During my initial exploratory slow & sustainable phase last fall, I stumbled upon Nisolo, a Nashville-based ethical shoe producer. According to their website, they pay a living wage to their factory workers in Peru. And on the environmental front, they offset carbon emissions via a partnership with Ecosphere+ and have a unique shoe reclamation program for $30 credit.
I have been looking for a rag & bone boot replacement, and jumped at the chance to purchase a pair of their Dari boots in Wheat during Black Friday sales (more on what I bought here). While I love my rag & bone Harrow booties, I find their heels now slightly too tall for my daily commute. I’ve now worn my Nisolo boots for a few months, and wanted to write a review of how they’ve been so far.
Fit
I was surprised at how well these fit my foot – which is to say, they run on the narrow side. I’m a narrow 7.5/38 and I’d say these run true to size, but size up .5 if you have normal or wide feet. So far, I’ve found that they’ve stretched out and molded to my feet a little bit, but not a ton.
Comfort
The Dari boot has a 2.5” heel in contrast to the 3.5” on the rag&bone. That one inch difference makes it so much easier to walk, even jog, in the Nisolo boots. I can go up and down stairs, jog to the train as the doors are closing, and generally walk around comfortably.
While there isn’t a ton of padding in the insole, I haven’t found this to be an issue with comfort. The only thing that I’ve found slightly uncomfortable is the top of the boot shaft. I found myself getting indentation lines on the front of my shin from bending my ankles a lot. I may be used to having flexibility with shorter shoes, so it’s just something I need to ease back on.
Style
Initially, I thought both colors of the Dari boot were weatherproof – turns out only the black leather version is. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me, but made a lot more sense when I felt the leather. It’s a smooth nubuck that feels luxurious to the touch, with a leather interior lining. The Dari is a very classic boot silhouette that I’ve found easy to incorporate into my work and casual wardrobe. I’ve worn these at least once a week, if not more during nicer weather weeks.
I do want to make one call-out – the Wheat color is a bit darker in person than it appears on the website. Again, this was not a dealbreaker for me but something to note if you are sold on the website’s exact shade.
Overall
Overall, I’ve been impressed with these boots – they are comfortable, stylish and easy to wear. And as a bonus, produced ethically with efforts around sustainability as well.
Partnership Disclosure: This blog post was not sponsored by any of the brands listed above. As always, all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links, in which I earn a commission on purchases.
