shoes and fit

I think I finally got dress shoes that are not too big.  But, how snug shoudl they be?  The shoes I have (AE Sanford) are a 10D [I got fitted and was told I can take a 10 or 10.5 and my foot is in between a C and D).  They seem to fit snug, which I think is OK, but they are very snug (I think "tight" is too strong of a word) in the toe box, especially if I walk.

Oddly enough, the tightness of how I lace the shoes does not impact the toe box fit any.

Is the toe box suppoed to be rather snug?  I am not getting blisters or anything of the sort like that and when I put my feet in initially, they seem to have plenty of room, and the snugness is really only pronounced when I walk.  When I feel how far my toes hit, I have plenty of clearance, but on the sides of my smaller toes there seems to be less room, which I find kind of strange since I am barely a D in width.

Coming from wearing things too big (dress shirts and shoes) and getting used to more fitting dress shirts, I am not sure if this is how a shoe should feel or if it is too tight.  I absolutely do not like shoes too big, but don't want them too small obviously.  it feels most snug in the toes on TOP of my sides.

Basically, if my feet grow by about a centimeter, I will think that my shoes are too small.  Right now, they seem to fit perfect when I am not walking and seem to be snug when I walk, but not painful, it just feels like there is not extra room and that putting on say a thick sock over it will make the shoe too small.

AE graciously said since this is my first time ordering shoes, I can return them even though I wore them for one day outside.  However, I do have some personal concerns about returning stuff like that, I absolutely love the color of the shoe and the style, the "problem" might simply be that I never had properly fitted dress shoes before, and perhaps some break in is needed.  On the other hand, I need shoes that properly fit.

If my shoes were indeed too small, how would I know?  Does this sound like the shoes are too small or just that I need to get used to them or that they will expand ever so slightly during the berak in period.

The other two 10D AEs I got fit fine...one Italian loafer I got was actually too BIG but a tounge pad fixed that issue and the McTavish seem to fit looser than the Sanfords.

any thoughts?

and, thanks.  I have been getting compliments about what I wear now, and that feels good :)

also, i would not say my feet hurt when I walk.  I clearly feel that the shoes are snug and there is not much additional room but not really pain...just feels much different from what I had before.   I can also easily wiggle my toes without much obstruction.

as an update, my feet wanted out by 5:30 PM, so the shoes are going back.  Which is a bad thing since those shoes rocked :(