Is it just me or are school shoes just not made like they used to be?

School shoes are not cheap yet we are going through them at about a rate of a pair a term…its ridiculous. I wouldn’t mind if it was because they are growing out of them but that’s not the case at all. They are literally wearing holes in them and they are dropping to pieces in a very short time.

Now I know some of the problem is these girls gallop like ponies. But surely they are not the only girls in the world to run around pretending to be riding ponies (I remember doing it myself), as well as hopping, skipping and jumping in the playground?

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Take Poppy, aged almost 8 years. Since September she has gone through three pairs of shoes already and I have just brought her a fourth pair. I have taken photos of all of her shoes this year and am absolutley horrified at the state of them. You will be too.

First of all she had this pair from Sept to December:

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Clarks Dolly Heart Junior – £36.00

After just one term they looked like this:

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These bottoms don’t look too bad compared to the others but the sole was so thin you could feel there was going to be a hole any day and Poppy complained about them starting to be uncomfortable under her foot so we changed them.

Next up were this pair from Start Rite. They lasted from January till just before the Easter holidays.

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Saskia Black Patent – £37.00

We though they were gorgeous when we first brought them but after just one term they looked like this:

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As you can see the black patent just kind of peeled off towards the end of term. We have always brought black patent as generally they last longer and don’t need too much effort to keep them looking nice. Just a little clean and shine every night keeps them looking nice. I have honestly never seen this happen before. Holes also appeared so Poppy ended up wearing her old shoes for the last week of term before Easter, luckily they were the same size.

On a visit to John Lewis to be measured for her next pair of new shoes we looked at all the different makes and designs and decided to try something different. Instead of going for Start Rite or Clarks as we usually do, we decided to try a John Lewis shoe. It looked a bit sturdier and the sole looked a bit thicker.

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John Lewis Victoria Flower Mary-Jane Pumps, Black Patent – £28.00

These literally lasted half a term before they dropped to bits! I am completely shocked at the state of them. The hole in the sole is horrendous, the straps came apart and they were obviously unwearable.

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So now we have gone for another Start Rite pair. These ones have a much thicker sole and hopefully will cope better with the playground antics of my almost 8 year old.

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Attitude Black Patent RRP £52.00 Now £28.00

I have spoken to my Sister who says her son has had one pair a year. His feet have barely grown but more importantly the boys soles are thicker/ tougher than the girls. What do you think? Do your children just go through 1 or 2 pairs a year or like mine do they go through a shocking amount of them?

I am getting concerned now because come September when Daisy starts in Reception, we are going to be buying school shoes for all three of them. To me it seems that school shoes are very expensive but just not tough enough. What do you think?

Karen x

p.s I am extremely shocked and embarrassed about the state of these and almost didn’t share. We spend a lot of money on clothes and shoes in this house and usually look after them very well. This is not just neglect!