Cheaper than Clark's first shoes? - Toddler

MummyAnonymous Platinum member

27/01/2011 at 06:59

Hi Ladies,

My LO will be 1 year old in a week and a half. She is very close to walking but up to now I have not had her in shoes. She's getting to the stage where I'd like to encourage her to walk more and a bit while out (to/from the car etc, not walking up the highstreet just yet!).

My question is, has anyone bought first shoes from somewhere other than Clarks? I don't want to compromise on quality and what is best for my daughter, but at the same time I cannot bring myself to spend around ??30 on something that will last her a month or 2!

Does anyone have any recommendations of where else to buy from? Or would you say it's important to buy 'proper' shoes to start them off when they first start walking and then go elsewhere when their feet are more grown and better developed?

My other thought was to get her feet measured in Clarks and then buy second hand off ebay maybe?

Thanks
xxx

laranchloe Platinum member

27/01/2011 at 08:50

Hi,

I think it is much better and necessary really to get proper fitting shoes. if you buy elsewhere they are one fit and you could have a child with wide or narrow feet, high instep etc and you wouldn't really know until their feet are measured and proper shoes tried on.

What i did with chloe's first shoes was, as she wasn;t walking independantly but wanted to walk holding hands and had cold feet, got her feet measured at clarks, tried various styles on to see what sort suited her feet best and then came home and hit ebay. however i would not buy used shoes as they have been worn and shaped to the previous wearers feet so not suitable. i managed to find some brand new ones for less than ??10 even with postage. the first shoes for non walkers at clarks are usually around ??20 where as the bigger ones are about ??30.

or do you have an outlet near you as they can be significantly cheaper!!

Lara xx

nowamrsm

27/01/2011 at 09:02

i used to buy my daughter start rite shoes not sure if they are cheaper than clarks as shes 15 now lol. i do think its important to start there feet off with good fitting shoes then maybe when a bit older get ordinary shoes though when my daughter was in primary school i always bought her clarks shoes as this is the shoes there gonna have on longer during the day. cheaop ones are ok for playing etc. ops sorry rambled on a bit there.

bfp 25/02/11 lets hope its a sticky one

missymoosmum Platinum member

27/01/2011 at 11:06

there are alot of shops or people on ebay selling new clarks shoes. Some are around ??15.

xx

xlittlemissx Platinum member

27/01/2011 at 15:56

I second the outlet idea! We live in Hull and there is an outlet near us called Hornsea Pottery, they have a clarks in the outlet and we went at weekend to get our twins their second pair of shoes. Full price in normal clarks shop, ??28-??30, but in there they were ??18 but were in the sale and we got them for ??7.50 a pair!! We couldnt believe it, what a bargain!!!
Good luck, hope you find a bargain too!!

xlittlemissx
mummy to twins max and ben 16 months.

MummyAnonymous Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 06:35

Thanks very much for your replies ladies.

Had a chat to hubby last night and he suggested we could buy her first pair of shoes for her birthday which I think is a sweet idea.

I hadn't thought about 2nd hand shoes being 'moulded' to someone else's feet so thanks Lara.

We don't have an Outlet near us, but think there is close to where FIL lives so maybe a little detour is in order next time we visit. Will have a hunt around on ebay too.

Thanks again
xxx

SLattie

28/01/2011 at 10:33

Our son has just turned 2 and we have gone through at least 6 pairs of shoes since he started walking last xmas when he turned 1.

We bought clarke's first of all and then 6 weeks later he had outgrown those so we got a pair in the clarke's outlet nearby saving loads. We then managed to time new shoes in with sales etc which does help.

However, by the summer I was buying him mothercare shoes, mainly sandals and trainers as they range in price, but was mainly paying ??10-??15 tops. Also, his good shoes were getting trashed at nursery and outside playing. But, I always get him measured with these shoes on at clarke's every 6 weeks or so to be on the safe side as he does tend to have a wide fitting.

