*****UPDATE: Oct 30, 2014: The shoes are now completely broken in and while I still get minimal blisters on the back of my ankle I have plenty of space in the shoe and could even wear thick socks with them. The pressure on the top of the foot is no more and the shoes are super comfortable to walk around in. If you can get past the first initial wears to break them in the shoes fit perfect and really mold to your feet with time. They are my go to shoes!*****UPDATE August 25,2014: After loosening up the shoes with newspaper and bottles I then wore two pairs of my thickest socks and wore them around the house for an hour or so. After I did that and tried them on I had no issue with pressure on the top of my foot.***********If your think you might have gotten the wrong size then wear them around the house for a couple of days to test them out and see if they are not your size or if they just need to be broken in.***Okay...brace yourselves. I was eyeing these boots for nearly a year in my wish list and finally I took the plunge and bought them. I had researched and took my proper foot measurements to make sure that I am indeed a size 11 womens shoe. I was so excited to get them but had a difficult time getting them on for the first time...cue disappointment. I am stubborn/impatient so I kept them anyway and did research on the fit when broken in, the common areas that will be tight for this shoe, etc.I found that like myself, others had issues with the instep being particularly tight and while that is the only issue for my foot in this shoe I started to wonder if I had gotten the right size. However numerous blogs and reviews claim they are supposed to fit tight because this leather loosens and mold to your foot the more you wear them. (aka break these suckers in)Day 2 of the shoes showed no signs of the shoe fitting any better. I could wear my normal thin socks with them but doubling or wearing really thick socks hurt. I was really sad at the thought of having to return and buy them from the Dr. Martens site because this was such a good deal. But I literally just bought boots in an 11 that are really comfy so I gave it another go.I stuffed the bottoms with newspaper making sure to pack it really tightly for the instep because that was my biggest problem and to my surprise it worked! Day 2 the shoes weren't comfy but they weren't super tight either. Then that night instead of newspaper I took pill bottles from vitamins and stuck them in the instep area because someone had told me they used beer bottles to loosen that area.That so far had been the thing that really helped the shoes fit. My left foot was still a little tight but my right was about right. Which is when I knew that I had gotten the right size. They just need to be broken in. I was even debating taking them to a shoe repair shop to have them stretched a bit but then I got the pill bottle idea and that has worked for me.My normal shoe size is a womans 11 (standard width) but I've found I go up a size for payless' shoes because they hurt only to find myself swimming in a 12(standard width) once they are broken in. Which made me realize that I am an 11 (11 wides are even too big)My advice to you would be to measure your foot and use that as a guide. If your as stubborn as me and are determined to make them fit them just be patient. These shoes are made with a very tough unforgiving leather that will take time to break in. Of course you could just size up to avoid the whole issue but then they may be too big once they are broken in.