Shoe help needed, any ideas, please?

[PandasRock]

I have just spent another hideous afternoon shoe shopping with dd1 and dd2 (and lets not even mention ds not letting them measure his feet, let alone try on new shoes!)

dd1 is now a size 3. with a width fitting of (seemingly) -z. seriously, she has really thin feet - i think she measured up a D fitting (and that would be generous). It is impossible to find shoes which are:

reasonably hard wearing
PRACTICAL!
velcro closure, as she cannot do laces (and no hope of zips, ie on boots) fitting her, given how narrow her feet are)

any ideas?

we did manage to get her into a pair of boys' school shoes (thankfully she doesn't really care what ehr shoes look like, but would like them to be a bit nicer), but there must be an alternative out there?

I have similar nightmares with dd2, except she does at least come up to a respectable E width fitting. But then she does care what ehr shoes look like, and would not wear boys/neutral practical shoes in a month of sundays. yet she is complaing about having cold feet (unsurprising given the woeful state of girls' school shoes), so again, any ideas? (she actually has a reasonably sturdy pair of Ricosta shoes atm, but they will need replacing son, and local shop is sold out).

They are both really good in shoe shops, and will be measured/try on shoes, but finding some which fit and are actually fit for purpose (ie more than just sitting about in a warm room) is proving more than tricky!

oh, and if anyone knows which makes of non-school shoes (the blingier the better, as far as dd2 is concerned!) are good for narrow feet, then please do tell. I am losing the will to live with having to constantly take dd2 to try on the latest Lelli Kellys, which never bloody fit her. She just wants some nice shoes! (have tried trainer styles, and just about anything available on the high street. nothing fits her)

[Ineedmorepatience]

Petasil for the one with narrow feet, they do a d fitting. We have put an extra insole under the existing one for Dd3 at times when she was younger. Most of the petasil, ricosta, ecco type shoes have removable insoles. Plus they are nice and way better quality than clarks.

We order online but I restrict to those brands as the sizes are similar to each other so we just go up a size each time, there are a few lovely specialist shoe shops around but they do tend to be more expensive.

Good luck (I feel your pain)

[PandasRock]

Petasil is not a brand I've come across before, so will look out for those.

I always try to go,for,a European brand where possible, as they are generally nicer and harder wearing than eg start rite.

Dd2 is in Ricosta atm, but I always struggle finding them. I bulk at shopping online for shoes, it just feels wrong. I probably need to get over that!

I hadn't thought about extra insole going underneath existing one - genius! I always shy away from anyhting which needs an extra insole, as it will ruck up/be uncomfortable and therefore cause issues, but will try that

I do have a specialist shoe shop not too far away which claims to stock Ecco Ricosta etc, but it's hard to get to when it is open. I will redouble efforts, or might try the online thing

[Ineedmorepatience]

If you know what continental size she is it should be fairly easy online. In my experience the european manufacturers do seem to be able to follow their sizing system!

Liquorice Laces are a friendly husband and wife team who have helped me out in the past by checking a pair or shoes to see if they have a removable insole.

Dd3 wears orthotics and has extremely flat feet so shoe buying is a challenge to say the least!

Good luck

[Tunna]

Just to add that Zara tend to be narrower than most High Street shops for the non school shoes. They have a sale on now as well.