£38 Clark's echoes or £12 Asda ones?

[Florencenotflo]

Dd starts school in September. Just working out roughly how much money I need to put aside for uniform.

Dd is very heavy on her feet and goes through shoes so quickly, she spends all winter in wellies because they seem to be the hardest wearing footwear I can find.

So is it worth spending £38 on Clark's shoes or £12 on ones from Asda. Do Clark's last any longer, are they any more hard wearing?

Echoes??? Shoes!!

I think Clarks last longer, yes, but you need to be careful about the styles for girls. I look for the type with toe bumpers, so if DD kneels down or plays football the toes don't get scuffed out too quickly.

I thought Clark's Echoes was the name of a shoe 😂

As the saying goes, buy cheap, buy twice!
I'd go for quality shoes as they are in them five days a week.

Yes, Clark's last longer, but as above, get the robust sort. I didn't, and DS wore the toes out of his shoes by Christmas. Really annoying as the rest of the shoe was in great condition. But the toes let water in in the winter.

And if you can find a shoe gauge and measure DC yourself, the Clarks Outlet website is very cheap. DS' current leather clarks dress-type school shoes cost me £15 (so with his blessing I bought two pairs, one in the next size up too).

Come to think of it DD's last school shoes came from Clarks Outlet too, and they were £22 IIRC.

Clark’s or clinkards definitely. Asda shoes for boys seem like a really hard leather and they are not always waterproof. I also worry they won’t be comfortable and as another poster said they wear the shoes 5 days a week so it’s not a lot of money really.

Brilliant, thank you. I will look for toe bumpers!

I normally get my kids shoes from Clark's outlet. They are a lot cheaper there! I do echo checking the fro t of the shoe style. Any shoe that has one piece of leather on the front is going to fall apart despite the cost. If you can get shoes with the rubbery bit over the toes the better.

So far my year R dd has survived on a few pairs of TU shoes but she did go up three sizes over the year 😭😭😭😭

I'd forgotten about the outlet, there is one not that far from us.

Clark's!

Trust me, if you buy Asda you'll be buying more by half term, especially if she's heavy on her feet.

I used to argue with DH every summer holiday up until DD1 was in year 2. I'd say that we should but Clark's, he argue that he didn't want to spend £30+ on shoes for a child.

Fair enough, so to Asda we go. Bought the scuff resistant ones for £12.

The soles had holes in by half term so they needed replacing. DH was still adamant that he wasn't buying Clark's so got another cheap pair. Lasted 2 weeks! Got Clark's and they lasted until July.

Now he listens to me and we've always had Clark's shoes for DD2. They last the whole school year (unless they grow a lot, obviously).

The Asda ones might be cheaper but you'll be buying them twice, if not more.

My son will get through clarks as quickly as Asda so I but cheaper. Sainsburys for preference.
Depends on the kid, mine scrapes the toes on the floor when he walks.

If you can fit shoes - either

I was trained by Clark's and worked in John Lewis's shows department for 3 years so I know what I am looking for

@Legolandloldolls 😫 3 sizes! Dd grows like a weed but I'm hoping she's done for a little while. She already has size 10 feet.

My dd is a nightmare with shoes, she will kick the toes out of cheap shoes in weeks. Clark's are the only shoes that will last any length of time

Correctly fitted shoes are important.

Children wear school shoes more than any other pair of shoes. Spend as much as you can.

I found M&S patent,anti scuff ones to be the best. They're around £30 so not too pricey.Unless her feet grow, they last the year with minimum damage.

She's had these since September.

Geox are a few pounds more than Clarkes but last far better.

My DCs have slow growing feet and aren't that heavy on shoes, but Clarkes stitching often fell apart long before they were outgrown on many occasions. I resent having to rebuy the same size that might be grown out of soon.

M&S are good value. I use them to tide us through the summer term if necessary.

My friend chose closed Clarkes "laceups" for her little girl to keep her feet dry...
They split in two across the seem of the patent/ leather, they looked like an open toe sandal.

Clark's outlet online is also great if you know what size they are. Free delivery over £50 and free returns so i buy a few style in a few sizes, try them on and send back the ones which dont work

Always bought Clark’s for my daughter.

Some have lasted, some haven’t.

I’ll always go to Clark’s. (:

I'm not impressed with Clarks school shoes. My DC wear through them very quickly. Startrite last longer but the styles are bit more formal and less practical for running around the playground (particularly for girls).

My kids grew out too fast so just ended up with cheap supermarket ones.
Check your uniform code: our school doesn't allow patent or any embellishment.

My kid’s wear clarks. Feet are too narrow for supermarket shoes.

My girls often wear boys shoes obviously with their agreement... last much better.

Top tip.. save your receipt. I’ve taken shoes back after a few months if I don’t think they’ve worn well. Clarks have always been good for returns.

Barring sudden growth spurts I’ve generally got a full academic year out of clarks shoes.