Toys in Clarkes' shoes [angry] - anyone else fed up with them?

[crayon]

I mean, how clever is it to put a cheap bit of plastic tat into a shoe so that a child is influenced to buy the pair that may not be most comfortable? When I moaned buying school shoes this week, the assistant said I was the first person to mention anything .

I know they have to improve their image so the 'masses' see them as trendy, but I feel aggrieved that my pocket/children's feet have to suffer.

Anyone else?

I can't see that the position of the childs feet would be good in them (have a child with CP, so am obsessed with how shoes fit etc!) I simply refused to buy them for DS and said NO. Why can't other parents do this? I am a cruel mum? Or simply old fashioned

A good friend got these and said that very quickly the compartment where the doll is starts to push through the shoe and becomes very uncomfortable to wear. Be warned.

I couldn't agree with you (OP) more. Why on earth do they have to have a toy included just so we'll buy them?? I don't get it

we could bombard them with emails to tell them they're a rubbish idea www.clarkes.co.uk

stoopid idea.

Are my children particularly naive? They are 6 and 3 and I am fairly sure that neither of them know about the shoes with toys. Well, actually, I don't think DS (6) is very worldly, but DD usually knows what's what.

When we went in the shoe shop today I told DS that he was not getting flashing light ones. Fortunately he decided that the pair he liked best were a pair of Startrite, very traditional (well, apart from the velcro ) and they fitted so all was well.

DD didn't get anything because her sandals are still fine and she is not starting school yet. She was not impressed and is also angling for a pair of pink crocs.

I saw these today. DH and I both commented 'what a shit idea'.

Fortunately DS1 4yo, is mostly on another planet and didn't notice as he was too busy 'riding' the foot measuring stool.

He was very happy with his new size 6.5 shoos! Tiny school shoes, they fit in the palm of my hand!

Not happy here either but after trailing to usual independent shoe shop and finding they had none shoes to fit dd1, had to buy a pair of these from Clarks.

Only chose them because they were the only ones that fitted her (out of 4 pairs) and didn't find out about the toy until we got to the till - incidentally they were more expensive than the pair bought for dd2 so paid a few quid extra for a bit of tat!

Having always been led to believe that Clark's shoes are the best for growing feet (we were dirt poor as kids, but always had proper fitted shoes from Clark's), I would question how well fitting and supportive shoes with hollow heels actually are.

Am gutted about these, but don't know where else to go!

the shoes have toys in them?/??

Do the toys actually do anything, or is the fact that they are in a shoe supposed to be excitement enough? I should think this will be a very short-lived marketing ploy as the novelty will wear off in no time. Next year it'll be some other horrible tacky gimmick because unfortunately there are parents who encourage the shoe companies by buying such things. The mad fools .

I've got these shoes for dds aged 8 and 4. I hate the idea however they have had fun playing with doll and accesories. Shoe fitter did tell dds they could not go to school with doll in shoe so they're ok about that. It crossed my mind about comfort/fit etc but never really occurred fully as i trust clarks! How naive is that!

Well... we went to Clarks.. we checked them out.. they look and indeed are like "normal" Clarks.. so, friend and I, with the idea in our heads that there are far more important things to throw a hissy fit over, bought some for our DDs.

A woman in there also buying children's shoes and who was very probably a Mumsnetter, said to me, assuming I needed her opinion, "It's my personal opinion that children really shouldn't have toys in their shoes!" To which I said "How nice for you!" and friend and I swept out, with Clarks bags aplenty, content in the knowledge that it's just this year's fad.. no big deal and most of us waste our money on far stupider things in the course of a year. And the girls are happy.

well I had the perfect excuse not to buy one. my DS was desperate for one and the shoe lady (despite me telling her I didnt want to try anything in that range) still brough one out for DS to try. AS usual with clarks and my DC's feet it was a crap fit and the toy was already broken.

HAHA cue me handing the box back and said in my "polite but loud enough for shop to hear" voice "sorry we need good fitting school shoes I can buy cheap tat at poundland."

I said No. No toys in shoes.

Ds1 would never have a shoe on his foot again, he is an incurable fiddler and would not have the self control to resist. Plus they are dearer by about £8 to £10 and I would rather buy a toy instead.

