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Original poster

i want to talk about childrens shoes and whether you get what you pay for etc etc

113 replies

nailpolish · 08/12/2006 12:38

i have bought my children shoes of varying prices

dd2 at the moment is wearing shoes bought by mum that cost £45 (she is 2 yrs old) and she also bought dd1 shoes from the same independent posh-and-v-nice-shop that cost £40

dd1 today got a new pair of trainers from Asda. i spent a while trying to see if they fitted correctily, nice leather ones, etc etc, obv. i am not a trained fitter what ever that is

i just cant afford the trainers in the independent or clarks

will my dd's feet be scarred for life

somehow i dotn think so

i wore hand-me-down shoes at times

DISCUSS

OP posts:
EniDeepMidwinter · 08/12/2006 12:43

well dd2 has got through three cheaper pairs of trainers during the time that dd1 has had her Geox ones

I would definitely buy Geox again

EniDeepMidwinter · 08/12/2006 12:44

also I usually buy dds school shoes from the Buckle my shoe factory shop - they fit brilliantly and last really well

don't think I could bear to pay £45 for them new though

Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 12:46

thats great you have a factory shop enid

OP posts:
Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 12:46

is geox clarks?

OP posts:
Gingerbear · 08/12/2006 12:46

I always spend more on shoes that DD wears day in day out (eg school shoes)Hers were £40 from an independant shop too.
Clarks are the biggest rip off IMO, purtain to be quality shoes, but they fall to pieces.
I have converted to Startright, as they seem better than Clarks.
trainers, party shoes and sandals can be cheap as chips so long as they don't rub or give blisters.

ELF1981 · 08/12/2006 12:46

My dd is 14 months old, she has three pairs of shoes, all from Clarks, totalling £66 in total.

She has one pair of pre-walkers which she still fits in, a pair of boots and a pair of "proper" shoes.

Going forwards, I dont want to buy her every pair from Clarks. I may buy her "main" ones from Clarks and get a few from Asda / Tesco etc, but I have been worried about "damage to feet bones" that all the books and relatives keep stressing at me, so I will watch this thread with interest.

JonesTheSteam · 08/12/2006 12:47

All of DD's (nearly 6) trainers come from Asda's or Adam's or somewhere similar.

She currently has 1 pair from Adams which cost £12 - she uses them for PE in school and wears them if we are out and about.

She also has a very cheap pair from Woolies (£5) that she wears out to play - especially riding scooter as she uses the front of her foot as the brake .

Given that she spends most of her time in her school shoes from Clarks (which cost more than the shoes I buy for myself!!!) I'm not worrying about it!!!

She has never complained about shoes hurting her, and like you I can't afford to buy shoes and trainers from Clarks or similar.

Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 12:48

i really like woolies for clothes and shoes

there is so much pressure to buy expensive shoes tho, no least from my mother

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 08/12/2006 12:48

DD1 has C-width feet. The only shoes that properly fit her feet are Start-Rites.

They're around £40 for a pair of boots.

She gets a new pair every other month or so.

My mum sends her cheaper shoes from the States to wear for special occassions, and she has some cheap plimmies.

But mostly she wears her boots (shoes in summer).

She has very narrow, long feet w/not much instep yet - she's 3.5 years old.

DD2's foot, however, fits into anything. It's a classic elephant foot!

xena · 08/12/2006 12:49

Where is that shop enid? there is a clarks factory shop near us but rarely have I managed to get them shoes as they don't have all the sizes and my DC's all have wide feet.

Pinkchampagne · 08/12/2006 12:50

Clarks have a half price sale on their childrens shoes atm!

asleep · 08/12/2006 12:51

i bought DD (5) hush puppies. best shoes she's had so far. i think they were about £25. they've lasted from august already.

JonesTheSteam · 08/12/2006 12:53

Where are you nailpolish?

We recently went to the Clarks Village in Street (Somerset) and bought DD some boots there - half price. And there is a Clarks factory shop in Bridgend, which sells Clarks shoes cheaper.

And DS had some trainers from Clarks yesterday - £12 instead of £24, but he is only 3 and he only wears them at the moment - we don't need smart shoes at the moment!!!

xena · 08/12/2006 12:53

I always buy their main shoes from clarks or start rite. DS1 has named trainers as well but given that he still fits the ones that I bought him in October last year it is worth getting good quality.
DD2 has been given a pair of geok's sp? that didn't fit my niece they are lovely

mckenzie · 08/12/2006 12:56

I usually buy Clarkes, Startrite or other independent makes but the shoes that DD will always wear given half the chance are her £5 trainers from Sainsburys that i bought because we were about to spend a few rainy days at a caravan site.
I think she's too young to be choosing them for any other reason than they are comfortable.

Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 12:56

im in NE scotland - not exactly the widest choice, not even a fairly decent city nearby to shop in

OP posts:
JonesTheSteam · 08/12/2006 12:57

Sorry to hi-jack.

Are Start-rites really good then? Are they that much better than Clarks?

DD has completely wrecked her school shoes from Clarks and the last pair from there didn't last long either - they velcro strap fell apart.

Not sure if that's a problem with the actual shoe or DD running around at break-time like a reckless lunatic though!!

Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 13:00

i really like start-rite

its what the independent shop sells, along with other brands

OP posts:
Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 13:01

i really really want to know if cheap shoes DO damage little feet or not

or is just something we are told by our mothers, the assistant in clarks, etc

OP posts:
PortAndLemonaid · 08/12/2006 13:01

Depends on your child's feet. If the Asda trainers fit then great, but they don't fit DS who has very wide feet (takes after me who is currently wearing sandals in mid-December because I can't find any shoes anywhere to fit me, grrrrr). The only brands I've found to fit him so far are Ecco and Geox. At least they last really well so he only ever needs one pair in any given size...

JonesTheSteam · 08/12/2006 13:02

Have you got a Brantano near you.

DS had some shoes from there last year - can't remember the make, but they were only £10, were leather, fitted beautifully and lasted really well.

It can be a bit hit and miss though. When looking for school shoes for DD we went to look at Hush Puppies there and they had none in her size.

Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 13:04

ah yes we do jones, i forgot about them

i went once and they didnt have any in dd's sizes

i think they are just too little just now, being 4 and 2? or maybe i went on a bad day

i shall have another lookee

OP posts:
Original poster
nailpolish · 08/12/2006 13:04

do they have trained fitters?

OP posts:
JonesTheSteam · 08/12/2006 13:09

Their website says that they do and I vaguely recollect someone checking DS's feet (it was 18 months ago .

JonesTheSteam · 08/12/2006 13:09

Sorry - my link didn't work, did it?

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