Children's shoes con

Mrs_Arcanum

Both DD & DS had/have either Startright (really expensive) or Clarks (slighlty less so). Cheaper shoes just do not last. DS being an H fitting has particular problems so we normally have little or no choice on which shoes he has. DS can now fit cheaper shoes as they have stopped growing & she is not too wide, but still have issues with poor quality. Just as well there is super-glue

tiernsee

My rant is that they don't cater for children with really narrow feet. I'm a AA and shoes were always a nightmare growing up. At least my children both have wide feet (G) so it has been easier. I always wait till Clarks has a sale.

blossomhill_2

If you pay out for good fitted shoes you need to make sure they are worn for everything - it is no good keeping them for best - our DD wore hers all the time, even if they got scuffed and has the most beautiful feet as a result - we went without other things to pay for these and replace regularly and it was the best money ever spent
I wasn't so lucky as a child (most of time in Woolies black plimbos!) and have terrible feet

rachbc

i buy my daughter properly fitted shoes from an independant as the have a better range. She usually ends up with startrite but her current school shoes are hush puppies. Always bought half price in the sales though. Have tried next shoes for kicking about at the weekends etc and they are appalling - totally unsupportive!

Nicki

I must be a rubbish parent because I couldn't give a monkey's * if my children's shoes look a bit scuffed or battered so long as they fit properly. There is no way on earth I would put them in cheap supermarket shoes just so they stay shiny and smart looking, unless those shoes fit as well as a decent leather pair and offer as good support. Scuffed shoes can be polished, and even if you can still see the scratches underneath the polish, so long as you have made the token effort, I can't see even the most strict schools kicking up a fuss.

My kids have all had Clarks shoes every single time, including trainers and sandals and they have been properly fitted and lasted well. My son has just turned 12, and this has been the first year, he hasn't bought from Clarks but from the school's shoe shop, but even then his feet were measured and we bought decent supportive shoes for him. He has a pair of plimsolls for drama but doesn't wear these for anything else and his trainers for out of school wear are still Clarks.

If for any reason, Clarks shoes didn't fit, or they didn't have the correct size, I would go elsewhere, but they would still have to have their feet measured and the shoe checked by a fitter as well as myself. I can have an opinion on the fit, and ask questions if I think it is wrong, but have had no training myself, so two opinions are better than just mine.

My mum was also obsessive about feet, and I have nice straight toes and have never had any problems with my feet, but OH was brought up in cheap trainers and has very deformed toes which cross over and don't lie flat. I can happily flaunt my feet in sandals or barefoot, but you rarely see him as an adult in anything other than heavy lace up shoes whatever the weather. It's also worth pointing out that badly fitting shoes affect more than the shape of your foot, it also affects posture, gait and cause pain in back, knees and neck.

dizziblonde

Some people are just destined to get "bad" feet I think. I spent my entire childhood being dragged down to Clarks and fitted properly for the 2 styles of shoes that came in my width fitting in the entire shop (and they were never the nice pretty ones grrr)... I've still got dreadful problems with my feet, ingrowing toenails, massively high arches, so many issues I can't wear many types of shoes now... I think genetics HAS to play a part however much you stack the odds (and I didn't even wreck them in persuit of teenage fashionistadom because I lived in Doc Martens by then). Quite what they'd have been like if I wore any old junk that didn't fit properly I don't know though!

Personally this bump will get fitted out in the factory shop Clarks up the road to keep the costs bearable... and those wretched horrific creations with the toys in the soles are banned point blank - I've seen the state of the inside of some of those shoes after a couple of weeks of wear and, especially considering they're Clarks and therefore not cheap, they're horrific - the insole collapses into the toy alcove and they've got no support in them whatsoever! Plus I think all primary teachers would like to reserve a special circle of hell for the idiot who invented them as the little dollie appears during carpet time for the umpteenth time that day.

As for scuffed shoes - considering I was inevitably found up a tree or playing football with my socks hanging around my ankles... I kind of expect kids' shoes to get scuffed - that's what the polish stuff is for! Only comments I make on it within school is a "don't kick the wall like that please, your mum will have a fit if you go home with those nice shoes all scuffed"... similar to my requests to stop picking that miniscule hole in the knee of your trousers so it's not mahoosive by hometime!

Violetta_2

ailuro2 wrote: »

I wish Clark's shoes and boots were still available for my 13yo DD, they don't have very much in her size, but she's got narrow heels, high instep and wide across the toes, so they never seem to have anything to fit her. The only boots we could find to fit her fall apart in a few weeks so it's a false economy. Even if we could find more expensive boots they'd be around the £100+ mark, which is much more expensive than Clark's, so I'm a fan of Clark's, not because of their fitting but because of the longevity of their shoes and the variation of widths and sizes they have available.

We never had a problem in Dundee Clark's, maybe it varies from store to store. I think you do need to use common sense and always check them yourself too.

My dd has the same kind of feet as your daughter, wide across the front, high instep & narrow heels, total pain to get shoes for especially school ones , all those open mary jane styles don't offer much support. It's made worse by the fact that at 6&a half she is already a size 2.

Bella56

So, does anyone have any good fitting tips for fitting trainers yourself? I've heard about running your fingers across the middle of the shoe, making sure it doesn't ripple (so not too wide). How many fingerspaces should be left at the top of a child's trainer? Any good tips for telling whether it is a good fit, as my children just decide they like the looks of a shoe, then won't complain if they are too small (until the next week!)

Like another poster, I've had the saleslady decide that an F would be OK after they don't have a G in stock. And guess what..... it wasn't OK. Such a shame there aren't more stores out there, with more brands in stock. We've tried Brantano's but they mostly had Clarks and Osaga in DC's sizes. I've heard Hush Puppies and Reebocs are good for wide feet but can't find them in the smaller children's sizes.

I personally feel that Clarks are more about fashion, with lots of expensive leather shoes, and their lower, more affordable ranges really don't seem much better than supermarket shoes, especially with the synthetic sandals with about 0.2mm of product between feet and street. Unfortunately we don't have many other options.

Bella56

deannatrois wrote: »

I stopped going to Clarks. Both my children have HH width fitting. And Clark's just don't seem to stock that in their shops. I tried going at different times., not at the end of school hols etc. I also found that Clark's shoes tended to be too big when they fitted my son's width fitting.., and I am sure that was hardly of benefit to delicate foot 'bones'.

I found Chipmunk shoes bought on ebay were wonderful. Nice and wide, and reasonably hard wearing, and not too big lengthways. And a third of the price of Clarks shoes lol. Neither of my children have any sign of feet malformation. U don't really need a machine to tell you what size a child's foot is. U just need to find the right shoes and check with your 'finger poking' that they fit well in every direction.

Thanks for that. Apparently Chipmunks only go up to 9 so too late for us. Which brands did you use after your children outgrew them, if you don't mind me prying

silly_moo

I never had my shoes fitted and neither had my 3 siblings and there's nothing wrong with our feet. Ever since I was about 8 years old I was allowed to pick my own shoes and decide whether they felt comfortable. Occasionally my mum or dad would poke to see if they were not too tight. But when I went to high school I was buying shoes and all clothes with my friends and my parents only got to see them when I got back home. It's all down to how the shoe feels on your foot. I would be mortified if at the age of 16 my parents took me to have my feet measured. At this age (and younger) you can surely decide whether a shoe fits or not?