by Elizabeth
So, I have a little confession to make. I've been sort of slacking on shoe buying for my 5 year old for some time now. I mean, he has shoes, but mostly they've been Target specials with a few impulse Stride Rite purchases thrown in when I see a good sale.
I think I mostly just have PTSD from the last time I dragged him into a shoe store and made him try on shoes (there was an honest-to-god floor tantrum), but he's starting Kindergarten in a few weeks, and I've been meaning to buy him some "cool" shoes for school for awhile, and then while paging through the Nordstrom half yearly catalog last month, I noticed some really good deal on sneakers for little boys. I bought him this pair and this pair, and because Nordstrom has free shipping AND free returns, I felt ok guessing at the sizing. However, once they arrived, even after I made him put them on and walk around in them, I had NO idea if they fit him or not. I kept trying to feel where his toes were in the shoe, which was fairly useless, and then I tried asking him "Do they feel good?" over and over again, which was even more useless.
HOWEVER. I eventually noticed a little tag attached to one of the pairs announcing something about an insole, and that is when I realized that both of these pairs come equipped with the MOST GENIUS THING EVER. There's an insole inside the shoe that slips out, and your child simply puts his or her foot on top of the insole. Printed right on it are the boundary outlines for "too small," "just right," and "too big." !!!
Adidas calls this "AdiFit" and Puma calls it "Kinderfit." I have no idea how to tell what other shoes come with something like this, and googling didn't reveal a lot of results, but I'm willing to stick with either one of these brands as long as I have a child who answers "Mom! Leave me alone!" when I ask him if his new shoes fit.
Seriously. BEST IDEA EVER.
{Photo credit: nordstrom.com}
Oh! Stride Rites have these too!
Posted by: K | September 04, 2012 at 01:06 PM