School shoes?

[Marne]

Do you get you children Clarks shoes of go for something cheaper?

Last year i spent a fortune on a pair of clarks for dd1 and they lasted a few months and i'm thinking when dd2 starts school i will have to fork out for 2 lots of shoes , are there cheaper alternatives?

Dd1 has just seen the Lelli Kelly add for school shoes and asked if she could have some and was shocked when i said 'no way'.

I was the same as you and then ended up just buying shoes out of George at Asda. Or Sainsburys. Supermarkets always have a good range although if you're requring a 'special' you may not find them there!

'special fit' I mean!!

I think dd1's feet are normal (not wide or very thin), Dd2 always cost me a fortune as she has an H fitting in clarks and still struggles to get a good fit.

i just got ds lovely ones from tesco,really chunky and comfy looking,and about £9

I got Hush Puppies for my girl after years of disappointment with Clarks. They are much more hard earing, a similar price, and you can sometimes get them from TK Max for a tenner..

Startrite and Primigi are fabulous, the twins get a year out of them sometimes.

The others grow quickly and it's usually 5-6 months.

I go to Asda or ShoeZone. I've never had any problems with shoes from there and they last well enough. I buy boots around November and then more shoes at Easter.

Just got my DS some decent shoes from BHS.
£18

Hope they last longer than the Asda ones a few months ago...

Startrite or noel these cost more initially but usually get nearly a year out of them Clarks just don't last and styles a bit off

I normally buy DS clarks, but I get them from places like ebay (new, not used) or in the Clarks sale. I just bought him two pairs of shoes, one for now & one in next size up in the Clarks sale, both reduced to £12 from £28. And the Startrite website do some cracking bargains sometimes in their sale, I had a pair of sandals for him that were £32 reduced to £9.60!

Have to say, having now seen the Startrite sandals compared to clarks, they do look more well-made. But then they seem to cost about £5-10 more than comparable Clarks shoes.

I do take him to get measured every so often to check the width, but I read here that an 'F' width fitting will pretty much suit 80% of children.

The startrite website has a print-off foot measuring guide & I think the clarks website do it too now.

My twins just had 1 pair of Startrites last year.

Just gone in and got all 3 Startrites at R&B, they judged really well this time last year. Think they added on half a size to make sure they'd last.

Qualitywise they were fab. The assistant did say they get loads of mums in rating Startrite over Clarks.

I added it up and a lot of the boys friends got through 3 pairs of cheap shoes last year. They cost way more than my 1 pair of Startrites.

Having said that I've only ever had to buy 2 pairs of shoes a year for my twins so if your child constantly grows out of shoes it might not be so cost effective. I've got a R&B card and get a £10 voucher every so often, you get points,with 3 kids it does add up as I buy a lot of shoes.