offerings?

They're the only shoes I've ever had that I ended up with a hole in the sole after a short period of time!

Hi everyone, just wanted to say thanks again for all the advice.

For anyone questioning my sanity - 90% of my time will be spent sat at my desk, I just want some nice shoes to look professional when meeting clients etc. Will be commuting in flats. Perhaps I'm old fashioned but I just prefer wearing heels in an office environment.

I actually bought a few pairs of shoes this weekend, just waiting for them to be delivered. I couldn't resist grabbing a pair of the LKB Florets, going to try wearing them around the house for a little bit and see how I get on. I am a sucker for a pretty shoe and I still think they are so gorgeous! That being said, I may very well end up returning them. I also bought myself a pair of the Clark's courts, I'm still not 100% convinced by the material but that padding inside does look very comfy...

Anyway, will let you know any further thoughts once they've arrived!

OP, let us know how you get on.

I am a sucker for a pretty shoe and I still think they are so gorgeous!

Yes, I hear you. Those delicate lines are for falling in love with in the office. I keep a small collection of LKBs under my desk at work and commute in trainers

I get why you like LK Bennett, op! I love Stuart Weizmann - here in the US you can sometimes score a pair in Nordstrom rack for a big discount - I got lucky recently. Agree they are a bit much at full price but made beautifully and classy.

I’m coming on to recommend Russell and Bromley! Expensive yes, but I find their shoes last ages and are really comfy!!

Hi Issy, pleased to hear you went for it with the LKB Florets. you obviously love them :-) hope they are ideal at your work place and work out well for you. let us know how it goes

Just dropping back in to say I wore the LKB Florets around the house today and they seem to be pretty comfy for me! Tempted to go up half a size though, I have to go back to pick up a dress I ordered - despite ordering at the same time, they didn't ship together and the shop assistant only gave me one parcel when I went in My only worry is that the protective film on the sole of the shoe has worn off in patches - are they likely to refuse a return/exchange? I have mostly been wearing them on carpet, plus a total of about 30 minutes on a tiled kitchen floor. Never outside, plus the protective film was marked already when I received them.

On another note, are the shop assistants in LKB also so stuffy? Went in there to pick up my parcel (delivered to store) and while she wasn't outright rude to me, she seemed a bit off and not the service I would expect from a reasonably nice shop, especially since I'd already spent £150 on the shoes! Went into the back to pick up my parcel, came out almost five minutes later holding a load of new stock to put on the shelves before returning for my parcel! Kind of put me off the whole brand to be honest. Expect it's because I went in wearing scruffy clothes and looked a bit of a huge mess (it was snowing and horribly cold outside, in my defence).

Sorry, rant over. I know working in retail must suck sometimes, but even just a forced smile for a second would have made me feel a lot happier about giving them my money.

I’ve found the assistants to be snooty. They didn’t take a return on shoes that had worn after only one week of wear (indoors!) so I have not bought from them again.

Back again looking for a tiny bit more advice please everyone...

Love the Florets but feel like I may benefit from going up half a size (yes, I have big feet for a tiny person!) especially as I usually add insoles. As I posted before, I've been wearing this pair around the house, mostly on carpet with the exception of about half an hour on a tiled kitchen floor. The protective film on the sole has started to wear off in patches, as you can see on the pic.

Going to brave the snow tomorrow and see if the local shop has a bigger pair for me to try on. Will take this pair with me and hopefully exchange them if the other size fit better. Are they likely to refuse the return? I know they look bad on the soles but it's only the protective film which has been affected, and I only wore them for a day or two inside. They came slightly scratched when I received them, though not to the extent they are now. If it's mentioned, should I say they came damaged or tell the assistant I only wore them inside?

Also, how does it work if I bought this pair on 20% off? Can I directly exchange for a different size even though the discount has ended (I'm thinking no) or will they make me pay the difference, or refund me and then make me buy the new pair at full price.

Sorry for the naivety... not used to this expensive shoes stuff!

Hi OP, why don't you explain that when you opened the box they were marked on the soles and that you have just tried them on indoors and that you need a half size bigger.

Although the protective film is marked you can see they haven't been worn outside so I don't see that you should have a problem.

With regards to the discount promotion - I have never bought from LKB but when I have had a similar situation with M&S, Boden and JL they have always honoured the fact that I bought when the promotion was on and I was exchanging for a different size, so they gave me the different size at the promotion price. If they are not prepared to give them to you with the promotion initially it might be worth sticking with it and saying if you had ordered them off the website and sent them back for a exchange they wouldn't have charged you extra (as I don't think they would in that scenario). I suppose if they won't honour it you could get a refund and keep an eye out for the next promotion and order the different size at that point.

I wouldn't have liked to be treated like that either but maybe it was all the snow and you will have better service when you go back. I really hope it all goes well, please let us know how you get on and good luck.

when I worked for them, you had to buy the uniform to wear there. You got it on discount, but not much when you consider the price of it. You were not allowed to put it on a credit card and you had to buy shoes aswell. she probably looked a bit scruffy as she couldn't afford to buy bew uniform, like I often did. The shoes and clothes are not made to be working in all day, up and down ladders and opening delivery stock. Also the cost of keeping it clean as most of it was dry clean only. It wasn't a very good company to work for to be honest. I say that as someone who has worked 15 years in both high end and luxury retail. LKB was one of the worst

high street*

Sorry, when I said scruffy I meant that I looked scruffy. She looked very nice in fact! Having to buy complete outfits and shoes for working there sounds awful though, that stuff is not cheap.

Feel a bit bad for her if the conditions there are so bad, but at the same time still feel like she could have been a bit more polite. Maybe I expect too much, but given the fact I had already spent a considerable amount of money there and clearly wasn't one of those people who spend 30 mins wandering round the shop asking loads of questions and then leave with nothing, I thought maybe she could have been a little friendlier.

Perhaps I'm just old fashioned.

Really uncomfortable. I found an identical looking pair for about £25, they are now years old and so comfy and someone even asked me once if they were LKB.

I’ve had their shoes over the years and found them good. These days they charge way too much.

no not at all, your expectations sound fine, I thought you meant scruffy uniform.

Update for anyone still bothering to read this thread: grabbed a pair of size 40s from John Lewis, mainly since they'd deliver quickly. Think the size is better but the shoes feel less comfy, I think the ones I got from LKB directly had been tried on by someone else before (would explain the existing marks on the soles) and been worn in a little bit. They really are so comfy, just a tiny bit small.

Going to see if I can exchange the ones from LKB for the half size up, hopefully at the same discount price. Will kick off (very unlike me!) if they refuse the return due to the soles, I think it's fair to wear the shoes around the house for a day to see if they fit correctly. Not my fault their protective film is crap!

hi Izzy hope the return goes according to plan and the new ones fit just right. hopefully there won't be any drama about the marks