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Original poster

Where do you buy your childrens shoes from?

82 replies

Newbarnsleygirl · 04/04/2005 19:24

I've decided this summer that I want to get dd more than 1 pair of shoes.
I normally buy her shoes from Clarks but since they're £25+ I think it's a bit extreme. I looked on Nexts website today and they have some lovely ones but they're all out of stock

So...
Where do you all shop and do you have any on-line recommendations?

OP posts:
Nemo1977 · 04/04/2005 22:47

i use anyone if i like the shoes. I bought a shoe sizing thing from vertbaudet so i know what size to get. DS has had clarkes but never seems to like them much for some reason so even though they are measured he always wants to take them off..many a time have the shoes been handed to me in the street or at tots.
not saying its clarkes as such just they dont agree with his feet

lucy5 · 04/04/2005 22:54

I usually buy dds shoes in a department store. I really miss clarks as here in spain they dont measure kids feet and width isnt taken into account, so i spend a lot of time guessing and dd gets thoroughly pissed off.

gingerbear · 04/04/2005 23:03

NBG, try TKMaxx, you might have to keep looking, but I got DD a lovely pair of shoes (Buckle My Shoe) (Barnsley branch too)
Have you been to Butterflies shoe shop in Wakefield? - go at sale time - their shoes are lovely but expensive.
Clarks outlet shop at Doncaster Lakeside Village worth a trip too. Doodles for 7 quid.

JulieF · 04/04/2005 23:04

Liz she was only a size 6 (has just now gone into a 7) becasue of her instep she really needs a tbar style shoe but nowhere did that style in black until size 7.

Linnet · 05/04/2005 00:41

We usually always go to Clarks, sometimes they don't have anything that fits dd1 as she has a high instep so sometimes we go to Jones the Bootmakers.

I have never bought her shoes from next or anywhere else that doesn't fit them as I can remember my mum buying me sandels when I was little and I got huge blisters. Plus my dd1 has to walk everywhere as we don't drive so I like the piece of mind I get knowing that her shoes have been fitted properly.

franke · 05/04/2005 06:27

Lucy5 - I contacted Startrite in the UK and said I wanted to buy their stuff mail order so they sent me a thing for measuring the feet. It's just a piece of card but better than nothing. The problem I find though is that sizes vary from make to make, so buying other makes by mail order is a bit risky.

THERESA · 05/04/2005 06:46

Starlover & Newbarnsleygirl, having worked in Clarkes, can you tell me at what age the footbones start to 'toughen up' and we can maybe 'risk' shopping elsewhere? My dd is 6 & ds is 3. have always had Clarkes until last year, for dd I bought Clarkes school shoes & trainers & some 'party sandals' from Asda. My theory being she has Clarkes for the shoes she wears a lot. At the moment she only has school shoes & trainers, plus her wellies & am just having the dilemma of what else to buy. DS has one pair of Clarkes shoes & that's it so I'm getting him Clarkes trainers. Anyway, I thought I'd heard that up until about aged 10 you had to be extra careful as their bones were still quite soft.

Wallace · 05/04/2005 08:03

I think I remember reading that as long as their main pair of shoes are fitted properly, it doesn't matter about the others. Like party sandals, wellies, etc.

starlover · 05/04/2005 09:01

Theresa.. bad news I'm afraid! Your feet bones don't stop growing and changing until around 18.
Of course, they will have "toughened" from the soft jelly-like baby bones, but because they are still growing it is still possible to manipulate and thus damage them.

To be honest I do think that with things like sandals it doesn't matter SO much, as there isn't so much to the shoe. And Clarks only ever do one width fitting in most of their sandals anyway! (yes, we have pointed out to HO how stupid this is!!!)...
Wellies also only ever come in one size, so not really too much of a problem.

THERESA · 05/04/2005 09:14

Oh dear, that is bad news isn't it? Anyway thanks for the reply. I think I'll stick to my current strategy of Clarkes for 'normal' wear and cheaper ones for parties etc.

starlover · 05/04/2005 09:21

good idea theresa... it is easy to damage children's feet... but it certainly won't happen overnight.
I think school shoes are important because your child will be in them for most of the day, 5 days a week.
But a few hours at a party, or out at weekends shouldn't make too much difference.

Furball · 05/04/2005 09:47

I don't want to start anything but...... Surely if Lucy5 says they don't meaure kids feet or have different widths in Spain, then most Spanish people must have iffy feet?

KatieinSpain · 05/04/2005 10:13

Must admit to having worried about that too, Furball. I'm up in N.W. Spain. The advice I got last week from our paediatrician was to keep my 17 month old in boots so his feet get lots of support. He also said not to use trainers. I do wonder if he just meant all the time.

Both my DSs like being bare-footed, much to most locals horror . Does anyone know if this is a good thing for their feet?

Will be trying out those sites that send you cardboard measuring things - thanks everyone and Newbarnsleygirl for the thread.

starlover · 05/04/2005 10:33

katie... bare-foot is BEST!
as for wearing boots for support... this is a myth! Children's feet should not be given support, because it stops them from developing properly! If you always put them in boots which keep the ankle in place then the muscles which should do this naturally won't!

The longer you keep them out of shoes the better, because it allows the feet to develop naturally

LIZS · 05/04/2005 15:21

Ealrybird, was talking to a friend of mine today and she had also been told by a shoe shop here that there will be no more Elefanten shoes Both kids have had really good solid sandals from them in the last couple of summers.

NomDePlume · 05/04/2005 15:27

I buy from an independent shoe shop, but I tend to buy clarks if I'm buying shoes. Although DD has gotten into trainers lately, I buy CICA ones as they have such a good range and they're reasonably priced, around £20 - £25.

TBH, I've tried to buy shoes from other places - Vertbaudet, Next etc, but they are just not the right fit for DD's 7.5F feet. The widths are too narrow for her.

phatcat · 05/04/2005 15:36

I can highly recommend this site for online kids shoe shopping - excellent customer service. Also these people do a kids foot gauge so you can measure at home.

Bozza · 05/04/2005 15:44

And F is supposedly average ndp.

I usually go to Kids at Clinks because they stock Clarks and Startrite plus others. DS usually ends up in Startrite because Clarks do not usually fit his wide, high feet. DD is in Clarks cruisers - apparently she has narrow feet. P's me off that Clarks make this big thing about kid's shoes but then don't bother making any that fit DS. Last time (out of all the brands) we had the choice of one pair of Startrite.I buy him Cica trainers but always have to go up a size because of the width.

NomDePlume · 05/04/2005 15:54

That's it, it's the height of the top of her feet that causes the problem. But the high street non-measured ones also are too narrow.

Bozza · 05/04/2005 16:00

Same as DS then. He measures as a G at Clarks but then they never go on and he ends up in a Startrite H.

kama · 05/04/2005 16:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

LIZS · 05/04/2005 19:20

Out of idle curiosity I trawled the Clarks and Startrite sites for potential black school shoes for dd. Could only find one pair of non-patent ones under a size 9 ! I really hope that they are just not showing the full range, otherwise dd is going to have to grow 2 full sizes by the Autumn !! I can already see school shoe shopping becoming a complete nightmare - aargh

sunnyskies · 05/04/2005 19:59

Clarks which is in Mothercare on Oxford street

Enid · 05/04/2005 20:01

buckle my shoe factory shop in sunny glastonbury

lucy5 · 05/04/2005 22:21

Thanks all, will try and get hold of a measurer.