Clarks school shoes?

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For the last couple years I have spent a lot on Clarks school shoes for DS. It just seems the place to go for good quality longer lasting school shoes. I do find spending £50plus on school shoes a lot though and DD is starting school this year so £100 plus.

A friend of mine has just said she never bothers with Clarks and has always just bought school shoes from one of the supermarkets. That in the past Clark's was the best but now most places do good quality shoes.

I would prefer to spend less obviously but don't want to end up buying cheaper shoes to then still end up getting Clarks. Just wondered if other MNs agree with friend?

I used to get Clarks shoes for my sons but they always measured small in the shop and the shoes didn't last very long. Deichmann do buy one pair get second half price fl, they lasted absolutely ages

My dc always had leather shoes as I think they last longer and they are warmer in the winter. They never had clarks as clarks shoes were always too wide.

You can get shoes just as good as clarks from Next and M&S.

We always Clarks, we tried cheaper ones but they weren't comfortable and didn't last. 4 children here so I'm estimating at least £200 possibly £250-300 on school shoes this summer 😱

I used to get Clarks as my dc always found them comfortable straight away due to being fitted, which wasn't the case with ones from supermarkets that didn't have different width fittings. They also lasted all year if they weren't grown out of. Supermarket ones might last all year too, it was the comfort and width fittings of Clarks that worked for us. I'm sure start rite would have been as good but they were pricier.

Always had Clarks when mine were younger, last few years though they haven't lasted as well. After many different brands we found m&s leather shoes to last well and are comfortable. We all have wide feet so shoes can be tricky. They are considerably cheaper in m&s too, which is a double bonus

My experience with Clark’s, after maybe the first one or two pairs, was that the quality was fairly poor. They seem to fall apart quickly for the price.

Since then, I always order from Next. We don’t have a big enough supermarket near us that carries school uniform. But £25 max now for shoes that hold up is good enough for me.

I find Sainsbury's ToeZone range of school shoes great value and hard wearing.

I usually have to replace them halfway through the school year due to wear on them, but they are around £20-£25 and fab quality.

We always bought Start Rite. Same price as Clark's, but much better quality. The only time we bought Clark's they lasted 6 weeks and fell apart. Start Rite lasted a full year.

I have bought from m&s for £20-25 a pair or Sainsbury's who sell some leather shoes as well for £20 ish. I just can't afford two pairs of Clarks and have found the other to be fine, occasionally my sons have worn the front of them but I have generally just replaced when we needed a size up.

Op If you shop around in Clark's sometimes you can get lucky - my son's last pair from there were only £20 (age 5 and bought in store).

I've found the clarks selection for younger girls to be quite poor so have gone for M&S, my daughter says they're very comfortable (they seem to have a memory foam insole), they look hard wearing, time will tell I guess

We always bought Clark’s when our children were smaller, one year their feet grew loads and I had to buy new shoes after Easter and decided since they only had until the end of June of school left that I’d just buy cheaper shoes but they only last 6 weeks before the sole was coming off .

clarks just feel better made, they are leather and are fitted to their feet meaning they don’t tend to rub or cause blisters.

The quality of Clark's has really declined over the past few years and o no longer buy them for my youngest.
We've had leather ones from M&S that have been great.
Personally would avoid supermarket/primark/non leather unless you don't mind replacing big them part way through the year.

I used to buy leather shoes from Asda for less than £20. Lasted perfectly well. I always think Clarks are massively overpriced. Now my son is 13 with size 10 feet and goes through school shoes like nobody's business so it's cheap and cheerful for school although I spend on decent trainers.

Clarks are a better fit, more comfortable and last longer ( in our experience).

We have always bought Startrite and although they’re pricey to start with they always last the full year and I think it’s a false economy to buy cheaper shoes that need to be replaced more often. I like the way they are carefully fitted to their feet. Perhaps I’m buying into the marketing talk but I think when children’s feet are developing it’s important they have the right support. I’ve seen children with cheaper shoes that just don’t fit right, they’re obviously too big a lot of the time, and it looks so uncomfortable.

Those who aren't using Clark's, are you still having the child's feet measured? Where?

We go to an independent shoe shop that stocks Startrite shoes and they measure the children’s feet and then give them an option of all the shoes they have in that size and then check the ones they like best fit correctly. They seem very thorough and knowledgable.

The quality of boys shoes at Clarks is awful and I've taken back three pairs within three months of buying them. I was advised to try Geox but they're just as poor and expensive. I'll try Deichman (spelling?).

I only ever bought Clarke shoes once then my DDs podiatrist told me Clark’s shoes were bad for children’s feet. They have been successfully living off a 70s advertising campaign that Clark’s school shoes are the best for children’s feet.

I was advised that any Italian brand of shoe are fantastic as all Italian shoe manufacturers are owned and run by podiatrists.

At the time I ended up buying my reception DD Nike trainers that supported her feet issues. After a while I moved to Kickers. Her feet are a lot better now and last year I bought more fashion shoes Dune (she was yr5) but they aren’t worth the money so will be getting kickers for yr6.

I do spend a lot on my DDs shoes, I opt for free used uniforms or charity shop ones to make sure I can afford decent school shoes. I found kickers last a whole year, once my oldest literally wore them every single day, she preferred them to trainers as they were so comfortable. They lasted almost 18 months before she grew out of them.

I let my youngest have pretty girly supermarket shoes when she started reception, by Christmas she was in her first pair of kickers as they fell apart. She’s going into yr2 and the only reason she’s getting new shoes is because she’s outgrown her others which still have plenty of wear in them they are just too small.

im lucky all my DDs are small and have never had massive growth spurts so they don’t grow out of shoes fast. If they did I might rethink buying such expensive shoes. My friends dd literally grew out of a new pair of shoes in 3 weeks so she buys as cheap as possible.

I went the other way and moved up to doc martens, best move, much more robust shoe, lasted far longer and my dd is hard on shoes, I was probably getting through 2 pairs of clarks to 1 pair of dr marten

I bought my son £40 Clark's at the start of the year. They lasted a good 9months. Replaced them with supermarkets cheapies which lasted 3weeks. Defo sticking with Clark's. (My daughters always last her the full year but my son puts his shoes the the test)

We always went to an independent children shoe shop until DD was in secondary.

Better choice of brands especially as Start Rite and Clarks just caused blisters. DD unfortunately inherited my feet which need soft heels.

She had either Ricosta or Ecco, later Geox. They do full sizes so they last a lot longer.

I've done a mix of Clark's and other shops.
Tesco fell apart after a couple of months and we never found any after then to be comfortable, the backs are too high for DD and rub too much.
Next have been great, £30ish and lots of choice and sizes. I measure her there.
M&S just don't seem to fit her well.
Sports direct have been surprisingly good. She's had a couple of pairs from there that have lasted well and been comfortable from the start.
I don't bother with Clark's any more, they cost a lot for no extra benefit from what I can see.

Supermarket shoes are very variable, go and see them and judge each shoe and style for yourself.

We used an independent shoe shop for ds as his feet were very sweaty in the supermarket shoes we did try, it was mostly Geox he wore as his school allowed trainer style black shoes.