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Poor Fitting Pointe Shoes.


Ecarte

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I took my DD to Freeds for a pointe shoe fitting before Xmas. I have just got round to sewing them today.

 

However, when she tried them on to check I'd sewn the ribbons in the correct place we both noticed how very "baggy " they are around the vamp even with the drawstrings tightened and ouch pouches on her feet.

 

Obviously I am going to get these checked by her teacher.

 

My question is this. As we went specifically for a fitting and the fitting is incorrect, am I able to return them as not fit for purpose?

 

If I had just picked a pair off the shelf I could understand if they refused. Freeds are supposed to employ specialist fitters and it would appear they have not done their job properly in this instance.

 

Anyone had similar issues?

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I've had this issue with students going to Freeds in the past - we put it down to swollen feet from lots of walking. If you can unpick the ribbons without it looking like you've done anything to the shoes you should be ok. But if you've darned or glued toe protectors on, or made changes to the shoe through sewing on ribbons etc then it might be more difficult.

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To be honest, it is a bit of a long gap between the fitting before Christmas and now. It's at least 6 weeks if not longer and one could argue that your DD's feet could have changed in that time or as Dr Dance said, her feet could have been bigger from walking around before the fitting.

 

They only take them back if unaltered, so you are probably stuck with them. You could try letting your DD wear them and if her feet are warm, they might fit better.

 

Just a tip, if there has been a gap between buying and wanting to wear the shoes, I always try them on again before sewing so that I can take them back if for some reason they don't fit. Children's feet can change in a couple of weeks.

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I realise there has been a gap, Christmas etc doesn't help. I will definitely check next time as you suggest.

 

Will try and remove the ribbons but I'm not confident my belt and braces style stitching won't have left its mark.

 

Maybe I will just have to chalk this pair upto experience but am very reluctant to use Freeds fitting services again as we went straight there from the train so not much walking was done.

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That's a shame! :-(

 

There are a several excellent and very knowledgeable fitters in Freed; Michelle Atfield when she's there, and there is a pretty slim lady with glasses and a long bob who is fabulous. I think she is a Manager because some of the other Fitters check things with her.

 

Probably a silly question, but I assume the padding your dd is wearing is the same as she wore at the fitting?

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Yes exactly the same as we always take them with.

 

I had read much praise for Freeds fitters but the lady we had was quite dismissive of DD's comments. It was not the lady you describe Spannerandpony. Sounds like I was unlucky with the fitter as so often can be the case.

 

Incidentally the pair of leather full soles we purchased at the same time, the leather came clean away from the sole on first wear! I was able to sew this back together with much fiddling.

 

Dd loves Freed shoes in general but as the financier thereof I've rather gone off them!

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I always recommended (for my students as well as myself) to try the shoes on with as little previous walking (to get to the store) as possible - as mentioned above it does make a difference.  The weather is also a factor.  In addition to taking along the exact toe protection as she will be using in class, always wear the same tights, too.

 

It might be worthwhile to keep these shoes for times when she goes directly from a slipper class to pointe work when her feet will be warm from working.  She can also try to put on a thin pair of socks on top of the tights if the teacher allows - I've seen that done.  However, make sure the socks do not have a toe seam.

 

You can also sew a piece of elastic across the top of the shoe from side seam to side seam.  I've also seen that done with long threads rather than elastic.

 

And a bit of alcohol might help shape the shoe to her foot.

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It's all about the fitter, isn't it? We've had experiences ranging from wonderful to disastrous in London.

 

Fortunately, the older and more experienced dd gets, the more politely assertive she's become at fittings - last time she tried on about 8 pairs of Classic Pro shoes, then narrowed it down gradually to the best pair. But it's taken 2 years for her to have the confidence to do that. We had a few disasters on the way! :-)

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it is a long time between fitting and wearing so depending on the age of the DD it may well be down to her feet growing and it sounds like they probably won't take them back, though if her feet has stopped growing it may be the swelling problem, its one of the problems with fitting when you have to walk a while to the fitting, is you DD in a dance school which may have enough people getting fitted to warrant a site visit?

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