Half Year Report Card on School Shoes
Jul 02
At the beginning of the year I almost turned myself inside out from trying to work out the best school shoe options for my big three kidlets. At first, I was totally convinced that a cheaper option was “good enough”, as they seemed to survive OK last year, and could easily be replaced throughout the year.
But then we had plenty of discussion on Facebook about the importance of buying good quality shoes – particularly for little developing feet that would spend 6-8 hours a day in them. It was equally important to have them professionally fitted, so I decided to bite the bullet and invest in shoes that had been recommended by a podiatrist, and all three were fitted by smaller specialty shoe retailers to ensure the very best fit. I just HOPED they would be worth the money and would last us throughout the year.
So here we are – halfway through 2012, and here are the shoes’ report cards, complete with my thoughts on whether they were worth the expense!
Child 1: Maddy, 7 yrs old, Year 2. She wears the black leathers 3 days per week, and her sports shoes 2 days per week. No extra-curricular activities.
The black leather shoes are the Daytona model from Clarks (just under $100 on sale). About 2 weeks into term, I noticed one of the threads was coming unstitched. I rang Clarks who said I could simply take them back to the shop for a replacement. So we headed off to the store, only to see that it had been closed for re-location! When I rang back to Clarks, they asked me to send them a photo of the shoe. I then received a reply saying they would send me a new pair with a return satchel, so as soon as we received the new pair, I just sent the old ones back. It was very simple, and excellent customer service.
The shoes are in fantastic condition – basically like new! We have had to polish them a couple of times because of normal scuff marks on the toes, but as you can see they come up a treat. They have maintained their shape and fit beautifully on her feet.
The sports shoes are a different story. Maddy was ADAMANT that she wanted velcro shoes. There were NO velcro shoes in her size that could be considered good quality, so I relented and let her wear the cheapies from K-mart for $10. She loves them, I hate them. They are falling apart, and show very little support on her feet.
The faux-leather is starting to peel, and the sole is starting to pull away from the shoe at the toes. The inner support has moved inside the shoe so it’s not sitting straight (but it’s glued so it’s not a case of simply putting it back in place). I think they have widened somehow – you can see how far the velcro straps have to come over to keep them on her feet. I would LOVE to replace these with a better quality/fitting pair, but she point blank refuses. My only hope is that they actually disintegrate underneath her very feet, because I have told her that her next pair will be laces whether she likes it or not. Sure they were only $10, so value for money they are fine. But quality and support? No way!
Child 2: Fred, 5 years, Prep. He wears the black leathers 3 days per week, and his sports shoes 2 days per week. Also wears them for soccer once a week.
Fred has the same Daytona shoes from Clarks. Boys are notoriously harder on shoes than girls so I was interested to see how his wear compared to Maddy’s. Surprisingly they are exactly the same. They are still in perfect condition, and look very comfortable. Thumbs up again for Clarks!
His sports shoes have certainly been put through their paces this semester. They were quite dirty (as you would expect with white leather), so I gave them a quick clean with a special leather sports shoe cleaner. It took about 2 minutes and they look great. They are a New Balance 623 and cost about $90.
The only real wear and tear is on the inner fabric of the ankle support. There is a small hole that has worn away. It’s not a bother now but I am worried about whether it will continue to get bigger. Besides that, everything else looks great – the leather, the stitching, the velcro – all in excellent condition. I am very happy with these shoes for Fred, and would absolutely buy them again.
Child 3: Katie, 4 years, Kindy. She wears her sports shoes on a 5-day fortnight. She also wears them for basketball once a week.
Katie was recommended to get the same sports shoes as Fred – the New Balance 623. She had them fitted professionally however they never seemed to fit quite as well as Fred’s. They are certainly very comfortable and supportive, and as you can see they are still in excellent condition other than a little bit dirty on the fabric parts. There is very little wear at all to these shoes.
Katie seems to have a very deep foot, so the velcro only covers about half of the shoe when she does them up. They are fine lengthways, but I do worry if they are wide enough for her little fat feet. As much as I love the quality, I probably wouldn’t buy these again for Katie as I think she needs a shoe which offers better support across the top of her foot.
I know that many of you are probably looking at doing some school shopping these holidays, as some children just seem to have a talent for wearing out their shoes incredibly quickly! I hope this post is helpful because school shoes are quite an expensive purchase, and it is hard to balance the quality/supportiveness/value for money to find a happy medium.
So how are your children’s school shoes going?
Ready for another semester or ready for the garbage bin?
Interesting review.
To add my own review, my son Luka is still going, a year and a half later with his Nike sport shoes and they are in great condition! It really is worth spending more. In this case he’ll get 2 years of wear from one pair of shoes.
Last year we got some Clarks for school shoes. They were pretty scuffed up and mangey by the end of the year, but pretty structurally sound. This year we bough Ecco school shoes and I’ve got to say I’m really impressed. They pretty much look good as new and I haven’t even had to polish them.
