Children's shoes con

Bella56

We hear it over and over, children must have their feet measured and must wear properly fitted, very expensive shoes, so that their feet don't end up all gnarled and ruined by the age of 10.

Fair enough, I've taken my children to a local independent shoe shop, and a big reputable brand shop, for most of their (hugely expensive) shoes.

Except I'm getting really fed up of paying £30 for teeny little shoes that last a few months. And also, my DD has twice been "fitted" only for the shoes to be too tight a couple weeks down the line. This happened again last month, so we took her to a different shop for another fit. Who said that she was half a size.....smaller, and a size narrower. :mad: So I found a pair of sandals that fit her, and bought those, knowing that we can see if they are too tight. They were ONE AND A HALF SIZES BIGGER than her "fitted" size.

That's another thing. A salesperson at Clarks told me that all of their footwear must be measured to the child, as the different shoes/sandals/boots are made in different factories in China, and are not all the same. So DD's sandal size is different than her trainer size, which is different from her wellies size. Ridiculous.

Rant over.

Bella56

Oh, and also, OH always had expensive fitted shoes as a child, and has truly awful feet, toes in a right state. I generally only had cheap trainers, with me mam giving my feet a good jab in the shops for good measure (and to make sure there were years left of room in them lol) and I have quite normal feet! I put it down to trainers being wider where I grew up. This country seems to cater mostly for a F width, I can't even find shoes in my DD's proper width (H) that aren't made for boys. Even then they are rare as gold dust.

xbrenx

Agrees.
It's very annoying (and expensive). I'm gutted now because after spending all that money on both my boys, my 16 year old has got a crooked toe anyway.

Bella56

xbrenx wrote: »

Agrees.
It's very annoying (and expensive). I'm gutted now because after spending all that money on both my boys, my 16 year old has got a crooked toe anyway.

Still, you did your best, and no one can fault that. Just a shame shoes can't be roomier and cheaper! (And not fall apart in a week, as a pair of supermarket shoes did for my daughter! False economy indeed!)

claire16c

Bella56 wrote: »

That's another thing. A salesperson at Clarks told me that all of their footwear must be measured to the child, as the different shoes/sandals/boots are made in different factories in China, and are not all the same. So DD's sandal size is different than her trainer size, which is different from her wellies size. Ridiculous.

Rant over.

That is true I used to work in fashion buying. Theyre not making it up unfortunately!:) The different factories each make different types of shoes.

Also even if you were to as an adult try cheap shoes on in different sizes and shops, you can end up being a different size. In New Look the other day I tried on a 5 in one style that was too big, then another a 4 fitted me - and Im normally 5-6! And the same factory may have made some of the shoes but as they are a different design they can end up not quite fitting the same.

Bella56 wrote: »

Oh, and also, OH always had expensive fitted shoes as a child, and has truly awful feet, toes in a right state. I generally only had cheap trainers, with me mam giving my feet a good jab in the shops for good measure (and to make sure there were years left of room in them lol) and I have quite normal feet! I put it down to trainers being wider where I grew up. This country seems to cater mostly for a F width, I can't even find shoes in my DD's proper width (H) that aren't made for boys. Even then they are rare as gold dust.

My DH had really badly fitted shoes as a child and his feet look awful - same as his sisters. I was always taken to Clarks and have really nice feet.

So sometimes I think badly fitting shoes can mess up someones feet.

claire16c

Bella56 wrote: »

Still, you did your best, and no one can fault that. Just a shame shoes can't be roomier and cheaper! (And not fall apart in a week, as a pair of supermarket shoes did for my daughter! False economy indeed!)

Exactly. Better than buying bad shoes and wondering if it was your fault!

Becles

When they do the measurement, the size they give is just a guide from the machine. You can't assume that the child will fit every style of shoe in that size.

Once they start trying on shoes, you might find you have to go up or down a shoe size/width fitting depending on the shape of your child's foot and the style of the shoe. Sometimes they just can't get away at all with a particular style of shoe. My middle one is desperate for a pair of slip on school shoes, but his feet are so skinny they just don't stop on his feet.

I know if you buy from Clarks and the shoes don't fit after a couple of months, they will replace them. I took a pair back that my daughter had worn for a couple of months as her toes were right at the end. Clarks said it was their fault for not selling shoes with enough growing room and they replaced them for free :money:

Charlie23

Only read the op but I've just been talking to my dh about dd's school shoes. they are clarks (factory shop) so were £20ish. We bought them in september and they are still going strong. Personally I get them fitted then check.them myself (not difficult) whilst in the shop and then usually have my dd wear them round the house. I don't think i would be able to get a pair of shoes to last 5 months from a supermarket.
I'm more than happy with the quality and price of the shoes i buy from clarks factory shop.

koalamummy

Sometimes though it is just unfortunate timing. Schools go back here in August which is unfortunate as my oldest son always goes through a large growth spurt mid September which results in me having to buy another pair of shoes for him as well as trousers. This is not the fault of any of the shops who sold me these things, it is just unfortunate timing. However I would much rather that he was growing than not.

Charlie23

I had clarks shoes as i grew up and my feet are in good condition especially considering i have very wide feet. my dad has the same kind of feet and never had proper fitting shoes and he's always in pain from them.

*speed-queen*

I'm a clarks trained shoe fitter,
and I understand that quality fitted shoes are expensive
but I can assure you, I and I'm pretty sure almost all fitters will ALWAYS make sure a child has the best possible fit.

We try and leave as much room as we can but due to the different styles of shoes, variations of children's feet, and the fact you never know when or how much a child will grow, it is not always possible to make them last longer than 3 months.

I would personally rather fit a shoe with 'some' room
that may need changing at say 3-4 months, than having to leave them overly big so they will 'last' as these are much more likely to rub.

If you do find your child has completely grown out of their shoes in 2 months or so (perhaps not toddlers, they can grow super fast)
it may be worth taking them back to the store that they were fitted in with a receipt, they may say they were wrongly fitted (we all make mistakes) and refund you or even if not as a gesture of goodwill they may exchange them for you. This is not guaranteed but worth a try.

I'm sorry you feel you've had bad experiences, I hope you continue to buy fitted shoes, I personally think they are really worth it.

xXx