Luckily baby number 2 is due in 7 weeks and is another boy so hoping all his big brother's barely worn shoes will do him also!

MummyAnonymous Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 11:13

Thanks SLattie,

Sorry I have another question...!

Would you recommend buckle or velcro? My thinking is buckle as anything I put on my daughters feet gets pulled off so I assume a buckle would make that more tricky? Do you agree?

Or is velcro best for ease?
xxx

claire-abelle Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 11:15

Brantano do cheap clarkes and will fit too

also I clarkes will tell you, you'll need to get another pair in about 6 weeks but take this with a pinch of salt as I think its a marketing tool!! my ds's feet didn't go up til next size til 4 months later!! some lo's feet grow quickly others slow

claire-abelle Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 11:15

Oh and velcro!!

MummyAnonymous Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 11:27

Thanks Claire-abelle,

As my little midget is still in a mix of 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes, I'm hoping to get my money's worth out of her shoes too

laranchloe Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 12:30

LOl it's hit and miss hun!! Chloe's first pair did her for a few months, then her next set lasted her only two, then next ones almost 6mmths and then she grew 3.5 sizes in the summer time!!! the last pair we managed to get them 1/2 a size bigger than she needed so they still fitted but had more room to grow as she has to have two pairs - a pair of trainers to get trashed at nursery and a smarter pair for weekends and occasions. Not cheap!!! We got these ones beginning of september and still in them and has room to grow still! Not taken her back yet as can feel myself she still has room to grow at the end.

In terms of velcro or buckle - you may not have a lot of choice - chloe's first pair were buckle and loved them but not been able to get a buckle pair since as the buckle style don't fit her!!

Lara xx

Edited: 28/01/2011 at 12:31

waiting4baby Platinum member

28/01/2011 at 18:01

If not a retail outlet, as long as you've had her feet measured try tk max we've had very good quality shoes there but it's definitely down to luck for size and style etc-

breighlin

29/01/2011 at 16:54

Clarks say to come back in 6 to 8 weeks, but when we did and our ds' feet hadn't grown yet, they just said so. They don't try to pressure you into buying a new pair every 8 weeks, just to get their feet measured.

We are now on our third pair of shoes since april. He only just got these, and there is still enough room in to grow. However it didn't take him long to go from the first shoes to the second, in the second pair he stayed for quite a while.

Outlets are good, but our don't have much stock in the smaller sizes. (up untill 4 is quite rare) I hope to go more when ds is in a size of which they have more shoes available. Sales are generally good as well, Clarks had a sale on a few weeks ago and everything was almost half price, making ds' shoes 14 pounds. Not to bad, seeing that where 28. Just keep an eye out for their sales, I think they do them roughly 4 times a year. (have seen 3 in the last 9 or 10 months)

Sunflower81 Platinum member

29/01/2011 at 17:25

My son's feet seem to grow quite slowly, I still have him measured in Clarks every 6-8 weeks and like Brieghlin says they do say he doesn't need new ones - and they check the firt of his current ones.
In fact we've been today, he's had these shoes since the end of October, isn't yet measuring the next size, and his current ones still have some growing room so they said to go back in a month - he had the pair before these for 6 months (I did keep going back to have him measured/checked).
So for us it isn't as expensive as replacing the shoes every 6-8 weeks - he had his first pair at 10.5 months and is now on his 5th pair 21 months later (and the first pair were replaced after about 8 weeks because he needed walkers rather than cruisers then).

Edited: 29/01/2011 at 17:26

MummyAnonymous Platinum member

31/01/2011 at 09:41

Well we bought her shoes on Saturday. Bless her we only had the option of 1 style as it was the only one they make small enough! She was a 2.5F so she now has a pretty pink pair of cruisers and looks very grown up in them

xxx

laranchloe Platinum member

01/02/2011 at 02:31

Aww bless!!! It's the start of the addiction now LOL!!

Lara xx

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