Do I have to buy Clarks shoes?

[sweetkitty]

About to take DD to Clarks tomorrow for her second pair of shoes/boots but I do grudge paying £25+ for a pair of shoes that will last her about 2 months if I'm lucky. Have seen loads of lovely shoes in Next and even in George in Asda, are these complete no nos? Surely I can get DD a little pair of wellies from Asda she's not be outside wearing them that often and spends most of the day running about barefoot inside?

What do other people do?

I buy clarks only because my two have wide feet.

I buy cheaper shoes, because none of them last more than a few weeks anyway. Within days they're scuffed, and within a few weeks they've grown out of them.

If it makes you feel better you could still get her measured at Clarks and then go and buy the shoes elsewhere, but I feel quite confident that I can check her shoes for fit, and I'm quite happy to get shoes from Asda and Jonathan James.

I am cheeky and take ds in his non clarkes shoes and ask them to check his feet then when they say size I say oo hes still same as last time I agree about spending £25 on shoes...it is just a waste of money when they last 6 wks.

mine have wide feet and high insteps so have to have theirs from either clarks or startrite. fashion shoes just don't work for us.

My dd has wide feet too; she has an H fitting and has to go up a size even then for them to fit. I've still managed to find cheap brands that fit her - Ragdoll from Jonathan James is one, George at Asda is another.

wwb, those don't even fasten on my girls

I would say if ds had wide feet I would buy clarkes..but after buying them from 7mths old[crawlers] and then every 6wks it soon was too much. Now we wouldnt be able to afford clarkes boots.

Have you got a Brantano near you - I think they fit the shoes but have a wider range of styles than clarks - and cheaper too!

I think after seeing assistants fit shoes a few times you get to know how they do it and which shoes will and won't suit your child!

Mine have always had Clarks or anoher reputable shoe fitter for their main shoes, but I practically never buy Clarks wellies or plimsols and often not sandals either. I have bought my children occasional wear shoes (eg at the weekend when they are in Clarks school shoes during the week) without having them fitted properly, usually from M&S.

sandals i have to get clarks or thankfully now dd1's feet are big enough birkenstocks. they have fastenings at the toes as well as over the instep so they fit her well. still cost a bomb

my 3 had Jumping Jacks as toddler, Clarks when they were little but as they got older they got what we could afford which usually wasn't Clarks!

Wellies from Woolies in this house!

i bought DD some black shoes for school from asda for £10 and they have lasted far better than any clarks ones i've bought. and her wellies are from woolworths.

I never thought I'd buy anything other than Clarkes or Startrites for my kids but those days are over.
There are plenty of decent, cheaper shoes out there if you look.
Don't tell my mum though.

The Clarks wellies aren't really fitted anyway so we buy Woolies ones now. Got dd a pair of Disney Cinderella ones there yesterday for £6.99 and she is thrilled ! She has a pair of the cheaper plain ones (hand me downs from ds) for school.

I think it depends on your dd's feet. I have one child with wide feet and one with very narrow feet so I almost always end up going to Clarks/Startrite/John Lewis. I do get wellies from Woolies because they aren't fitted. On the odd occasion I've got shoes from anywhere else, they've never fitted either child properly and I'd rather know their little feet were fine. But if you've got a child with standard size feet then I can't see anything wrong with it.

thanks will be heading to Woolies for wellies tomorrow, will get her measured at Clarks though.

I always get them measured in Clark's and I'm lucky in that both of them currently have an F fitting, which is the standard. If yours have F, depending on what size they are, then that means that practically every other child's shoe in that size will be a good fit.

Brantano also measure and they are much, much cheaper. M&S have some kind of measuring thing which you do yourself, and even they are cheaper than Clark's. To say nothing of being much better service.

I brought my daughter some cheap shoes..
they looked really nice... then daughter told me she had to stay in some lunchtimes because her new shoes hurt
I was straight down to clarks.....what a waste of money.. won't do that again...

I get her feet checked there and then buy continental decnt shoes as dd has very narrow feet a "b" fitting but they would quite happily fit and sell a d or e fitting depending on stock, even if her heels are lifting out when she toddles
GRRRR
Saw some asda little suede boots the other day, very nice indeed! and only a tenner!

there is no9thing wrong with cheap shoes if your child has a medium sized foot.
problems will occur if the shoe is not the right width... so particularly if your child has narrow or wide feet.

also, if you do get cheap ones try and make sure they're leather... it breathes more and you won't end up with sweaty, smelly feet.

If you get them measured at clarks that doesn't mean the same size will fit elsewhere! Sorry to say that clarks measuring applies to CLARKS shoes.... as with clothing, not all shoe manufacturers have a standard sizing chart.
Please don't assume that if your child is a 9 in clarks that a 9 from anywhere else will necessarily fit

oh and i probably shouldn't say this, seeing as i work for clarks... but yes, i would get cheapo wellies! you can't "fit" a welly... they're too loose (supposed to be)
having said that, some clarks wellies do come in half sizes which can be helpful

but wellies and plimsolls are things i wouldn't necessarily bother getting fitted as you will very rarely get a "good" fit in either of them.
unless your child is wearing either for a long period of time then it doesn't reall matter

Not sure where you live but there are a few places near me that sell discounted Clarkes shoes, end of line/slight seconds etc. I got DD some of last years shoes for £5

Most of my kids shoes were clarks when younger but now they are older it is easier to check fittings as thay can tell me as well as doing all the checks myself.

Shoe sizes and widths can vary so much between brands and styles. Only had one rubbish pair recently a pair of cheap trainers that started going over at the ankle. My DD's feet do that and I know the best styles to get usually.

I find Clarks don't do great shoes for older boys, dinosours when your 8 aren't cool aparantly .