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Original poster

OMG I just nearly fell over when the shop assistant told me the price of my daughter's new boots!

128 replies

petalpower · 26/09/2009 14:23

Just been to buy my 7 year old daughter some winter boots (leather knee high type). We went to our normal shoe shop (StartRite or whatever they call themselves now) as she has tricky shaped feet - wide feet and high instep. Finally found a pair that fitted. Went to the till to pay and they were £74.99!! Don't think I will be telling DH the price. How can they justify this?

OP posts:
Original poster
petalpower · 29/09/2009 12:26

Thank you Horton for your kind comments! Feel as though I've had a bit of a pasting from some posters but as I said earlier eveyone is entitled to their opinion. Your post made me smile though!

OP posts:
WouldntTouchThemWithYours · 29/09/2009 23:59

Blimey!

I admitted to buying v. expensive (imo) boots at the start of the thread and I really don't have the £££ to spare.

I would love for dd to be able to have different shoes for different occasions and for us to go and buy them off the rack in Next et al, but sadly her feet just don't fit them. To demonstrate the instep problem, I can't physically get her feet into most childrens slippers (no matter if you go up a size or two) as her feet are that deep.

Shoe shopping is a bloody nightmare and I dread having to take her as it always involves a lot of traipsing around.

Incidentally, she only has one pair of footwear at a time, and as we're coming into winter and do a lot of walking I opted for boots. Can't see why kids shouldn't have boots tbh.

spokette · 30/09/2009 09:26

I bought wellies from Aldi for £2.99 for my DTS.

School shoes were from Asda for £12. They are good quality and fit well.

£75 for boots for a child?

Squishabelle · 30/09/2009 10:05

My dcs never had (or needed) 'winter boots' because they wouldnt have been allowed to keep them on in school all day. They had to change into something more suitable for inside.For the journey to and from school, wellingtons were perfectly adequate. There was simply no need for expensive 'boots'.

Horton · 30/09/2009 10:43

Why on earth wouldn't they have been allowed to wear their boots at school?

My daughter, incidentally, currently has four pairs of footwear: slippers, boots, crocs and wellies. I am obviously mad!

MamaGoblin · 30/09/2009 13:11

Maybe they can't wear boots at school because they're more fashion items, whereas 'sensible' school shoes can look more uniform?

Must say, I like the current look of, say, an eight year old in suede knee boots and a skirt or dress, although it looks quite grown-up to me, too. But I hadn't a clue how much it was costing!

Squishabelle · 30/09/2009 14:12

You wouldnt keep outdoor boots/wellies on inside your house all day (hot smelly sweltering feet!) so why should a child have to wear them all day at school?

LilyBolero · 30/09/2009 14:21

My dd has wide feet with high instep too, and it is a pain. School shoes are a nightmare - the only ones that ever fit are Startrite t-bars, and even though I always say 'only bring out t-bars' they ALWAYS bring out lovely delicate flatter shoes, which dd inevitably loves, but can't have.

I do get her a pair of winter boots each year because she LIVES in them out of school - we get massive wear out of them. I've found the UMI ones fit well - she has these ones this year, and had similar last year, but in green. They are a luxury, but mean her feet are warm through the winter. She only has school shoes and 1 pair of trainers for PE otherwise, so is no Imelda Marcos!

Horton · 30/09/2009 14:49

I'd keep boots on all day if I had cold feet. Not wellies, admittedly, that would be rank. But decent leather boots, why not as long as your feet aren't sweaty?

MamaGoblin, I think it doesn't have to be that expensive! DD's winter boots cost about £30 which isn't any worse than smart shoes, really.

MeAndMyMonkey · 30/09/2009 15:08

Petalpower I know exactly where you are coming from - DD is nearly 3 and also has ridiculous high instep, so all those sort of mary-jane style shoes squash her feer and make the top bulge out. She had an Umi pair that totally squashed her feet - big mistake. I nearly passed out at spending £35 on red leather t-bar shoes for her last week too, but they were the only ones that fit her properly.
She was living in crocs all summer but kept slipping over in them so I needed to get her decent shoes - like Let Them Eat Cake said, we too were brough up with the decent shoes/coat thing and a load of charity/home-made/Clothkits clothes, so I guess 'good shoes' are ingrained in me.
i have nothing against supermarket etc shoes if they fit, but don't really want to buy a 2 year old horrid school-style shoes, nor pink sparkly nightmares, nor in fact trainers (just don't like them on little girls). But I haven't got loads of dosh either, it's just I guess i would rather skimp on other things than shoes that don't fit. You have my sympathy!

pagwatch · 30/09/2009 15:16

Petal
my DD has wide feet and a high instep so shoes and boots can be hard to find.

