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Leather split soles that hug the arch


Viv

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Hi everyone, I have poked a hole through the toe of my normal bloch flatties and I'm looking to replace them in the school holidays. What I've noticed with my bloch prolites is that there is a lot of bagginess in the arch, the leather sort of bunches up and makes it look like I have no arch at all. I'm not sure if this is a fit problem or an issue with the style of shoe? I don't have the best feet so I want them to look as good as possible. Any suggestions for leather split soles that are fairly stretchy or hug the arch? I have quite narrow feet if that changes anything.

 

I've had a look at some past threads and it seems like the capezio juliet would be a good option? I don't have many dance shops near me and the ones I do tend to stock only one brand, so it would help to know what to look for beforehand so I don't end up tramping all over town.

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DD has Capezio Juliets for when she is allowed to wear split soles ? - they are canvas, I don't know whether they are also available in leather? They flatter her feet but I'm not sure whether it's because she has very arched feet anyway, as I don't think they particularly hug the arch? She has narrow feet and they have been fine. 

 

I think I read somewhere about split soles which actually have an elastic insert in the arch or are even all elastic there? I will try to find them via trusty Google (or will report back that I have imagined it ;)

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DD had some bloch 'neo-hybrid' split sole ballet shoes ( S0259L ), that were leather at the front, and then, from the 'middle', were neoprene fabric. they fitted her foot really nicely, and she doesn't have brilliant feet! 

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From a quick look around, it appears that bloch s0259L is available in the US and the UK but not in Aus, which is a bit confusing to me. It also looks like So Danca is not sold in stores here. Looks like I am venturing into the wonderful world of buying shoes online! How hard can it be... :wacko:

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I like the idea of a different material under the arch, and I'm sure my teacher will be fine with it as long as she THINKS it's all leather :lol: What she doesn't know can't hurt her...

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Until DS started wearing hand made shoes he swore by grishko split sole canvas. Style 5 I think. Just dance stocks them. Very arch hugging which was why he liked them so much (his arch is enormous)... also extremely hardy - I personally noticed they lasted much longer than any others he has had and the canvas feels significantly thicker. ..

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Thanks for the advice TooTu, if I go for the so danca's I'll keep it in mind.

 

I normally really do like bloch, so if I can stay with them I probably will. Not too happy just at the moment though, I ended up going on the bloch website to have a look at the neohybrid and there's about 7 different types of leather split soles available in America, compared to the 2 types you can get in Australia...considering they're headquartered in Sydney it's a bit of a joke that an Australian company offers so little choice here. Not impressed.

 

Thanks for the suggestion CeliB, unfortunately my teacher does insist that for exam classes we wear leather shoes (and she has only recently relented on allowing us split soles!) but I will keep grishko in mind for my next pair of canvas flats :) 

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Sounds perfect Moomin, if only bloch sold them in their country of origin... :P You may be noticing something of a pattern here hahaha. I think I may have to use my current size information and try ordering online, and pay the astronomical 'Australia' tax that comes with it. I'll just add it to the pile of money I burn every month (or at least that's what it feels like when my class fees come out!)

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In leather split sole?  Bloch Prolite II. That's all. Individual stockists may have more range but I've been to most dance stores in my city and it's bloch prolite ii (this is what I'm wearing currently that is so unflattering). On the Australian online store it's bloch prolite ii. If I could get to Sydney and go to the main store there may be more options but it's not feasible for me to get there, and there's no guarantee they'd carry any stock that's not available in the online store.

 

I am planning my dream trip to England and Europe, hopefully at the end of next year, and oh the dancewear stores I'll visit!

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Has anyone heard of/tried MDM Dancewear? They came up on the website of one of the local shops I'm going to try. 

 

They seem to have created a shoe with almost an orthotic in it, full sole on the inside and split on the outside. The aim is to prevent injury by supporting the foot more than the typical ballet slipper, and also increase strength by adding resistance. Not sure if I quite buy it, seems a rather ambitious goal for an insole. Would love to hear any opinions on this shoe. I've found very few reviews, some saying it supports their arch and gives a lovely line and others saying it was uncomfortable and ugly (though I think you'd get that with any shoe) 

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On ‎26‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 12:53, CeliB said:

Until DS started wearing hand made shoes he swore by grishko split sole canvas. Style 5 I think. Just dance stocks them. Very arch hugging which was why he liked them so much (his arch is enormous)... also extremely hardy - I personally noticed they lasted much longer than any others he has had and the canvas feels significantly thicker. ..

We had these too and he really loved them but unfortunately they don't make then big enough for him now. Getting them from Just Ballet was so simple too.

