School shoes

[SamanthaVimes]

My DD is starting reception in September and I’ve been having a look around at school uniform.

Where can I get decent school shoes?
she's a very “girly” girl at the moment so not likely to want more trainer like shoes but a lot of the “girl” shoes look rubbish for running / playing in

The prices on some of them seem crazy as well, I’ve seen multiple pairs for £50+ are these really any better than the supermarket ones?

I’d appreciate any guidance from those with more experience!

School shoes for girls at that age are awful, who wants wet feet in all the ballet style ones. Are they allowed to wear Kickers? Mine weren't, as soon as they were old enough to deal with laces they had DMs.

And yes, they are expensive!

I would go for start rite or clarks. Get them fitted properly because she will be wearing them all day every day. Something leather that you can polish. No slippy soles, no ballerina pumps etc.

Something like this would be good
https://www.startriteshoes.com/products/fantasy-black-patent-girls-riptape-first-school-shoes

Hm. In our area they all wear the Mary Jane or t-bar style with no issues. They’re fine for running around in. The exposed area doesn’t seem massive. If it’s that rainy they’ll be wet on the legs anyway.

My daughter always has the open Mary Jane types and she runs around no problem. I just get her to run in them in the shop to check they don't slip as well as walking. She's now in Y4 and refuses to contemplate anything other than the relatively open shoes unless in PE kit and it's not a battle worth fighting!

Startrite. Patent and the style where the sole comes up over the front of the toe are the most hard wearing. Velcro fastenings so she can do them independently. I let DD choose and she chose mary janes this time but had t-bars last year.

Check out the start rite clearance page. This is where we get my daughters shoes from usually for £15 ish. Or we keep an eye on Clarks for a sale we got some at Christmas for about £18.

I got my daughter two pairs from Asda when they had a discount last summer so about £13 each. They lasted until Easter when they fell apart within a week of each other. She had one pair of patent Mary janes and a pair of patent trainer style ones. Had been great up to that point. My daughter is pretty hard on shoes though, her nursery ones were always really worn on the toes within days. Replaced with a pair from Sainsbury’s - only place I could find her size at a reasonable price and the leather has come off the toe after a weeks wear! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Thanks for the suggestions everyone