Can I just do a quick poll of those of you who have boys

[katierocket]

Are you generally happy with the choice in boys shoes? Whenever I go shoe shopping for DS I am so disappointed at the lack of choice/range of different designs / colours etc. Everything seems to be black or brown or navy. Does anyone know anywhere that does more stylish boys shoes?
These are my favourite make but not that many places seem to stock them naturino
reckon there might be a gap in the market but would be interested to hear what everyone thinks.

My ds is now 12
Baby doc martens were our answer but they have stopped making them now.
Elefanten are excellent as you say Falcotto/Naturino too
Buckle my shoe is FAB but pricey - shoes are one thing I do not mind speding good money on though.

DS is 4 and I have to say I couldn't even bring myself to buy what was on offer from Clarks/Start-Rite for black school shoes this autumn. Disgusting clod-hoppers everywhere.

I ended up with navy/green trainer type shoes - with lights. WHO decided that they need lights on shoes????

We live in Budapest and I quite like Geox -DS loves them - has some lovely red/white trainers. But they are expensive.

Don't get me started! there have been a few threads on this - mostly moaning about Clarks. It makes me very that there are so many nice shoes for girls to choose from and my poor DS1 (age 3 and a size 11) gets to choose between black lace ups or black velcro.
I'm sure there is a dfeinite gap in the market but, as always, so much depends on the cost. this time alst year DS1 was growing out of shoes every 6 weeks - in the end I said to the woman in Clarks that she might as well keep my credit card cos I had spent most of the money in there

I'm in manchester so maybe there just isn't the same availability here but the boys sections of most shoe shops really are desperately dull. Then you look across at the girls shoes and they are lovely; I don't mean pink and girly but there is some really funky stuff, I just don't think designers put the same effort into designing for boys.

Definitely a gap in the market. Ds was so disppointed when he got to the age where all the shoes were completely plain (i.e. no dinosaur holograms and so on), and I agree the choice is dire once they are past toddlerhood.

Hello btw

I totally agree
there are lovely kids' shoes in France - but they cost a fortune
The minute you start looking for anything around the £20-£25 mark, they become brown, navy, black and boring.
I got some brill 1st shoes for ds - make 'Little Mary'
They are silver leather, woth red soles and black stripes! They look very cool - but I was loucky to find them for Sale price

I'm interested to hear what everyone thinks (sorry if it's been done before, will search archives too, naughty rocket!) because I really do think there is a gap in the market. Price would need to be right though, like you say.

hello tamum

Kickers do really cute multi-coloured children's shoes too - but a bit pricey

I am loving those shoes and have added them to my faves! I have 2 boys-they either live in Clarks or Kickers or Pepino-have never been that adventurous!

We've got a good shop called One Small Step - not cheap but good selection. Don't know if they are on the net.

I suppose I want to get an idea of how many mums are bothered about it and how many are happy just to go for the black/brown/navy options.

I'm bovverred!

Me too. Ds is a bit old now, probably (sob) but I would definitely have gone out of my way to get more interesting shoes for him when he was younger. Are you actually thinking of setting something up? How exciting

ooh yes it's all sooooo booooooooooring!!
the annoying thing is that you can get really cute boys' shoes in Germany (and France too I'd guess) but even our continental shoe shop here only orders in the boring styles. Very disappointing indeed. Have considered getting ds some girl's shoes - not pink mind, but a nice red pair maybe.

I am sure you are right, but having a dd I have never really looked at boys shoes. On the plus side maybe boys aren't so fussy about shoes? There are lots of lovely girls shoes around, very funky trainer-type however if my dd didn't choose her own (usually pink or with lights if they are trainers) she really would refuse to wear them. May point is there are nice girls shoes around (in non-girly colours) but getting a 4yo to wear them in another matter.

Then again, may be my dd is especially fussy about clothes, has been since she was two....takes after her mum!

well tamum who knows, I'm just fed up with it and don't see why small boys have to wear dull shoes.

Geekgirl, I know what you mean about buying girls shoes - I've frequently picked up shoes in shops for DS and then realised they are girls shoes.

well, my ds adores his big sisters' shoes
I think little boys would be just as pleased as little girls to have interesting shoes.

i am definatley bothered. i have 2 boys aged 8 and 3 and it really pees me off that i have to traipse around every shoe shop in town trying to find something nice and trendy for them. i don't want them to wear trainers all the time.

if i can get to london or chichester (i live in Reading) then i buy them shoes from russell and bromley as they have a nicer range, never ever use clarks, they are crap, poorly fitted and dull as dishwater! got my 8yo some funky geox trainer style shoes for school, they are black but still look nice, and some diesel shoes for weekends ( luckily they were in the sale) for ds2 i got him some russell and bromley own brand shoes, and if i have to shop for shoes in reading, they usually end up with kickers or timberland, unless ravel have anything in.

re naturino, i think john lewis do them, although in a limited range.

cardy - I think that's very common with girls but not so much with boys? I don't know (would be interested to hear from others). My DS is 4 and is fairly happy to wear whatever shoes I choose, he is however automatically drawn towards the more interesting colours etc

I've never been too bothered tbh as ds1's shoes seem to get wrecked in a matter of seconds, however, we recently went to our local shoe shop rather than the Clarkes one in the next town and I was really surprised by all the other makes of shoe and how good some of them were. DS1 went for some dark red Geox shoes which he is very proud of and dd had a make called Rondinella (only do girls ones though, pah!), which are very very pretty . They are both so much nicer than anything I have bought in Clarkes in the past too.

Ditto - ds1 has big and wide feet for his age so he now seems to be reduced to clodhopping thug boy shoes. Clarks are appalling design-wise, i think. He wears plain black start rite shoes for school, which I like, and has a nice pair of trainers, but that's it. I would like to get him another pair of slightly trendy shoes, but the cost of the nice ones are . And they never seem to have his size when I do look.

Ds was the same- not terribly fussy, but disappointed that he had to have such boring shoes.

My 21 month old ds insists on wearing his shoes in bed. He loves them. Agree the choice is pretty limited compared to girls shoes, even more so if your children do not have standard width feet. It seems to be Clarks, Startrite or nothing. Clarks are awful full stop

I am sure some of the girls shoes that I have seen could be 'unisex'. Although I am not sure that is really the long-term answer.

If there is a gap in the market......a new business idea maybe? I used to think this about maternity clothes, all bloody awful, although I think they are a bit better now.