But I will spend a lot of money on them and she has lots of pairs boots, shoes, wellies and sandals. I don't steal them and if it is stupid tis my call. I am not bothering anyone

What I never would do though is come on to MN and complain to people who cannot under any circumstances pay that - even if they werte mad enough to want to .

( and by the way - tried to take some virtually new shoes to save the children and was told that they cannot excpet shoes. What is that all about?)

pagwatch · 30/09/2009 15:17

sorry
accept not except of course.

GooseyLoosey · 30/09/2009 15:19

Ds has ridiculously wide feet, with a high instep - so much so that he cannot wear plimsolls for PE as we cannot find a pair any where that fit. However, for the last 2 years he has had a lovely pair of boots from Next for £25. I get them in a size larger than his feet and he loves them. Says they are very comfy.

I thought it was normal to get winter shoes for children. At any time mine have 1 pair of school shoes, wellies and 1 pair of non-school shoes (in the summer this means sandals and in the winter more robust ankle boot type thingies).

jodevizes · 30/09/2009 20:01

It's not the 75 quid for the boots that the problem, it's the cost of security to look after her in case she gets mugged for them.

What a shame there are no sweeps left, we could rent our little darlings out to them to help pay for their clothes. LOL

thisisyesterday · 30/09/2009 20:16

petalpower, it's fiiiiiine! don't worry

i'd spend that if they were what i wanted and they fitted well.
if you have the money then it doesn't matter. if you don't have the money then you were silly to pay it

ds1 has school shoes, wellies, trainers and winter boots.
it isn't nice to have to wear the same shoes every single day. i don't do it and i don't expect my children to. likewise, i don't want him stuck in trainers the entire time he isn't in school.
so we buy a nice non-school proper shoe as well- right now it's boots which were a bargain compared to your dd's lol

i will admit to having a slight children's show fetish though. we have a cupboard full. thankfully i have 3 boys so at least we will be able to re-use some!

Milliways · 30/09/2009 20:25

I think I was a VERY mean Mummy. When mine were at Primary they 1 pair school shoes (or sandals in Summer), one pair trainers & one pair wellies. End of.

I will spend up to c£40 on decent shoes, because they have to have them and wear them every day.

DS still only has School shoes, trainers & walking boot type trainers (bought for a school trip).

DD now buys herself dozens of pairs of cheap Primark type shoes

Horton · 30/09/2009 20:26

Mugged? A seven year old? Is this likely? What a peculiar thing to say.

BonjourIvresse · 30/09/2009 20:31

and startrite sell boots in their factory shop for £18. That's criminal 70 quid!

( wonders about buying factory boots and selling them on ebay )

rusmum · 30/09/2009 20:48

maddness i dont pay it as they grow sooo quick-

mummydarlingsausage · 30/09/2009 20:57

petalpower you're not mad - i know exactly how difficult it is to get shoes for dc. my dd has wide feet/high in step. i think the lady below who thinks we're all falling for a marketing ploy in order for us to buy expensive shoes is wrong. firstly i have never had a sales assistant say my dd has 'special' feet and secondly, i would say that more often than not we leave a shoe shop with nothing. so far since the summer i haven't been able to find any boots or shoes that fit dd - only 1 pair of trainers. i've tried all the local shops plus a shopping centre 2 hours away. sometimes she fits a reasonably priced pair sometimes expensive, sometimes nothing, but i am happy to pay over the odds rather than not have any at all. also, i don't think any sales assistant is as experienced as myself at fitting shoes for my dd. i can pretty much tell by looking at a pair of shoes if she is going to be able to get her feet in them or not. i think there has got to be a market for bigger (and smaller) than average shoes.

Original poster
petalpower · 30/09/2009 21:15

Blimey, I seem to opened up a real can of worms here! When I posted my message on Saturday i never thought I'd be so judged over what I was saying and doing. (Hey this is MN though). I don't think DD is likely to get mugged for her boots round these parts (very rural). BonjourIvresse these boots are not Startrites own (wish they were as the factory shop isn't a million miles from here). The local shop which used to be Startrite is now EuropeanSole which I don't think is nearly as good. It does hearten me to hear about other Mums whose DC have tricky feet of one type or another. Thanks to those who have made such kind comments.

OP posts:
rusmum · 30/09/2009 21:40

lol didnt mean you were mad- just the prices!!! OMG!!! mind you i am a bargain hunter

Original poster
petalpower · 30/09/2009 21:49

I love a good bargain too (see my comments about DD's velcro sandals from JJB - v. cheap and they fitted!). I think maybe I am a bit mad .

OP posts:
FabBakerGirlIsSURVIVED · 01/10/2009 07:46

You are not mad petal. Some people are just missing the point about not having a choice when your child's feet are not the norm.

rusmum · 01/10/2009 09:17

do clarks not go to the size you need?