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how much do you spend on kids shoes?
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An advert for Clarkes, but they are a good brand. We bought Clarkes shoes for our chidren 25 years ago and I often still buy for myself.0
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Just paid £40 for DS last pair from Clarks :eek: I know they will last 6 months (unless he has a growth spurt). Also know they won't damage his feet (H width). Added bonus is if he does have a spurt or they break within 3 months Clarks will replace. DD has finally stopped growing so OK with others. Got some £25 ones that were knackered within weeks (heel squished) so just bought her some sale ones from Sports Direct for £9 which seem to be doing fine.Truth always poses doubts & questions. Only lies are 100% believable, because they don't need to justify reality. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Labyrinth of the Spirits0
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I always buy clarks too - again, they last AGES
I brought a pair from Pumpkin Patch once - They were all scuffed after 1 wear, have never had that with clarks!0 -
For dd 4 I go to an independant shoe shop - she usually ends up in start rite as all the lovely shoes are too wide for her skinny ankles - however a couple oftimes she's had clarkes. I usually go in the sales and get things half price - so £7 for last years style doodles rather than £15 for the current range but the same quality and fit! Just got her some much longed for Lelli kellis for £20. Come sept it'll probably be startrite or clarkes and I doubt we'll get black school shoes in the sale so I'll be paying the full £30-35.
DS is 13 and usually has kickers or timberland boots (£30 ish from m and m direct) as they are fashionable enough for him but sturdy enough to appease me. Unfortunatley school have just dropped the no trainers rule so this sept we shall see - I will only buy leather though as cheaper ones just aren't worth it.
IMO shoes are worth paying for - I'd rather a good fit than save a few quidPeople seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
Ralph Waldo Emerson0 -
I only get clarks shoes for my 2. ds 1 is 8 and a size 1 and ds 2 is just starting school in september-we walk to school and it's about a 1/2 hour walk so they need proper fitting shoes (not helped by them both having wide feet!) i've had cheap shoes for them before and they just fall apart-oh and i wouldn't go near startrite again-they scuffed really badly and the soles wore down in non time at all. By october half term they looked like they were last years shoes-not good after spending £40 on them!
Shoes for the boys for september will prob cost about £70 :eek: but at least i know they will last as long as their feet are that size!!0 -
Both of mine have really wide feet, so they almost have to have Clarks shoes, but my OH buys alot of almost new ones on ebay and gets the others whenever a decent sale is on. She plans ahead and buys in sizes in advance when the opportunity arises.
We also get given some, although are rarely the right size.
After being worn and grown out of, they are always sold on ebay, so we get something back.Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.0 -
Lotus-eater wrote: »Both of mine have really wide feet, so they almost have to have Clarks shoes, but my OH buys alot of almost new ones on ebay and gets the others whenever a decent sale is on. She plans ahead and buys in sizes in advance when the opportunity arises.
We also get given some, although are rarely the right size.
After being worn and grown out of, they are always sold on ebay, so we get something back.Could never sell DS outgrown shoes he is too hard on them.
Truth always poses doubts & questions. Only lies are 100% believable, because they don't need to justify reality. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Labyrinth of the Spirits0 -
I buy clarks shoes and try to get them in the sales.
My DD started school in Jan and i got them a week before in the sale got them for £19 they have lasted right up until now - luckily her feel hadn`t grown either!
My friend buys her DD`ss from shoezone and she has had 3 pairs from January to now @ £6 each.
ETA: My mother has hammer toes where she used to wear ill fitting shoes as a child/teen, now 64 she suffers with terrible pain and has had multiiple ops to sort them which have failed - feet are important.DebtFree FEB 2010!Slight blip in 2013 - Debtfree Aug 2014 :j
Savings £132/£1000.0 -
Given they have to walk about on those feet for their entire lives I will not scrimp on the price.. I have 9 children.. though only buy shoes for 6 at the moment, but I do buy my grandson proper shoes too.. becase they are so important!!!
We spend £25-£50 on shoes depending on size .. though 2 of them have Piedro boots at around £120 a pair. I have 2 with extremely wide feet, 2 with extremely skinny feet, 3 with hypermobility and they ALL have very low ankle bones and a very high instep.... NOT easy to fit at all!!
They all have doodles or trainers as well.
It doesn't matter if they have cheap clothes but cheap shoes are so damaging i wouldn't ever take the risk.
If Clarks/startrite fall to pieces you take them back!!!!!!!!!!!LB moment 10/06 Debt Free date 6/6/14Hope to be debt free until the day I dieMortgage-free Wannabee (05/08/30)6/6/14 £72,454.65 (5.65% int.)08/12/2023 £33602.00 (4.81% int.)0 -
I always bought properly fitted Clarkes shoes for my son's main shoes (I might have bought him cheaper sandals/trainers if I could find ones I thought fit him well enough, but not for the shoes he was wearing most of the time.)
1) He had funny shaped feet so it was hard to find shoes that fit him otherwise
2) I think it's important that children have properly fitted shoes
3) Clarkes don't ever wear out!
IT was hard for us to afford but I didn't care if I had to buy his clothes from market stalls/charity shops, as long as his feet had decent shoes.
If I 'd had a kid with more standard shape feet maybe I would have gone for cheaper shoes, but maybe not. I could cry when I see my poor stepsons' feet - they've only had cheap shoes not fitted right, and their toes look really deformed now. They will be stuck with those feet for life.Cash not ash from January 2nd 2011: £2565.:j
OU student: A103 , A215 , A316 all done. Currently A230 all leading to an English Literature degree.
Any advice given is as an individual, not as a representative of my firm.0
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