To think that a lot of girl's school shoes are stupid and not designed for winter...

[katykuns]

Granted, I am on a low income and buy from cheaper places, so perhaps that has a bearing on what I come across... but all the ranges I have seen have either had silly high heels (DD is 6) or are little ballet style pumps. It's bloody freezing here and they are just stupid... when it rains water gets on her socks, her feet are permanently cold.
Then I look at the boys shoes and they are all sturdy, cover the whole foot and look they will last more than 5 minutes.

Am I being unreasonable to want to smack the people that design these? And the supermarkets/shops that only sell effectively the same shoe, but with different flowery/butterfly shit on them?

IsaXMASbelle there's no need to be arsey with the OP, I'm guessing you don't understand what 'low income' actually means... OP may well not have £40 to spend on new shoes.

Another thread on this where some posters disagreed.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1563888-to-feel-annoyed-that-all-girls-school-shoes

YANBU

This drives me crazy.

Thanks for the heads up about Kickers t-bar shoes. I love Kickers boots for the girls, but have never seen the shoes for sale.

DD1's patent Mary Janes are lasting well, but shoes that are open at the top are not suitable winter footwear.

I think the school were a bit that I was sending her in in wellies in wet days (shoes in bag) but tough shit.

The silly mary janes were the only pair I could get. Literally one pair in her size in the biggest shoe shop in our city.

DD adores them of course :o

my daughter went to a school where the shoes were not just recommended but prescribed - girls were given a choice of three 'boy'-like styles.

after years of suffering with painful feet, at a time in my life when i knew i wasn't going to be out chasing men (which is what most women's shoes are about) i looked at my feet and thought 'i'm not buying shoes until i find some the same shape as you!'. i searched for ages, then caught sight of something that looked right, investigated and it was... a man's shoe. that was it. my everyday shoes since then have been mens. flat, supportive at the heel and sides, nothing pinching your toes, great if you want to run a little, not adding to the pain of the day.

i've shopped in discount places, chain stores and shoe shops, and found that you have to be careful about quality in all of them. m+s do a man's shoe at £25 which is very much like a plain shoe for women and usually lasts well. my most disappointing pair of shoes recently was from evans, over £37, womens - the bit that would once have been leather wore off in a fortnight.

i'd recommend boys or mens shoes to everyone.

My feet are too small for men's shoes. Obviously I could do boys, but don't fancy dinosaurs etc. since having children, I never wear heels anymore. It's all about the comfort and I pretty much live in Uggs.

Dd 5 wears Mary Janes but she has skinny flat D width feet and these were one of only a few that fit her. But she always carries her wellies on a wet day in a cloth named bag.

kickers do good black ones, my friends 3 girls have them

can you still get Kickers ? i havnt seen them anywhere I used to wear them years ago when they first came out i had a bright green pair and was sent home from school was told they were not school shoes

But if you only want to pay £10, what do you expect? Except wet feet?

HArsh and a tad snooty

Kickers Mary Jane type shoes are the best we ever found!

Many people don't have £40 to spend on shoes, & they only last all year if the child's feet don't grow considerably- how rude!

I agree that really cheap shoes are a false economy, but sometimes people need to put food on the table and keep their DCs feet dry that week

But if you only want to pay £10, what do you expect? Except wet feet
that's so snotty.

Went to a couple of secondary school open days where every single girl was wearing Kickers laceups - about 50/50 split between plain and patent. I started counting and it was literally every single one, so I then pointed them out to DD in the hope that it would put her off her silly little ballet shoes - unfortunately they weren't comfortable when she tried them on, but I got her some other Kickers in a basic velcro trainer-y style.

Went to a couple of secondary school open days where every single girl was wearing Kickers laceups - about 50/50 split between plain and patent. I started counting and it was literally every single one, so I then pointed them out to DD in the hope that it would put her off her silly little ballet shoes - unfortunately they weren't comfortable when she tried them on, but I got her some other Kickers in a basic velcro trainer-y style.

Barratts, Shoezone, Asda. The first two defininitely have the lace up brogue types in small sizes. I love shoes and have to look in every shoe shop - that's why I know. Shoezone was brilliant for things like children's slippers and wellies and I can't believe what some people are prepared to pay for thosse things. I am always amazed at the value those places provide.

I was blessed with a dd with H fitting, square feet and shoe buying has never been easy or cheap or come with choice. She has the school shoe style dm's. They were very expensive but they are very comfy, sturdy and have lasted for four terms so far and I'm expecting at least one more term if not more. Her feet have stopped growing.

£40 is alot for a pair of shoes, just for winter - however much money you have. Especially if you have more than one child!!
I have bought cheaper shoes in the past but found they don't last long - although Clarks are a little more expensive than Asda etc... if they are measured properly they last a long time. Even when they are growing. My 5 year old has had his shoes for much more than a year - and they also double up as his 'smart shoes'. For us I found that buying cheaper shoes was a false economy (as long as you are not splashing out on 'Kickers' or the like).

If you only pay £10 do they even last a full term?

I can highly recommend these. And that's a darn sight less than we paid, too. (sulk) DD has had them for 5 weeks, put thru all sorts of abuse, still looking great, warm & waterproof. If she outgrows them I am optimistic I can sell on early next winter, too.

ps: DD is about a G/H width with high insteps.

YANBU

I did spend the £40 on clarks - and the girls shoes are pretty much destoyed after one term.

We do a lot of walking - we don't drive but I was hoping for better. Though other years we've gonne though more than one pair per DC.

Thanks for all the links - I hadn't seen anything good in the shops yet.

Kickers all the way, or French companies like Aster. I looove their boots.

Tbf what my dad taught me is very true. Don't waste money on cheap shoes. They are bad for your feet for starters and good fitting shoes are VITAL for growing feet (well for everyone, but children need good supportive shoes). Also they last two seconds and you end up having to buy another cheap pair. In the end after you've replaced the cheap shoes that keep getting scuffed or breaking you will have paid as much as you would have done for the expensive ones!

I have always had good quality shoes, irrespective of the fact my family were not rich. It is important, and its pointless wasting money on cheap shoes that just don't last.

Trying to think outside the shoe box here, could she wear wellies, trainers or boots on the way to school then change into school shoes once she's there? And change again to go home? That way she' s only got to last through break times in her school shoes as she'll be indors the rest of the time.
That way she'd also get more wear out of her non-school footwear, which is generally better designed for outdoors.
Just a thought.

Ebay OP? can be cheaper sometimes.

YANBU, can't they wear boots at all?