Ballet Shoes...

[Lollipop's Mom]

For those of you with tweens/teens who do ballet - how do you size them compared to a street shoe? For instance if you wear a size 8.5 street shoe (ladies), what ballet shoe size would you be? Thanks.

 

[allie1078]

it depends on the brand of the shoe. my dd is in a 6 for her regular shoes and we just ordered her 7 in jazz, tapp and 6 1/2 in ballet. They should be fitted by someone at the dance studio for a proper fit. You don't want them to be to big or to small.

 

[ZPT1022]

It is very important to have a fitting at a dance supply store. Your dance school should be able to recommend one and sometimes they will have specials for the students of that school. For my kids ballet school they offered us free tights with the purchase of leotards and shoes. Not huge but I had to buy a specific uniform and the right shoes anyhow, may as well get the $8 tights free

 

[Shleedogg]

It depends on the shoe. I've danced for 15+ yrs and for plain ballet shoes, you don't really have to worry about them being professionally fitted. The ballet shoe will mold to your foot. I would recommend canvas shoes over leather though, they're more snug and really form well to your foot, I would never go back to the other kinds. If you're talking about pointe shoes, then you really need to be fitted for those. If you're ordering online, they will typically have fitting guides for you. I think my current shoes are a 7 and I normally wear an 8.5 in street shoes. Better to get on the smaller side though because they will stretch with your feet.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

My DD15 has been dancing since she was 3. It's my opinion that I would never buy her a pair of any dance shoes without being properly fit. It is very important that they keep their feet healthy. My DD is only fit by one particular person and I have waited some years for over 2 hours just for him to do the fitting. He has even given her two different sized shoes at no extra charge rather than putting a dance shoe too big or small on her feet.

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

Oops I should have clarified....we dont' need these for dance, just part of a costume for a play, and I was going to grap cheapies off of ebay for her! Just trying to figure out what size! She just has to walk around in them!

 

[maymom96]

My 6 year old wears a size 2.5 in street shoes. At her dance studio, she is in a 7.5 ballet shoe. I still think they measured her wrong.
Anyways, go to Payless and have her try on ballet shoes. You will see the size she needs and then you can go to ebay.

 

[madmom1030]

If that is all you need them for Payless carries ballet shoes.

 

[Schmeck]

Walmart has them in stock around this time of the year as well, but they may only have child sizes, as most older dancers go to dance supply stores for shoes.