I am not paying freaking $40 for a pair of shoes for Sara!

[peanut4us]

Especially, when she'll grow out of them in 3-4 months!

Grr! I hate shopping. I am very "ungirl-like" in that I have always hated shopping. Pre-baby, I would only go to the mall or clothes store if i knew exactly what I wanted. I would find it, try it on, buy it and immediately leave. So you can imagine my horror at the hours needed to find not only what Sara needs, that fits, but that is a reasonable price.

Holy cats! I went to the mall on Sat to buy her a pair of shoes since she is walking now. I went to Striderite first... they only had these really bright fuscia things on sale everything else was at least $40. I went to every othre store I could think of in the mall. I did go to some discount shoe stores too like Payless. And here's the rub, they were rock hard... not at all pliable like they are supposed to be... and I don't really like buying shoes there for me because they hurt my feet, so I can only imagine that they wouldn't be comfy for her either. I went freaking everywhere. I did find one reasonably pliant pair of shoes at Penneys... for $30, where I waited for 10 freaking minutes for someone to help me before I left. Grrr. I'm going to target today. Hopefully, I'll find somehting reasonable. If not, I'm going to buy some from the gap, who shockingly, had the lowest prices, hands down.

Sorry for the rant, but I was just outraged at the gouging that goes into EVEYRTHING it seems that is a necessity for our children!

[peanut4us]

Especially, when she'll grow out of them in 3-4 months!

Grr! I hate shopping. I am very "ungirl-like" in that I have always hated shopping. Pre-baby, I would only go to the mall or clothes store if i knew exactly what I wanted. I would find it, try it on, buy it and immediately leave. So you can imagine my horror at the hours needed to find not only what Sara needs, that fits, but that is a reasonable price.

Holy cats! I went to the mall on Sat to buy her a pair of shoes since she is walking now. I went to Striderite first... they only had these really bright fuscia things on sale everything else was at least $40. I went to every othre store I could think of in the mall. I did go to some discount shoe stores too like Payless. And here's the rub, they were rock hard... not at all pliable like they are supposed to be... and I don't really like buying shoes there for me because they hurt my feet, so I can only imagine that they wouldn't be comfy for her either. I went freaking everywhere. I did find one reasonably pliant pair of shoes at Penneys... for $30, where I waited for 10 freaking minutes for someone to help me before I left. Grrr. I'm going to target today. Hopefully, I'll find somehting reasonable. If not, I'm going to buy some from the gap, who shockingly, had the lowest prices, hands down.

Sorry for the rant, but I was just outraged at the gouging that goes into EVEYRTHING it seems that is a necessity for our children!

[JElaineB]

Oh, I totally hear you. I hate paying $40 for a pair of baby shoes that he will outgrow in a few months. But, I have to stick with Stride Rite for now. DS has an extra-wide foot and will not fit into other shoes (I have tried). I have bought 1 pair new at the store and 2 pairs new from ebay, so I am averaging around $25 a pair (woo-hoo). I took him in to get his feet measured in Sept at Stride Rite and I didn't like any of the styles, so I bought his first pair from ebay (new) in the correct size. He outgrew those in 2(!) months and it hit me so fast that I could not fit his foot into his shoe one day! So I had to go to the mall that day, got his foot measured and he was a whole size bigger. So I spent $40+ on the same shoes I had bought on ebay (in a different size) for less than $20. So, to avoid that again, I have already bought the next size up from ebay, which he should be fitting into any day now. I will probably take him to get measured again for his next pair.

Good luck with your shoe purchase, and congrats on the walking!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[JElaineB]

Oh, I totally hear you. I hate paying $40 for a pair of baby shoes that he will outgrow in a few months. But, I have to stick with Stride Rite for now. DS has an extra-wide foot and will not fit into other shoes (I have tried). I have bought 1 pair new at the store and 2 pairs new from ebay, so I am averaging around $25 a pair (woo-hoo). I took him in to get his feet measured in Sept at Stride Rite and I didn't like any of the styles, so I bought his first pair from ebay (new) in the correct size. He outgrew those in 2(!) months and it hit me so fast that I could not fit his foot into his shoe one day! So I had to go to the mall that day, got his foot measured and he was a whole size bigger. So I spent $40+ on the same shoes I had bought on ebay (in a different size) for less than $20. So, to avoid that again, I have already bought the next size up from ebay, which he should be fitting into any day now. I will probably take him to get measured again for his next pair.

