Black leather boys school shoes - trendy size 3

[reindeesandchristmastrees]

Ok so apparently at HS they can 'get away with' Air Force trainers by Nike - but they only start at size 4. What small size durable leather shoes can I get for DS who won't wear anything he will get 'skitted' ' for please? X

Doc Martens?

DS had a pair of DM's with the velcro strap. They were really comfortable as the smaller ones are in the soft leather, so no breaking in.

Air Force 1s at Office in a 3 here

I'd be a bit suspicious of the 'getting away with' line. My dc are apt to tell me this ('yes, mum, we can definitely wear black leather converse' ). Even if it's true at the moment, the school may well chose to clamp down over the holidays, and as I'm sure he wouldn't wear those shoes anywhere but school, that would be £50 gone.

A boy in my class has told his parents he can "get away" with black trainers despite it being made abundantly clear that we don't accept any trainers or trainers designed to pass as shoes.

He is about to be given school issue shoes because he's said his parents can't afford to spend money on school shoes because they spent twice as much on a pair of damn trainers.

Keep it simple. Buy school shoes.

So the black leather lace up Air Force look like school shoes to me. As long as the metal tag on the lace is removed are they truly likely not to be allowed? They look smarter than the Doc Martin's in my opinion (which is no opinion as far as he is concerned) - are the DM's allowed?

Depends on the school. Unlikely to be ok at mine. We specific black leather school shoes. Not DM, not black leather trainers designed to get as much money out of parents as possible, not black ankle boots for girls. Shoes.

But having had battles with parents about these bloody trainers designed to appear like school shoes over the years (there's a new must have brand every year or so) I don't seem to understand what's difficult about just buying school shoes.

All this "can we get away with" causes no end of issues in school. It's no different to when jegging/leggings style trousers were put in the "back to school" range and we had people calling up saying 'but they were in the back to school range' I've just seen an advert on TV where one supermarket is selling school shirts with peplums in them. It's not a white standard school shirt.

These DM's are specifically school shoes. What possible objection could anyone have?

I'm sure if you removed the tick they'd be fine. Keep the tick = not school shoes. OP your kid is 11 - if you're allowing him to start bending the rules now you haven't got a hope of keeping him on the straight and narrow at 16.

Yes I agree with others, just buy him some black school shoes! Check with the school website, the uniform policy will be on there, and go from there.

At my school (and my DCs' school too) shoes have to be black, polishable, low-heeled. Lace up or Velcro is fine, DMs are fine, but no canvas, no boots, no logos (so all the trainers are out, even those Nike ones). Start well in year 7 and you'll be OK. Most of the lads at my school just wear standard Clarks lace-ups tbh. Now girls' skirts... another issue altogether!!

Are they really what the youth of today wants to be wearing???? They look like something from 'Hotter' or whatever it is called. Comfy old lady shoes.

They aren't fully black polishable leather. That is the basic requirement - for both boys' and girls' shoes - that marks the 'allowable' from the 'non allowable' at the DC's comp. No fabric, no suede, no patent.

Policy also states low-heeled (maximum of 1 inch), lace up or slip on with strap (avoids silly shoes for girls), enclosed heels and toes. No trainers, boots or canvas shoes.

IME the crucial determiner, though, is the polishable black leather throughout. Those Air Force - as well as being hideous - would fail on that. The DMs might well also fall foul, because the visible part of the sole is not black as required.

You need to check your own schools policy. I do know of a school which allows all-black leather shoes - including Converse, Vans, Nike etc., but that is very much an outlier.

Could you afford/does he have alternatives if the school said they weren't allowed?