Tell Brantano your top tips on shopping for school shoes and you could win a £100 Brantano voucher NOW CLOSED

[AngelieMumsnet]

The team at Brantano would love to know about Mumsnetters’ tips and experiences of the back to school shop for shoes.

Here’s what Brantano say, “To help make this shopping experience easier for you and your little ones, our friendly staff are all expertly trained and can provide a free shoe fitting service across all the brands we stock. Brantano stores are also conveniently located in retail parks, with most open until 8pm so you don’t have to go too far for those back to school essentials.”

So, how does your back to school shoe shopping usually go? Who has the final say on your DCs shoes? Have you got any tips and hints to share about how to make the back to school shop a little easier?

Whatever your experiences are, Brantano would love to hear about it!
Everyone who posts their comment on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £100 Brantano voucher.

Please note: your comments may be used anonymously elsewhere on Mumsnet and by Brantano on their website, marketing materials and possible elsewhere, so please only comment if you are happy with this.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

[OneOfMyTurnsComingOn]

Don't go in the last week of the school holidays. It will be busy and some styles will have run out. Make sure you prepare your child to shop around. Check the fit yourself. The shop assistant isn't always the best judge of fit!

[Pumpkinette]

So, how does your back to school shoe shopping usually go?

I always go mid week as it's quieter and late afternoon. I go in the afternoon as feet expand as the day goes on. I feel an foot afternoon measurement is more accurate than a morning one. The only time we had a morning fitting DD outgrew the shoes in 3 weeks.

I am a bit of a planner so I like to look online at all the different styles before I go. If there is something I really hate I will tell the fitter don't bring us style xyz out please. That way DD doesn't even get the chance to decide they are the ones she wants.

Who has the final say on your DCs shoes?

I do my best to steer DD towards what I think is most appropriate, however I do let her choose which ones she wants. This year we have patent Lelli Kelly's - she liked them and the clarks ones with the toy in the heels. My preference was neither!

My reasoning is based on my own school day memories. The children who hated the school shoes picked out by their parents would try to trash them on purpose to get a new pair. I may have done the same thing once or twice in the hopes of getting some new ones I actually liked.

Have you got any tips and hints to share about how to make the back to school shop a little easier?

Remember to wear / bring socks. I have witnessed children turned away from a fitting as they arrived in sandals and the parents have no socks with them. If you can, bring a pair or the school socks you child will be wearing with the shoes - it's much easier to judge how they will look with grey/ black socks that pink my little pony ones!

Bring some small toys on your bag to keep child entertained if there is a big queue. Little cars or similar (for DD it's shopkins) will be just enough to keep the boredom setting in.

When you are waiting on your turn get the children to take off shoes and be ready to go as soon as your ticket is called. It makes life easier for the fitter and if everyone done this the queue would move faster. 2 minutes per child to remove shoes makes an extra 10 minutes wait if there are 5 children in front of you.

Promise small treats for good behaviour in the shoe shop. I tend to go with ice cream. We stop at a little shop that sells ice cream on the way home, however if I couldn't do that for whatever reason then I can still offer ice cream when we get home so she still gets her treat.

[clopper]

Go late in the day. If you go near closing time you often get very quick and attentive service, sometimes with more than one member of staff. I used to work in a shop and we were always eager to help customers on their way at 5.30!

[Anononooo]

My DD and DS have very wide feet and I didn't realise. Now I know, it is a little easier to find stuff to fit, but sadly not all shops have wide fittings.

[DarCyberOod]

I've just been to buy school shoes at Brantano for dd3 and came away empty handed. Very limited selection in size 9, only had cheap makes, I prefer hush puppies but they only had one pair and was told they won't be getting more in due to hush puppies not making 9> which I know isn't true as I've been buying them from other places. Shop assistant was doing hard sell on Clarks which I've had a lot of bad experiences with poor quality so I don't buy. I looked at the other makes but they were all quite narrow and dd3 has very wide feet!
As it's now a 50 min round trip to get to Brantano ( nearest shoe shop now) I don't want to buy online and have to return until I get the right size.

[Fizzyplonk]

Abandon if too busy!!
Take a phone with some apps

[Summergarden]

Go at a quiet time, so less busy and stressful. I usually give DD a choice of 2 or 3 styles so she is happy that she has a choice, but I know she will select something appropriate.

