I can remember my Mam telling me that if you look after your feet they will lead you to wherever you want to go. Something that I have always thought about when it comes to Roo and Tigger’s shoes, ensuring that they have their feet measured at least four times a year.
Brantano recently got in touch with me to see whether I’d like to try out the Brantano kid’s fitting service. A service that they are really keen to hear what mum’s think about when getting their children’s feet measured and purchasing new shoes for growing feet.
The Brantano kid’s fitting service is made up of three simple steps, however each step is just as important as the next…
3 steps to the right fit system
- Measure – using a specially designed foot gauge to measure the length, width and depth of each foot, to ensure that the best possible fit is achieved
- Try on – find the perfect pair of shoes from the wide selection of brands, which are then fitted by the fitter to ensure that they not too small, tight or style for your foot shape
- Walk – the very best fit cannot be achieved without taking a few steps. Take a few steps whilst the fitter checks that the shoe is not slipping on the heel and ensures a comfortable fit
Measure
Having decided that Tigger would go first the fitter put him at ease and chatted away to him about how she was going to measure his feet, gave him a sticker and asked him what type of shoes he was hoping to get. With the option of two different gauges the fitter opted for the smaller one on Tigger’s little feet (although he wanted to be a big boy and use the bigger one). Tigger is usually a nightmare for curling up his toes or not putting his foot to the back of the gauge however the fitter had obviously put him at ease as he was cooperating without me having to use my ‘Mummy voice’.
Once Tigger was all measured we decided to get Roo’s feet measure before we headed off to see what shoes were available. It was interesting to see that my son has a narrow fitting whilst my daughter has a wide fitting. The fitter took the time to explain that only Clarks shoes come with different width fittings so if we chose a different brand for my daughter she may need to choose the next size up on her shoe size in order to accommodate her wider fitting – something I was not aware of and would have usually opted for a different style assuming that style was not suitable for her feet size/width.
The fitter gave each of the children a fitting leaflet and a card with their shoe size and width written on before we headed off to find some shoes.
I do have to confess to giving myself a mental high-five when both Roo and Tigger were already wearing the correct size shoes despite not having their feet measured since before Christmas.
Try on and walk
You know when you think that one of your children will be more difficult to buy for than the other. Well I have to hold my hands up and say that I thought that Tigger would be changing his mind over which shoes he wanted when in fact he selected two pairs off the shelf, the fitter popped the first pair on, made sure that they fitted before getting him to take a walk in them. He was so happy with the first pair that he wasn’t interested in trying on the other pair (easily pleased).
Roo on the other hand was a little more difficult only because of her width fitting as two of the size 12 shoes she tried were too tight across that part of the shoe so the fitter advised us to try a size 13. With one of the shoes not available in a size 13 she tried the summer sandals in the bigger size and they fitted beautifully and with a bit of growth room in the length they should hopefully last her throughout the summer.
Boo Roo and Tigger Too’s thoughts…
I was pleasantly surprised at just how easy it was to get my children’s feet measured (it is one of those things that can either go really well or so very wrong) and find the right pair of shoes for them (Roo is a fussy little diva!). The fitter was especially helpful and really took the time to interact with the children whilst passing on her knowledge to myself so that I could make an informed purchase as well as helpful tips on how to look after the children’s shoes.
With a wide range of shoes to choose from in each shoe size it is easy to find a pair of shoes within an individual budget. I have made the mistake before of opting for budget shoe stores for them only to be ill-fitting or not last past a few weeks.
One of the big things I like about Brantano is that the shoes are layout in sizes, so my children are able to see what is available in their size – no more disappointment of selecting a pair of shoes to find that they aren’t available within their size (cue meltdown).
Disclosure: We attended our local Brantano store and received two pairs of shoes FOC for the purpose of review.
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