Yumetenbo Shoes

What do you think?

After cryptic USPS statuses and a quick but random vacation to New York just moments after arriving in Chicago, my lovely dream shoes have finally arrived at my door step~!


I was shaking when I got them, I was so excited and nervous!
I was worried that they would be too small.  I'm a size 8.5US on average, so my feet could range from half a size smaller to half a size larger, depending on the shoe.  Plus, this could have been some Asian version of 8.5, so I worried that it might end up being just too small anyway (I've seen it happen before!).  Just think, after pining for a pair of shoes for over a year, only for them to be completely out of my range.   This was my biggest worry, since no one really ever talked about that.

But they ended up fitting just right~!!  Not too big, not too small, just right!!
Even the strap around my ankle could be adjusted to fit my tiny legs!


You know, I haven't seen any actual reviews in English over these (or really any of Yumetenbo's) shoes, so shall I?

Shoe Information-
Link to Shoes
*As of April 1st, they have restocked, it is currently in preorder status!  They're really popular, so if you want them, get them quick!*
Colors I bought:  Black A and Baby Pink
Size: LL (8.5US)
Height of Heel: 4.3in/11cm (excluding straps)
Shoe Opening Circumference:  8.5in/21.5cm
Toe Opening Circumference:  6.3in/16cm
Back Stability Loop: 10in/25.5cm

Note: I measured these myself, so I may be off by a few millimeters.  Also, the sizes may vary slightly from shoe to shoe, but unless you're precisely one of these sizes, it shouldn't matter too much.  According to their measurement chart (it says a lot less than mine), all of their shoes have the same measurements besides length, so I'm guessing you can use these measurements no matter what size shoe you wear.

First things first, ordering from Yumetenbo (this is their Princess version site, FYI) is very easy, especially now that they ship internationally as of April 2010, I believe.  I go through the English Rakuten site (which is actually how I found them in the first place) so their website is automatically translated.  Sure, you don't get all the pretty graphics you would going through their regular site, but you're going to be buying clothes, not graphics.   Besides, the English translated sites also give you the converted prices.  Just make sure you really pay attention to what it is you're getting.  Sometimes the translator will translate the colors into something weird and occasionally into what seems like the same thing, and depending on the shop and item, you may think you're purchasing something only to discover it's something you rent, or that they're only talking about one part of the whole when you think you're buying the whole.  And make sure you really pay attention to measurements.  I'm usually a small, but sometimes I fall under medium.  Might want to learn some key words in Japanese.  I can spot the word "bust", "waist" and "white" almost anywhere, lol.

Oh, and very, very important, always pay attention to whether an item is for preorder or already in stock!!  I cannot stress this enough.  When I ordered last time, one of the items I got was for preorder, and they won't ship, or even gather everything until everything is in stock.  However as a result, some of the things I had ordered went out of stock, so they just cancelled my whole order!  I think now, they'll only cancel what's out of stock, but it was really disappointing to be so excited about getting so many things on my wishlist, and for them to just disappear....    I'd strongly advise that if something you want is in preorder status, for you to order it separately.  Yeah, you'll have to pay extra for shipping, but this ensures that you won't miss out on other things while waiting on something else.  You could also wait until the items on preorder come into stock, but depending on how popular it is, you may end up missing out instead.

You don't need to join the site to order from it, but if you want to eventually use your points (if you know you're going to be buying a lot from Rakuten in general) it's best you sign up.  They've made it a bit easier to register if you speak English, but there's plenty of tutorials out there if you get stuck.

If you have a question, they do have someone who speaks a little English (it wasn't all jumbled up like they used a translator) and unless they're on vacation, like they were when I ordered, they'll get back to you quickly.  If you want to know how much it'll cost to ship something, there's a chart on the third step of checking out that tells you how much you'll pay depending on the amount your order is already.  Just scroll down.  It's in yen, so get out the converter.  I don't think they'll stray from this chart, because the amount for my shipping was exactly what it said it would be.

The negative of shopping through Rakuten is that you must use your credit card information.  They don't do Paypal, or at least, what I saw.   If your bank is prone to hating international orders, you'll probably have to contact your bank and let them know that you're going to be buying from another country.  Good news is that their price conversions are up to date.  Oh, and be careful how you have your address.  You may want to put it all on one line or purposely place certain bits of information in certain boxes, because they write the address the Japanese way.  They way they had it for mine was:

Last name, first name
State, country, city
Street number and street.

I'm really actually shocked they managed to get my address!  They had to tape a new one over it along the way.  They didn't even have my zip code on there!  But like I said, they were on vacation, so I couldn't send them a message with the correct way to put my address.  But as you can see, they made it to me!


Anyway, onto the products on hand, the shoes!
Now, I only own one other pair of heels currently, so I can't really compare Yumetenbo's shoes to any others.  I think the shoes I do have I got from Target forever ago.  I don't know how these shoes stack up to some $500 shoes (and I don't think I ever will unless I'm *really* in love with those shoes) but they seem to be in very good condition.  There's no fear of them falling apart any time soon.  I've tugged and pulled at everything, and nothing has budged.  You can see a few glue stains on the pink ones and the random seam or so in a few areas, but nothing that detracts from the overall look nor threatens the shoe's integrity, and at only $24 per pair, these are very minor gripes for otherwise very well made shoes.

Now, I got the shoes with the straps that go around the ankle (over the year, they've released several different types of this shoe).  I have the thinnest ankles you've ever seen (no pictures yet, but their circumference is 7 1/8in, or 18cm), so on their thinnest setting, they mostly worked.  I say mostly, because for my pink ones, they worked, but for the black ones, one shoe was just too wide... at first.  The great thing about these straps is that they not only buckle on, but also snap on, so you can get them at the right width and never have to change them back.  I doubt there's too many with "deer ankles" like mine, but by taking the buckles completely off and turning them the other way around, I was able to take off an extra centimeter.  I didn't measure how wide you could adjust them to because if the predetermined belt notches are too small, you could just get a leather needle and poke a notch that's your size.

The shoes are covered in satin, so be prepared for maintenance, especially for the baby pink and white ones.  The soles have good grips, though I would suggest you add something for the heel part, as only the center is texturized.

All in all, they're beautiful shoes that any princess would be glad to wear.
I've only worn thin heels twice in my life previously: at my high school graduation in 2004, and at my mom's wedding in 2006.  Both of those times, the shoes were painful and difficult to walk in because my feet are on the thin side, and either slide too far forward or have a tendency to slip off completely.  I think because of the ankle straps, it's really easy to walk in these, and they're very comfortable.  Even a high heel newbie like myself can walk with confidence!  I've even DDRed in these things!


Sorry for the lack of cute in today's blog, I haven't slept properly today, so I'm a little tired, lol.
I've mostly received my things, so I'm currently preparing my reviews~!  Look out for them!