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22 hours ago, w445403 said:

We had these too and he really loved them but unfortunately they don't make then big enough for him now. Getting them from Just Ballet was so simple too.

Another vote for Grishko from me ! We order for DS via the website. Prices are very reasonable and free postage (but check on your countries import tax laws) Where we live in Europe the order takes about a month to arrive and as long as the order is under 40 euros no import tax applies. In our experience the most arch hugging and durable brand he's tried.He uses canvas but they also do leather. x

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Are you wearing the narrow width (a) in the prolite? My daughters have had them and tbh I don't think they are that much less flattering than the split soles. Perhaps you need smaller/ narrower? I find the sizes on the large side

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I think I got them wider than I needed them at the time because otherwise I couldn't spread my toes on demi and the corresponding effect is a wrinkly arch. I'm perhaps being a bit unkind to the prolite ii, they're very durable and I've only started having aesthetic concerns recently (now they're on their last legs). 

 

Im also wondering if my feet may have changed slightly? I got these shoes 3 years ago (dancing once a week in recreational beginners classes), changed to full soles when I started at my current studio last year (2 days a week) and only fished out these split soles again when I got a hole in my toe a few days before the exam last October. Now I dance 5 days a week, have progressed to pointe and generally have strengthened and stretched my feet. Is it possible these shoes were a good fit once and my feet have just...changed?

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Have not read all the comments here but have found fab new split sole canvas shoes - Chacott available in Freed London shop + elsewhere.... Reasonable price too. I have a narrow foot with high arch - they have pre-sewn elastics (woo hoo!) in just right place & perfect tautness & hug in all the right places. Lovely inside too with no uncomfortable ridges. Currently wearing hand me downs from DD but will need to buy my own now as she has overtaken my size 2! More durable than the Bloch which I too found baggy around front of foot. These are great & reasonable price too! 

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I went to a new dance shops on Monday and allowed myself to be talked into the Hanami by Capezio (canvas). I love them! They're like wearing a sock and there's no bunching around the toes or arch. I did not pick up a new pair of leathers as I didn't take to the Juliet (very squishy lining?) and there were no MDM in my size. I think when there are though, I will go with the MDM which felt very weird but will hopefully help rehabilitate my injured and weak ankle. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 28/06/2017 at 12:45, Viv said:

Has anyone heard of/tried MDM Dancewear? They came up on the website of one of the local shops I'm going to try. 

 

They seem to have created a shoe with almost an orthotic in it, full sole on the inside and split on the outside. The aim is to prevent injury by supporting the foot more than the typical ballet slipper, and also increase strength by adding resistance. Not sure if I quite buy it, seems a rather ambitious goal for an insole. Would love to hear any opinions on this shoe. I've found very few reviews, some saying it supports their arch and gives a lovely line and others saying it was uncomfortable and ugly (though I think you'd get that with any shoe) 

Hi Viv, we're in NZ and I too spend a lot of time salivating over UK/US websites...

I know some dancers (and their mums) who swear by MDM. I went through the laborious fitting thing but didn't actually get them. Like you, DD has just got her first Hanamis and says they feel amazing. Before that she had been wearing Capezio Juliets (canvas and leather). For leather she then found she liked Capezio Cobras.

(If it makes you feel better, we have the added hassle that several of the Aussie dance sites won't ship outside Australia. We've been waiting 3 months for a Sydney friend to bring over three orders from Bloch and Step by Step!)

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Thank you for your reply Cara, you reminded me to call the dance shop and check on whether any shoes in my size arrived in their latest order! Hopefully when I try the MDM in my size I will be slightly more enamoured with them, otherwise it's the suspiciously squishy juliets for me... I'm still liking the hanamis though I find the left foot tends to slip a bit in pirouettes so I'm turning half on a suede patch and half on canvas. Haven't heard of the capezio cobras before though that's hardly surprising, I've heard from some shop owners around here that they are deliberately restricted in the stock they can carry. One shop stocking bloch is (allegedly) only ever sent prolite ii to sell, not even given the option to purchase other styles, no matter what... #shoespiracy

 

Now I'm just frustrated that our friends across the Tasman are getting the short end of the stick too! In my imagination I see Sydney and Melbourne swimming in a sea of ballet shoes...leather, stretch canvas, neoprene, sansha, grishko, capezio...I could weep. Now, if you fellas got an inferior brand of rugby apparel I wouldn't mind as much because that would just be levelling the playing field ;)

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It is VERY frustrating! I order shoes from the US and UK as well as Australia. Bloch seems to have an iron-clad deal with many shops – a big one in Auckland (Dancer's Wardrobe) has 'Call for price' under every single Bloch item they stock!

