Buying school shoes......

aliasojo

easy wrote: »

Look, these are OK http://www.startriteshoes.com/girls-shoes/dawn-black-leather?

I like them but I suspect she'd say they were too 'young'.

She is still able to fit into kids shoes but her last lot were from Clarks ladies section.

pigpen

Mine always have Clarks too.. the Startrite shop has a really rubbish selection here and they never have appropriate school stuff.

Mine have low ankle bines, high instep and are either stupid wide or silly skinny! I then have 2 who have to have boots due to disabilities.

We usually have a choice of this pair or none at all.. sometimes we can choose between 2 pairs!!

I take the whole brood at about 3pm and the shop is practically empty! I get shoes for the under 16 and trainers for the schoolies and doodles for the pre-schoolers. I don't allow the sales assistant to tell me the total I just hand over my card


Half a size smaller than last year doesn't seem too unusal .. it is a minimal amount of difference and could be lost in a bit of chubbiness being grown into.. but I would be return

pigpen

Easy.. trainers do come in a range of widths! .. my lot vary from D to H fitting!!

Spendless

easy wrote: »

Now can anyone tell me why Trainers don't come in the full range of width fittings? We have to ask school to be patient with us, and allow skate shoes (as plain as I can get) for P E.

We go to a different part of Sports Direct to buy son's trainers. They are running shoes and better for his flat feet and also accommodate his width. They are this brand he currently has.http://www.footlocker.com/striperpedia/article/5000742/Cushioning%20explained%3A%20Nike%20Lunarlon

Janepig

Spendless wrote: »

Feel your pain! My 2 both have wide feet, son also has flat feet. Shoe shopping with them is on my least liked list- would far rather clean the oven! And that's without daughter starting at Secondary school with all the 'must have' items.

What shoe shops are you able to get to? You can book an appt in advance at Clarks I was told recently.

We've got a fitting booked in Clarks for the week before the kids go back. I've got to say we're in and out when we go there - the kids pick (within reason) what they like, get measured, do they fit? Yes. Happy days. That is even though DD has got very narrow feet so often has to have an insole, and DS has got very wide feet with a high instep. I'm obviously a nasty cow who only lets my two have very limited input into what school shoes they can have.

DD is going to comp next September so all this is going to end by then and we're going to have the unsuitable shoes battle and Clarks will be no more, so I'm making the most of it being pretty easy while I can.

Jx

aliasojo

pigpen wrote: »

Easy.. trainers do come in a range of widths! .. my lot vary from D to H fitting!!

But that's just Clarks own brands...when you're a teenager the difference between trainers is much more noticeable.

Black shoes are black shoes within reason....Clarks trainers are nowhere like Adidas or Nike.

tyllwyd

My teenage DD has wide feet and the last pair of school shoes I bought for her came from the wide fitting range in M&S. I was looking in the 'proper' school shoe shops but all they had were Mary Jane type shoes, and I wanted ones she could wear in the snow/rain.

aliasojo

Spendless wrote: »

We go to a different part of Sports Direct......

We were in Sports Direct today looking for black gym pants......we left almost immediately...I couldn't find anything in there, I've seen neater jumble sales.

I AM my mother.

building_with_lego

I think Hush Pups are one fitting *but* my son has fairly wide feet while DD is extremely narrow and I've found styles which fit each of them perfectly. I got them in TK Maxx too, so only £17 per pair

Have a look around, they are available online and I love easy's method- may try it myself as I think it's genius.

Spendless

aliasojo wrote: »

We were in Sports Direct today looking for black gym pants......we left almost immediately...I couldn't find anything in there, I've seen neater jumble sales.

I AM my mother.

Ours is on 2 levels and the running shoes are on a different floor to the trainers! I didn't even know that section existed, husband found them, no idea how.

Wish I'd realised clarks trainers also came in width fittings. daughter had new ones recently and it was a case of try on each one and we'll buy the first that fits! She's same age as Janepig's though, so might not be any use to me when she starts Secondary. She needed new ones cos hers stank! But the reason she started pestering me to hurry up with purchase is cos she'd been asked why she was wearing boys trainers and queried if she had her older brothers on? They were a plain white trainer, since when did they become not unisex??

BTW - What are gym pants? I suspect you are talking Scottish. :pTranslation please.