To not want to pay £25+ for a pair of Clark's children's shoes?

[ophelia275]

My son goes through shoes quite quickly but I cannot afford to spend £25+ on Clark's or Startrite shoes each time. I always get the guilt trip from the other parents at my ds school that if you don't get your kids feet properly measured and don't buy "fitted" Clark's or Startrite shoes, your kids feet will fall off or they will become horribly disfigured social outcasts.

Anyway, I normally buy Mercury brand which are cheap but have lasted longer than any pair of Clark's. But I am actually eyeing up a pair of slightly worn Kickers shoes on ebay that new would cost £45+ but are less than £5. Is buying used shoes the ultimate in bad mummying?

[Youvebeentangoed]

My eldest I can get away with buying cheap shoes, youngest not so very much considering he has very wide feet and is an H in Clarks, nothing else fits him so can't get away with it with him. Spent £48 on two pairs at Easter, I could get 3 pairs for the eldest for that!!

[squeakytoy]

If the shoes have genuinely only been worn a couple of times then they wont have moulded to the feet that have been in them, and should be absolutely fine.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

MamaTJ, dd2 is incredibly hard on her shoes. First pair of Clarks (bought in september) lasted her until easter, so not too bad I guess, although they were scuffed to hell after about three days. Then they literally dropped to bits, the straps fell off, the soles came away from the shoe.

We decided to go for a different brand, so bought Hush Puppies during the easter holidays.

We went to Clinkards on Sunday for yet more shoes after the soles of the Hush Puppies started wearing away. She ended up with Clarks because they were the only shoe in the whole shop that fitted her (very narrow feet).

Her Leli Kelly shoes, which she wears constantly outside of school, for climbing, running, puddle jumping, sleeping in if you're not watching her, are spotless. They were bought just before Easter. They've been washed weekly since then, but bar the constant mud they're covered in, they've held up well.

I'm giving Leli Kelly school shoes a go in September. Sunday's shoes are already scuffed to hell

[shouldbedoingtheironing]

I wish I could get away with buying Clarks tbh. DD has to have Startrite (ouch!) as Clarks usually don't have enough ankle support for her as she has hypermobility. I sometimes get DS (who doesn't have the same foot problems) Clarks shoes but often I don't as they don't last for boys IME and I'm not sure they are that much better than off the shelf ones from Next etc.

I did actually contact Clarks to say that they should make more supportive shoes for children with wobbly ankles as it is quite common but they were less than interested in my comments

[Springforward]

I wouldn't buy second hand shoes because unless they have really only been worn once or twice, they will have moulded to feet the previous owner's feet.

Having said that, I have just sold a pair of DS' Clarks' sandals on Ebay for £10, which had genuinely only been worn four times - they were unmarked and so not moulded to his foot, and I'd be OK with that I guess.

Clarks sales tend to be very good, if you can find your LO's size on the sale rack.

Otherwise, can you get someone to teach you how to check the fit of shoes (I'm hopeless at it but my mate is a dab hand at it!) and just make sure that the cheaper ones are the right size and shape? I think that's what matters most?

[Lovemychocolate]

Have always bought my 3yo clarks but not convinced how great they are anymore. A few weeks ago, he was measured in two different clarks shops and the clarks concession in John lewis (he only wanted the blue dinosaur ones) and we had three different size measurements ...8f, 81/2g and 9f !!! We ended up with 9f, next week weather changed and I wanted the sandal type doodles... 9f were too big and we ended up with 8f !!!

[takingiteasy]

On what planet do mums stand and pass bitchy comments on other kids shoes?

[Springforward]

Agree chocolate - the sizing does vary between fitters, and between shoes. We tend to stick to the same Clarks shop for the sake of consistency! If I got him sized in Clarks I don't think I'd just be able to go and pick up a pair of that-size shoe somewhere else and expect it to fit. Hence why checking the actual fit of the shoe matters. But then, some of my own shoes are 6.5 and some are 7, depending on the shoe, so not so surprising really?

[HipHopOpotomus]

I got DD2 fitted for her first shoes in Clarks a few weeks ago. FITTED!!! Oh yes - walked out with new pair of shoes, photo, certificate the works. Only problem is the shoes are WAY TOO BIG for her - by at least half a size. It's quite ridiculous - they trip her up. I got her a pair that fits (Clarks) for £5 inc postage from ebay. Now I'll never feel bad about using Clarks to measure her feet and then going to buy them from ebay for a fraction of the price.

I wonder when i will have to stop buying shoes on ebay!? DD1 is 4 now and most (but not all) of her shoes come from there.