Also, Wellington (where we live) has no big dance shop at all. For decades we only had Gubbs, which is basically a 'normal' shoe shop with a corner for dance shoes. We weren't very happy with the first pointe shoe fitting DD had there, so then went out to a small independent shop half an hour away. I would also like to point out that some items have different names in different countries – e.g. DD was fitted into Energetiks Encore pointe shoes and I was lamenting that I couldn't get them anywhere but NZ/Australia – then was browsing the Just Dance (UK) website and noticed the same model names for the shoes but they were called 'Russian Pointe' instead of Energetiks. (AND we pay NZ$120 per pair, which is almost double the cost of UK pointe shoes, but often the postage cost cancels the saving out unless you order 2-3 pairs.)

Here is a sample of the range on Porselli's (UK) website – £8-11 for Capezio flats, where we pay NZ$50-65!
https://dancewear.co.uk/shoes/ballet-shoes.html

 

So do your research and beat the system where you can ;) Good luck

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I'm always so nervous buying shoes online because I've got funny shaped feet... Also hate paying the same amount in shipping as I did for the item being shipped (tried to buy a couple of tshirts from the US the other day, retail price $30, plus $80 shipping!) Don't see what else I can do though when shoes are being held for ransom in the southern hemisphere. It seems a bit of a rip when so many dancewear and shoe company's originate down under and then blow a big raspberry in the face of their own country. And I agree with you about not being happy with pointe fittings, the advice always seems to be 'go somewhere with a wide range and try on everything' but every shop here seems to have sold its soul to be given the pleasure of selling one style of one brand of shoe. And then we pay twice the price for the privilege. 

 

...you're not meaning to tell me that russian pointe and energetiks are the same ruddy thing are you? I've been trying to locate russian pointe for about a year and I buy from energetiks regularly! Maybe the other bloch shoes I'm looking for have been here all along under an alias :rolleyes:

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YUP, we came home with Energetiks pointe shoes, and had tried on several pairs. DD got Energetiks Encore, and then looking at this page on Just Ballet's website, I recognised all the shoe names listed under Russian Pointe (except we didn't get the options of V or U cut, which I guess is the vamp?). £20 postage isn't so bad if you get a few things...
https://www.justballet.co.uk/collections/pointe-shoes?page=3

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I'll be damned...No one in my area stocks Energetiks so I'll have to wait till I'm somewhere with more dance shops, but I spoke to a fitter recently who thinks Energetiks could be good for me (they have some that are nice and skinny apparently). Considering all those 'fit your own shoe' websites put me in russian pointe, I'm starting to see a connection. I'll still wait for a proper fitting, though my future holidays are starting to look less like relaxing and more like stocking up on ballet essentials when I get the chance.

 

Didn't know Just Ballet shipped internationally but now I know they do I'm very intrigued. 

 

Also, just collected my first pair of MDM. They feel very strange, quite lifted in the heel, but I'll give them a few classes to wear in before making a ruling :) 

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Aw Fiz, how nice of you to ask! Yup, it's 6 months since we jumped off the rollercoaster. DD is still dancing, but 'only' 6 classes a week instead of 9, and even did two terms of hiphop for fun (She's never wanted to do anything but ballet). She has just debuted her first pointe solo and now will work on her first variation en pointe, which has felt a little daunting up to now. She now has eight competition solos, which feels like a bit of a marathon. And competition gets tougher at this age (13), as all the recreational dancers drop out or move to the jazz/contemporary classes at competitions. We have agreed she will work hard as long as she enjoys it, and she is doing RAD Grade 6 this year (exam in October), as well as Adv Foundation but not doing the exam until May 2018. If you don't want a ballet career, there is no reason to hurry through the exams so she can do AF at 14, Adv 1 at 15 or 16, and see how she feels about Adv 2. She has a lovely new teacher but our studio is a bit odd this year as our most celebrated teacher left us for the RAD in London and so several of the senior students have moved schools, as it was her reputation that had brought them. So there's only five girls in Adv 2, most auditioning for full-time at the end of this year (our school year finishes in December), no Adv 1, and three girls in AF. There's about 15 in IF, and hundreds of younger ones, so we are just a bit depleted in the seniors at the moment. Goodness knows what will happen next year. But the most important thing for us is that DD knows she doesn't 'have' to dance to please us, and is only dancing as long as she enjoys it and feels encouraged by it. (And I'm just enjoying it — and collecting lots of photos/videos — while it lasts) :D

Screen Shot 2017-07-23 at 3.32.07 PM.png

Edited by Cara in NZ
Missing word
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