SHOES nightmare...where to go when even startrites dont fit??? very narrow feet

[LetMeEatCake]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
took dd and ds into Trafford to get her shoes, from startrite as she has long narrow feet - after trying on 20 pairs they had none to fit!
NONE TO FIT! what the hell do I do now???

she is a 7 and a half D or E width
anyone else been here??

Find an independant shoe shop that stocks european brands. DS has very wide feet and can't get anything in Clarks or Startrite, but in the shop we go to he has a choice - I've been there when parents of narrow footed children come in with the same issue too.

i have the same problem, my dd is 9.5e

i bought her school shoes from Clarks, had to have extra insoles and thick socks so the shoes fit

velcro straps help as you can pull them quite tightly

I have this problem with DD1. We go to Russell and Bromley as they have a wider variety of brands.

I go to an indie shoe shop that stocks ecco and ricosta shoes. Both seem fine width-wise for dd who used to be a d and is now an E fitting.

When ds2 was C/D width we had some made - not cheap but we couldn't find anything else and his feet were really aching.
From here

Some European brands are narrower - do you have a branch of One Small Step One Giant Leap near you? They stock a good range.

DO NOT buy shoes from Next - i found a pair to fit admittedly, but the lasted about a week

petasil shoes

Russel and Bromley in St Anne's Aquare, Manchseter have a very good children's department if you can get there

Mine have aways been a D fitting and our local start-rite shop have been great. They've ordered pairs in specially for her and know what styles fit best. I think try and find a smaller shop nearby

DD is similar (start-rire currently have one style of school shoes that fit and she's had it for about 4 years now!) and we found some from an Italian company called Compagnucci. They were about £48 for a pair but lasted really well.

I have the opposite problem - my son;s feet are wdier than the widest shoes Clarks and Startrite do, and have yet to find an independent shoe shop that has any off-the-peg shoes that fit. We could get him shoes specially made for about £200- each, but I don't think we can afford to buy him 4 pairs a year for his fast growing feet! Grrr...so frustrating.

MrsMattie - if its any help I have two pairs of approx J fitting size 22 boots that DS had this spring that of course no longer fit, although only lightly worn. One pair is Elephanten and the other BabyOop. If they might possibly be of use to your DS you will be very welcome to them. We are back to dear old Ricosta for the winter as they also deal with his high instep.

Bless you!@cmotdibbler - what size is 22? is that a European size?

Where did you go? Charles Clinkard in the Trafford Centre are very good. They are honest if they haven't got the ideal shoe but generally do. If LO has very slim feet you want Startrite 'Bubble' in a D, dull but super skinny (sorry if you tried that one!).

ds is a D fitting and has ricosta

Yes you need a Bubble. My dd is a C fitting. You can get them from the Startrite website now or from Amazon or from a place called WA clarke here who will postt hem out for £1.50 and if you draw round their feet then they measure them and send you the shoes.

I know it seems weird buying shoes that you haven't tried on but it works. I have driven miles for shoes before and this solution has worked for me.

John Lewis stock a D fitting

My DD is D fitting- startrite Bolero are good on her.... though depends how old your dd is!

DD is 2.8 and in 6.5D
We got them from JL.

MrsMattie - its an infant 5.

TBH, I just go into the shop now, they look at DS's feet, and get some that fit. We did have a choice of 3 styles this time. Its a real traipse to the most local shop that actually has shoes that fit though

Thanks@cmotdibbler - but DS is an enormous 12.5 now

We have to buy the widest fitting they have in a half size or sometimes whole size up to get shoes that even remotely fit. It's quite ridiculous.

thankyou thankyou thankyou.
this kind of thing is where mumsnet is invaluable

JL didnt have any narrow enough last time, and told us to go to clinkards, they had 2 pairs to choose from
now its 5 months later clinkards had none, but I havent tried JL again,,

also that wa clarke website to browse!!
and all those other brands. better get surfing before her feet grow again!!
she is 2.4yrs, btw

Just remembered that you can get startrite gauges now too!
here

which I have done then at least you can order shoes from them and know they will fit. Then you can order them from Amazon where you don't even have to pay the postage!

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
unsure about this drawing round feet/home measuring thing,

shoes are tending not to fit her around the ankle/ across the top of the foot, I dont think I can convey that size without them getting properly fitted by an expert?

agree with independent shoe shop every time, we have also had v.good shoes from russell and bromley and the staff have been excellent with our boys too. good luck i know its so frustrating x

Russell and Bromley in Manchester were always the best but I don't know if the kids dept is open again?

OP... DDs feet sound exactly like my DD1s, have been fobbed off with ones that rub her ankles before.