Stupid shoes for little girls

[leaveitaloneforgodssake]

I've just been shopping to buy DD (2.5) a pair of winter shoes. I went to 2 or 3 shops (not the pricey ones like Clarkes admittedly, possibly they are better), and found row upon row of stupid impractical shoes with tiny straps, thin soles, appliquè this and that, and glitter. Nothing for a child who actually runs about in parks, climbs things and might sometimes walk through a puddle. Shoes for school age girls look slightly better but of course they don't have those in her size. I ended up buying her some 'boys' shoes. Maybe I'm just unlucky with my choice of shops round here, but I don't remember the shoewear offerings for girls being this crap when I was a child, even at the cheaper end of the market. Surely it's not beyond the wit of the market to offer some kids shoes that are feminine enough to be worn with a dress AND don't look like they will disintegrate in the first rains however? Rant rant rant.

Have you tried sports direct? I found that they tended to offer more practical trainers, walking boots, sandals and wellies

We had the same problem in the summer. DD (10) wanted sandals, but not ‘pretty’ sandals with toe posts and little straps. She wanted ones like her brothers, which had a proper supportive sole on them, but we struggled to get her any, even in outdoor type shops they didn’t really have much.

My friend even ended up buying a pair of the ones my DS had for her DD as she also couldn’t find what she was looking for.

DD has to wear boots that are supportive around the ankle due to hypermobile, we buy Kickers and they are fab. Sturdy, real leather and a good solid sole. They come in all sorts of colours but she often picks either the pink or red ones. Don't look too girly as the style is the opposite to frilly. I get them off Amazon.

She also has a pair of Mountain With outdoor walking boots which are grey with people no details, again very supportive and sturdy. We're only about £28 in sale!

Mountain Warehouse, not view...

We tend to get Geox from an independent shop. I've not paid much attention to the "girls" shoes though. The ones for my DS's last their slow growing feet through a year and a lot of walking. The few £ extra is well worth it compared to Clarks which tended to fall apart. The shop has a loyalty card which between 2 DCs adds up nicely and ends up cheaper than Clarks long term.

you can buy plain boots for that age cheaply in asda or tesco

I don't have too much of a problem tbh. I don't buy party shoes I think they are a bit of a waste of money at this age.

She's got sturdy boots from M&S and trainer type shoes.

I buy these every year for my DDs;

www.mountainwarehouse.com/drift-junior-waterproof-boots-p15896.aspx/purple/

They're nice enough to wear every day as they look trainerish but are great for the park etc. They're waterproof and really keep their feet dry and also easy for kids to put on themselves. I totally agree though about girls shoes being less practical than boys shoes.

Don't go cheap and don't ruin your child's feet. Go to somewhere like Clarks, get her properly fitted and get something robust. Economise with your shoes.

We've just bought a lovely pair of proper snow boots for DD4 (4) from mountain warehouse. She's a child's size 8 now but i noticed they went down much much smaller. Half price at £22.

We go to Next and Primarni for her 'knock about' winter boots. Cheap versions of uggs or calf length leather and fur boots, nice with dresses or leggins or jeans. When you're paying between a fiver and 20 quid i don't mind buying a couple of pairs for winter. We have basic cheap arse plastic wellies from shoezone for chucking it down with rain but not too cold days. Which to be honest is what we get most of ...

We went to clarks at the end of summer for DDs first school shoes and i was seriously unimpressed with the fitting service.

Their shoes ARE nice and soft and for school i would agree to spend as much as you can affort. But you can work out for yourself if a shoe is knocking under the ankle bone or slopping up and down or too short for a child's foot. The clarks staff seemed a bit bewildered and DD ended up with a pair a size smaller than they'd measured her which still fit her 2.5 months on ....

affort = afford