Shoes for Toddlers

[aohman]

On your recommendation, I went to Foot stop today and found the help and the shoes quite nice...but I didn't ask how much the shoes were until they had done the fitting (in fact, they do a thorough job). Yikes. The model that I liked was HK$580. I decided to wait.

I did go online and check the price at Nordstrom's which is a US retailer that carries the line and found the shoe priced at U$46 (for a model quite similar to the one that I liked at Footstop). That's roughly HK$368. Not sure how they justify the markup.

Nice shoes, though.

[Lai San]

I agree when the merchants are charging an arm and a leg one can't afford to be too fashion conscious when it comes to buying shoes for those fast growing feet.

My reservation about having just one pair is, no matter how well the fit, shoes are bound to exert pressure on ones' feet (that's why it's healthiest to walk barefooted which unfortunately isn't always possible). Wearing the same pair of shoe day in and day out means the same pressure points day in and day out. I think rotating between at least 2 pairs help promote healthier feet in the long run.

[rani]

Lai San,

I never thought about that.

Thanks for sharing.

$580 is steep for a pair of shoes! I have to admit I haven't made it over to Footstop yet. With my luck, everything I like will probably be in the $800-900 range

[Ruchi]

Hi

I have found that the Wing-on in sheung wan also has a good variety of shoes....but of course they dont offer any fitting service. They have measurements put up which you can use as a guideline.

Ruchi

[ariel]

Hi Rani,

There is a store in Stanley (who sell children clothes) that sells Star Rite shoes. They might not have all the sizes and width but if you know what size you want, you can get a pair at a good discount.

I also found that Footstop is very good because of its fitting service and that they carry different width of children's shoes. It helps a lot because I can see the difference when my 18 month old is walking with a pair of well fitted shoes comparing with any others. She's more willing to walk when she is wearing the right shoes. While wearing the other, she would always want us to hold her instead.

Plus, if there isn't a perfect pair for your baby, Footstop staff will help you put some kind of cushion sticker inside the shoe to help it fit better. Their service is very good.

Hope you found this useful.

[aohman]

Need to correct myself, the shoes that I had my son try on at Footstop was called Start Rite and I was checking prices online at the Stride Rite site. They are not one in the same!

I made a mistake. My apologies to Footstop! in mentioning the price discrepancy when there was none to speak of in the first place.

Sorry, moms.

[armstroe]

Perhaps Lai San knows more about this, but I was always told never to pass shoes down between kids - either in the same family or friends. I guess the main thing is because all kids feet are different. Can anyone clarify this - it's hard to see good quality shoes go to waste when they are "built to last" and appear to fit a sibling or friend.

[stephchoy]

My mother lives in Tung Chung and they have a Chickadee store in there. Noticed that they stocked Start Rite shoes and the ones I saw were discounted to $126. But don't know if they do this at every store.