Madewall Recalls 50,900 Pairs Of Shoes That Could Cause Wearers To Trip And Fall

You’re just strolling along, feeling fine and looking good in your new, $60 Madewell sandals when suddenly, you trip and fall. It’s not you — or at least, it might not just be your own personal clumsiness — the J. Crew-owned company says 50,600 pairs of sandals it sold in the U.S. and Canada have a metal shank that can dislodge from the inside of the shoe and break through the bottom of the outsole, posing a fall hazard.

It’s not often that we hear about a clothing retailer recalling products for being unsafe, considering usually, it’s not like your shirt is going to inch up around your neck and try to strangle you or something.

That makes this recall especially interesting, one that came to our attention when Consumerist reader Lauren forwarded an email Madewell sent to customers who’d recently purchased a pair of the shoes in question. As it turns out, she’d already returned her pair one day after she bought them, because they were “impossible to walk in.”

Thus far, Madewell has received eight reports of metal shanks dislodging and breaking through the bottom of the outsole. No injuries have been reported, the Consumer Product Safety Commission notes.

The recall only applies to a list of particular styles, but in all colors and all sizes of those particular sandals. The shoes were sold from February 2015 to July 2015 for between $60 and $80 at Madewell stores, online at madewell.com and online at shopbop.com.

About 50,600 pairs of the recalled shoes were sold in the U.S., and about 300 in Canada. The following 10 style numbers are being recalled:

C0275 Sightseer Knotted Slide Sandal
C0276 Sightseer T-Strap Thong Sandal in Black Leather
C0277 Sightseer T-Strap Thong Sandal in Metallic Colorblock
C0278 Sightseer Buckle Gladiator Sandal
C0279 Sightseer Slide Sandal
C1105 Sightseer Crisscross Sandal
C5893 Sightseer T-Strap Toe-Loop Sandal
C5895 Sightseer Ankle-Wrap Sandal in Shiny Silver
C5897 Sightseer Lace-Up Sandal
C6090 Sightseer Ankle-Wrap Sandal in Metallic Sand

Madewell and the CPSC say customers should stop using the product and return it to the retailer for a refund for the entire purchase amount. Customers will get a separate shipping email generated by the UPS with a free shipping label attached, within 24-48 hours to return the sandals for free.

“It’s important that you know how seriously we take product safety,” Madewell says in the email to customers. “We are actively working to rectify this issue and put additional measures in place to ensure this does not happen again.”

Customers can reach Madewell by phone at 1-866-544-1937 or by email at 24-7@madewell.com.