Buying New Shoes for Back To School
Jan 10
Buying new shoes for school can be a little overwhelming if you haven’t had to do it before. There are so many options available, and SO MANY shops that want you to buy shoes from them.
The first thing to do is to check your uniform code. Most schools are very specific in the type of shoes that they require your child to wear – even to the point of specifying lace-ups or velcro. Be sure to follow the guidelines as the last thing you want is to have to replace shoes in the first week because they aren’t appropriate or the right ones.
My biggest tip is that the FIT of the shoe is the most important factor when buying shoes. Incorrectly fitting shoes can make it difficult to walk or run comfortably, and can lead to aches and pains. So when you are shoe shopping, it’s a good idea to take along the school uniform’s socks to ensure the shoes are fitted correctly.
For the traditional type of school shoe, it’s best to look for a leather upper. This allows the shoe to stretch a little and moulds around the foot. If your school gives you the choice between laces and velcro straps – go the velcro!!! (unless your child is proficient at doing up their own laces). It gives your child independence in the classroom, and takes the pressure off the poor teacher (can YOU imagine having 25 pairs of stinky feet being thrust in your face all day?).
Runners or sandshoes should feel nice and light. The full leather shoes may be considered to be better quality, but they are quite heavy to wear. The shoes with a mesh upper allow little feet to breathe and are a much lighter option.
There are three things to check wheh fitting shoes.
1. The shoe should have about a finger width of space between the big toe and the end of the shoe. Make sure your child is standing up straight when measuring this or the foot will not be positioned accurately.
2. The shoes should fit well over the top of the foot. It should not be too tight or show any pulling on the sides. It also shouldn’t be so wide that it causes wrinkles in the shoe when the laces are tightened.
3. Finally, make sure that the back of the shoe provides plenty of ankle support. This stops the foot from rolling as your child walks. Watch your child when they walk in their shoes, as any slippage from the back of the foot means the shoe is too big.
This year I bought all our shoes (5 pairs for 3 children) at K-Mart for just $10 a pair. The black school shoes are leather uppers, and are so affordable that it might even be worth buying some in the next size up if you are expecting your child to have a little growth spurt during the year! It’s also nice to have a spare pair “just in case”.
*** HOLD THAT THOUGHT!!! I have since realised that the black leather shoes are not the quality that I believed them to be. I will be doing a comparison between these shoes and a couple of others next week to compare quality and cost. (Sandshoes are still bonza though). Edited to add: PLEASE SEE PART TWO POST HERE ***
The specialty stores do often provide a shoe fitting service which is a fantastic option, but if you follow these simple steps you will be able to buy your shoes from any store which should save you lots of money!
I saw the K-Mart shoes for $10 – but my 3 at school have odd-sized and shaped feet. Two of them have long & narrow, and one has short & wide. So I needed really good fitting shoes. 5 pairs of shoes (thanks to the school’s strict black leather everything rule), set me back $350!! (Myer had 2nd pairs at 50% off, thankfully) Crazy!
Oh ouch! I guess the bright side is that it’s done now and they will be comfortable little feet all year! Let’s just not hope for a growth spurt too soon!
Great tips! Also if shoes are listed on the uniform policy you can claim 50% of the cost on the Educational Tax Refund. Just have to keep the receipts for tax time.
Great tip Michelle! Thank you!
Great post Nat!! We only ever buy Clarks school shoes & the best deal this year seems to be at David Jones where you get 25% off. That is where we will be at exactly 9:30am this morning, armed with socks & patience. The boys sports shoes have to be black lace ups, so we buy them from Sportsco, great quality & very light. The boys shoes for school have always lasted the whole year so I am happy to pay a little extra at the beginning of the year, plus they have narrow feet so I like them to be fitted.
Good tips Nat!!
Sounds like a good deal at DJs Mel! I hope you are enjoying your shopping! Might have to be rewarded with a nice milkshake and muffin for morning tea!
Hi Nat. Near disaster:) Walked out of DJ’s as we were the only people in children’s shoes & no one served us. Great service in Myer!! TJ needed a D width for his narrow foot, glad we went Clarks, though I wish they were cheaper, $170 for 2 pairs.
Ended up shopping a few hours for sunglasses for myself, the boys were so good, I felt sorry for them as they their muscles are really sore after Circus School yesterday! Nevertheless, they did enjoy an ice cream while I had my eyes tested.
