OT-where else besides stride Rite?

[solferino]

Our local Marshalls has a "mega-shoe" department with lots of popular brands- including stride rite. I've had excellent luck through the years getting shoes for DD.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Thanks everyone. Great ideas!!!!!

 

[TwinMommy402]

We have bought at Target and even payless and have been happy with them!
We still buy at Stride Rite too.

 

[northriver]

Stride Rite vent/caution:

Went to stride rite online and used the measurement chart, came up with a size 9N. Went to an upscale department store and they measured her foot, at a size 9. Went to Stride Rite in the mall, the nice lady measured her foot, had her try on some shoes, we picked out a pair of cute tennis shoes and I TRUSTED that they were the right size but didn't actually look at the size. Got home and realized that she sent us home with a 7.5W. DD'd toes are scrunched way up to the end of her 7.5 sandals that we bought back in MAY. I'll never go to Stride Rite again. The quality has gone way down hill in recent years and obviously the people at the strores are more interested in selling what is in stock than selling what fits. I'm disgusted.

I like Jumping Jacks/ Perfection. The prices are about the same or a little less than Stride Rite but the quality is a bit better. I love all the Nordstroms brand shoes we've had. I've had great luck with Umi and Ecco. DD also loves her Keens, they are ugly but so comfortable. I love high quality shoes for my kids, and I sometimes find them on ebay to save a little money.

I used to buy from Zappos but in the last few months I've noticed there are NO sale shoes and they have seriously raised their prices - kids shoes are around $10 higher than the exact same pair at my local department store. So double check prices before you buy. Even 6 months ago I was getting great deals there but something has definately changed lately.

 

[Manda]

Stride Rite shoes never seemed to be that high quality to me. And they seem to always tell everyone that there kid needs a special width (wide or narrow) to lock them into buying their shoes there. I'm sure that varies by store, but that's totally how it was at our local store. It was the mall joke because all the other mall stores would get these people coming in saying that their kid needed an extra wide width because Stride Rite told them that.

Anywho, I usually buy his shoes at Nordstrom. It's ridiculously hard to find decent shoe selections for little boys. And my guy has pretty small feet, so he's still in toddler sizes even though he's a little boy and wants shoes that look like boy shoes - not baby shoes. We love Geox shoes and Nordstrom is the best place to find those.

Otherwise, I buy from Endless.com. Free overnight shipping!

 

[Miz Diz]

My ds is 6 now, but when he was a toddler, I tried buying cheap shoes from Payless and he would complain that his feet hurt. I bought him the Stride Rites - no complaints. So I kept him in Stride Rites. In August I bought him a pair of those Skechers that "breathe" or whatever - he was begging for them and knew what he wanted from the commercials. Paid $60 for them and he won't wear them. Says they hurt his feet.

I bought him a 2nd pair of Skechers from Nordstrom - they were on clearance and he likes those.

 

[GoinToDisney]

All over. She had a bunch of preschoolians, which were my favorite. I also bought her shoes from payless, target, etc.. I just made sure they were light weight and have padding at the back of the heal.