I must admit I was disappointed at a recent experience at having my DSs feet measured at Brantano. They said he was a size 3E, and had no shoes in that size so we didn't try any on there. Went into Clarks the next day to try shoes in that size, which we couldn't even get onto his feet. The Clarks assistant re measured his feet and found him to be a size 4.5G. After that I'm somewhat apprehensive about trusting Brantano with measuring again.

[mummyevans2]

I always make sure I shoe shop when the kids aren't tired or hungry so they're more patient. I've learnt my lesson the hard way but now bring the 4 and 5 year old separately as they will get fed up of waiting for the other to be fitted properly. I try not to bring them when it's too warm too so that their feet haven't swollen up and we get a true fit that won't be loose and rub.

[BreconBeBuggered]

It's all about timing. I'm lucky in that both DC have steady-growing feet, so only ever needed new shoes a couple of times a year, but they make up for it with lengthy analysis of each shoe and how it fits. This can only be done outside of peak shoe-buying season.

[SheHasAWildHeart]

When I bought my DD's school shows last year from Brantano I mentioned that her previous shoes got scuffed from the front. The assistant suggested buying some black scuff polish (less than £3). Her shoes have lasted the whole school year and are still good to wear, if only her show size hadn't gone up!

[HopingForTheBest]

I have one child only. We always have her feet measured each time we go to shoe shop both length and width and stick to the same two brands nowadays. In the past we tried a few times to buy very cheap shoes mainly because dd liked their appearance / style and I liked their price but it was false economy since they fell apart within days and since I work all hours and I don't drive, we couldn't go back to the shop early enough to get refund or exchange. Problem. I now stick to the brands I know and trust even they cost more. And one pair lasts quite a long time without falling apart. My advice is get measured and don't buy the cheapest.

[heymammy]

For younger kids >8yrs, just choose the shoes for them...giving the child the choice at this age makes for shoe shopping hell!

For older children, have a look online first so you know roughly what kind of shoe they like then if they haven't got them in store just go back home and order them online.

[Snoozie101]

As my kids have narrow feet and the shops never have their size/width in stock I go onto the shop's website and order in a few pairs the right size to be delivered to the shop and then only buy one of the pairs that actually fit.

[Fumnudge]

Age permitting, buy patent leather. You wouldn't think so but they last so much longer before looking trashed.
Also, watch closely for fit as they walk around in them in the shop, children often say they fit fine as they just like the look of them, once you're home they moan they rub!

[girliefriend]

Well what normally happens is I leave it to the last min and then spend an afternoon frantically trying to find a pair that dd likes while listening to dd moaning a lot!

This year I will be much more organised of course plan to go to the local discount village, make a day of it and bribe dd with the temptation of and hot choc if she tries shoes on nicely

[thanksamillion]

Don't even think about buying something that they are luke warm about, even if it's the best fit by far. In a day or two's time they will be telling you that they don't like them, never did and only said they did because you looked like you were about to murder them not that I ever did that myself

[vlcrhopkins]

Wear or take socks with you,

Snacks to occupy children whilst one is measured and choosing, making sure you plan lots of time and not rushing as shop closing/promising to meet someone.

Get them measured, but check most shops as on a budget to see if you can get them cheaper.

[FTS123]

We go first thing after breakfast to beat the chaos but am thinking of straying from Clarks this year as I'm a single parent and have three pairs to buy, but I still want to go somewhere that measures, had no idea that Brantanos did this so will definitely pay a visit.

[TrollTheRespawnJeremy]

DD loves getting new shoes so she is happy to come along and have her feet measured/try on 100 pairs of shoes.

Rule of thumb- Just because she says that the fit is perfect, doesn't mean that it is. She will do anything to get her hands on a patent pair of shoes (expensive mistake previously.)

I make her do plenty of walking instore to make sure there is no slippage (and probably drive the shop assistants mad... I can't be too careful with my kid's feet though!)

[etoiledemer]

My DD has very skinny ankles and we really struggle to find shoes that fit her securely so we always go to a proper shoe shop with sales assistants who fit properly as I don't feel qualified to measure my kids' feet.

My top tip is to avoid the sharks at Clarks who must work on commission as their only aim is to do the hard-sell and they don't seem to care one jot whether the shoes actually fit.

[StickChildNumberTwo]

Go to the outlet store for same quality shoes and fitting but lower prices.

[peronel]

My tip is to try the small local shoe shops first. I find they are quieter and at busy times the larger branches seem to run out of popular styles/sizes quickly. Early morning is a good time, before DC's get fractious!

[Hopezibah]

we always make sure we take some books to read or games to play in case there is a bit of a wait - helps the kids to stay calm.