If you're paying full price why aren't you getting a size that fits?
I guess I read a lot of conflicting threads on these forums that dress shoes should fit snugly and then stretch and then others who say you shouldn't feel them at all when trying on. 8.5 would be too long for me (the width didn't change unless I would jump up a couple sizes or so).
Women are famous for buying shoes too small because they like how they look. Don't do it
Strong, strong argument! The salesperson was like "oh, ours are always a tad narrow, but they stretch..." I can almost buy the first part, since I probably have fat American feet, but I'm not sold on the stretching.