Vionic Bella X Women's Supportive Orthotic Sandals

In general, Vionic is not making their various style sandals in/of the same quality as was found 20 yrs ago. In most styles of recent years, leather toe posts have been replaced by a less comfortable, cheap toe-post/thong made of a ribbon fabric that is likely nylon-based; and furthermore, though I have tried every flat thong-style Vionic sandal both currently made [+ some recently discontinued styles] in women's sandals with toe posts, almost all styles had fabric toe posts which tended to be cut too short. I have [vertically] thin flat feet in terms of foot height + wear an 8Wide for arch support when wide is available... Wide widths are generally available in those Vionic styles which have rubber soles that are cut narrower on their underside (viewed upside down they have a sort of hour-glass shape); the other type w/a rubber sole has a wider mid-base on the underside of the arch area (+ does not have the hour glass shape when viewed from the underside]. This later type has more stable arch support under the raised arch as there is complete support under the arch (the raised arch on top is not going to flatten as much in time), + those Vionics with the more uniform-shaped soles run a bit wider + do not come in Wide sizes. If one compares the photos taken of the undersides of various styles- the two types of flat, rubber sole shapes will be apparent. Additionally, I found that there was poor quality control (the people making these sandals obviously are not trying the styles on or do not wear Vionic sandals; additionally, possibly the sandals are being made by in a country with a population of workers with tiny feet, small-boned individuals): not only are fabric thongs now being made very short so that the toe posts pinch, it was common for the lengths of the already short toe-posts to vary in length within not only pairs of different styles, as well as among pairs of the same style, but it was not uncommon to find one sandal in the same pair to have a toe post that was 1/8 to as much as 3/8 of an inch shorter than its mate. I had to return all 11 pairs of assorted styles + sizes that I ordered because, first, in all pairs the toe posts tended to be short which caused the thongs to pinch and the nylon fabric posts were not going to stretch w/wear as a leather toe-posts would have. Additionally, many of the straps, most of which were synthetic, had hard, uncomfortable edges and synthetics were not going to stretch or soften. In a couple styles there was a hidden rivet reinforcing the toe post where it attached to the straps in the forefront of the sandal and this is not a smart place to put a rivet, especially when the toe-posts are already cut short- stiffness from the rivet could be felt- toe area became even more pinched. In addition to the tight, too short-in-length toe-posts, the straps on this pair Bella X seemed synthetic (not real patent leather): and whether real leather or not, their hard edges felt like they would cut into my foot. I saw no chance that the material would soften with age as natural, soft leather would have so I returned this pair..