Trying on shoes

[Tumbleweed101]

I’m trying to get a pair of school shoes for my child but she has odd shape feet so only some fit properly. We can’t try them on in shop but can at home. While I understand not trying on clothes that touch the skin in store I can’t understand it so much with shoes. You try them with socks and you don’t generally put your feet near your mouth and nose so they aren’t a high risk item.

Maybe I’m being unreasonable but it is very frustrating when I live a long way from town and we need to try several styles to find one that fits right. I can’t afford to buy several pairs of shoes to try at home either.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to put tried on shoes in a basket for them to take out the back to quarantine if necessary rather than doing the exact same thing by taking them home??

Funny how the small things become the pandemic tipping points! 🙄.

I thought you could try on shoes in shops. Clarks have been working as usual

Who said you can't try shoes on? DD tried a few in Clarks last week - all fine.

Maybe I’ll try there then instead, thanks x.

Took mine to Clark's today and they tried on their shoes. I wouldn't buy them without the fit being checked in store.

Our local independent shop was fitting properly then any rejected shoes went into quarantine - they had a huge amount of stock in so they had enough to cope with the shoes that weren’t able to be used at that point

You have to make an appointment at Clark's and then you can try them on there, but be warned, if your DD has 'odd' shaped feet, they may very likely not have the right fit in stock and will have to order it in, so you then have to make another appt to go back and check the fit. If it happens to be wrong, then you have to start the whole process over again. We have this problem due to DS's incredibly narrow feet and it's a bit annoying.

Yes hers are narrow and she doesn’t grow quickly so sometimes she jumps a couple sizes and other times stays same between getting new ones! I wanted to pick up a cheap pair quick just in case the schools shut down again after a few weeks and then get a better pair before the bad weather if everything seems ok.

DD has tried on shoes in M&S, John Lewis and Russell and Bromley this week. The only proviso was to wear socks. Another dept store said they were quarantining shoes - but we saw them being put straight back on the shelf.

You could order a load from Next online as they have a lot of choice. She would get to try in the comfort of her own home and wear them a bit around the house. You can return them easily to the store as well. I always find the pressure to try on at Clarke's a bit much with my DS.

I've been worrying about the same thing for myself. So googling for how to measure your feet at home (there are instructions on line) I find you can buy a Clarks foot measuring gauge for £12.
www.clarks.co.uk/measureandfit-at-home

It might work out cheaper than repeated visits to shop.

I have discovered this week that several shops actually allow people to try on clothes. They use some sort of steaming technique to clean it afterwards.

I was pleasantly surprised and will definitely go back. I do not see how it is possible to buy clothes or shoes without trying anything on.

My little boy was able to try on trainers in a sports shop. His dad had to do it all but it was fine

We've tried on shoes at John Lewis. No appointment necessary and very helpful staff. Lots of stock

Don’t go to Primark for shoes then. I have the same issues with dd and very awkward foot shape even when I know the rough size. Clarks never fit her so I thought cheap would be an option. Supermarkets had signs up saying no trying on, fine. No signs in Primark so we cracked on, member of staff went nuts and insisted we leave, right then, could not pay for the other items in a basket, clearly we were UNCLEAN.

I’ve ended up ordering 6 pairs from Next to pick up tomorrow and hope one of them will do. The confused messages over what you can and can’t do in different stores are what will kill off the high street entirely.

Thank you all for the suggestions of places where it is possible to try shoes on, that's a great help.

I've been trying to comply with everything that's been thrown at us lately but being told off in a shop just annoyed and frustrated me today. I haven't got many days off before they go back to school and had been hoping to get another thing ticked off today.

Apart from a slightly ludicrous sign about needing to wear disposable socks (staff didn't mention it) it was fairly normal at Clarks today for DS. Staff member measured his feet and DS tried on a pair of shoes on his barge-like feet. Luckily first pair fitted and we bought those. Unluckily he is now in adult sizes so £££.

It's ridiculous isn't it when the real threat of a veruca and people had no qualms trying on shoes yet somehow you might catch coronavirus through your FEET?? World has gone batshit crazy.

No appointment necessary at Clark's today either

@onedayinthefuture

It's ridiculous isn't it when the real threat of a veruca and people had no qualms trying on shoes yet somehow you might catch coronavirus through your FEET?? World has gone batshit crazy.

Isn’t it more that the shop worker is at risk of handling the shoes you’ve tried on?

You could always buy a pair of shoes, put them on / check they fit in the shop & then immediately return them for a refund if they don’t fit without even leaving the shop. Repeat until you find some that fit. (I was planning to do this in a supermarket for school shoes if I was told not to try them on. Was planning on doing it in front of the customer service till - didn’t need to in the end.

My son tried on the scala bloom shoes in clarks and I ended up buying them for him