Are children's shoes a rip off? Do you buy clarks or cheaper?

rainee

owsaboutthatthen wrote: »

Clarks for me! Both my children had their first pairs of shoes from Clarks. My son has tried other shoes and they have been a terrible fit on him. I only use Clarks shoes now (whether they are bought for them by my mum or bought second hand on ebay or somewhere like that). They have quite wide feet but Clarks do them just fine - its easy to say they are in and out of them but I find for the time they are wearing Clarks I hear of no complaints about them hurting their feet!

However can anyone tell me where my nearest outlet is? I live in Manchester and must have had my eyes shut if i've missed one and it is round the corner or something!

Have a look at this you might find something on there!!
http://www.shoppingvillages.com/north.htm

purplevamp

When my children were babies and toddlers I always bought Clarks as I do feel that their first shoes are important that they fit properly. But now I buy either Next or Littlewoods as they do work out so much cheaper. If I had the money I would still buy Clarks.

cgw60

I have purchased some Chipmunks shoes from https://www.shoesforkids.co.uk for my two & five year old. They are only £12.00 per pair and are ideal for younger children. They also sell Clarks & Start-rite and others at literally 1/2 price.

Being a single Dad - money is tight - but my chilldren now have great shoes and I can smile at all the other children at my eldests school - as I am only paying half what others are paying!

Carmina_Piranha_3

miserly_mum wrote: »

Also because I don't like the styles and think they look a bit old fashioned, especially the boys ones.

maybe i'm odd but i really like the old fashioned look of clarks shoes and think my toddler looks scrummy in them

my sister can buy her kids shoes from almost anywhere but my kids have awkward feet. clarks size guide is not necessarily the size they would need from clarks let alone from elsewhere and i just will not risk my children wearing shoes that haven't been properly fitted. clarks measure their feet but the shoes i buy are never the size or width they were measured at. very few styles of clarks shoes fit my toddler and the independent shoe shop only has one or two brands that fit him either. those are usually £40+ for a pair so clarks are actually a bargain at £26 a pair.

as my eldest has got older i have found that sometimes i can buy elsewhere, particularly trainers.but i couldn't when he was little.

clarks do scuff quickly and look scruffy fast but i would rather have him in scuffed clarks than anti-scuff asda shoes. and i'd rather he wore second hand clothes if it meant he could have fitted shoes.

my sister often buys shoes from asda or tesco etc. and she's a good mum who cares about her children - it just so happens that their feet aren't awkward so they can wear asda shoes without problems.

to the OP how come yours were so expensive? i've just bought roo's shoes at £26 and the polish was £2.50.

haylibo

I looked at this one quite a while ago and the conclusion for me was: Even the expert's opinions differ on this one. Some insist on newly fitted shoes whilst some would argue that second hand shoes can offer sufficient fit. Anyone who has worked at a Clarks or similar shoeshop will tell you that sometimes the training is brief to say the least so the fitting may include some judgement. If you looked on the net there are guidelines on how to judge a good fit yourself for yourself.
With four kids I can't count the number of times I've been sold shoes which are said to fit which didn't.

Hayles

carolwat

I used to buy Clarks shoes for my son who is now 3 but now I always go to Brantano who measure his feet properly and I buy Hush Puppies. They are much better quality and last so much longer than Clarks. The staff at Brantanos check the fitting just as they do at Clarks and the hush puppies have interchangeable soles and they will give you the correct ones for the fitting of your childs feet. I have just bought him some more as they are currently offering buy one get one half price.

I wouldnt touch Clarks these days.