The best NZ roman sandal manufacturer (Douglas Sandals) has sadly gone away last year.  My last two pairs of that brand are now wearing out.  Since I have been wearing roman sandals all my life in summer, I am now looking for good ones again, with no particular luck so far.  The problem I have is that the leather rubs my big toes in just the wrong way on one particular spot and creates a blister with less than an hour of use.  The Douglas ones never did that.

For wearing in roman sandals, what I normally do is just wet them for their first use or two, and that makes them wear in much faster.  I still have to only use them for short walks until they are worn in, but after that they are very comfortable.