"cute" girls wide shoes?

[ktlm]

I could use some shopping help. DD (5) has a wide foot and has since she was a baby. She looked at me with a sad face tonight and said "Mama, I wish they made cute shoes that don't have a strap across them (Mary Janes) and aren't tennis shoes that are wide enough for me to wear, you know the ones that look like your shoes" I know what she is wanting are Ballet flats as she saw some Jessica Simpson ones in the store a couple weeks ago and really wanted them and tried them on and they were way too tight and don't come in wide. Anyone ever seen kids ballet flat type shoes that come in a wide, or at least are wide enough in the toe area that they might be able to fit her? She doesn't always need a W and if the shoes are wide enough in the front can wear the regular. I've looked online and I'm not having any luck finding any Wides like that, and I don't know what brands might work in the regular. I'd love any ideas anyone might have.

 

[zoemurr]

Lands End? They have a cute ballet flat. My DD has wide feet and LE has always worked for her.

Good luck! I had both my kids in only Stride Rite for years 'cause they needed the extra wide and that's the only place I could easily find it. She will probably grow out of it as they did.

 

[Fyrefly]

It's a curse! Mine are wide AND flat, so I not only need enough space to fit, but I need arch support too. I only wore shoes without arches when I was little because I had a lot of sensory issues with my feet and the feel of the arch bothered me. Turns out if I had sucked it up then the muscles in my arch might have gotten a little stronger as I was developing. Now I murder my shoes by wearing out the support superfast.

But I'm hoping all you have to deal with are widths. Stride Rite is the best place to go if you have to deal with weird footed kids I wore them up until I got too big for them.

Sneakers are always easy to find in widths. Most other things like your "cute" just try Lands End, Stride Rite, and other "nice" shoe stores. LL Bean runs wide in general, I think. I'm pretty sure my sandals from them are regulars. As she gets older it will be a bit easier to find widths. More people make wide adult shoes than wide kid shoes, and once her feet stop growing she'll get more wear out of each pair.

Sadly anyone who isn't born with good feet will never be able to walk for any length of time in cheap stuff from Payless. Hopefully she isn't flat. If she is I suggest taking her to a podiatrist and see what can be done to help her out before she's fully grown.

 

[pklein09]

I also agree...Stride Rite. All 4 of my kids have wide feet, and DD12 has extra wide feet. If you can, find a Mom & Pop store where the person fitting your daughter has experience fitting shoes. I don't like the Stride Rite in the mall because the personnel are just not experienced enough. As for sneakers, New Balance is the only brand that fits my kids, although DS10 has a pair of Saucony's this time around. The gentleman that fits my kids (his dad opened the store in 1946) said Reebok and Nike are cut narrow and he doesn't carry them because they don't fit most people.

I'm sorry you and your daughter have to go through this. My kids have learned the hard way that the shoes/sneakers they get are the ones that fit, not necessarily the ones they like. My grandfather said you only get one pair of feet - treat them well. My kids always wear hand-me-down clothes, but I don't cheap out on shoes. Sneakers for the 4 kids for school ran me close to $300, but they'll last the entire year and I won't have complaints of sore feet.

 

[dyna]

I can feel for her. I was cursed with very wide feet try finding a EEEEE in anything, forget cute. Add my extremely high arch and my very narrow heel. In 50 yrs I've had maybe a total of 6 pairs of shoes that I would call comfortable NEVER cute.

My youngest DD is the same way tho she is still young enough to put up with some discomfort for cuter shoes than I am, which I did do in my teens also. Now it's about comfort for me has been for years.

I can not say that I can go with the mom an pop shoe stores mom took me to a couple of those regularly as a kid. How mom or pop could tell me the shoe fit when it was already rubbing blisters on my feet just walking the lenght of their store an back to my chair I'll never know OR EVEN better pinching the bottom of my foot from toes to middle of arch making a line that was visible to the middle of my arch. I was told well the shoe will stretch.....YEAH but will it be enough or will I bust the shoe out then it sort of becomes comfortable?

Many times like almost every time it was time for new shoes it took at least 3 trips to the store because I tried on shoes the professional store owners brought out that rubbed blisters on my feet just tring them on an had to go home wait for blisters to heal usually the next Sat which was moms day off an shopping day.

Now I wear mens New Balance an crocs at least the crocs come with cute mickeys cut out in them an cute colors lol I have some comfy boots I wear for riding the harley that I got at the Goodwill so comfy in fact that as my Goodwill got more of them in I have a total of 5 pairs now they not even marked wide they a ladies Faded Glory boot an almost cute I actually like them.

Even flip flops are hard to find high arch my feet often won't even go in them if it does my little toe is completely hanging off the bottom of shoe. EVER STEP ON YOUR OWN LITTLE TOE WHILE WALKING? IT HURTS!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vicki_c]

For the biggest selection in one place, try Zappos.com. We are the wide foot family as well, and I usually order from Zappos. But I admit, my kids mainly wear sneakers, sandals and flip flops (like 99% of the time). For dress shoes, we can normally get by at Target since the kids may only be wearing them a few times for a few hours.

The New Balance store at our mall stopped carrying wides for kids (!!) and we have to get them online now.

 

[hppy2bhome]

my daughter is 9 and we deal with this every year. There really isn't really cute shoes in wide. =(

I did just buy some at shoes.com

jumping jack kids. They are pricey but worth it. =)

15off worked for a code.

chris

 

[HM]

Maybe she'll outgrow it. My DS had wide feet from infancy through preschool, but as he grew, his feet lengthened. We used Stride Rite for shoes while his feet were wide.

Crocs?

