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Original poster

where do you buy your childrens shoes from?

38 replies

doziduck · 18/09/2004 12:55

I am fed up with clarks but don't know where else to go.

OP posts:
moomina · 18/09/2004 13:01

How old are your kids, doziduck? I have just bought ds's first proper pair today, from Clarks. Couldn't think of anywhere else to go! He is only 15 months though...

forestfly · 18/09/2004 13:06

i think Clarkes is not how it used to be because of competition, everywhere is pretty much to the sam standard. I buy my boys shoes from marks. What is it your unhappy about, style? then i would just get looking on the internet, gorgeous shoes about

jampot · 18/09/2004 13:57

school shoes come from Clarkes (usually retail village, Kendal or Somerset). DD now likes Faith!

Beetroot · 18/09/2004 14:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

tinyganghq · 18/09/2004 14:02

I'm fed up with Clarke's too. They 'appear' to be giving you lots of choice, but when it gets down to it styles aren't in stock in the correct size, or don't fit. Considering how much they are and how they like to perpetuate the reputation that they are better than anywhere else, I don't think they try very hard. Also, why do children's shoes have to be in such dull colours past a certain age, ie black mostly!

I have started looking elsewhere too in exasperation, and for the same money (or sometimes less) there are some lovely shoes about. Got dd's Summer sandals from Verbaudet, and they were lovely. Dd2's were from BHS.

The idea that they do all this special measuring and monitoring is good in theory, but there are loads of tales of people going to different Clarkes shops and getting completely different measurements. How hard can it be anyway to measure your childs feet? Most of the 'expert' advice I've ever had in Clarkes on this subject I could clearly see for myself anyway.

Sorry to moan on, but having spent a fortune in Clarkes over the years, I've started to feel I don't always get a good deal, just a compromise.

foxinsocks · 18/09/2004 14:06

my kids have funny size feet (one is 7 1/2 H and the other 7 1/2 D) so I almost always end up going to Clarks as they do those width fittings but it is INFURIATING that they hardly ever have the size in the shoe you like. Another thing that drives me mad is how they run out of shoes - e.g. if you get sandals for summer in May then you're find but try and get some towards the end of July and they've got practically none left (because the autumn shoes are in). If your child's feet happened to have grown then you're stuffed.

Anyway, another option is Russell and Bromley (they do Clarks and Start-rite and a few others) and John Lewis (though normally quite expensive).

blueteddy · 18/09/2004 14:24

I usually buy school shoes from clarkes, but have recently bought a pair of "Buckle my shoe" shoes which are gorgeous (although a little more expensive than clarkes) they measure the feet in the same way as clarkes but offer a much nicer range of colours & unusual styles.
My children do not have wide feet, so I sometimes gat them measured at clarkes & then buy the shoes elsewhere.
I have often bought shoes from Next (only problem there is that they dont do half sizes), vertbaudet, kickers and Gap (You have to get a size bigger than your childs usual size in Gap as the sizes are American)
But I agree with the comment about clarkes only doing dull colours for children with feet anything over a size 9.
A friend of mine has twins with quite large feet & had to buy them both boring black school shoes at the age of 3, as clarkes must assume that all children with a size 10 foot must be at school!

competitionwinningCOD · 18/09/2004 14:31

ditto with stock
fabbo boys trainers in clarks with footballs on in red
ds2 loved them
and I was suprised he didnt cry when they werent in stock!

Bozza · 18/09/2004 14:53

Clarks rubbish really. My DS has wide feet - 7.5H and also a high instep. I stopped going to Clarks because as often as not they had no shoes that fitted him. I go to Kids at Clinks because they stock Clarks and several others. Even so - out of Clarks, Start-rite, Kickers, Elephantine etc we were left with the choice of one pair of navy blue Start-rite shoes that actually fitted.

prefernot · 18/09/2004 15:05

I hate Clarks but have to get dd fitted shoes as she's only a 'c' width fitting and everything else is like a boat on her.

iota · 18/09/2004 16:09

I am really surprised at all the hate directed at Clarks. My boys have wide feet (G/H) and I've always bought shoes and trainers from Clarks, no problem. They always seem to have the right style/size combination for us.

Clayhead · 18/09/2004 16:19

Iota, I went to Clarks last week for shoes for ds. They measured him as 3G but had no shoes in his size in stock. This is a large Clarks children's store within a Mothercare World. This happened twice with dd and I haven't been back for her since, won't with ds now. It's not the styles or sizes they should have that bother me, just that they regularly have nothing in stock in what I consider normal sizes. I guess your local store is just a better shop than mine.

Also, although they start shoes at size 3, sandals don't start until a 4. dd was a 3 1/2 and needed sandals. Start-Rite start their shoe and sandal range in the same size, which seems more sensible to me.

