Why are girls shoes so GOPPING?!!

[hoonermum]

I can't stand the agony of shoe shopping for my 7yr old daughter, it makes me angry, upset and close to tears every, single, time and has done so since she first needed shoes. These are the issues:

1. Pink, pale pink, fuschia pink, bright pink with light pink, dark pink with puce pink, sparkly pink, satin pink, or......sick-pink.....pretend patent white whitest of white.......or.....black school shoes.
2. Glitter, sparkles bows, sequins, hearts, lips, Hello Kitty, Pepper Pig, stiletto heel icons, cupcakes, fairies, my-little-ponies with big melting eyes, lace, netting, eyelashes, kisses, flashing lights.
3. Heels (for young children?????!!!!)
4. Canvas, fur, pvc, synthetic sweaty stinky stuff pretending to be leather, pretend fabricy suede-stuff.
5. Almost NOTHING available....EVER......year on year.... from ANY manufacture including Clarkes (despite their claims) for a child with super wide fitting of H-I.

This is what I dreaaaaaammmmmmm of finding in answer to these issues:

1. Orange, green, blue, lemon-yellow, grey, turquoise, skyblue, dusky dirty pink, red, teal, magenta, purple, lilac and any shade of any of those colours, you know.....like the boys shoes are (I know!!!!! I'm CRAZY!)

2.Shoes in cool, funky, modern styles.....like they have on the continent.

1. No Heels. No Broken / sprained / strained ankles. No bum sticking out. No 'sexy' posture.....on a young child.
2. Leather. I know!!!!! CRAZYEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I'm mad! Why would I want my daughter to have a pair of shoes which don't make her feet smell, take scuffs and play, look great worn-in and resist the rain, I mean.....really, it's April! I should be buying flipflops, right?...or sandals, 'cos that's all there was in some shops.
3. As wide a variety of choice for wide growing feet as there are for kids who don't have wide feet.....however much those choices make me retch. To bath my daughter and see that the skin is not rubbed off her outer toes, for a change.

I'm SOOOOO angry. Everytime is the same. Today I drove nearly 50 miles and visited 11 shops to find a nice, funky pair of shoes for weekends, playing etc for my daughter. Everyshop had school shoes, flip flops, trainers, hi-tops, sandals, wellies, espadrilles, jellies, rubbery shoes, canvas shoes, synthetic shoes, shoes with all the stuff mentioned in issue 1. 2. 3. 4. I COULD NOT find what we wanted. In the mall in Plymouth, a kids Schu shop has opened next to the adult branch of Schu. A shop full to the brim of shoes and only ONE SINGLE pair of leather shoes. I'm not lying....ONE SINGLE PAIR. The assistant said,"Oh, you want FORMAL shoes?". No....just shoes, you know....S H O E S.... footwear that is none of the above in issues 1-4. The one (and only) pair was a lovely cocoa coloured pair of Hush Puppy balerina style with chunky grippy soles and really well made and priced. Daughter love them too. They were a size 12, which was weird, as her current pair are Hush Puppy size 12 and they've got so tight they're taking the skin off her feet....so what was wierd?....the fact that the pair in the shop were so long in size that they fell off her feet as though I'd given her a canoe to try on. W.T.H....? So that was it. No shoes......again.

So now, I'm going to spend probably the next 3 to 4 hours trawling the internet for shoes from abroad, I'll probably find something from France, Spain or Portugal, or even Poland, they'll be expensive, probably around £60/70 before delivery. I'll be crossing my fingers that they fit in the width. They won't fit, I'll send them back and go through the process a couple more times....by end of June I will find something, I'll get lucky maybe, or I'll resort to trawling ebay for 2nd-hand shoes....the worst thing you can do to your childs feet (forcing them into the footbed of another) just because they actually fit in the width and aren't pink etc. She always has a pair of pink / sparkly / lacey / glittery etc shoes of her choice for parties and special times, I don't deny her this stuff, but I'm talking about something she can wear everyday here.

So why are shoes in this country so pimped, so nastily made, from materials that let the rain in or make feet smell or are so narrow or are in colours that some high-pitch-voiced cartoon character with sparkles on her cheeks would wear from some Channel 5 afterschool cartoon? Or aren't fit for wearing on any occasion other than shopping or the beach? What is going on? It never used to be this bad? I can't believe it. Surely, please, I can't be the only one who feels like this / has noticed this? Please someone tell me I'm not the only one. I know lots of us like the girly stuff, that's fine! I don't want to ban it! They're so lucky having so much of it to choose from, but what about the rest of us who don't like it? Who DONT want it. I don't want my daughter growing up thinking that this is what girls shoes should look like.

Does anyone here, know of somewhere (real or internet) where I can buy cool shoes that I can afford for a 7 yr old (they only last 6mnths at best before too tight) with wide fitting feet? I have wide fitting feet and I have the same hell, but at least it's not a pink sparkly hell.

The answer to many of the "why are girls clothes/shoes so crap" threads, is to look in the boys section.