Now for the sports shoes …… but that is another day.
Hi Mel,
You should have got Myer to pice match DJ’s! Could have saved you some cash!
we are tackling this on Friday. I am curious about the KMART shoes – we have always done Lynx (about $60 plus usually a deal going) as a compromise between Clarks (out of my budget) and the much cheaper shoes. have you used these before – are they good enough quality?
This is the first year we are buying lace ups instead of velcro (my almost 7yo actually requested laces) now that both girls know how to tie shoes well. Every year we have issues at some point with the straps needing to be repaired and term 4 is often a losing battle. Easier to buy new laces if need be.
Deb, Maddy wore these shoes last year and they would have been fine to continue into the new year if she didn’t need the next size up. I’ve always considered the Clark’s, but I have felt that the fit is the most important factor (which of course also affects how well the shoes wear), so the KMart ones have been perfect for us as they fit well, look great, and are comfortable.
That’s great that your girls are choosing laces! I’ve never heard of velcro straps coming off lol! They really must give them a workout! Good luck with your shopping!
Thanks so much for the feedback – i hate the expense of the shoes but worry they will get pain in their feet if i get the “wrong” ones. The velcro issue is that the strap stays attached but the velcro layer pulls away over time and hangs off- i guess from so much pulling open etc.
Yes that’s what worried me too. And then I read a few things that while the expensive ones may have superior materials, the engineering of the shoe is similar if not the same as the cheap ones. As long as they fit well (do I sound like a broken record yet lol?) then they should technically “work” the same.
I’ve had the same problem as you Deb – the velcro on our Kmart/payless shoes doesn’t last the distance & I end up replacing it. Our velcro doesn’t actually come off – but the “fluffy” side of the velcro gets so fluffy that it won’t stick anymore. Not hard to replace though (I use fabric glue & then hand stitch around it).
Thanks for the post. Wondering what to buy myself. Want to buy velcro for independance but may look at a nice pair of shoes for home with laces so that we can practise!
Annaleis
Thanks Nat. I spent an hour in a “top shoe shop” and had my kids professionally fitted (I use this term loosely!) and I was so disappointed. They ended up not having the size in the shoe I wanted, so she tried to sell me the next size up – which was CLEARLY TOO BIG!
I ended up leaving and heading to good old Target and bought middle of the range fully leather shoes for HALF the price. (which mean I can replace them mid-year anyway as my kids are toe scrapers)
Thanks for the tips! x
Oh no – that is so frustrating that you didn’t get good service!!! I’m so glad you could find what you were after at Target – great value for money
I am after a good, reasonably priced pair that wear well. My daughter went through 4 pairs of school shoes and 2 pair of black joggers last year. I have bought Grosby school shoes for this year but haven’t bought the new joggers yet. Any suggestions would be appreciated
Hi Lee-Anne! I am still in the middle of my investigations lol but I did have a Yr 1 girl in Grosby’s last year and they lasted really well – I was very impressed with the quality and value for money. I am still happy with the joggers from KMart but I have been recommended Saucony and New Balance for better engineering and technology. Hope that helps!
Ive gotten my girls the kmart shoes this year 2 (have 10 prs lol for 2 kids but ive got a fwe in the next sizes up as they are still growing).
We used to do the $60-100 shoes but as my girls outgrow thier shoes before they outwear them ive stopped for a while. Once they settle i might go back to clarks or similar but for the time being we are going through so many anyway its just not worth it. My 6 yr old went up 2 sizes last year, my 5 yr old 3! My 3 yr old is quickly catching them too… shes got huge feet haha.
The kmart budget leather shoes might not be best but i found they lasted a year with my 6 yr old i had to pry them off her feet 2 sizes too small and promise id buy her more before she would bin them (the black maryjane school sandal type for $10 i think it is) apart from the usual scuffing from falling over in the playyard they were still strucurally sound and ok for use
My theory is…the kids are at school for 201 days a year. I am more than happy to pay for the quality of the Clark shoes at lest than $1 a day to ensure they have correctly fitted and comfortable shoes. I have also been told the quality of the socks is even more important…cotton so the kids feet can breathe.
I got the Kmart shoes for my 2 boys last year and they are great for fit and last well. Even though I had to replace for term 4 it was still cheaper than the more expensive ones that I got when my oldest started kinder. It also means that I don’t have to buy new ones along with all the other back to school costs as last years are still good.