I have heard so many good things about those shoes! I’ll certainly be considering them for next year!
I bought a pair of velco shoes from Williams at the start of the year for my prep aged daughter (Qld). The actual velcro only lasted 3 months. I must admit my daughter likes her shoes tight and quite often adjusts the velcro a lot. But for the price I paid I expected a lot more. So I went to target and got a cheap $15 pair of velcro sneakers. These only lasted 3 weeks! So again I tried another pair of velcro sneakers from Big W for $10. These lasted a day and they started falling apart. So I have gone back to Williams and got her the same shoes as the beginning of the year but in lace ups. Hopefully these will make it till the end of the year.
Oh it’s so frustrating Mel! You’ve certainly done some thorough product testing this year! I hope these see you through to the end of the year now!
Hi Nat
I am so happpy with our clarks too-and I have decided-its clarks all the way here! She has clarks sneakers too and they are fabulous!
I’ve heard good things about the Clarks Sneakers. I think I’ll be checking them out for next year!
I went to athletes foot and got my daughters feet fitted and purchased the accent black leather jogger! The best money I have ever spent! The look brand new still and are worn everyday!! Glad I took your advise and went and got her fitted and spent the extra $$!!
I actually saw Mathews had kids leather black jogger shoes down to $20 from $90!! Unfortunately none in size 11 left at the shop I was at!!
That’s a bargain and a half. Nothing better than buying awesome shoes at a fraction of the price!
We purchased Airflex sandals for miss 6 for school at the beginning of term 1. I was reluctant to spend so much on shoes for school but she wears them 90% of the time to school and they still look EXCELLENT! Very pleased. I will be investing in Clarks school shoes when she needs new ones – her current “HUMAN” ones from Myer are lasting her very very well!
Great feedback Mel – always good to know of some more shoes that are lasting well!
I went to Myer at the start of the year and purchased Clark black leather upper sneakers for my daughter. She wears them 2 days a week and are great. I also bought her HUMAN black leather formal shoes which she wears 3 days a week and they have already fallen apart after 5 months. Not impressed when you pay about $70 for a pair of kids shoes.
Oh no!!! Its so frustrating when you don’t feel like have received good value for money!
I have just spent the last month looking for suitable sport shoes for my 5 yr old son who in in prep and gives his shoes a tough workout. For every day use he has a lovely pair of brown leather boots with velcro closure which are fantastic ( WALNUT brand- http://www.walnutmelbourne.com- he used to have a red pair which always got comments). They are scuffed at the toe but otherwise great with strong stitching, durable sole, non stinky and velcro still strong even after having play dough embedded in it. . I have had problems in the past with cheap shoes as they are often glued together or don’t fit comfortably. The other brand I highly recommend is GROSBY as they are also very well made, reasonably priced and durable and tend to be a nice fit. In fact I bought myself a pair of their slip ons as I was sick of my own shoes falling apart. For the sport shoes I bought leather Slazenger sneakers with velcro closure. I prefer leather as it keeps their feet drier in wet weather (especially little boys who like puddles) and are less likely to get smelly with frequent wear. Hope thats useful
I’ve also been a fan of Grosby in the past. I’m not sure if they’ve changed where they are produced but they don’t seem to be quite as high quality as I remembered. It would be interesting to know if anything has changed.
I also meant to add that my son doesn’t like wearing shoes inside the house so I always look for shoes that are quick and easy to put on and take off – very important when you are doing it multiple times a day…..hence our preference for velcro.
Definitely a factor to consider for young children too as they often remove their shoes at school.
For older children you might like to know that i bought Ascent black school shoes from Althetes Foot for my 12 year old son in august. They seemed to be wearing fairly well until last thursday when i picked him up from school to find that 3/4 of the sole had come unstuck! Very unhappy to have $140 shoes wear out completely after less than 3 months!
Oh no Sue! And so close to the end of the year! I completely understand your frustration
Just an update.
The slazenger black leather velcro runners I bought have been excellent. My son has taken to wearing them every day for school as they are so comfortable and appear to give good support (he tends to be clumsy and falls over a lot so good shoes do make a difference). Being black leather they look smart enough with a school uniform or for going out but are flexible enough for sport and “boy” play. Despite getting very wet in rain a few times they are not smelly at all.
Coming into summer what do people recommend for summer shoe/sandals. Are “Croc” style shoes bad for kids feet. I like velcro closure leather sandals but find them harder to get in bigger sizes. My son does not like the feel of thongs/flip flops.I also dislike how hard it is to get sandals without branding i.e. Ben 10/disney etc. We live in Melb Australia… does anyone have ideas about best shops to buy kids shoes?
Hi Mai – great update – thank you! I’ll pop your question about summer shoes on the Facebook wall so we can get you some suggestions