Favorite toddler shoe brand?

[muskiesusan]

Now that Nick is getting older, I seem to be having trouble finding shoes I like. What are your favorites?

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01
& Alex 04/04

[jadamom]

DD has wide feet, so I stick with Stride Rites at the outlet, on ebay, or with a coupon code at shoebuy.com . I also like the Nikes at Kohl's or Elefanten (soon being discontinued) on ebay.

[alkagift]

DS is wearing a 9 now, soon to be wearing a 10, so I feel your pain. I am still hanging with SR for now, and he's got a pair of Elefantens for dress. I might go with Naturino for dress shoes if I need to. For sneakers he's wearing navy Keds right now and we like those--he prefers them too, because they are comfy and flexible.

I'll admit I have a pair of Red Converse high tops I bought at Marshalls because they struck me as funny. They're a size 10 and I'm waiting for them to fit in the winter. They look so neat on!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, who is TWO!

[schums]

DS wears either Willits or Max Silver tennis shoes. Both have the light up designs on the sides. They are great shoes, well made, fit wide feet, and are pretty flexible. His sandals this summer are Willits also -- very cushy. DD is wearing x-wide Stride Rite tennis shoes and Nina sandals. For dress shoes, we go to Payless, since they carry wide kids shoes, and my kids don't wear dress shoes very often (weddings, major holidays, etc.)

Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[emmiem]

I like Primigi, Shoe Be Do, Elephanten (hard to find now that they are out of business), De Osu, Converse, and Stride Rite. Try Zappos.com, they have a ton of choices with free shipping and free return shipping as well.
Michele

[MelissaTC]

We are stuck in Stride Rite land now. DS measures an 8.5 at SR, and depending on the shoe, sometimes a wide. I guess I am going to start hitting Zappos.com although I recently saw a children's shoe store in Raleigh that peaked my interest. I am just sick of Stride Rite!

[MelissaTC]

Sorry!

[zuzu]

Depending on the season and the sytle, here are some brands we've liked:

Jumping Jacks
Keds
Naturino
Ecco
Merrell
Elefanten (now Umi, though we've only had one pair of those and had to send them back for loose stiching - hopefully a fluke!)
I also like some of the Primigi styles, though we haven't owned any yet

Melissa, mom to Sarah (5/03)

[TahliasMom]

SO DD is only 13 months, walking for the last 2 months so her shoe collection is trying to catch up to mine! The new toddler shoes I discovered and absolutely love thanks to the BBB coop is See Kai Run (SKR). I have 3 pairs of closed toe sandals and 1 boot for winter. DD has a pair of Nike's, thanks to DH, very comfy and durable. We also have some water shoes and teva wannabes from Target, which are great for swimming/the lake. I just went to visit a Stride Rite outlet and they have a good selection of shoes but not much in stock. It was such a tease! The sales rep did manage to find 1 out of the 4 shoes I wanted for DD. I guess size 5M is popular! I did find some Keds but they seemed really heavy. I just ordered some Pedoodles? from another coop, look very similar to SKR.

:)

[August Mom]

We mainly have Stride Rite, but in the fall DS had a pair of Jumping Jacks from the Perfection line and I really liked them. They had an anti-scuff toe that really worked and held up very well to DS's abuse.

[pamela mom of 3]

new balance, stride rite, tarty, right step & minibel ..i like the look of some of the preschooler naturino shoes but have yet to try any ;)

[Mom2Miri]

Elefanten, Naturino, Stride Rite for sneakers

Really hoped I'd like Umi to replace Elefanten but so far, they haven't fit as well for us.

Helen & Mirielle 2/25/03

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif[/img][/url] 27 months and counting

[jfmiller]

Naturinos ROCK but they are pricey - we have a wide foot, high instep problem in this house and these really fit well. For my son (elephant foot!), Naturinos have been hands down the best shoes. He also wears Puma tennis shoes, good for high instep. They just fit his feet.

I have not had the best luck with SR for either my son or daughter...I did have GREAT LUCK with Zappos.com and got a pair of dusty blue Columbia sandals - such great selection. I highly recommend them!

Jennifer
Proud SAHM to Graham (1/02) and Genevieve (4/04)

[rclasco]

I use to buy my son Stride Rite. However, I got tired of their limited styles & colors. Now I buy Merrell & LL Bean with Merrell being my favorite.

[kaos127]

Phoebe's feet are very small--she turned two in July and is just moving into a 6, so many styles are not small enough. Anyway, my husband is a die-hard Ecco's fan, so we tried them for her--great results. We had been buying Preschoolians, but since they stopped the hard soled shoes, we needed another option. Ecco's run about the same price, and they are also very good quality. She had a fisherman-style shoe for the summer to go with her Land's End sandals, and I just ordered a Mary Jane style for the Fall. Ordered both pairs from Nordstrom.com.

Kelly

[veneto]

>Phoebe's feet are very small--she turned two in July and is
>just moving into a 6, so many styles are not small enough.

My daughter also has very small feet; she's 2.5 and still in a six. She generally wears her shoes out before she outgrows them.

That being said, the only brand of shoe that she hasn't been able to wear out are Vans. The Vans.com site has a good selection of toddler sneakers... ties, velcro, and even Spicoli-esque checkerboard slip-ons. They also have half-sizes in most (if not all) of their toddler shoes. For general running around and playground wear, they seem to hold up better than anything else for her, and they wash very well.

For water shoes and sandals, we like Teva and Land's End. We also like Land's End for rain boots and their all-weather slip-on mocs. The best winter shoes we've had for her were Timberland boots (she didn't wear those out), but I think that they discontinued the style because I've never found them again.

[secaleca]

I have a 2 year old and found the BEST shoes. I bought them at a shoe party, but I think you can also buy them online at: www.livieandluca.com

From a former Robeez and Stride Rite customer...these shoes are SUPER CUTE, but even more important they are super flexible and soft.

Serena

[SewSarahSew]

How did you find the fit on these shoes? Narrow, wide? I'm having a hard time figuring our their sizing in general. They have sizes 13 - 18. Amelia wears a 24 in preschoolians, so I'm guessing these are way too small for us.

[bunnisa]

>We mainly have Stride Rite, but in the fall DS had a pair of
>Jumping Jacks from the Perfection line and I really liked
>them. They had an anti-scuff toe that really worked and held
>up very well to DS's abuse.

PSA: Do NOT do a google search just on "jumping jacks" (leaving out "shoes") because you aren't paying attention. That is, unless you're interested in nude women doing jumping jacks! LOL

Bethany
mom to one and one on the way!
http://lilypie.com/days/060226/0/8/1/-6/.png
"And children are always a good thing, devoutly to be wished for and fiercely to be fought for."
-J. Torres

[HawkeyeGal]

I love Stride Rite. We have one in town and they are awesome fitting DS. They are pricy, but we only do one pair until he outgrows them. I'm sure it will be different with DD - girls need more shoes, right? LOL!

[sarsah]

Both my boys have wide feet and it is so hard to find wide shoes in bigger sizes. Nearly all their shoes are Stride Rite. I try to shop the outlet whenever I can and keep my eyes open at Marshalls & Ross.
I also find wide New Balace sneakers at Kohl's on sale quite often for around $25, which isn't too bad.

Sarah....mom to Jason (5/25/00) & Devin (5/12/03)

[jiskafo]

I love Elefanten. DS has wide feet and they fit him great. If you don't mind slightly used shoes, you can find some great deals on eBay. You will find a lot of brand new shoes as well