 

[ktlm]

Thank you so much everybody!!! Great Advice! I knew my Dis friends could help! Unfortunately, I think she gets the wide foot gene from me. I can't wear all the cute shoes for adults either. I always hate it when the pointy toes are in style because I can't do those at all! I don't think her feet will be flat, because mine are wide with high arches, which makes it oh so fun to try to find shoes!

When she was a baby, she could only wear wides, but she has grown out of it a little bit. In the past year, she measures right on the borderline of needing a wide and she can wear some regulars.

We definitely have never been able to do the "cheap" shoes, except for a couple of pairs of Disney tennis shoes. She has tried so hard to get into Target shoes when we walk by and see something she really likes, but she can't wear them at all. We do a Mom and Pop store that fits her, but they really didn't have much of a selection in anything she could wear this year.

Unfortunately she has never been able to wear Stride Rite shoes. Her foot is wide across the top and in the toe area, but normal in the back. Every time we have ever tried to get a pair of Stride Rites in wide, her heel slips out and she walks right out of them. She can't wear the regulars because they are too narrow in the front. I think 90% of her shoes were Jumping Jacks for a while, but now the wides are too wide and the regulars are too narrow and she complains that they are uncomfortable.

For the past year, pretty much the only thing she has worn are the Keds MJ sparklers in every color they come in. The canvas stretches out and the Mary Jane strap adjusts well for the pudgy top of her foot. She just outgrew their range of sizes, and the Milo and Morgan which are practically the same shoe, but come in bigger sizes seem to work, but the poor kid is tired of wearing the exact same shoe in a different color about every single day. Lelli Kellies seem to work too, but they are crazy expensive ($70 ), and again they are all the Mary Jane style, which the poor kid wants a different style so badly. (Don't even get her started on her inability to wear Skechers Twinkle Toes!). I love Shoes.com and Zappos.

I'm going to try the Lands End and L.L. Bean!!!!! Thanks so much!!!

Dyna, all I can say for you is OUCH!!! You poor thing! As far as the blisters, have you discovered Body Glide on the disboards yet? I got blisters every time I got a new pair of shoes because my feet are really sensitive until I learned about using Body Glide to prevent blisters at WDW on these boards. Not only has it kept be from getting blisters at WDW (which I used to get every trip no matter what shoes I wore), but I use it every time I get a new pair of shoes until they are broken in, and no more blisters!!!!

 

[Sadie22]

We all have wide feet in my family now. Comfort and the avoidance of lifelong foot problems -- much more important than cuteness or owning lots of cheap shoes. In my opinion, Stride Rite is the best while a child is in child sizes and after that New Balance. Most shoes need to be with ties. As a diabetic, I discovered cuter but comfortable dress shoes made for diabetics in a huge range of sizes online. One brand is Munro.

An experienced shoe fitter should be able to put inserts into heels of shoes to make them stay on.

Good luck!

 

[WeLuvDCL]

I can't help with ballet type shoes but the Mickey and Minnie crocs are super cute and wide. My daughter wears hers all the time and always gets compliments about how cute they are.

Flats:
http://www.crocs.com/crocs-sparkle-minnie-mouse-flat/11148,default,pd.html?cid=001&q=disney

Clog:
http://www.crocs.com/minnie-makin-waves-kids/11116,default,pd.html?cid=52B&q=disney

 

[powellrj]

I feel your DDs pain. I have always had wide and thick feet. Not a pretty combination. You don't find much cute in a 8 1/2 4E! My poor DD not only got my wide feet, she also got her dads long ones. She is 15 and now wears a 12 wide. We had to buy her mens golf shoes because I couldn't find womens, and for her choir, she is the only one in flats because we couldn't get the shoes they order for the older girls in a 12 W, so we had to get her the ones the little girls wear because we could get them in her size!

Not sure if it helps, but we did find sperrys in her size, I think they are cute!

 

[QuickRewardsBecky]

KTLM, I would also check Shoebuy.com (free shipping on any order, a low price guarantee, and free shipping on returns if they don't fit), 6pm.com, Endless.com (also free shipping and free return shipping if needed), Amazon (free shipping on $25+ or free two-day shipping if you're an Amazon Prime member, which is free for caregivers or students, and they have a 25% off clearance sale going on now), and ShoeSteal (some nice discounts but they won't let you narrow your results down to wide widths, though).

My daughter's cursed with my wide foot, too. It was so hard to get her in comfortable shoes when she was little but luckily there's more selection when they're older!

 

[prncess674]

These have a strap, but I think they are super cute!
http://www.zappos.com/gabriella-rocha-kids-petal-wide-toddler-youth-black-stretch-suede

 

[sherry7]

Clarks sells kids shoes now in the US. They've had them in the UK for a long time. They aren't cheap, but cute, well made, and come in various widths. Check their website, because very limited stores carry them.

My toddler has a weird food, and Clarks and Pedipeds are the only shoes that fit her properly.

 

[3boymthr]

I've also got the wide foot high arch thing going on. I inherited it too and unfortunately passed it on to my middle DS. My grandfather wore a 6.5 EEEE shoe As a child I always ended up with the ugliest shoes in the world - boxy ugly things that often looked like orthopedic shoes that old people wore . Luckily there are many more styles for those with wide feet now. I second Lands End they have a great selection of shoes in wide styles. When my son was younger I had luck with stride rite and if you go online skechers does have some styles available in a wide shoe. I've also had luck with Zappos, and shoebuy but find their prices (especially zappos) are on the high side.

 

[J. Galt]

I have one kid who had extra wide when she was little and now has wide feet. When she was little we did well with Stride Rite, Umi and Primigi brands. Now that she is older she lives in Merrels and Lands End shoes. Lands End shoes have no arch support so sometimes I put inserts into them if she is going to wear them a lot to at least give her something.