School shoes and the ballet dancer!

[alison]

I'm disappointed to hear that Start-Rite are really untrendy these days: when I was in my first year at university, I managed to get a beautiful pair of calf leather court shoes from them for £20 (still a fair bit of money in those days) which were almost identical, except for a slight difference in the heel, to a pair going for £36 in Russell & Bromley (no VAT on children's shoes, of course). With a number of re-heelings and re-sole-ings, they lasted me for years, and in fact I think I only chucked them out when I moved offices a few years ago! When I was young, I had to wear S-R pretty much exclusively, because I had such broad feet and Clarks (back in those days) didn't make shoes past about a D fitting. I was measured at S-R and told I really needed a 6H - if they did them! However, nowadays I seem to fit into Clarks Ds just fine, so either they've widened their shoes or my feet have narrowed. (I still really need men's ballet pumps though, in order that I can get all my toes on the ground as my teacher insists I should )

[JulieW]

I used to overrule the fitters in Clarks - I'm not sure their training includes 'ballet' feet!

 

I used to have that trouble with dd - her feet measured quite narrow, but in practicality needed a wider fitting because of her well-developed metatarsals.

[taxi4ballet]

I used to have that trouble with dd - her feet measured quite narrow, but in practicality needed a wider fitting because of her well-developed metatarsals.

 

With mine, it's the high arch and narrow heel

[Anna C]

Well, my dd is 13 and this summer I have bought her one pair of 8.5cm heels for my parents' Golden Wedding. Until now she's only ever been allowed tiny, quite sturdy little heels for "occasions" but just for once she wanted real teenage, grown up, heels.

 

I have only given in because she'll only be walking from the hotel to the car, into the dinner, sitting in them, and then walking back to the car - on the proviso that she takes my dh's arm and walks CAREFULLY in them!

 

The rest of the time, she wears canvas lace-ups (Vans or Dunlop Flash) which fit her orthotics, Doc Marten type boots (which also fit her orthotics) and Birkenstocks on hot days. She has one pair of H&M ballet flats which she wears to birthday parties. She can't fit her orthotics in them but only wears them very occasionally.

 

For school she wears Vans or Dunlops in black in the summer, black laceup boots in the winter.

 

Shoe shopping is tricky for teenage dancers, particularly when they wear orthotics! Thankfully Vans/Dunlops/Converses and DMs are fashionable!