Kayleigh · 18/09/2004 16:52

We have a Gordon Scott near us. I think there are quite a few of them. Old fashioned type of shoe shop and staff are excellent. Do clarks, start-rite and other makes. Have never had a duff pair from them. Possibly slightly more expensive than some of the other places - but worth it IMO.

Hulababy · 18/09/2004 22:11

WE go to Clarks, Clinks (kids version), John Lewis, and then some other littler shops round here.

nutcracker · 18/09/2004 22:17

Another one not happy with Clarks here

Took Dd's to get school shoes, and they measured Dd1's feet and then had a choice of 2 pairs of shoes, of which one were miles to big.

Dd2 was really excited as it was her first pair of school shoes, and so she chose which pair she liked. The girl came back out with them but they were too wide, so she went to get the smaller ones. Came back with the box containing only one shoe, which fitted perfectly, but the other shoe couldn't be found.
Dd was most upset and we ended up with a rather boring and clumpy pair of Hush puppies.

I really like the Elefanten shoes, anyone know anywhere in Brum that does them ???

competitionwinningCOD · 18/09/2004 22:18

oh yes I know the fabbest shop nut

competitionwinningCOD · 18/09/2004 22:20

now let me think where it is. its in four oaks somewhere...

competitionwinningCOD · 18/09/2004 22:21

here it is

competitionwinningCOD · 18/09/2004 22:25

its in streetly village

nutcracker · 18/09/2004 22:29

Oh i think we have passed that shop before.

Thanks cod, will have to go have a look next time we are passing.

logic · 18/09/2004 22:34

We've been going to Clarks too because that was the obvious quality place to go but each time we've been, they have only had one pair of shoes in ds's size and it's never the ones that we want.

I am getting really fed up with them too. The one inside Mothercare is the worst, no shoes, a deli counter style ticket system where they leave it 0.5 milliseconds before changing the number and last time they got his size measurement wrong!

My friends have advised Start-rite and John Lewis so next time I think I'll go to one of those...

Lonelymum · 18/09/2004 22:39

Clarks I'm afraid. They may not be as good as they were, but who else does better?

clary · 19/09/2004 00:10

grrr this is close to my heart, am having real trouble with DD's shoes for winter.

She measures a 7.5 F, fairly average for her age (3 and a bit). The shoes I buy now she will wear till Jan/Feb I imagine so need to be a bit wintry and enclosed.

All I have been offered in Clarks, Start-Rite and indie shop here which sells Ricosta and other foreign makes is either really open sandally shoes or big high boots (we're not in Alaska), hardly antyhing in between.

Is this because I don't want pink (doesn't go with red) or patent (scratches to bits)?? Also I would like it if she could do them herself ie velcro, not laces.

Am I just difficult? Shop today came out with a pair of totally plain black velcro fastening boots which I had to admit met my basic criteria but looked like a pair of hobnailed boots a child would wear in 1900!!

Now have had no prob buying shoes for DSs, nice Clarks ones with a bit of picture and nice colours etc.

Anyone got any top winter shoes they have bought?

marthamoo · 19/09/2004 00:32

Ugh, don't get me started on Clarks...

When I go in a shoe shop I don't say "I'm a six, what have you got to fit me?" I say "I would like those in a six please."

So WHY (when I am paying a ridiculous amount of money for the privilege) do I go in Clarks, get my ds's measured and then they come out with maybe one pair and say "this is all we've got [subtext: like it or lump it]"???

Last time I took ds2 (2) to Clarks they had one pair in his size - black velcro school type shoes. He's two, ffs, he has the rest of his life to wear boring shoes.

Until recently, Clarks was the only choice I had round here (unless I ventured further afield) but a new independent shoe shop has just opened ("Tom Dick and Harriets" in Macclesfield if you are in the vicinity) and when I went with ds2 I had a choice of several pairs - and ended up with a really cute pair of Elefanten boots for him.

Buying off the peg has not been an option - as ds1 has ridiculously wide feet and anywhere but Clarks were too narrow.

Oh and (I warned you not to get me started) when I took ds2 to Clarks in the summer for a pair of Doodles they didn't even measure his feet - just went on the size of his existing shoes. When I took him back the following day because he said the Doodles hurt him they did measure his feet and found he had gone up an entire size = refund on Doodles and two new pairs of shoes.

I think I may and go and add Clarks to the "pet hates" thread...

marialuisa · 19/09/2004 08:21

Clary, if you're anywhere near a John Lewis they're now selling Naturino shoes and boots. Really gorgeous. Have to admit that my pink princess went for a pink pair but they had loads of different colours and styles.