As for the shoes, it is strange that clarks are selling womens shoes that look like girls' shoes from the 70s, but can't extend the aesthetic to the children's range.

YES. I'm really appalled at the shoes for girls, now I have a girl. It's like Barbie threw up on their feet.

I'm going traditional Start-rite, or Kickers (if I want something that isn't from the official boys' sections) but that gets expensive too. Luckily I like traditional sandals and Mary-Janes, because that's really all there is in restrained styles. It's depressing.

I think my mum must have had this issue when I was younger, I know I ended up going to school in 'smartie boots'. They were very much like these

Oh wow, I love that Conkers link - thank you! DD is too small to make that sort of price point affordable for her (toddler as yet), but we discovered the hard way not to buy Startrite or Clarks for school shoes for DS, as they are shredded within a term whilst Petasil last all year at his age - and they're in that ball park price-wise, without being stretchable or resolable into a bigger size. Or, as far as I know, fair trade either.

"Orange, green, blue, lemon-yellow, grey, turquoise, skyblue, dusky dirty pink, red, teal, magenta, purple, lilac and any shade of any of those colours, you know.....like the boys shoes are " -

where? I was just trying to find some shoes for DS that are not dark blue, brown or black, with sculls and bones on them. He's a toddler! Ended up buying from girls section..

Yes, I also find it hard to find decent shoes for dd.

Thankfully she is no longer a wide fitting so it is a bit easier.

We mil go to an independent shoe shop. Supermarkets are terrible! All plastic tat!

Did doesn't like pink. She likes climbing so we need something practical, not flimsy.

I hate it at the playground when I see little girls unable to enjoy the play equipment because they don't have suitable footwear.

Boys shoes are not red, purple, green etc. They're either navy, brown, or khaki.

Maybe boys are expected to walk in the dirt but girls are expected to walk on... blancmange clouds?

It's like Barbie threw up on their feet.
Oh, God, yes, in the smaller sizes. I bought several pairs of boys' shoes for the DDs because the girls' shoes were so incredibly horrible AND showed every leeeetle teeny tiny mark (my children are muck magnets).

Some great replies, though. I had to buy my 13-yr-old adult shoes for school this time to get the width: bloody Clarks didn't go any wider, on their stupidly-cut girls' shoes, and I could not face another trawl round every shop in town.

Conker could be the way to go.

girls are not expected to walk, but sit quietly and look pretty. Why can't shoes be just shoes - practical and in various colours, and we parents could decide if the shoe in question is appropriate for our DS or DD?

You sound exhausted OP! I know how you feel, we have the same issue but with narrow feet. I can't be bothered to go to any great lengths to avoid the pink sparkly shite, If I find something that fits, we buy it. I do find shoes in TK Maxx every now and then, might be worth a look. good luck!

Yep, been there, done that.

We generally buy shoes when we visit family in Germany, cause UK is hopeless. Other than that, we look for indie shops that sell German brands, such as Ricosta.

I gave in last year, and got DD a pair of Doc Martens. At least they are hard wearing!

DD2 is 14, and has these school shoes.

The HOY was a bit dubious about them. Apparently, they're a bit too much like trainers. And yet, ballet flats, which IMO are impractical, and not good for the feet, are deemed perfectly acceptable.

The school's policy is flat, black shoes.

yanbu
dd and I have a fight each time we buy new shoes. esp school shoes, I will.not.buy. mary janes. she will wreck them in 2 min. not to mention they get very wet feet in rain/puddles.

plus we have a rule: either frilly or pink/purple.

so far I have won

Calm down dear
I'm not sure why you had such a bad day shopping but honestly none of my friends daughters (age 4-6)have the sparkles you abhor so much
Typically their shoes are deep purple with spots, green, hot pink with black laces, dm boots in lots of shades,
In the shops I buy my sons shows from they always have non leli Kelly style ones
There is plenty of pink but also none pink too
If you're frustrated by gender stereotype bear in mind boys of show size 11+ (ie not younger boy but fit 3yrs plus) must be predominantly black brown or navy
Have a tea and start again !

Both my kids ( boy and girl) wear superfit low top trainers - loads of great colours, practical and look nice with most clothes.

www.amazon.co.uk/Superfit-Girls-SPORT4-Low-Top-Sneaker/dp/B00QZHJW3I/ref=pd_sbs_sh_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0XG668E7HF1KY0H16Y4M

Chchchanging
How do you know that your friends aren't just as frustrated as the OP?

Op try petasil they do lovely shoes, my dd has had a few pairs from.them including pea green ones, just gorgeous. She also has wide feet, as do my boys.

I tend to go to an independent shoe shop and go for European makes such as petasil, ricosta, geox, pepino etc.

Have you thought about the handmade shoe shoe in Totnes? Not necessarily funky but the colours are cool

Seconding the Petasil rec. very strongly. DS has some for school every September now as they last all year, after he trashed Startrites in 3 months and Clarks in 1! (It seems they didn't appreciate being used as a brake to his scooter. Petasils don't mind!)

Chch hanging
Because it's something we've spoken about at length!