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Original poster

to feel ripped off after spending £28 on a pair of shoes from clarkes.....

69 replies

mum2samandalex · 31/03/2009 00:12

it was his first pair of shoes and only one bloody choice and not the nicest i can tell you. What is it about having to buy clarkes shoes my mums alway telling me youve got to buy clarkes or else your ruin their feet. I have to go back 6-8 weeks to get them remeasured!

OP posts:
ShauntheSheep · 31/03/2009 09:35

Clarks are only as good as teh fitter you get IMO and I went to 3 with dd when she was little nad they each gave a different size (all within a week!!). The last shop had the shoes I wanted and the lady there was great, had been workign there for years and knew about fitting shoes.

I now take dd to Russel and Bromley (durign the sale if poss) and they are great. They will say that they are not happy to sell you shoes that they think do not fit and all shoes are checked by teh manager of the childrens area. Thay also do Clarkes startRite Ecco geox and loads fo other brands.

Morloth · 31/03/2009 10:11

DS was born with a clubfoot. The doctor who sorted it out for us laughed when we asked whether we needed to get his foot measured for shoes etc.

He said the cheapies from K-Mart a little too big are just fine. This is a world known children's foot surgeon.

It makes bugger all difference apparently, as long as their toes are not being squashed.

All a con to get us to pay more.

When DS needs new shoes we wander into the nearest shop, he tries them on and we get the most comfortable ones. Haven't gone wrong yet.

schneebly · 31/03/2009 10:15

I would just like to second what someone else said about Chipmunks shoes - I had a pair for DS1 and they were brilliant!

DaphneMoon · 31/03/2009 10:16

I can never understand why they say kids feet grow in 6 weeks. That's crazy. My DS feet never grew that fast and he is a normal average sized 9yo now. If they grew that fast they would be wearing clown shoes by the age of 3

TsarChasm · 31/03/2009 10:19

I always suspected that to be true Morloth.

Clarks perpetuate the myth that only they can measure feet and sell fit shoes - they have eveything to gain from that belief.

Really, can a teenager on a Saturday tell me something magical that I can't work out for myself wrt whether a shoe fits? It's not rocket science.

TheCrackFox · 31/03/2009 10:23

Clarkes went right down the pan when they had the "great" idea of putting twatting toys in the heel.

1 you end up buying the sodding shoes because the DCs whinge so much because they want the toy.
2 the toy is so crap that it will break within 2 mins of being played with
3 the shoes are unwearable because of the toy - it makes the heel too high to be comfortable.

Independent shoe shops are so much better.

DaphneMoon you are so right about not needing to be measured every 6 weeks. Utter twaddle to get extra sales.

sarah293 · 31/03/2009 10:28

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DaphneMoon · 31/03/2009 10:31

Crackfox, agree on that, I have had so many arguments with DS about not having shoes with toys in the heels. I have even said out of earshot of DS to the shop assistant, do not bring out school shoes with lights on the base or toys in the heels and no little football emblems on. The last pair we bought had the Clarkes emblem on the fastener which was white and looked from a distance like the adidas emblem. I said to DS in front of the shop assistant, don't like that emblem, but don't worry after a few times with the shoe polish it will soon not be so noticeable.

PinkMeringues · 31/03/2009 10:33

morloth - I can't believe that a foot surgoen would recommend buying children's shoes a little to big??!! Its the same as adults buying shoes too big - err, you wouldn't!! a) they are not comfortable and b) you instinctively clench your toes to encourage the shoe to stay on. V bad for children especially.

No problem with cheap necessarily as long as quality of materials (leather versus manmade)/ankle support/thickness of sole (shock absorbing) are not compromised. As we know, kids do a lot of running and jumping and their foot bones are extremely soft.

sarah293 · 31/03/2009 10:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

PinkMeringues · 31/03/2009 11:15

Leather allows the feet to breathe ie sweat is dispersed, so is better than synthetic in that respect.

Of course to some though, synthetic is better than leather for ethical reasons.

Triggles · 31/03/2009 11:20

I have to agree with Morloth. We've never set foot in Clarke's for the kids (or us for that matter) or had their feet "measured" and their shoes fit fine, and they've never had any problems with their feet.

I think it's that marketing ploy that makes you feel that if you are not doing this for your child that you are not doing what's best for them. Guilt is a powerful sales tool!

