UNIF Das Boot - Unboxing/First Impressions

 Oh sweet lord have mercy on my soul. 

Ever since I bought a pair of Hellraisers last summer, I've grown more and more obsessed with UNIF and their amazing pieces, especially the Hellbounds. Unfortunately, everywhere was sold out of my size in the colour I wanted (black - obviously),  and I'd kind of given up hope of ever getting a pair. Until the Das Boot came along and I fell in love. 

Gorgeous black leather, with an exposed zip fastening on the front with all the party in the back in the form of the chunky gradient plastic heel. Oh. My. God. I don't think I've ever been so excited to own a pair of shoes in my life! And much like the Hellbounds, these shoes are monsters. With a 3 inch platform and a 6 inch heel, these babies make me taller than I probably need to be. But y'know what, fuck it. Who says tall[er] girls can't wear amazing shoes like this?

I ordered these from dollskill (the same place I bought my Hellraisers) on a Wednesday evening and they were shipped the next day, despite me being an international customer. Honestly, I think it's great that they send orders out so quickly, regardless of your location. I received them Monday morning (Feb 11th), which is a great delivery turn-around, and I've been clomping around my room in them ever since (except to take photos of them, naturally.)

The box they came in has some damage/tears/scuff marks to the corners, but that's down to them being shipped from the US to the UK and it has affected the shoes at all. As usual, the shoes come in their own separate dust jackets, with tissue paper inside to maintain their shape and a foam layer to stop the shoes rubbing against each other in the box. Just like my Hellraisers, I plan on storing them just like this to keep them looking their best. (My Hellraisers are still in almost-perfect condition, in case anyone's wondering!) 

So far, they feel pretty comfortable. The only issue is the zip feels a little tight while zipping them up, especially on my left foot, and once they're on but after wearing them for a while, that feeling goes away. (I'm not sure if it's just my feet, but it's something to bare in mind I suppose).
These shoes are real leather, so I'm expecting them to stretch a little over time. Even just walking around the house I feel quite steady on my feet and not like I'm going to trip over, I'm still a little weary of stairs, though they are manageable, however I'm not sure how long it'll be before I dare venture into the outside world in these. I'm also planning to use these in a photography project for uni, which is what I'm kind of using as an excuse for buying such an expensive piece, but honestly I just really, really wanted these shoes.

Side note:

 This is only a 'first impressions' post and by no means an extensive 'worn-them-for-weeks' review. I was really excited to get these and it's probably going to take a while to get used to walking around in them. Although I'm not used to wearing heels that often, let alone platforms this high, I can say that my feet aren't aching after just wearing them around the house. So if you wear heels a lot, you can probably venture a guess as to how comfortable they would be for you.

I also bought the UNIF Abbey skirt which was on sale on dollskill. It's a beautiful, floaty, hi-lo skirt with a black floral print and feels very gypsy-esque which will be perfect for spring/summer. I haven't photographed it in full because this post is aaaall about the shoes. 

Click here to read my review of the UNIF Hellraisers!

UNIF Hellraisers - review

So I'm sure anyone who's familiar with the brand UNIF has heard all about their Hellraiser flats by now, but I finally gave in and ordered these a couple of months ago after seeing a review on grav3yardgirl's youtube channel [x] and basically deciding, I had to have these. I've never really been a huge fan of flats since a lot of the ones I seen are too flat, sometimes like it's as if I'm just walking bare foot - nuh-uh. But I wanted something different for the summer so I wouldn't be wearing my Dr. Martens all the time and the Hellraisers were a perfect choice. I've had them almost two months now and I'm still absolutely in love!

 I ordered a pair from dollskill for $159 - roughly £100 - plus $20 shipping. I also had to pay £6 tax on these when they were delivered since I'm in the UK, which was kind of annoying that I had to pay even more, but I was kind of expecting it since shipping is a bit pricey. Apart from that, I was really pleased with the service from dollskill, they sent me email updates when the shoes came in stock and when they'd been shipped which I always appreciate and they arrived within a couple of weeks.

Anyway, the shoes themselves are so amazing. If you've seen photos of these bad boys before you'll know. They're a really soft, black leather that almost looks like suede (to me at least) and covered in silver spikes. They're available in a range of colours from hot pink to turquoise and you can also get black with gold spikes. As for sizing, I'd heard mixed reviews, some people saying to get a half size smaller than your normal size, others saying not to... so I was a bit wary at first, not wanting to wait even longer if I had to send them back. 

I decided to order my usual size (UK - 7, US - 9) and they fit perfectly! They're snug around the toes and a little looser around the heel since I've broken them in after wearing them a lot and they're super comfortable and I can wear them literally all day. I do get a lot of comments about them, mainly "Are they sharp?" (yes, they are) or "Imagine if you kicked someone with them on!" (not that I recommend it, but yeah, they probably could do some damage.) I store them in the box with the dust jackets they came in to keep them in the best condition. If you're going to spend a lot on a pair of shoes, you're going to want to keep them looking nice and new for as long as possible, right?

Honestly, I couldn't be happier with these shoes. I love anything a bit different or 'edgy' and these are so 'me' it's insane. They're really good to pair with dresses or skirts to give a bit of an edge to a girly outfit (adding a leather jacket for extra impact) and they can also be worn with with skinny jeans and a simple top for a more casual look. There's so many ways to wear these shoes, I don't think I'm ever going to get sick of them!