I love the exaggerations .. They are six pounds dearer.. your DS would have kept his shoes on his feet after the initial interest has worn off (Escapefrom).. and they do fit well and are covered by all the usual Clarks guarantees etc etc etc, I checked all that out today..

And Mrs. Weasley.. why would you only want to buy one? Now that would be poor value for money, one shoe for the price of a pair, toys aside!

[goes off shaking head at the "moral panics" that Mumsnetters get themselves into with no offence intended of course]

never mind talking about shoes shiny you should be doing another thread to make me laugh

I HATE these.

I went with dd last week to get school shoes for school as ahe starts in Sept.

As soon as we went in she headed for them and I said to assistant "Those shoes are a really bad idea, I dont think amy parent will thank you for them".

I then told her what style I liked amd she proceeded to bring out three pays (all doll ones) and say to my dd (not me, and shes not 4 yet) "Which ones do you like?"

I said "I like those, the ones I asked you for".She tried them one and I said ok.Then she went on for a few mins to my dd about the doll and the bits that come with it.(This was after she had spent 5 mins off in store room as one of the pair she brought out had no doll in sole)

Then when I got to till she said that I should buy some shoe labels as shoes likely to be v popular at school and I would not want to loose them during a PE change.So I ended up buying shoe labels and clothes labels which I did need and after a tube of polish the bill was £43!!!!!

I came home and soent an afternoon with a cranky dd as she could not work out the dolls house or get the dress on

aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

We needed new shoes for DD1, ended up buying new trainers with doll in, not because of the doll but because they were the nicer pair. In fact the fact it had a doll in was handy because she liked a different clumpy pair which didn't have a doll in, but they were hideous. Also bought school shoes. She liked the ones with doll in but they weren't suitable sizewise so she ended up with a pair without doll. No big deal she wasn't bothered. She likes the doll she's got, they were no more expensive than her previous pair of 'lights' trainers and she's got a bit of enjoyment playing with them. The novelty will wear off, don't see what the fuss is about. Plus OP has said that 'a child is influenced to buy the pair'. A child is not influenced to buy the pair, its the parent. The child may put pressure on the parent to buy the one they want but ultimately its up to the parent.

Aww Spin, that's lovely. Your DS has my sympathy as I have very dodgy feet (normally have to wear orthopedic shoes cos nothing fits) and used to spend hours in shoe shops trying on shoes which went no where near my feet which was very demoralising. Hope the podiatrist can help.

No Moral Panic shiney - I know my son. The shoes would not have stayed on his feet. Not a chance.

This is a four year old boy we are talking about here. This child used to break eggs in the garden to see if they were all the same inside, and squirt whole tubes of toothpaste to watch it come out. Other kids can have shoes with toys in but for my ds, they might as well have pins in the soles - they'd stand as much chance of staying on!

I go to the Clarks outlet store in Street, where the shoes with toys will take another year or 2 to appear on the shelves! By which time DD will be past all that, I hope. But yes, not very good to encourage taking toys to school, or fidgeting with shoes either for that matter, and surely the shoe will be weakened when opened and shut constantly?

they didnt even try top sell them to me because i said 'we need 2 pairs of school shoes, black leather, not patent, and not the ones with the toys in, thank you'

dd's had already been told they were NOT getting the ones with toys in before we went to the shops. mind you dd2 also comes out with lines such as 'bratz arent nice dolls as bratz isnt a nice word to say' 'we dont say hate, we say we do not like things' 'pixelchicks is plastic rubbish'

but then she tells me i need to buy cilit bang to make our coins shiney, and that i mustn't run out of vanish stain remover as i have to 'trust pink and forget stains mummy'

We went to Clarks this week.

I complained about the marketing shoite.

Funnily enough I was the only person to have complained.

I went out with six other school mums the other night, two others had complained in the same shop.

I upped sticks and went to an independent where I bought Start-rite.

We were discussing this with a friend, she was teasing DS, she said....OMG you did not get a Yo! toy, to which DS replied are you joking, Mr X (headmaster) would have a fit. So job well done.

This is going to implode on Clarks, IMO.