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A few years ago (3 or 4, I can't remember exactly), I bought expensive Aravon shoes (a Mary Jane style with heels called Maya that is still available and is very comfortable; it costs over 150$ in Canada). I wore them less than 10 times over the years because I have other shoes, less dressy, for summer, but their synthetic sole suddenly started to disintegrate last week while I was wearing them for the first time this season. Apparently, this kind of sole deteriorates when one does not wear the shoes on a regular basis, which seems completely crazy to me considering how expensive they are. The shoes have always been on a shoe rack in my apartment, protected from light and dust. It is not even possible to repair them, even though they are almost new and the leather upper doesn't even show a scratch. I will never buy products from this company again and I will avoid this kind of material and ask for real rubber soles in the future, even though they are not as light.
I had the same experience with Aravon “maya” shoe heels disintegrating. The rubber cracked and crumbled until only the plastic stub of the base structure remained. These shoes were not new, but had barely been worn. When I contacted Rockport, I was given a 15% discount coupon on my next purchase of shoes. While I appreciate the gesture, my faith in Rockport has been shaken, and I doubt that I will risk another $180 on this brand.
Oh wow! This is exactly what happened to me! I bought 3 pairs of Aravon "Maya" Mary Janes in around 2017 when the style was being discontinued. I actually drove around to a bunch of stores to buy 3 pairs in my size so that I would be able to wear them for years. I knew they were great shoes because they were the only model of dress shoes I would wear at the office (and back and forth on my bike 5 days a week) for about 5 years before that, so I had already gone through about 4 pairs and knew they were good quality .
Ahem. Not so much. I started wearing the first pair right away, and put the other 2 pairs away in their boxes, happy to have them for the next few years. Within one or two days, the rubber sole on the left heel crumbled. I brought it back to the store and it was refunded.
The second pair was fine. I wore them for about a year and they were doing ok. I was seriously injured in 2018 and didn't wear heels more than once or twice a year after that. During the pandemic, same thing.
Last week, I left Pair #2 at a friend's place and decided to break out Pair #3 for the first time for a date. They looked all shiny and new. I walked 1.5 hours in the shoes and the soles completely fell apart on both shoes. First, small stones got stuck in the sole as I was walking on the sidewalk. By the time I got home that night, the heel of the left shoe had completely disintegrated in chunks, the sole under the ball of the foot on the right shoe was pocked with stones and small holes, and on one of the shoes, the entire sole detached from the leather upper.
I love this model of shoe. Steel shank made them amazing for biking and walking. I usually wear massive orthotics and these were the only shoes where I didn't need to add an orthotic. And they were super-cute, unlike the current model of Mary Janes on the Rockport/Aravon website. I see they changed the type of heel and sole on the new Mary Jane-type model, but the overall shape/style of the shoe is now more "old lady office/church shoe" than "funky 1950s vintage mary jane".
Sigh. They cost about $150 each plus tax. I bought 3 pairs and got one good one and 2 duds.
Elise.
I have been purchasing Rockport shoes for about 35 years and they were always my #1 choice. I bought a pair of their shoes that look like sneakers a number of years ago and wore them only a few times. I liked the look of the shoes and they were not inexpensive. But, after about the 4th time I wore them, the soles COMPLETELY DISINTEGRATED! I sent them back to the return center in Redlands, CA two weeks ago and have heard absolutely nothing! Nothing!
Then, I was wearing a pair of their dress/casual shoes last week and the sole on the left shoe was falling off!
I'm really not used to this and have never had a pair of shoes where the soles disintegrated or fell off!
What is going on with the quality of Rockport?
Based on my recent experience, I willl purchase ANY PRODUCT OTHER THAN ROCKPORT in the future.
Bob Wolbrink
Vista, CA
This happened to me as well. I was saving my Maya shoes for special occasions, and wore them to an important event. As I walked along the floor of the Purdue University Memorial Union I heard a scratching sound at each step. On looking at the bottom of my shoes, I discovered to my horror that they had begun disintegrating and contained (had picked up) bits of stones! They weren't all that old, though the heel wore too quickly as well. The tops of them LOOK nice, but they are not serviceable. What can be done about this? Mary at --- maryl11@aol.com
Same issue with me with multiple Aravon shoes and boots and yes they are expensive. CAn they be fixed?
I bought 2 pair of Aragon shoes and kept them in original box for close to a year as I was ill and seldom left the house. The first pair i wore the sole fell apart shortly after I started to wear them. This week i wore, for the first time, the second pair to a doctor's appt and they disintegrated on the doctor's carpet! I am so frustrated as they are not cheap shoes and I now need new shoes...they will not be Aragon.