[passivehoovering]

Dd who is now 3.5 sees a " foot doctor" at our local hospital due to tight ligaments. Her advise seems to be ( and remember this is for a young child);

. Get shoes that fit, it doesn't matter where they come from and since children tend to grow out of shoes, before they wear out, second hand is fine.
. Shoes should fit snuggly round the ankle area as if they don't children ( this age) tend to grip their toes to keep them on, causing deformities. She doesn't line Crocks for this reason.
. The sole of the shoe should bend if you hold it on one hand, if it doesn't it is too hard.
. No ballet shoes
. Wells only if it is actually raining
. I seem to remember her saying that a new shoe should have 14 mm of room at the toe?

In my experience Clarks do not measure properly. I prefer independent shops. I haven't bought shoes from next or marks as dd is in a half size but if they fit I dint see any problem with them. Learn what fits yourself ie no gapping at sides, foot overspill, and use the guidelines above and you may be lucky and be able to find some off the shelf that fit

Hope this helps

[HipHopOpotomus]

The cheapest shoe in my local indie shop was £65! For a 1 year old!

[cgw60]

Sorry girls - Ive only just seen this thread. I know a lot of you are complaining about the prices of Clarks shoes, so thats why I either buy most of them at sale time or use a site which sells discontinued ones etc. Perhaps you ought to have a look at shoesforkids.co.uk which is where I get them.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

Watch a few videos, learn to fit yourself and then buy cheap shoes.

I do end up in clarks quite a lot because my kids have all got pretty narrow feet and they're the most likely place to have shoes that suit them.

I buy doodles or what's on sale as often as possible though, otherwise it gets madly expensive.

[Airwalk79]

I wil not be buying clarkes again! Whatever shoes I buy will be buggerd by October half term so it may as well be the cheap ones!

[Sirzy]

Clarks in my experience are quite poor at measuring now. After I had taken DS back twice because the shoes they said fitted him were miles too big (even after I questioned the jump in sizes at the time!) I gave up on them. I did get startrite for a bit but our 'local' shop (which was still 20 miles away) closed.

Thankfully my dad is much better at checking the fit of shoes than clarks so he tends to be dragged along to ensure they fit! He has just got his first pair of school shoes from M and S for £16 seemingly very good quality and much nicer style than anything Clarks had to offer!

[Beautyatethebeast]

I mainly buy Clarke's but ds last forever (touch wood) his last pair done for the whole year.

But I never had Clark's growing up and there's nothing wrong with my feet in fact I have lovely feet!

Just find a cheap comfy pair.

[indahouse]

If used children shoes look good on picture I'd say they were worn a few times tops and didn't have a chance to 'mould' hence are no worse than 'brand new' (often tried on multiple times anyway).

My experience is that good brand 'used' (like Geox, Noel, Timberland etc) are far superior to cheap brands and even Clarks.

[hefner]

I always used to get dd's feet measured in Clarks and buy the shoes they recommended but then I realised that their measuring was very inconsistent (they once measured her as a whole size smaller than the shoes they had fitted two months earlier, and I don't think her feet are shrinking!) so I've started going to an independent shop instead.

Can anyone recommend a good video to teach me how to check the fit of shoes? I bought dd some startrite shoes online, but I can't decide whether they fit her. The length seems ok but they look a bit wide - does that matter? I'd love to be confident enough to buy shoes from any shop and check the fit myself.

[BergholtStuttleyJohnson]

I have never paid full price fir clarks shoes. I have a clarks foot gauge (ordered from their website) I measure my children's feet myself and either order online in their sale or go to tge shop and see what's in the sale. I recently got ds1 a pair of trainers for 8 quid and ds2 a pair of cruisers (he walks but not that much outside) for 7 quid from clarks. There's not much choice as I just buy whatever is in the sale that fits them.

[sheridand]

All of my local Clarks have been franchised. This means that basically they'll sell you anything for commission. I refuse to use them now, their measuring is poor, and they'll try to cram the foot in for a sale. You have to ask if they have been franchised, many have.

I use an independent now, the lady who measures is very stern, has point blank refused dd's weepiness for sparkly shoes and shoes that are trendy, and said "no, we've none that will fit her in". I trust her. Dd has to have startrite as her insteps are generally far too high for clarks, and her feet are so narrow that clarks don't do shoes that come anywhere near. But the price!

I've started to buy shoes for school that are not "school" shoes, they just hapen to fit and be affordable. If there is an issue about it, I will explain that with two kids, i'm not paying 50 quid per pair of shoes. I just can't. Luckily, ds is a fat footed normal chunker, and fits Next and M& S shoes.

[gordyslovesheep]

I don't think you have to if you don't want to - or did I miss that new law

I buy schools shoes from Clarks and find they last well - 'home' shoes tend to be cheap tat from Asda or some such - they fall apart fairly quickly but cost less

[primallass]

TBH I am prepared to pay the money but he only has one pair, for everything. His boots cost about £45 but I don't buy him different weekend shoes etc.

[itsallaboutyoubaby]

Brantano have 30 percentoff everything at the mo so if you want clarks I would get them there.