I love these boots, they look great, are comfortable to wear, but I encountered the same problem as another reviewer. The lace buttons sold with the boots can be pulled out of the boots with small amount of force. Rather than give up on boots I love, I purchased a set of lace buttons from Amazon (description: Screw Back Celtic Concho). The screw back connection on the new Celtic Conchos are more secure than the original lace buttons. I wanted to post photos of my results but that's apparently not possible on this site.