What shoes do you recommend?

[babyfeva]

What are good, sturdy, affordable shoes for a 14 month old?

 

[maisie78]

Personally I am a Clarkes fan all the way. They can be a bit expensive at around £25-£30 but they are well fitted and sturdy. My lo isn't walking yet so we got her a couple of pairs of Mothercare shoes just off the shelves and they were £12 each but as soon as she is walking she will be measured for Clarkes x

Eta: This is in the UK, not sure where you are as can't see that info on mobile app x

 

[AngelofTroy]

We've also gone with Clarks, if you sign up for their mailing list they will tell you when there's a sale and you can preorder pairs in the sale to your local store in as many sizes as you want with no obligation to buy! Then take LO down to be measured and get the shoes that fit, I've got sale shoes for £16 before and my friend got some for £9!

 

[Bex84]

We always do clarks as well. They are best fitting and well made

 

[Button#]

Clarks when he was younger, now I buy next shoes.

 

[Amygdala]

I see you're in the States, so I don't think this will help you. I love Ricosta (Pepino) shoes but don't think you get them there. I've seen nice ones in Target before but can't remember what they were called.
I'd look for leather shoes that are ankle high (a half boot style), have a soft sole and give good support.

 

[Loui1001]

We buy Startrite, they are sturdier and definitely last so much longer than Clark's (unless he outgrows them) and were recommended by a podiatrist I work with.

 

[Dragonfly]

I have got many shoes for my kids and always round clarks to be the best. I got asda ones once, jcb ones. And within a very short time they looked trashed. William has a pair of clarks ones for school, has them on him every day from sep and they still look new. So I now would pay more for a better pair that lasts.

 

[lau86]

I always got clarks but he just ruined them and they looked awful, I couldn't afford that at £30 a pair. He wears Adidas trainers now and they've worn well and support his foot.

 

[Louppey]

Start rite I had a really bad service/fitting in Clark's so they can go shove it

ETA One of Coralie's start rite pairs lasted 6 months. We only switched cause her feet grew. Her Clark's shoes were wrecked within days

 

[lau86]

I'll have to try startrite for his next pair, they sound much better than clarks!

 

[sparkle_1979]

We only ever buy clarks and with two girls it does get expensive. Sometimes you can get lucky with their sales

 

[annanouska]

My ds is hyper mobile and was fitted for specialist shoes. They also had start rite at the centre and he was better in them! I a, very impressed with the shoe and deff prefer over a friends Clarkes for their lo but each child is different.lo has had this pair 2 month so far and has had in rain mud sand etc climbing and crawling and walking about and still sturdy and good shape x

 

[Itsychik]

So far we've only had Clarks. I really like them, and we haven't had any problems with them breaking/falling apart and they've been sturdy and my DS wears them for around 6 months at a time.

@ OP- I see you're in CA, but where I'm from in VA there is a Clarks outlet store relatively nearby and we've gotten shoes for DS there for as little as $7 a pair when there were sales.

I was visiting my family in the U.S. around Thanksgiving but couldn't find any good deals at Clarks, so went to the Stride Rite outlet and found shoes the next size up for $14. We haven't used them yet so I can't comment on how they fit or hold up, but I've heard a lot of good things (and they were also on sale!) so we're going to try them when DS outgrows his current Clarks.

 

[FAB mama]

I'd like to get my LO fitted for StrideRite shoes, but I haven't yet. There's an outlet nearby so hopefully they have some deals. I can't say anything about them since we've never had them, but they look nice! I tried some on LO at another store.

 

[babyfeva]

Thanks ladies. I've been looking into Stride Rite but they're like $40! I have to see if there's one near me.

 

[tommyg]

We buy Startrite, they are sturdier and definitely last so much longer than Clark's (unless he outgrows them) and were recommended by a podiatrist I work with.

Startrite fan here too, they seem more naturally shaped than Clark's although he's had both.

 

[Iveneverseen]

Clarks for us. they can be expensive, but I think when their toddlers it's important to have good fitting supportive shoes.

my older kids are 7 and 10 so im more relaxed about their shoes as they are a bit old for clarks they were things like converse, lelli Kelly, hunters and just shoes from wherever they like.

 

[sequeena]

My son only wears clarks. He has hypermobility so they support him best but I'd recommend clarks to anyone.

 

[jd83]

My kids only wear stride rites. They are pricey, but they have a lot of extended sizes for wide widths, or narrow widths, etc. BOth my boys have wide feet, and its the only brand I've found that fits their feet.

Also some tips for getting their shoes cheaper:
Join the stride rite rewards program, its free. They send you emails when they are having a good shoe sale, so that's when I go buy shoes. Usually the deal I go in for is the buy 1 pair get 1 pair 1/2 off deal. They also have $10 rewards gift cards they send you once you've spent so much money...$100 I think? If I have one of those $10 off rewards, I take that at the time they have the buy 1 get one 1/2 off deal, so the second pair costs barely anything.

They clearance out shoes every season too, so you can always find plenty shoes on clearance online or in the store.

ETA: Also, I've been able to find Stride Rite deals on Zulily.com sometimes its one of their specials where they are selling overstock of stride rites for $15-20 a pair.