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Original poster

Clark's shoes - any cheaper alternative?

31 replies

BeeBopBunny · 01/05/2011 11:09

I just bought my DD's first pair of proper shoes - gorgeous little pink leather shoes from Clark's, for £28. We want her to have good shoes, particularly as DH didn't have good fitting shoes and now has bent toes as evidence! The lady in the shop said we should have DD's feet measured every 6 weeks and may well need to buy new shoes each time... £28 every 6 weeks is a little expensive. DH thinks we are paying over the odds, but I haven't found anywhere else selling decent shoes and measuring little one's feet. Are there any cheaper alternatives that are just as good? Obviously if Clark's are the best then we will pay up!

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Iggly · 01/05/2011 11:12

Clarks do a cheaper range called Doodles. As it's summer, you wont need leather shoes - canvas ones plus wellies for rainy days will be fine!

bran · 01/05/2011 11:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bran · 01/05/2011 11:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Chundle · 01/05/2011 12:48

Have you got a brantano near you? They stock clarks shoes at cheaper price loopk on their website and see if there's one local to you

smoggii · 01/05/2011 13:28

You can get them measured at Clarks but they can't then force you to buy the shoes there. Maybe when they next measure you can ask the server to show you what you should be feeling for when trying on shoes and then you can know how to feel if they are fitting properly wherever you try on shoes.

theghostofposhlymanor · 01/05/2011 19:45

I don't think anyone really gets their child's feet measured every 6 weeks do they? [shocked]
I think they just tell you that to get you in the shop in the hope of a sale.

DD gets her feet measured about 3 times a year. Her feet only grow about a size a year so I'd only need to buy 2 pairs a year if I wanted.

You can also check yourself to see if your DD's shoes are getting to small.

tryingtobemarypoppins2 · 01/05/2011 19:59

Width fittings.......how vital are they??

onepieceofcremeegg · 01/05/2011 20:02

Another vote for Brantano. I was pleased with the fit and service (dd has wide feet) but the shoes did wear out. However as the child is growing out of shoes every few months this wasn't an issue for us.

Milkybrew · 01/05/2011 20:04

Clarks have outlet stores, usually the shoes are half the price as they are last years styles. Might be worth googling to see if you have one within a reasonable distance?

frogs · 01/05/2011 20:05

Get fitted at Clarks or Startrite and then buy shoes from Shoes for Kids. They have fitting guidelines on the site as well. I've only ever had good experiences from them. Alternatively, once you've identified the style and size of shoe you want, do an ebay search, there are lots of people selling brand new kids shoes on there for far less than high street prices.

greencaveman · 01/05/2011 20:06

Width fittings - you just need to know whether your child's feet are average, particularly narrow or particularly wide and shop accordingly. You can check the fit of the shoes yourself.

Personally, my DS has a D fitting (v narrow, clarks don't make D fittings for boys) and so I have to be careful what I get for him. DD has an F fitting (average for a girl) so it isn't difficult to find shoes for her.

tryingtobemarypoppins2 · 01/05/2011 20:10

Ah, thanks green, DS's have very narrow feet 'E' fitting. Any good suggestions of shops?

angel1976 · 01/05/2011 20:13

Measure at home: www.startriteshoes.com/fitting/measure-at-home

angel1976 · 01/05/2011 20:13

And buy online or at Clarks outlets... :)

Tigresswoods · 01/05/2011 20:15

In my very limited experience you won't need to buy new shoes every 6 weeks unless she has a massive growth spurt. My DS in on his 3rd pair of shoes but we have had him measured several times and they have not tried to sell us new shoes.

I know they are a little dear but I think Clarks are very sensible and don't take advantage

Sirzy · 01/05/2011 20:18

Brantano sell clarks shoes but other than in a sale they are never any cheaper than the shops for DS (17 months, size 4) I dont know if that changes as the shoes get bigger!

mumtoaandj · 01/05/2011 20:23

I am a proper cheap person-first i go to clarks and get my sons feet measured then i look on ebay for shoes that are new or only woren once-eg wedding etc. i just got him some lovely school shoes black, with lights, clarks- currently stock them-worn a few times-practically new and including postage £5.
i know it sounds disgusting wearing other peoples shoes but somethimes there is a bargain to be had.

onepieceofcremeegg · 01/05/2011 20:40

Sirzy when I go to Brantano it is not Clarks brand that I buy. I have a little look around at what is suitable (own brand etc)

The sales assistant we last had there was happy to have a discussion with me and we looked at the fit together on dd's school shoes.

Original poster

BeeBopBunny · 03/05/2011 09:54

Thanks for all your replies - shoesforkids.co.uk is fab, thanks, I hadn't heard of them before. I'm sure I read somewhere that clarks and startrite have slightly different sizes - anyone know how to get from clarks sizes to startrite sizes?

OP posts:

frogs · 03/05/2011 13:08

Clarks sizes are slightly smaller, so you generally go half a size down for startrite shoes, if that makes sense? Ie. The shoes are smaller, size for size, so you need to buy a size bigger - eg. if you need 5.5 in Clarks it will be the equivalent of a size 5 in Startrite (as a very broad rule of thumb). You can download measuring gauges from the startrite website, or even buy a footgauge. The Shoesforkids website also has instructions for measuring your child's feet and converting the measurements to shoe sizes. Bear in mind that continental brands will often use European sizes rather than UK ones, so that's another layer of converting to do.

Again as a rule of thumb Scandinavian and german brands come up generous and are wide-fitting, French and Italian brands tend to be narrower and a bit smaller. The shoes for kids website specifies whether a particular style comes up wide or narrow.

kikid · 03/05/2011 20:41

I def get them measured at clarks, not every 6 weeks though! you will know or the child will let you know when they are too small, just keep checking.

Take them back to clarks to be measured, you don't have to buy there just go on ebay look for there size , nearly new ones really good prices & often you can re sell, take a look all sizes on there...

kikid · 03/05/2011 20:43

ohhhh yes, also try Amazon, they have umi shoes for a fraction of retail prices...

BeeMyBaby · 03/05/2011 21:44

I stumble over this thread and 10 mins later I have bought a baby foot gauge online.

Rosebud05 · 03/05/2011 22:18

I remember nearly fainting when the assistant in Clarks told me that I needed to go back in 6 weeks to get dd's feet measured again.

This turned out not to be the case as her first shoes lasted her all winter and every other pair she's had have lasted months rather than weeks. Clarks always seem to have a lot of growing room.

Southwestwhippet · 04/05/2011 21:59

I live near Clarkes Village in Somerset which is a big outlet for 'seconds').

DD's doodles cost £10, her non-canvas 'proper' shoes were £13.99.

Both pairs fitted by a Clarkes trained fitter.

Outlet stores are definitely worth it if there is one in your area. I cannot understand why my friends choose to pay full Clarkes prices for shoes when we have the outlet store just down the road

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