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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Ideas for school shoes - not Startrite or Clarks!

41 replies

fifitot · 08/08/2011 14:58

DD (5) has a high instep and broad feet and doesn't fit 'mary jane' type shoes. Clarks appear to have only this style in her size and Startrite have one no mj shoe but it's the same one she has had for the last few occasions.

Who else does school shoes?

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Lizcat · 08/08/2011 15:06

Twofeet also sell Petasil and Ricosta shoes. They have people all over the country.

alison222 · 08/08/2011 15:07

Where are you?

You need to find and independent shop as they will stock lots of brands including lots of European ones which all fit differently.

We have the opposite problem with DC's as they both have very narrow feet and heels. Have just been to one near Kew railway station this morning and come home bankrupt but with 2 pairs of school shoes.

HarrietJones · 08/08/2011 15:27

Hush puppies?

Agapanthii · 08/08/2011 15:30

My dds both have the exact problem - wide feet with a high instep. I'd highly recommend the Shoe Station in Kew that Alison 222 has already recommended if you are anywhere near. Like her, I went in earlier this week and came out happy but broke after buying school shoes for both my two! My recommendations are for Angulus,(gorgeous, expensive, but I find they last really, really well.) Petasil & Ricosta. I seem to buy lots of all of these, plus birkenstocks sandals for summer months. Another good independent shop in the south east is Doogies in Marlow, Bucks.

BettyBathroom · 08/08/2011 15:59

Stompers in Norwich is good too. We have difficult feet to shoe and they are brilliant. Shoe Station in Kew is brilliant as well - we travel hundreds of miles for shoes. Ricosta are brilliant as are Petasil. Think Buckle my Shoe are broad too.

4madboys · 08/08/2011 16:08

my boys get ALL their shoes from stompers in norwich, luckily its our local shoe shop

my boys have wide feet with a high instep and they are the only place locally we can get shoes to fit.

they tend to get ricosta, or geox or ecco, they used to get some nice elephanten ones but that make was bought out by clarks and are no longer made

oh yes buckle my shoe are good.

it is expensive but the shoes have alwasy fitted well and lasted.

also as we have been using stompers since ds1 was a baby (he is almost 12) they have a discount scheme set up where 10% of the price of each pair we buy is put onto a card adn then you can take it off the next pair you buy, or do what we do and let it build up and then get a whole new pair for free essentially! and with four boys its doesnt take that long for it to build up when 10% if about £4 and as we often buy four pairs of shoes at once that is £16, so we get a free pair of shoes every third time we buy them :)

carpetlover · 08/08/2011 16:56

You need an independent retailer who stocks all the European ones like Ecco etc so it depends where you live. Though do check out the prices. I saw a pair of school shoes in uk size 9 so roughly a 5yr old for £75 on Sat!!!! Madness!

ChasingSquirrels · 08/08/2011 17:00

no idea what they are like for girls, but my eldest boy has a high instep and wide feet and I was told by Clarks when he was about 4 that there was nothing in their range that would fit him .

we tried on shoes EVERYWHERE we went, and found that a couple of styles in Shoezone fit him well, he has been wearing the same style of shoes from there for the last 4/5 years.

CMOTdibbler · 08/08/2011 17:55

We go to an independant in Rugby to buy shoes as they stock loads of brands - Ricosta and Geox are our mainstay

teacherwith2kids · 08/08/2011 17:59

Kids at Clinks (Clinkards) and Russell and Bromley are two 'fairly widespread' chains which sell a wide variety of brands if you do not have a good independent locally.

DS has very odd feet (13 pairs tried on is the record for a single, ultimately unsuccessful, trip out to buy school shoes) and we have found Russell and Bromley to have both the range of brands and the high quality of fitters to persist in order to find exactly the right shoes for him ... including taking a pair back 2 weeks down the line and giving us the undivided attention of their senior fitter for 45 minutes after they sold us 1 pair that didn't quite fit...

ManicMother7777 · 08/08/2011 18:03

Ricosta are fab, they are more expensive than Clarks or Startrite (latest pair was £55) but they will last the whole year.

Original poster

fifitot · 08/08/2011 19:49

Thanks for all the replies will have to google for stockists as live in Manchester. Don't know any independants tbh though sure there are some.

OP posts:

carpetlover · 08/08/2011 20:38

Fifitots, if you live in Masnchester I'm pretty sure there's a Clinkards at the Trafford Centre.

Original poster

fifitot · 08/08/2011 20:59

Ah yes think you are right. Thanks.

OP posts:

Original poster

fifitot · 08/08/2011 21:04

Am still searching for stockists in local area for some of the shoes mentioned but have seen many of their designs online. The school shoes still look like they are predominatly mary jane styles. I think we need t bar style shoes. Will keep looking though.

OP posts:

jasperc163 · 09/08/2011 07:42

fiftot - we have the same problem. Clarks don't fit. Ended up with T-bar style from Startrite which are fine.

noexcuses · 09/08/2011 11:08

Look out for Primigi & Ecco from independents. Both tend to be wider fittings. Primigi good quality & no more expensive than Clarks.

pinkgirlythoughts · 09/08/2011 19:22

I'd go to Clinks if in Manchester- they sell lots of the brands mentioned here, and will order from another store for you if they don't have the size you need.

redlac6 · 09/08/2011 19:26

Another vote for Buckle my Shoe here.

HattiFattner · 09/08/2011 19:41

Geox are the ONLY shoes Ive found to fit my ds1s hobbit feet - outside an H fitting with a high instep. They are not cheap though :( and he is heavy on shoes.

will be looking into ricosta ecco and primigi shoes too...

Independants are the way to go.

Original poster

fifitot · 09/08/2011 21:32

Am still looking. Thanks.

OP posts:

alison222 · 10/08/2011 11:21

To hijack this a little ( sorry!) how do you buy plimsolls for narrow or wide feet as they only come in one width and I can't find any to stay on either DS or DD's feet because they have narrow feet and ankles

4madboys · 10/08/2011 12:02

alison i have NEVER been able to get my boys plimsoles, opposite problem to you tho.

we even struggled to get ds1 wellies when he was little as his feet were so broad! thankfully they have slimmed down a tiny bit as he got older, still riddiculously wide tho!

4madboys · 10/08/2011 12:03

you know i think this is madness tbh, wide feet with a high instep are obviously not that uncommon and yet clarks the MAIN kids shoes in the UK, dont make shoes to fit!! how crazy is that?!!

pinkgirlythoughts · 10/08/2011 15:43

Clarks make plimsolls in two width fittings (F and G). Used to when I worked there, anyway.

FWIW, I used to have lace up plimsolls at school (had to learn to tie laces at the age of about four!) as my feet were so ridiculously narrow. I can't think of anywhere that sells lace up ones now, though.

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