My picture doesn’t really do them justice but today my heart broke because I had to return these beautiful navy patent leather Belle by Sigerson Morrison 4718 Pumps to Nordstrom. I didn’t return them because Steve Madden thinks patent leather is out of style but because the left shoe was cut a little differently than the right shoe. They weren’t exactly symmetrical. The left shoe was defective and showed more toe cleavage than the right shoe did. Would that bother you? I’m not saying my two feet are perfectly symmetrical, but still. Everything else was perfect — the mod look, the fit, the low 2-inch heel, the comfort level, the sale price (Nordstrom had them for under $100), the navy patent leather (that happened to match a vintage handbag I have), a pleated vamp pierced with a silvertone stickpin, and the nice Italian leather lining and leather sole. Even the clerk at the Nordstrom shoe counter thought they were too cute to be returned. No one is sadder than me about this.

I was just unlucky in getting a bum pair. May you have better luck.

Still available at Zappos.com in Black Patent and Baltimora Café Caramel Patent.