Original poster
mum2samandalex · 31/03/2009 12:12

Alot of cheapy shoe shops near me have closed down so really struggling to find shoes any where else. I feel guity for thinking of possibly going anywhere else.I would of been alot better off going to the sporst shoe and buying designer trainers the only thing is they dojnt measure feet.

OP posts:
oldraver · 31/03/2009 15:38

Pink Meringues...I can't believe that a foot surgoen would recommend buying children's shoes a little to big??!!

All Clarks/Startrite are sold with 'growing room' ie a liitle big so therefore the same as Morleth was advised.

BouncingTurtle · 31/03/2009 16:01

I haven't been to get ds's first shoes remeasured - I bought them 8 weeks ago.
I just check the fit each time I put them on him - he doesn't even wear them every day, just when he going outside to walk around!

PinkMeringues · 31/03/2009 16:01

Good point oldraver.

However I still know I'd rather have DS fitted for shoes with the growing room determined more scientifically than just plucking shoes off the shelf myself "a little too big".

I still believe you get what you pay for. Cheap children's shoes are more likely to lack cushioning, good design and materials.

Fair enough for fashion/weekend shoes but for school shoes they wear everyday then no, I would find the extra £ from somewhere.

As I always had shoes fitted and my feet are now oft admired for their general prettiness and lack of knobbles and crooked toes I am going to stick to the same process for my DCs.

MollyRogerslikeanEasterabbit · 31/03/2009 16:15

I have consistently had problems with clarks shoes for my boys, both in bad fitting and quality of the shoe - One pair, all the stitching came off round the velcro straps after 2 weeks and when I took them back to complain, was told very snootily that ''no-one else had complained so it couldn't be a design fault and so probably my son was crawling around in them or something which had caused the damamge.''
He was five. Of course he crawled. And ran and bounced and bunnyhopped and all the other myriad things a small boy at school does in his shoes....

Eve4Walle · 31/03/2009 16:22

You could always try and see if you have a Clarks Outlet store near you.

DD's school shoes are £18 as opposed to £29 in normal stores.

Jones the Bootmaker have a kids shoes sale on at the mo too, bought DD a pair of pink Start Rite sandals for summer today, £10 from £27, not bad! They measure kids feet there too.

standanddeliver · 31/03/2009 17:47

Startrite shoes are much better than Clarks.

Unfortunately they are also more expensive than Clarks.

I have to buy 9 yr old dd's shoes in Startrite because she has very narrow heels and wide toes. Clarks shoes don't fit her properly, whereas Startrite do.

Her last pair of school shoes cost £38

MummyCharli · 31/03/2009 17:55

I always buy Clarks shoes, and have never had a problem with them. DS2 has been wearing his current pair since October, and they still fit (got them checked today) and haven't fallen apart! I agree though about the ones with toys in. DS1 did have 'flashing shoes' when he was about 2, he loved them and people would comment on them, so many old people said they wanted some lol!

MummyCharli · 31/03/2009 17:56

And DS1s school shoes were bought in Septemeber and still look nearly new, mind you he does polish them about 3 times a week (he is a little obsessed with doing it)

LauriefairycakeeatsCupid · 31/03/2009 17:58

I buy Startrite online in the sale - £18

Morloth · 01/04/2009 08:59

PinkMeringues

Given the magic the man worked on DS's foot if he had said I needed to purchase them only from a man wearing yak skin on a mountain in Tibet on Tuesdays in September I would have done so.

Boy's foot was twisted almost 360 degrees to his leg when he was born. It is now totally straight and normal. Done with keyhole surgery and a half hour operation (and plenty of physio).

I wear my shoes a little big, especially trainers because my feet swell when I am running around/working out. Which appears to be what DS spends his days doing.

Measuring kids feet for normal shoes is a complete con.

hairygodmother · 01/04/2009 10:07

I go to an independent shoe shop and they are brilliant at measuring the feet, plus of course have a range of shoes so always find something nice that fits. Last pair I got dd (3) were Hush Puppies, lovely shoes, got them in Oct and have lasted till now! And cheaper than Clarks/StartRite too.

Jux · 01/04/2009 10:12

I notice that the heels on their children's shoes are a bit lower now. I used to be utterly shocked and infuriated by the height of the heels on kids' shoes there - I've seen them up to 3 inches!

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