School shoes for DD with high instep

[LuP]

Dear All

I am tearing my hair out trying to find shoes for DD. She's a size 8 in Start Rite a G fitting and has a high instep so it would seem that only a t-bar shoe fits her properly. I've been to Clarks, Start-Rite and Geox and am at a loss where to try next. I need school shoes and another pair for general bumbling about in, possibly a pair of boots. Oh, and despite all shoemakers thinking to the contrary, I DO NOT WANT PATENT SHOES FOR SCHOOL! Sorry. Am just fed up of telling people 'anything but patent' and then being presented with just that.

I'm know I'm going to have to spend £30 - £40 for a decent pair of shoes but have no idea where else to look for properly fitted children's shoes.

Please help me.

Tired and shoeless of SE London

Try Hush Puppies, Buckle my Shoe or Ricosta W fit.
You may find an 8.5 or a Euro 26 size will fit slightly better.

Hush Puppies have a lovely non-patent T-bar school shoe this season called Queen which is a great fit for a high instep.

You might also find that a two strap fastening rather than a traditional mary jane will work better.

Ricosta will be a bit more expensive than £40 but the others should be in the £30 - £40 ballpark.

The extra half size will add only a couple of mm to the length but make a world of difference to the instep fit.

Umi have some super casual shoes and winter boots out too and they have good slightly wider fits too.

Do you have a good independent shop near you ? If so they'll probably have a wider range of manufacturers to choose from.

dd is also a g width with a high instep, she had these last year - in plain leather not patent.

Dd has unfortunately inherited my feet, finding shoes is hell but these were good and didn't hurt, they also lasted well (i have got them again for this year)

If you are in se London have you tried pares in Blackheath? the service in there is very good and if they don't have the size in stock they can usually order it in ( i think they also have a shop in bexley somewhere)

Hi

Thanks so much for your responses, I have gone for the Start-Rite Pre-Trinity in the end. I ordered on the Start-Rite website and couldn't get over how quick delivery was and the fact that delivery and returns are free. Marvellous.

Thanks for the tip re: Pares as well. I'm afraid I've cut my nose off to spite my face a bit as used to go there but have had a couple of really bad experiences so have vowed never to return! I bet they're quaking in their (wide variety of) boots!

Lu