Kenneth Cole Has No Sole

I buy a new pair of dress shoes once a year. These shoes are usually a variation of the classic black loafer. For the past 7 years my shoe of choice has been Kenneth Cole. Sketchers just didn't fit correctly, leaving the arches of my feet aching...and my one foray into discount shoes at Payless was nothing short of a disaster. I don't like skimping on shoes, but I also don't like paying a small fortune for them. That's why I go with Kenneth Cole shoes, they look great, fit like a glove, and usually last a year if not longer....

Yeah, usually..this last pair hasn't lasted 4 months. Both soles have holes in them, which I discovered on a rainy walk at lunch last week. Nothing like arriving at the excellent Ooba Tooba for some chile relleno with soaking wet feet...you would have thought I was trudging through the bush in Viet Nam, not walking the streets of Bellevue.

I haven't purchased a replacement pair yet, so I put the now dry shoes on this morning. That is when I noticed the stitching on the right shoe is unraveling and the heel on same shoe has come loose. Since I don't have a back-up (old shoes were dismissed during a recent stuff reduction ceremony...doh!) I am wearing shoes not even fit for a homeless person.

Now, I bought these shoes at Nordstrom, a store that used to have a very favorable to the consumer return policy. Will they take back a pair of 4 month old Kenneth Cole shoes that have fallen apart faster than Obama's economic policies? If they don't take them back will they give me a discount on another pair?

Kenneth Cole has more or less lost me, which is too bad because I really like Kenneth Cole shoes. I'm willing to try another brand, but again, I'm kind of on a budget and anything over $125 is a deal breaker...this should be interesting.