Irregular Choice: Fairy Toadstool Character Heels

Mega excitement today with the arrival of the new Irregular Choice fairy toadstool heels that launched on Friday. I bought two pairs, with the intention of returning the shoes if the boots looked hideous on me, as the boots were my first choice. I don't know when (I'm honestly shattered just from opening the box), but I'll have more photos and info when I do a Shoesday fit review on The Shoe Girl Diaries and a more in-depth review here, but I wanted to give you my first impressions.

The heels are stunning, MUCH prettier than I imagined, I love that the underside of the toadstool is painted. I think the fairy looks quite pretty and natural, not as harsh faced as the mermaid nor like she's pooing a la Alice. The red glitter is chunky and sheds. They feel quite high. I haven't worn shoes for a few weeks, so once I got going I was alright, but unless you're accustomed to heels, I can't see you managing these as there is a steep instep.  
Ember Starwand are slightly generous, I wouldn't say enough to size down (those in between sizes should take the smaller though).  Oddly the right shoe felt shorter (when my left foot is slightly bigger). I thought the curved-ness (not a word, but you know what I mean) of the front would pose a problem getting on (toes scrunched up/curled under) but I didn't find that. There isn't a lot of shoe at the front to put your toes into, but it seems to work.  The flowers are a semi-matte satin and the leaves are wired.  Sorry I didn't realise one was flipped up in the photo below, I've since sorted it!  There's a lot more yellow flowers than I expected.  The uppers are a lovely rich blue metallic, very classy looking and the sole in the sparkling rainbow is glorious.  I also love the colour of the metallic trim around the top of the shoe.  They are very heavy.  They feel heavier to me than the boots, though I haven't compared.    
Angelica Pearson, I'm at a loss for words for how beautiful these are. They are also generous, more so than Ember.  The foot is generally big all over, but I'm dubious if my heel would get past the ankle of a size down as there's no zip. They do tend to sit a bit unflatteringly (again not a real word!), in that they finish at the widest part of your calves, so your legs can look a bit chunky as there's no ankle definition. I seriously doubt anyone will be looking at your actual legs if you're wearing these boots though! They are not tight around the top (or any part) on me and my legs aren't the thinnest.  The shaft style is similar to a cowboy boot, so although they aren't mega loose in the leg, there is a little room for chunkier calves.  The mesh is quite substantial, not flimsy, not too stiff though. The flower embroidery is pretty enough on it's own (like feel free to make a shoe or boot just with that IC) but added to that you have knitted (beautiful!), felt and fabric flowers. I love the range of colours and that they are not obvious choices for the shade of the boot and that they are different shapes. Note there are none in the inside of the leg (just embroidery), so you won't knock them off if your legs rub together when walking. The glitter uppers, wow, where do I start? The colour is STUNNING, it's dreamy and the reason my neighbours likely thought Halloween had come early when I saw the stock photos on Friday (a lot of screaming). It shifts in the light from a blue-aqua to a brighter green. Although the finish is completely different, it's giving me Tea With Alice or Donald Duck Whoa vibes in how pretty the colour is. It's really unusual in that it's like a crackled pattern underneath with a glitter overlay. The glitter is fine and doesn't shed.  Optional to match your manicure to them.  
I adored the new cat half insoles last year and I'm now loving the new fabric soles this season and you still get the picture, just a smaller version on the pad of the foot.
Also the box for the boots is mahoosive. If you saw this post with the new season graphics, then you'll know it's super exciting to get a box twice the size of a shoe one.
I know this was an expensive collection, the boots retail for £249, which is at the top end of pricing for IC and not everyone can budget for them. I do understand that.  However, I truly believe these boots are worth every penny and will argue with anyone who says otherwise! I own a lot of designer shoes that sell for upwards of double the price of these boots and they don't have anywhere near the same level of detail on them. The fact all those flowers are individual, there's metallics, glitter and embroidered mesh in the uppers, then the heel. This is definitely one of the most intricate of character heels. Compare it to the bunnies or unicorns and you have to see there's so much more work in these. It's like 3 heels in one with the two toadstools and the fairy and there's lots of colours and small details, all hand-painted, plus glitter. These would not have been cheap to make and although IC are still considered a high street or boutique brand, they do have to reflect the craftsmanship and materials in their prices.  I know I've said this a million times, but again I find I'm pinching myself that these are real and mine, they are total works of art. 

Now, I have the hard decision of which to keep. The boots are still my first choice, but I'm wondering if I can stretch to keeping the shoes too as I can imagine I'd reach for them quite a lot as they are relatively simple compared to the boots. I've just shown my sister and she's adamant I shouldn't return any. She however, doesn't have to pay for them!  I'll have another try-on tomorrow and see.  I should've predicted I'd have a hard time sending them back, really how naive am I?  If you didn't manage to get any on Friday, I believe there was an issue with the shipment, so I'm assuming at some point there will be the full selection of sizes when the stock comes.  There were only some sizes available in some styles on Friday and it was sheer luck that the colour I wanted in the boots came in my size and I dithered at 12pm thinking they'd add more, then rushed to the checkout when I realised this was it!  What do you think of these new character heels?