I used to wear an 8½ D shoe, nearly all my life. I wondered if my foot had "spread out" as I've aged (50+ years of adulthood, hah hah!). But I still have one pair of very old "original" Florsheim wing tips (before they sold out and became a poor quality company compared to what they once were). I don't wear them often, but tried them on to see if they still fit. They fit just fine. So my foot hasn't changed - sizing of shoes (and shirts, for that matter) have become smaller over the years for what they're marked. Thus, I took a chance and decided to try these 9M size shoes when they showed up on the Amazon Vine program, figuring I've got almost nothing to lose if they don't fit. They are maybe ¼ size too long (there's a bit of room still left in the toe, but not even a complete half-size difference. Width-wise, these are perfect for my "old" 8½D foot that still fits in an "old" 8½D shoe from 40+ year old shoe (I use shoe trees and take good care of my shoes, and rotate them). I would add that I've purchased three pair of the exact same model of some French Shriner loafers after each wore out (cheap shoes, looked good, but only got out of them what they were originally worth). Each time they got smaller and smaller on my foot, and the last time I had to return them and go to an 8½ Wide, and they are barely long enough anymore (visible when compared to the previous model shoes). So I'd say that fit-wise, these are perhaps just a very slightly smaller size than what a 9M would have been 30-50 years ago (when I sold shoes in college for example), but probably about average for today. Comfort wise, I REALLY like them! I finally wore them out and around most of the day today for the first time, including in rain. My feet were dry, these looked great when I finally took them off, I didn't slip at all in them while out in the rain, and I simply immediately put shoe trees in them. Construction-wise, they appear to be excellent, particularly for the price. Don't expect to get $300 shoes for this price, but given today's (highly inflated) shoe prices, these are (relatively speaking) reasonable. Note the differences in pricing for the exact shoe, depending on which color you select on the Amazon page. It's the same shoe, but they're apparently applying the standard business-school model in pricing and charging more for the more popular color schemes, and perhaps trying to get rid of the less popular ones at far lower prices. Durability? No way to know for many months or even years. But if they fall apart quickly, I am committed enough to the Amazon review program to come back and downgrade these if warranted. So without a revised review, consider this a solid 4-star product, with the difference from a 5-star review being merely what I think is a slightly over-priced shoe in this color scheme (Black Nappa). Otherwise, if you expect these to be correct or only slightly (still acceptably) too large for the stated size, order it and be happy! They're certainly comfortable. (By the way - I wore it with a conservative charcoal grey suit to church today, and they were not too casual, at least by most people's standards).
