shoe size question

[Partridge4ever]

Hi,
I'm hoping one of my fellower DISers can help me. My daughter needs tap shoes that will have to be ordered from the UK and I need help determining the size. They are Roch Valley brand, Dorothy style. Her usual size is a 6. She wears a 6 1/2 in the tap shoes that I found that look similar. The chart shows this as a UK4 and the place I'm ordering from said UK4. However, the Roch Valley website lists 5.5 for UK sizing. Anyone know if Roch Valley shoes tend to run small? Thanks!

 

[Tillybud]

I can ask my dd's dance teacher but I won't see her until Saturday, let me know if that would be ok ? DD is still doing ballet but at the ballet school she goes to, her teacher teaches both ballet and tap and has a shop attached to the school so she should be able to give advice

 

[Partridge4ever]

Oh, yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you!

 

[Head_in_the_clouds]

Dancer here !

Its been a while since I wore Roch Valley Shoes as I tend to just wear Capezios or Blochs now but apparently after checking a few different dance sources a US 6 is a UK 5 in Roch Valley. Now in regular shoes I am a UK 5 but in the US I am a size 7 or 7.5 depending on the shoes so to be honest that does confuse me! I have an old pair of Roch Valley Tap shoes which are a UK 5.5 which are slightly too big for me so that would suggest their sizes correspond to UK street shoes so to be honest I actually would have thought your daughter would need smaller shoes than a 5. Are there any other girls at her studio who already have their shoes? I thought perhaps you could see how they get on with sizing before you get you DD's?

I have to giggle when I see the Dorothy shoes, I'm not that old (25) but "in my day" we would have had to spray our tap shoes red and spray glitter on them if we needed them to look like that for a routine! Its kind of cool (and expensive ) that you don't have to dye or spray your shoes to match your costume anymore, you can just buy them ready done!

 

[Partridge4ever]

Thanks! They each have a different costume, so my daughter is the only Dorothy. They drew out of a hat for parts and when everyone sort of rushed the teacher to draw, she ended up being last which turned out to be very lucky! She's thrilled. I'll never forget the look on her face when she came out of the studio. She wanted to burst, but didn't want to seem like she was bragging so she whispered it in my ear.

The teacher originally said to dye the shoes, but I found these online and they are perfect. A new pair of shoes would be $45, plus the shoe shop quoted $20 to dye, then add the glitter and the stress on a not-too-crafty Mommy, heehee. These are only 30 pounds including shipping, so if I guess correctly on the size, it's not going to be that much more.

From what you say, I'm leaning toward a 4, but I'll wait and see if Tillybud has another suggestion.

 

[Tillybud]

I'll post at the weekend as dd has her ballet lesson on Saturday morning. Here's hoping we can get your dd sorted

 

[aaronandterri]

is the shipping ok price wise some site rip you off for international shipping, you can always send here and ill forward them if its cheaper, a lot of places do free uk shipping.
my dd has a pair of Roch Valley Shoes and we had to go up a size to the size we would normally buy tap shoes in, so i think they may run small, i have a local dance shop here so i can go measure some if you like.

 

[kieras nana]

is the shipping ok price wise some site rip you off for international shipping, you can always send here and ill forward them if its cheaper, a lot of places do free uk shipping.
my dd has a pair of Roch Valley Shoes and we had to go up a size to the size we would normally buy tap shoes in, so i think they may run small, i have a local dance shop here so i can go measure some if you like.

just want to comment,how helpful you are being,it's really nice to read
tracy

 

[Partridge4ever]

is the shipping ok price wise some site rip you off for international shipping, you can always send here and ill forward them if its cheaper, a lot of places do free uk shipping.
my dd has a pair of Roch Valley Shoes and we had to go up a size to the size we would normally buy tap shoes in, so i think they may run small, i have a local dance shop here so i can go measure some if you like.

That's really nice of you! Shipping doesn't seem too bad though...7.95 pounds. Thanks for offering though!

 

[Tillybud]

hi, apologies for the delay in replying I've not stopped this weekend. My dd's dance teacher told me that they run small although how small seemed to confuse me a little. I tried to establish what size would be best but when I explained the situation to my dd's dance teacher she said if I took in the measurements of your daughters feet she would advise what size you should purchase, let me know if you want me to do this ? thanks

 

[Partridge4ever]

Thanks Tillybud! I hate for you and the teacher to go to so much trouble, especially since I'd be buying them from somewhere else. I found a place that will let me order 2 pairs and mail the extra pair back. It'll cost me return shipping, but I think it may be the best route. I emailed two stores and both said they tend to be "generously sized," which just confuses me even more. lol.

Thanks so much for everyone's help. I'll be sure and post the results when the shoes arrive!

 

[Partridge4ever]

The shoes arrived yesterday. I should've listened to the store that told me UK4 in the first place. They are just perfect! The 4.5 is way too big. Now I need to decide whether to keep the extra pair or send them back. The store charges a 3 pound restock fee (missed that in the fine print somewhere), plus return shipping.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped!