By Elizabeth
{photo credit: zappos.com}
The first shoes my son Eli ever owned were a pair of Stride Rite sandals. We took him to get sized at Nordstrom and they seemed to fit him the best of all the pairs he tried on. They were nothing too exciting to look at, but they wore like iron and they were the shoes he learned to walk in.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
I think these Keds were his second pair of shoes, and I really liked them. Something about the construction makes the laces not too annoying to do up (you don't have to really loosen the laces and open the shoe up to get it on a kids foot) and they look better and better as they get that summer/wash fade.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
When winter came along I bought a pair of See Kai Run oxfords because let's face it, how adorable are these shoes? Unfortunately, even though we got a lot of compliments on them, I was not impressed with how well they held up. don't think I'd buy these shoes again, because for the price I really want at least two kids to be able to wear them.
{photo credit: payless.com}
One of Eli's little buddies has the cutest Airwalks -- turns out you can buy them at Payless! However when I looked, they didn't have any as cute as Jack's so I have yet to try them out.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
This summer Eli wore these Keen sandals -- again, lots of compliments, but I was not impressed. They made his feet smell terrible! Worse though, the Velcro wore out so quickly the shoes are pretty much useless until I get around to replacing it. I wouldn't buy these again.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
I grew up in Oregon where kids are practically issued a pair of Salt Water Sandals at birth. So of course Eli had a to have a pair. He really loved them, but they seemed hard to walk in, maybe because they are so very flat? My husband is also convinced they're girls shoes, for what it's worth. I'm still going to put every kid we have in them every summer.
{photo credit: dmusastore.com}
Eli is slowly growing into this pair of Doc Marten boots -- the smallest size they make is still pretty big for him. However, I can't wait for them to fit because I think they're the coolest kids shoes EVER. The color alone is worth the price. And if you ask him to get a pair of shoes, he will pull these out first EVERY SINGLE TIME.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
I bought these Hush Puppies bucks for Eli to wear to a wedding (he was the ring bearer) and they were just as darn adorable as I thought they'd be. can't really attest to the sturdiness since he wore them once, but regardless, I'm a fan.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
Every kid needs a pair of cons, right? These are adorable, but I wish they had Velcro fasteners. Call me lazy but lacing these up all the time has gotten really old.
{photo credit: hannaandersson.com}
Eli got a pair of these Hanna Andersson slippers for Christmas last year, and he can't stand them, cute as they are. They look comfy and they're certainly adorable, so I have no idea what his deal is, but he's not a fan.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
These rain boots though? Best purchase ever. Whenever it rains we throw on our rain boots and head out to slosh through puddles. Three cheers for anything that means we can leave the house on a bad weather day.
{photo credit: zappos.com}
I bought Eli his fall/winter shoes just last week -- after all the sampling we've done -- it's official, we're a Stride Rite family. They're not quite as fun as some of the hipstery oxfords out there, but they wear like iron, they don't smell funny, they're easy to walk in and the Velcro keeps going for the life of the shoe. Sold!
*(Hmmm. I'm starting to understand why I haven't gotten a new pair of shoes in a year.)
