FRYE Women's Melissa Leather Boots - Knee High Back Zip Riding Boots for Women, Comfortable & Stylish for Fall, Winter, Outdoor & Casual Wear

I read a lot of reviews before I decided to invest in these boots. I saw lots of good stuff and some worrisome things. I'll address the points I remember.Calf size: my calves fit in these boots *exactly* (I got lucky, I guess). There was no squeezing of my calves and also not a bit of extra room. My calves are 40 cm / 15.75 inches around.Boot height: I'm 5'8" tall. The boots came up to 2.25 inches beneath the bottom of the patella of my knee (the floating roundish bone) when sitting down, The boots are about 12.5 to 13 inches tall from the top of the bend in the foot. It's hard to get an exact measurement there, since it's just a gentle curve.Boot size: I wear a US women's size 9.5 (medium width) usually. I got these in 9.5 and they fit exactly, while wearing a regular-thickness sock. I define regular thickness as more than those skinny dress/trouser socks and less than an athletic crew sock. The boots seemed neither wide nor narrow to my foot.Zipper: The zipper was neither loose nor hard too pull. It took more to pull than a zipper on a backpack, but it did not feel overly difficult to pull. This felt like a good amount, since I don't want the zipper to come undone with a day of walking around. Although I won't need it in this case, here's a hiker's zipper tip for others out there: rub a little chapstick on a stiff zipper to lubricate and ease the pull.Ankles: Some reviews described the area around ankles as "baggy." This was my biggest worry since I have pretty skinny ankles. The boots do NOT slouch around my ankles. They are not tight on my ankles, but they don't wrinkle or appear baggy. My ankles are 21 cm / 8.5 inches. There is air in there around my ankles, but the boots aren't slouchy.Provenance: These boots are stamped "Made In Mexico" on the inside of the leather shafts.Extra: There is an obvious snap closure at the top of the zipper that I knew about. I didn't realize that the bottom of the zipper is also covered with a similar protective/decorative leather tab and snap. This allows the zipper to go down even further and looks very nice. I originally thought it was just a decoration. Bonus!I'm very pleased with the appearance, feel, style, and even smell of the boots. They are made of soft, thick leather. The stitches are straight, deep, and well done, the parts seem to be of high quality. The fit turned out to be excellent for me. They are just what I was looking for and I'd recommend them to anyone.Take care, the leather bottoms of the boots are VERY slippery when new. Scuff up the soles a little when you first go outside!I hope this review helps clear up some questions for others considering this particular style.These boots are gorgeous but I have to say the quality is not as impeccable as I had hoped for the price. When I took the boots out of the box I noticed a wrinkly crease on the shaft of one boot, a little over an inch long and a half inch wide. I figured it might iron itself out after wearing the boots a few times but it did not. Then I tried to rub the crease out with mink oil but it won't budge. Besides the crease, I have noticed that some of the stitching around the sole of the boot and near the snap closures was coming unsewn almost immediately. The boots aren't falling apart or anything, but for over $300 I guess I was expecting perfection.I ordered my usual 8.5 and they fit well in terms of length, maybe even a little big, but are very very narrow. The left boot really pinches my toes after a few hours of wear to the point where my pinky toe gets numb! I'm hoping they will stretch to fit my foot a little after wearing them some more. I'ven worn them a dozen times or so and usually feel fine for the duration of the day but still, I can't wait to take them off.I was very happy with the look of the boots (besides the crease) and they way they fit around the shaft and ankle. I have average to skinny calves and ankles, so most boots bunch up around my ankles and look stupid. These boots have developed a slight crease near the ankle but not too bad at all. The fit around my calves is great with plenty of room for skinny jeans and knee-high socks but not so much room that they look too big with just tights. The back zipper is not very well covered so I have not worn them with tights very often after the first time i did the boots snagged my tights and basically ruined them. Now those tights are only for wearing with these boots!Overall they are very nice but due to the narrow toe box and quality issues, I'm not sure if I'd order another pair of Fryes at full price.I want to help others with information about the Frye Melissa boots. They Are Real, not fakes. They arrived quickly and packaged well. They are 100 percent leather so they run snug. I'm a 7.5-8, and I got the 7.5 because that's what was available. Unfortunately the 8 would have been correct, so I have had to order a stretcher and thin socks in order to hopefully make the 7.5 work for me, which I do feel ok about. I got them on sale, otherwise I would never have been able to buy any Frye boots, so that is good. The zipper in the back is difficult to manage at the bottom near the ankle area, but firm yet steady, gentle pulling down works. The zipper goes all the way down to the sole area, so don't forget to unsnap those back tabs at the top and bottom of the boot in the back. The boots are really nice, just get the largest size you normally wear, or if you want to wear thick socks you should order a half size larger. These are excellent quality boots.Lovely quality leather boots as you would expect for the price! Great to buy from UK Amazon site as otherwise liable for probably over £50 in custom taxes if bought from an American website. I'm usually a size 6 but bought a size 7 and glad I did as they fit very well in the foot. The top of the boot is a bit gappy but I guess that allows for wearing skinny jeans, I normally wear with leggings. I'm about 5' 4 and the top of the boot is only just below my knees so if you are shorter then I would not recommend buying these. Overall very happy with the purchase.I am normally a UK 7 but I ordered the US10/UK8 and am glad I did, they fit perfectly. They feel fantastic and will only get better with age.Great boots, very good quality and will definitely last.They were a little snug when I bought them, so I'd be wary if you tend to find boots coming up tight. I'm just stretching them out by wearing them with skinny trousers (and you can always get a cobbler to stretch them if necessary).These are beautiful boots! They smell amazing. I was worried that they might be knock off's but nothing has led me to believe that they are. They are as smooth as butter and they look awesome on. They are a bit snug in the calf (I am an average sized woman, 5'6 and a size 6 with [I think] normal sized calves), but as long as I sit down while I do them up it seems to be okay. I usually wear a size 7.5 and bought a size 8 thinking that I might be able to wear thick socks with them but they fit like a glove.I bought a pair of boot tree's to keep them stretched a bit in the calf as well as to maintain their shape. I used "FRYE Leather Conditioning Cream" on them which seemed to darken them ever so slightly and give them a slightly waxy feel but now the water seems to bead off them a bit, however as they are 100% leather I wouldn't wear them in a downpour. The soles are leather as well, so it does make them a bit slippery to walk in on certain surfaces.I bought a pair of Frye Melissa Button boots (also in size 6.5) pull on style before this back zipped one. I personally like this style much more than the pull on one, I have narrower feet and ankle, my calf is under 13.2 inches, but it is kind of difficult to put on and take off the pull on boots, yes, with time passes by, it is getting easier, but still?and the ankle area is bulkier than my liking, i think that is unavoidable to compensate the style. On the contrary, i can put my feet in this back zipped boots like a breeze and it is really easy to take it off too. I can wear a pair of long johns under skinny jeans and zip the back zipper with no problem. The cognac color is also my favorite color for boots, I can picture this well constructed thick leather plus inner leather lining boots will become a staple item in my closet. I highly recommend it, particularly for those ladies have small calf.