Looking for good children shoes

Iskin

Haya
I am looking for good shoes for my daughter who has quite large and wide feet , size 11 at 3 years old. Anybody who could advise me on where to find/buy them (I have already tried Clarks) ?
Thanks
Cheers

Plumpud_3

I thought my daughter had big feet, 13½ G at just turned 6 years old. I've found Clarks to be quite good. Did you go to a Clarks shop, or a shoe shop that sells Clarks? The independant shops have to buy the shoes from clarks, so will reduce them by much more to re-coup some of the money back when they have the sales. They only stock the sizes and styles they think they can sell. Can never be 100% sure that your Child needs new shoes, or whether they are desperate for a sale.

Clarks' owned shops have a much wider choice of styles and sizes - very useful if your child has wide or narrow feet, but they don't reduce the prices by so much in the sales.

I have also used Jones' the Bootmaker and John Lewis. Both stock Startrite and Hush Puppies as well as Clarks definitely. I think they sell other brands too. You could also try Brantano.

My eldest daughter always had very narrow feet. My two youngest have both got big and wide feet. I don't think any child has 'normal' feet. We might do better if the shoe manufacturers didn't change the styles every season. We would then have a wider choice. Granted we wouldn't then have the sales, but as I have only bought two pairs of children's shoes from the Clarks sales, over more than 19 years, that wouldn't be a huge loss.

stressedoutmother

My two older boys (4 & 6) have both got very wide feet with a high instep so I feel forced into going to Clarkes. However, I am not happy with them. They will measure their feet at say 11.5 H (largest width) and proceed to tell me that none of the shoes I want are available in that size but what about this one in a 12G which should fit. Sorry, but I am not paying £40 for a shoe that doesn't fit from an "expert" who's told me what size he needs!!

There's a great kids clothes/shoes catalogue called Vertbaudet (https://www.vertbaudet.co.uk) they do fab shoes at good prices. They are all J widths. I tend to go for ones with velcro fastenings and large openings so their feet can actually get into them!

Moose_2

Hi,
I've just bought my kids shoes from ShoesDirect.co.uk
They have Clarks, startrite etc at the same price as the highstreet shops and have the sizes you need.
I have the same problem as Stressedoutmother, my little 'un Mia who is 2 also has a high instep so she can't wear shoes from Next or Barratts so I have to shell out a ridiculous amount of money for good shoes. She can only have trainers from Clarks. She had a brand new pair 3 1/2 weeks ago, size six. I took her today and she's now a six and a half!! That means another £22 for trainers and £25-£30 for shoes! Thats without the £32 I paid for my 7 1/2
year old shoes for school and he also needs a pair of trainers as he's jumped from size 13 to 1 in the space of 6 weeks. :eek:

I don't pay this type of money for my shoes! Am I mad??

H

Gingham_Ribbon

I have had similar problems. My son's feet were too big for the Clarks cruisers and crawlers and ended up wearing slippers outside until he could walk at 10 months and I could get him some first steps shoes.

He is now 20 months and 7 and a half G with a high instep. Again, I can't get Clarks shoes to fit unless they're velcro, which he'd just undo and chuck out of the buggy. At that price I'm not risking that! We got some nice buckle up Startrite in John Lewis but they weren't cheap.

Actually, I really miss his slippers. He grabbed them from the display. They were bright pink with sheep on them!

pdoff

Moose wrote:

Hi,
I've just bought my kids shoes from ShoesDirect.co.uk
They have Clarks, startrite etc at the same price as the highstreet shops and have the sizes you need.
I have the same problem as Stressedoutmother, my little 'un Mia who is 2 also has a high instep so she can't wear shoes from Next or Barratts so I have to shell out a ridiculous amount of money for good shoes. She can only have trainers from Clarks. She had a brand new pair 3 1/2 weeks ago, size six. I took her today and she's now a six and a half!! That means another £22 for trainers and £25-£30 for shoes! Thats without the £32 I paid for my 7 1/2
year old shoes for school and he also needs a pair of trainers as he's jumped from size 13 to 1 in the space of 6 weeks. :eek:

I don't pay this type of money for my shoes! Am I mad??

H

am sure i heard somewhere on this forum that if your child's feet grow within 6 weeks or so then clarks will refund u for the shoes so u can buy the next ones. can anyone tell me if this is right as can't find where i read it!

found it - thread called "clarks???" on chat forum - don't know how to post link but if u put clarks in search bit it will bring it up. hope this helps.

Moose_2

pdoff wrote:

am sure i heard somewhere on this forum that if your child's feet grow within 6 weeks or so then clarks will refund u for the shoes so u can buy the next ones. can anyone tell me if this is right as can't find where i read it!

Oh My God please don't tell me that! :eek: I think I threw the receipt out last week, I sure as hell can't find it.
I am going to turn my house upside down this minute to look for it!

H

cardtart_2

I used to manage an independant Clarks shoe shop.The guarantee was up to three months growing room.Each properly fitted pair of shoes would have nearly two half sizes (half a size is a 6th of an inch)growing room.If a child had not grown for three months then I have seen a growth of half a size in six weeks,especially in a toddler.Also kids seemed to grow faster in the summer months.We would advise if at all possible to hold on until the child grew before purchasing a new pair.

Quackers

stressedoutmother wrote:

My two older boys (4 & 6) have both got very wide feet with a high instep so I feel forced into going to Clarkes. However, I am not happy with them. They will measure their feet at say 11.5 H (largest width) and proceed to tell me that none of the shoes I want are available in that size but what about this one in a 12G which should fit. Sorry, but I am not paying £40 for a shoe that doesn't fit from an "expert" who's told me what size he needs!!
!

Hi S-O-M,

Just because your Son is measured a particular size that doesn't mean that will be the size he needs in every pair of shoes. The measurement is only a guide - the machine doesn't account for the depth of the foot or the particular shape of each individual childs shoe. Thats why the assistant may sometimes need to change the size to get the correct fit for your son. Obviously Clarks cannot make every style in every size. Anyway, each style fits differently so it really is a case of trying different styles on to get the best fit possible. It would be pointless putting yr son in a 11.5 H shoe just because that is what he measured when a 12g would maybe fit him much better.

I've had a glass or 2 of wine - hope this makes sense

Quackers

pdoff wrote:

am sure i heard somewhere on this forum that if your child's feet grow within 6 weeks or so then clarks will refund u for the shoes so u can buy the next ones. can anyone tell me if this is right as can't find where i read it!

found it - thread called "clarks???" on chat forum - don't know how to post link but if u put clarks in search bit it will bring it up. hope this helps.

Its approx 8weeks for toddlers and 3months for older children. It really does depend on each case but as a guide that is about right. If your child has grown and its right on the 3months for example then you may get a % reduction off your old ones towards a new pair. BUT please keep your receipt - without it you have no proof that the shoes were fitted and no proof as to when you purchased them. If you dont have the receipt then clarks will look at the wear and tear on the shoes and as everyone wears their shoes out at different levels this isn't always the best way. My daughters shoes can easily look 6months old after 3 weeks

Quackers

cardtart wrote:

.If a child had not grown for three months then I have seen a growth of half a size in six weeks,especially in a toddler..

LOL - And me! But people never believe that feet can grow that much in that short space of time