I am not a fan of elastic around the shoe-mouth.  The shoes look awful when off the foot and on my foot they feel constrictive all the time.  In addition, these shoes were a little snug.  Other factors that affected my decision to return them:  1) the toe is so round as to make the foot look wide and clunky from above and 2) the heel is too low for my preference.  A little more wedge (maybe another inch) would have been great. I have been looking everywhere for tan/cognac shoes with a 1-1.5 inch heel to wear professionally with slacks or with tights and a jeans skirt.  I had high hopes for these, as I regularly buy Naturalizers.  But these did not work.