Good luck with your shoe purchase, and congrats on the walking!

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[votre_ami03]

Joey, We have a Stride Rite outlet in Phoenix (Anthem), I saw shoes for $20-25. Do you have any outlets near by? I was just there yesterday looking at stuff.


Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[votre_ami03]

Joey, We have a Stride Rite outlet in Phoenix (Anthem), I saw shoes for $20-25. Do you have any outlets near by? I was just there yesterday looking at stuff.


Christy, mommy to Nolan 7/22/03

[Marisa6826]

I was going to take Sophie today for her first pair of "real" shoes.

$40???

Good grief!

And I don't even particularly LIKE any of the Stride Rite styles. UGH.

-m

[Marisa6826]

I was going to take Sophie today for her first pair of "real" shoes.

$40???

Good grief!

And I don't even particularly LIKE any of the Stride Rite styles. UGH.

-m

[Momof3Labs]

Joey, tell me what you want and what size you need, and I'll check our Stride Rite outlet this weekend. Most of the shoes are $25, with many for $15 and $20. Colin's last pair of Stride Rites were $15 (down from $48 at the retail store) and there's nothing wrong with them!! They carry last year's styles, but the differences between last year and this year are VERY minor.

We go past the Stride Rite outlet every weekend when we go grocery shopping, so I'd be happy to check anytime for anyone - just tell me what style and size you need!

[egoldber]

Well, get used to it! LOL! :)

The StrideRite outlet is good advice if one is close. I have never actually found anything at an SR outlet that I liked, so I don't bother to make the trip anymore. Its 45 minutes to an hour for me to get there and I use more $$ in gas than I save by going there.

But here are some ideas:

Nordstrom also carries SR choes as well other nice brands like Elefanten. If you catch their Half Yearly Sale for Kids, you can get really good deals.

Target carries a line of shoes made by SR called BabySmart and KidSmart. Just a warning though that NOT all these shoes are soft, plibale shoes. Some are rock hard, so definitely try before you buy.

And babyGap has some cute, soft tennies shoes that I adore for Sarah. They are about $16 full retail and often on sale for $12.

HTH,

[brubeck]

FYI Target has a Stride Rite line for less than $15 a pair.

[blnony]

The only problem with the BabySmart line at Target (the Stride Rite one) is that they don't come in wide or extra wide or as we need...XXwide.
Did you get Sarah's foot measured? I had bought a pair at Target and when I got them home and tried them on Audrey they would not fit. I took her to Stride Rite and had her foot properly measured and that's how I learned she was a double extra wide. :D So for now, we pretty much wear Strite Rite for the width, and she only has two pairs.

[doubleL]

I bought DS's first pair of shoes from the Stride Rite outlet ($24) just cause I felt like it was a little rite of passage (pun intended). But I had 2 different pediatrician's tell me expensive shoes were defintely not necessary although any Stride Rite salesperson will tell you differently ;)

After that I liked Keds tennis shoes for DS, which I got for $15 at the Stride Rite outlet or $20 full price I think. They are definitely not the cutest shoes out there (especially for girls, although I think they come in pink), but I thought they were a good mix of quality, comfort, price, and style.

And didn't I see that you bought Sara an April Cornell dress for the spring... you can't be that "ungirl-like" :) I'm also an April Cornell fan here, but haven't found anything for DD there yet. What kind of shoes will you get for her dress?

Good luck!

Lou
~David 5.01
~Elisabeth 6.03

[KMommie]

Joey, your post is so timely for us! We just went to the mall last Thursday, to Stride Rite! I couldn't believe those shoes cost $40! I thought I was splurging when I bought DD some Shoo Shoos for $22! Kiki looks like she's going to walk soon, so I wanted to get her some "outdoor" shoes. It pains me that her feet will grow out of those Stride Rites in a couple of months---I mean, what if I'm an overzelous mom and Kiki's more than a few weeks away from walking???! She could be cruising for months, and never need these expensive shoes! And, by the way, does she REALLY NEED them? :P Now, after reading these posts, I see we're doomed. We got measured and Kiki has a wide foot, sounds like Stride Rites are our only option?!

Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[alleyoop]

Joey!

Check out Sandy's Shoes on Anderson (corner of Burnet, behind Houston's resturant). They carry SR, but also lots of other brands, plus some European ones that are cheaper. The service is good, they have a buyers club, and I really like them. I got Nate's first pair for $32.

Also, I just got Nate a pair of tennis shoes at Academy for only $24. They are New Balance, good ones! They have quite a few athletic-type shoes if you know Sara's size.

I know... it is shocking! I hardly spend $40 for a pair of shoes!

[peanut4us]

I think the april cornell girly dresses are adorable, but I can be in and out of that store, with purchases in under 5 minutes! LOL! Seriously, the best thing that ever happened to me was online shopping!

And I was planning on having her barefoot in the dress when I bought; that was before I realized she would be walking.... darn it... I would love some little ballet slipper type of shoe for it though. It would be perfect.

[mom2kandj]

Jeannie!

You'll have TWO Stride Rite outlets in your new hometown! Whenever we go out to Grandma's house, we go shoe shopping! We have the $25 rule and usually do pretty well! The Premier(I think that's the name) outlets off of the 15 & 95 are much closer and have better stores, too! Good luck shoe shopping!


Rose
mom 2 Katie 12/02/00
& Jack 04/16/02

[hellokitty1]

Was just st SR on Sunday looking for Sydney's first shoe and I had the same reaction...$40. Are you kidding me? DH suggested we go to Sears to see if there were any LE shoes since they noe carry that brand. Well, no luck on LE shoes but there was a massive clearance - 70% off already discounted items and we got two pairs of shoes for a total of $3.60.

As for the SR brand at Target, a friend gave me her daughters pair when she outgrew them and they were rock hard. Anyway, try Sears, we found some called "wee" something. They're great! Just slightly firm for support but still very pliable.

Good luck. BTW, I'm in the same ungirly boat as you - I just don't enjoy shopping.

[KMommie]

Whoo Hooo! We're going in two weeks to look at the house. :) Thanks for the tip! We'll have to make a stop there for sure!!

Jeannie
mommy to Kiki 4/18/03

[Jeanne]

While an expensive shoe is not necessary for children, it's very important that the first and second pair of walking shoes be as flexible as possible. It is also important they have good arch support which is something that I have yet to see with any Gap shoe. Have you tried Walmart? A friend told me that she much prefers Walmart shoes to Target simply because they are so much more flexible. I have to concur that they are. And they do make walking shoes.
I only used StrideRite for Charlotte's first and second pair of walkers. Once she was walking firmly from heel to toe, I didn't have to buy them anymore. The SR brand at Target is fine if they are super flexible. The pair I bought was not.

[luvbeinmama]

Jeannie - Don't buy 'em until she's walking!!! Your Shoo Shoos will be fine until then. Then hit those outlets Rose mentioned and have fun! I usually get DS's tennis shoes at the SR Outlet for around $20. Last summer I got his sandals for under $14. I got DD her first SR boots for the rain a month or two ago, and she LOVES them. Sometimes she refuses her Robeez to wear her boots! Given the choice she ALWAYS wants her boots. :)

[Rachels]

LOL! I posted almost the same exact rant when I bought Abby's first shoes. Beth assured me that the sticker shock would pass, and it has.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[pamela mom of 3]

I understand, i have 3 kids who of coarse all wear/need shoes :D Plus the older 2 require "indoor" shoes for school.

My kids all have special fit needs tho, one is narrow, one is a narrow heel, the last tends to run wide.

Shoes are probably the biggest "child" expense i have for non-food items.

However i know myself how comfy a good pair of shoes are, so i don't expect my kids to feel any differently ;)


~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

[Melanie]

Definitely look for an outlet... They will be in the $20-range instead. I still kick myself that I paid the $40 for that first pair.

[sweetbasil]

Joey,
I know you got Sara some shoes, but wanted to mention that if San Marcos doesn't have a Stride Rite, we do! :) You should come back for another visit!

[starrynight]

It's a trap, I can find cheaper stuff for me in name brands than I can for my kids unless it is clearance! Adult shoes and stuff are not supposed to be cheaper than kids, kids stuff takes less material! Major peeve of mine also grrrr.