School shoe help

[Sleepeatrepeat]

Apologies if this is the wrong place.

Dd is 8, she needs new school shoes as her current ones are hurting her. Got her measured by an independent shop today and she has gone up a size.

Problem is she is at that age where the styles she likes aren't in her size and what is in her size is really babyish.

She can't wear supermarket shoes so needs to be something similar to clarks or startrite.

Are there any alternatives as she was less than impressed with the offerings today. Extra points for online ordering as she has a dance show tomorrow so I really don't have time to go shopping tomorrow.

Thanks

M&S shoes are made by the clarks factory.
I've been advised twice by clarks staff to look at M&S when miss fussy didn't like the clarks selection because of this.

@HereBdragons

People asking why OP’s daughter can’t wear supermarket shoes: Shoe quality matters in ways other clothing does not. Ideally everyone should wear good quality shoes that are made to bend in the right places and support in the right places and that are a good fit for your feet. Everyone should have access to weather appropriate shoes that support normal foot biomechanics. In reality this is not always possible for everyone because good shoes cost money. There are a lot of incredibly shitty shoes out there. I never buy shoes for myself from clothing brands. Usually they are all style and no substance. I also would never buy supermarket shoes for myself or my children for regular wear. I absolutely would for a halloween costume or a one off party, but not for shoes that are going to be worn day in day out for months. If you’re unlucky enough to have inherited an unusual foot shape (eg very narrow or weird) or have over or under pronation problems or poor connective tissue, then having good shoes is even more important. Not wanting your child to wear supermarket shoes is not a snobby thing in the same insisting on branded tshirts is. It’s more akin to being careful about what carseat you buy or spending more money on raincoats or wintercoats than you do on jeans and hoodies. Shoes have an important job to do and a lot of supermarket offerings are just not up to the task.

Such an outdated view. Sure some aren't as good as other but M&S / Next and most of the supermarket shoes are decent quality now. I don't need a 16yo with an iPad to tell me whether or not shoes fit my kids.

It's not consistent to care about the brand of shoe but also be wanting to put a child in slip ons. Supermarket shoes with straps or laces would be better for her feet than the poshest slip ons. Children buy shoes with growing room, this means they'll be rubbing up and down on her ankle, they'll be impossible to run around in, it's not a good option. I'm sure you'd be able to say no to high heels, just channel the same no to ballet pumps.

We have found some great European brands, primigi, ricosta.,,on Zalando before but my DD likes hush puppies as they are very comfy and plain.

Good luck with your search.

As a pp said, it's just not the case any more that Clarks are better made than other shoes.
Yes, some supermarket shoes are crap. But after several years of my DS putting his shoes through a high level of kicking, jumping, bashing and all the rest,
I've found M&S quality is indistinguishable from Clarks.

My DD (huge feet) has also got on well with Toezone, which in the style she has, come up as wide as her G width ones from Clarks.

It's daft just to declare that Clarks are better, as they're really not any more. I think it's a hangover from the 80s and 90s when our mums used to say the same thing.

I think it’s more that Clarks shoes have declined in quality rather than supermarkets now making decent shoes to be honest.
And yes I agree with everyone that ballet flats are a terrible idea. Brogues or boots would be much better.

Kickers, like DMs but not so heavy?

gb.ecco.com/en-GB/product/5643142695/ECCO-ANINE-K

These?

French children's shoes are very nice and not too girly
www.menthe-et-grenadine.co.uk/girls/all-shoes-girls?SID=2rov5qjbpue3frbn51jv8hcd47&shoe_size=41

Or perhaps more grownup
www.matalan.co.uk/product/detail/s2833698_c101/girls-black-bow-penny-loafers-younger-10-older-5-black

Id look for loafers as ballet flats are flimsy and not very supportive.

There's a reasonable range here - Geox, Froddo and Lelli Kelly.

littlerascalsboutique.co.uk/collections/girls-school-shoes-1?page=1

We've also had Hush Puppies in the past which have been almost indestructible.

Ballet pumps styles arent a good choice even if she likes them - they are good for standing still in only, tend to fall apart from normal playing. Have you looked at the boys ranges for non-flowery ones? My dd is year 4 and wearing black leather clarks shoes that were listed as boys shoes.

A lot of girls at my childrens school wear ‘boys’ startrite. They’re just plain black shoes and often sturdier than ‘girls’ shoes.

www.ascentfootwear.co.uk/primary/116908-adela-black-female-junior
Do these pass the cool test OP?

She can't wear supermarket shoes because she has an issue with her toes cuing under so we were advised that she needed "proper" shoes by the podiatrist at the hospital.

Intersing about M&s being made by clarks. Probably accounts for why they are all either too wide or too narrow (literally spent an hour in there trying on.

She likes the ballet style ones like the clarks scala. She is happy with the velcro strap but unfortunately her foot width puts her half way between an F and G so the F are too tight and G too wide.

As for buying several and seeing what works...glad you cam afford to do that. I can't afford to drop £200 + on shoes unfortunately on the off chance 1 pair fits whilst waiting 5 to 7 working days for a refund.

Boys shoes don't fit her either...similar issue in the widths but they also tend to be wider at the able so she walks clean out of them.

We tried kickers on in Clinkards. All the styles they had were too wide on the ankle so she walked clean out. Plus in my experience they are pretty poor quality so I object to spending £50+ only for the lining to tear after a few weeks.

Thanks for trying folks. I can see a late night at the local shopping mall trying to find anything that will fit

It's worth a trip to a sketchers store if you have one near you, or they usually have some in sports direct.

I wear them as i have big wide feet, also high arches and they do arch support styles.

They have a school range which are very sturdy and well made.

Skechers are often recommended by podiatrists for a range of foot conditions

www.skechers.co.uk/kids/girls-shoes/microstrides---class-spirit/302606L_BBK.html

@HalfShrunkMoreToGo

It's worth a trip to a sketchers store if you have one near you, or they usually have some in sports direct.

I wear them as i have big wide feet, also high arches and they do arch support styles.

They have a school range which are very sturdy and well made.

Skechers are often recommended by podiatrists for a range of foot conditions

www.skechers.co.uk/kids/girls-shoes/microstrides---class-spirit/302606L_BBK.html

I never knew sketchers did more than trainers. Thanks for that will pop over to put local store and see what they have.

Just came on to say Skechers class spirit, very light weight

Unfortunately we have to order shoes as we don't have any malls/Clinkards/M&S with shoes but happily I've found Kickers last very well (no use if they don't fit, but the patent ankle boots literally can't fall off).

If it's a problem with toes curling then I agree getting suitable shoes is important. At a guess I'd say, plenty of room at the toes, and a closure system whether laces or straps that holds the foot securely in the shoe (alongside adequate fit in terms of foot depth to make that happen).

I too would be cautious of ballet pump styles depending on where exactly the strap works for her feet.

If you've found F too narrow and G too wide - did you try going up a half size for length and see if the F fits ok then?

You have my sympathies; my sister and I grew up with shoe hunting always being a big chore (though we had plain lace up Clarks for school until my feet got too long; my sister had adjustments made to her shoes for years as well though). When my eldest was little and we seemed to be able to just choose a shoe in a straightforward manner I had some real cognitive dissonance going on. But all was normalised when her younger brother came along; until he was about 6, shoe choice came down to "we can get his feet into this pair, yay!"

@Pythonesque

If it's a problem with toes curling then I agree getting suitable shoes is important. At a guess I'd say, plenty of room at the toes, and a closure system whether laces or straps that holds the foot securely in the shoe (alongside adequate fit in terms of foot depth to make that happen).

I too would be cautious of ballet pump styles depending on where exactly the strap works for her feet.

If you've found F too narrow and G too wide - did you try going up a half size for length and see if the F fits ok then?

You have my sympathies; my sister and I grew up with shoe hunting always being a big chore (though we had plain lace up Clarks for school until my feet got too long; my sister had adjustments made to her shoes for years as well though). When my eldest was little and we seemed to be able to just choose a shoe in a straightforward manner I had some real cognitive dissonance going on. But all was normalised when her younger brother came along; until he was about 6, shoe choice came down to "we can get his feet into this pair, yay!"

The lady in clarks tried the half a size up but she walked clean out of them. It is a huge frustration.

The Mary Jane style were always fine up until this year. Unfortunately she is becoming more aware of others and what is deemed acceptable (mixed y4/5 class)

I thunk i may have to bite the bullet and go into the local city for the bigger shops.

Our local John Lewis closed during the pandemic lock does and has never reopened so I now have to travel 60 miles to get to the next one which is a pita. With fuel and train prices like they are that isn't a feasible journey for the chance of a pair of shoes

Re buying several and seeing what works- also can't afford several pairs, but as last summer couldn't get stock in dc1s size in the shops we could get to, ordered 4 pairs online on my credit card in the right size from different brands, let him try them all on at home, picked one then returned the other 3. The refunds were back on the card account before the bill came through so no loss to us.

If you can't get to a John Lewis, that might be an option for you, particularly if they are still doing click and collect to the nearest Waitrose so you don't need to pay for delivery. (They used to let you return John Lewis things to Waitrose as well to avoid having to sort out postage, not sure if they still do that).

Kickers or Lelli Kelly’s have been good for us. Otherwise styles with sturdier DM type soles. So many girls school shoes are dainty little things with thin, slippy soles. The only Clarks pair we had didn’t have a lot of grip and also wore through very quickly.

You can return JL items to Waitrose (or Booths in our area, or some Coop branches) if you bought them online.

Unfortunately I just can't afford to order and return. I'm a single mum and I don't want a credit card again so it simply isn't an option really.

Maybe I just got unlucky with the slim pickings last weekend.

My daughter had similar issues except she was almost 12 years old and going into secondary but was a Size 13 (she's still only 2.5 aged 20)

Clarks did not have enough depth. she has a very wide, hyper mobile foot and over pronates As a serious dancer she wanted to take care of her feet.

Throughout Years 7-9 she wore the exact same Start-Rite plan Mary Jane shoe before hitting Size 2 part way through Year 9 and moving to a Geox lace up. It might be worth looking at those brands.