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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be narked that only one pair of shoes in clarks have laces??

50 replies

glendathegoodwitch · 19/08/2011 18:27

was going to head to clarks tomorrow for the dreaded school shoe buying and thought i would have a look online for styles i like - dd (5) is going into yr 1 and last year had kickers with laces and after 2 weeks of me doing laces learnt to do them herself.

only 1 pr in clarks have laces and they look like school marm shoes HERE

my 2 ss (13 & 11) both up until recently had velcro trainers and shoes and now go out with undone laces constantly cos they cant tie them!!!

i dont want lazy children with velcro shoes!!!! looks like its back to kickers then!!!

sorry for the rant!!!

OP posts:
Mitmoo · 19/08/2011 18:30

Go somewhere else and buy the shoes you want.

ragged · 19/08/2011 18:30

yabu.

Mabelface · 19/08/2011 18:35

Brogues are very fashionable at the moment.

southeastastra · 19/08/2011 18:39

ds has some lace up ones from marks and sparks

Ben10isthespawnofthedevil · 19/08/2011 18:42

Startrite

www.startriteshoes.com/girls/school-shoes/holly Another Startrite]]

Ben10isthespawnofthedevil · 19/08/2011 18:43

The bottom one is for big girls so ignore but the top link is small sizes too

SaulGood · 19/08/2011 18:44

We're taking dd tomorrow to get her first school shoes. I've been browsing around locally and am surprised by the vast majority of girls school shoes available on the high street. A lot of weird, plasticky, mock-leather ballet type pumps with an elastic strap, which look shoddy and are covered in butterflies and have lights in the heel. DD of course thinks they're marvellous.

I remember when you had to break shoes in and they were polished every Sunday night to keep them nice. You put polish on half the offerings round here, they'd disintegrate. I want a nice buckle, no velcro, no ballet type shoes. They're like hens teeth.

Clarks are rubbish anyway. DD has never, ever managed to fit her foot into a Clarks shoe.

Original poster
glendathegoodwitch · 19/08/2011 18:47

thanks ben 10 - bit plain though :(

saul - i love buckled mary janes but velcro always ends up full of fluff, grass and other debris

dd is rough on her feet so needs something substantial - looking at caterpillar steel toes for her pmsl!!!

im just amazed how they think kids cant tie shoelaces!!!

OP posts:
ApocalypseCheeseToastie · 19/08/2011 18:47

Hush puppies, doc martens and sketchers piss on clarkes for school shoes, the kids manage to actually out grow them instead of them being binned because they,ve disintigrated

Original poster
glendathegoodwitch · 19/08/2011 18:49

ahhhhhh thanks cheese toastie i had forgot about DM's I shall go have a look

OP posts:
Original poster
glendathegoodwitch · 19/08/2011 18:50

OMG these are to die for

OP posts:
SaulGood · 19/08/2011 18:52

I spent a lot of time last night looking at DMs but couldn't find a lot which was suitable.

I don't like velcro for the same reasons. It just ends up full of fluff, cotton and weird, unmentionable gudge. A proper buckle or shoelaces in this house. Velcro's useful of course (dn is 10 and has sn and needs velcro) but there doesn't seem to be a lot of choice in most high street stores and having a dd with silly clown feet, we can't buy online.

babeinthewood · 19/08/2011 18:57

mmmm yes it does, but it makes school life so much easier if you haven't got 30 kids asking you to do their laces! it also means we make it to school on time!

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 19/08/2011 19:00

Do you mean these kind of mary janes with buckles?

LordOfTheFlies · 19/08/2011 19:03

glenda our school stipulates:

Black
not boots
not trainers
sensible
no heels
must be covered, not sandles

These tick a few boxes Grin but I can't see my DS embracing them.
DD on the other hand....

babeinthewood · 19/08/2011 19:08

to be fair, I have always had clarks myself and now my children do too, you cant beat a good pair of sensible well fitting shoes (and reasonably priced unlike the 'trendy' labels I cant imagine buying my kids 'sketchers'!). the one time my mum had to go somewhere else (russell and bromley) they had fallen apart within a month.

PassTheTwiglets · 19/08/2011 19:10

I don't understand - why is it lazy to have velcro shoes just because your DD can do laces? I can wash dishes by hand but when it's quicker to use the dishwasher I don't see why I should wash them by hand just because I can!

babeinthewood · 19/08/2011 19:12

lol! I dont get that either, why waste time when you dont have to!

MrsPresley · 19/08/2011 19:14

Have Clarks ever done shoes with laces to fit a 5 year old?

The shoes in the OP's link dont start till a size 3.

I dont think my DS's (Clarks) school shoes ever had laces till he was about 9 or 10 either

babeinthewood · 19/08/2011 19:15

because its a pain, if more people wanted them clarks would supply them. I think a five year old has enough to learn without faffing around with laces as well. my 8 year old has never had laces, but she can still tie bows etc if she needs to.

babeinthewood · 19/08/2011 19:16

oh and yes they used to, because I used to wear them!

fluffywhitekittens · 19/08/2011 19:16

Well my dd can't tie shoelaces. At the new parents' evening we were asked to try and buy trainers with Velcro as it's much easier.

Sirzy · 19/08/2011 19:16

I can understand places not making lace up shoes for 5 year olds TBF I can't imagine there is that much call for them!!

schroeder · 19/08/2011 19:20

YABU Most 5 year olds cannot tie laces and I doubt they ever could.

I expect teachers think velcro is a godsend.

Ben10isthespawnofthedevil · 19/08/2011 19:21

I love the fact that on the SN board we have posters wanting to find velcro shoes for their older teenagers where it is actually necessary as their children can't actually do up laces whereas this is a poster worrying about the fact that their child can do laces and that they might somehow forget........

Could you not just keep the laceups for trainers at the weekend and do "normal" 5 year old shoes for school?