What are your teenage girls wearing for school shoes?

[AndiPandi]

Uniform states they have to be plain black, no white soles (converse etc) and I would prefer them to be leather. DD is 13 and we are already falling out over this, she wants canvas vans, because that's what EVERYBODY wears. Please can someone tell me what I can suggest for her that would be a fashionable alternative she might agree to.
She's turning on the tears and using the guilt trip that she just wants to fit in and making out I know absolutely nothing about fashion (possibly true?!)

One of my DDs wears black leather vans - the canvas ones aren't allowed. My other DD wears black kickers. I'm getting on now but I do remember how important it was to have the right school shoes even in the early 80's .

I did think they were quite expensive but then realised I was paying nearly 40 for a pair of Clarks.

DD2(13) Black Clarks kids brogues,
DD2(16) black ladies K's court shoes with a wide strap and decorative button across near the toe (think dull practical work shoes).

I wish they could wear Vans etc, grippy rubber soles would be great for chasing round their big sloping school, but school go nuts at trainers.

14 yr old dd1 has these as do a lot of the older girls at her school, brogues are also quite popular. There is a very strict dress code at her school and shoes must be sensible flat black leather shoes that can be polished.
She did have some of those Clarks lace up ones linked on first page but the soles were too flimsy for Dd and within a few weeks they had worn through. The ones she has now gave leather bottoms and are strong and are still looking really good 10 months on.

DD's lace up brogues are from StartRite. They look pretty much identical to the Clarks ones but did almost the entire year (sadly they gave out just after this last half term!). DD trashes Clarks so fast I've given up on them, and the StartRite weren't any more expensive (£38).

DD wore through her Clarks brogues in no time. She's wearing size 3 loafers from the Jones January sale and they're fine bar a couple of reheelings

DD2 wears black lace ups, bit like tap shoes. They were from Barratts.
DD1 wears black leather Converse, they are completely black, no white soles.

Oh god school shoes. Soon I will have to buy 3pairs again for 3 teens. I HATE it.

I spend ages seething in Clarks clutching my paper number waiting to be seen. Eventually we are but they never have any stock or choice. Nothing fits.

Eventually by process of elimination we narrow it down to one pair that sort of does fit. Dds and ds hate the one pair on offer and declare they won't be seen dead in them. We then have a hissed and heated argument in the corner with me threatening god knows what unless everyone co-operates.

Then we leave (stomp off) vowing never to return. Then I realise there is nowhere else after all, so we trail back to Clarks (staff smirk knowingly at us).

I proceed to cough up well over 100quid for three pairs of shoes no-one likes one bit. And I usually have to sign some disclaimer that Im buying them even though according to Clarks they don't actually fit very well. They probably don't, but by then we're all so sick of it all that no-one cares.