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Here we've collected a few interesting tips and info bites, which you may find useful when it comes to purchasing new shoes and getting a proper fit.

How Important is shoe fit for children?
5 Shoe Fitting Tips
Organise Your Shoe Collection
Looking After Workboots
Shoe Care
Dealing with the aftermath of high heels!
Foot Health Tips

 

How important is shoe fit for children?

When it comes to finding the right shoes for yourself or your child, it's important to take the time to know the facts, to ensure the right fit for every step.

Room to Grow

Did you know kids' feet continue to grow right up until their mid teens? During this growing phase, they'll need shoes that fit well. Why? Because ill-fitting hoes can affect natural growth, cause discomfort and even affect your child's walking development. With this in mind - look for shoes that are designed with growing room built in.

To ensure the front of the foot is comfortable, look for a shoe with a broad toe-box. Because no two feet are the same, Clarks school shoes have multiple width fittings for growing feet. Having the right width will help ensure shoes last the whole school year by leaving plenty of room to grow.

Comfort and Support

Children's feet not only need to breathe, they also need protecting. So look for shoes with leather uppers or other good quality, breathable materials.

The shoe needs to have laces, velcro or a buckle for maximum support and comfort. Shoes that just slip-on can cause the smaller muscles in your child's foot to strain and cramp while they try to grip inside the shoe with each step.

Stay rigid

Your child's foot doesn't just bend in the middle so nor should their shoes! Shoes must have a sole that doesn't twist or bend through the middle. A straight sole will cushion and protect the foot for the entire school day.

 

First Shoes

When choosing your child's first shoes, look for features such as padded collars for support, a flexible sole to aid walking development and, of course, room for grwoth built in.

The heel support needs to be a firm area around the back of the heel and under the ankle. This should not easily bend. This creates heel and ankle alignment, which is crucial to support developing joints in the knees, hips and lower back.

Kids Sports Shoes

As kids play sports, their feet and joints need to be supported properly. However, many children's trainers aren't  designed to cope with the unique needs of children's feet - they're little more than miniaturised versions of adult shoes. Look for Clarks sports shoes - they not only have authentic sports shoe features, they're specially made to support active children's feet.

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  Five Shoe Fitting Tips
  1. If you have wide feet, but the shoes you are after do not come in larger width fittings, you may want to try going up a size.
  2. To accommodate narrow feet, innersoles inserted into the shoe may help to create a snug fit.
  3. If you have different sized feet (it is very uncommon for someone to have exactly the same sized feet) be sure to buy shoes that fit the larger foot!
  4. Many of the shoes at findmyshoes are able to accommodate orthotics, look at the product information & attributes to check if a particular style suits orthotics.
  5. If you find your shoes press on the ankle bone, look for styles with a lower cut topline (the area around the top of the shoe). If you're buying lace ups, a heel pad may help, it heightens the foot so that your ankle bone is clear. Heel pads can be purchased from most podiatry clinics and supermarkets.

Not sure what size to buy? Take a look at our Size Chart

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 Organising and storing your shoes

Whilst most of us love to shop for shoes, shopping for shoe storage organisers is not quite as much fun. The options are endless and there's nothing worse than having forked out for a gorgeous shoe rack and then realise it only holds a third of your shoe collection. Soon you end up with a bewildering assortment of shoe storage units in every room of the house.

Step 1. Collate all your shoes in the middle of the room .

Step 2. Divide them into "shoes you wear every day" and "special occasion" shoes. Then sort by colour or style within each group. Further sort each group by season.

Step 3. Eliminate duplicates, shoes that don't fit and ones that are past their use-by date.

Step 4. If you've got 12 pairs or less, try looking for a shoe rack or cabinet. Over 12 shoes, you can't go past clear shoe boxes for their versatility and stackability. You can just keep adding and stacking boxes as you increase your shoe collection.

Step 5. The best clear shoe boxes have a slide-out drawer which makes getting your shoes in and out much easier than the ones with envelope openings. Try www.benjibox.com.au to order online.


Step 6. Assemble the boxes in your wardrobe or on shelves in a shoe closet. Place the current season's daily favourites front and centre. Out-of-season and special occasion shoes can go higher up or lower down. Help your shoes keep in shape by stuffing with tissue paper (or inflatable inserts for boots).

Step 7. Repeat next season!

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Make your workboots last longer
Even though the purpose of purchasing workboots is for them to kick them around and get them dirty, a little care will ensure you get maximum wear and longevity from them.
Make sure you clean your workboots with a damp cloth after every wear and apply a renovating polish of the correct colour. Wipe off the excess and allow to dry.
If your boots are exposed to strong acids, wash boots to remove the chemical, then allow them to dry slowly in a warm, well ventilated area. Do not force dry them (ie. no hairdryers!).
For suede or nubuck boots, these are best cleaned with a stiff brush and left to dry naturally.
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Shoe Care Tips
Waterproofing: Shoes and boots should be waterproofed before weraing them to eliminate water damage.
Suede: Use a soft brush with similar coloured bristles to remove surface dirt. Be careful when brushing suede as it can be easily damaged.
Leather: Clean leather shoes with a soft cloth to remove surface dirt, before polishing.
Soles: Getting rubber soles fitted to your shoes can reduce your chances of slipping in the wet and also ensures the sole stays in good condition, giving extra milage to each pair.
Heels: To avoid further damage of shabby looking heels (leather/material is beginning to strip or the heel cap has worn through) you can easilyget them re-heeled. Any shoe repair place can do this for you, but for cheaper prices, take a look to the forums on Vogue's website!

 Storage: Ensure that shoes are fully dry before storing them in your wardrobe or boxes. Keep shoes out of direct heat or sunlight when not being worn. If you can find them, buy ventilated storage boxes.
Wet shoes: Never dry your leather/suede shoes with any form of heat (no hair dryers people!). Instead, stuff them with newspaper or something similar to absorb the moisture from the inside and stand your shoes where the air can circulate freely.
Condition: To prevent cracking of leather and suede due to climate change, ensure you condition and polish your shoes regularly.
Shape: To ensure shoes keep their shape, use shoe trees or stuff them with tissue paper to help maintain their shape whilst they are not being worn. For boots, if you haven't come across the blow up inserts you can put inside knee-high boots then you need to seek them out! I found them at Howard's Storage - they're my latest favourite invention.
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  Dealing with Sky High Heels!
High Heels. We LOVE to LOVE them, but we also LOVE to HATE them. If like me, you just can't help yourself and wear them regularly, make time to do some regular calf stretches. They're quick, easy and your feet will thank you!

  • Stand about half a metre away from a wall and place one foot in front of the other.
  • With knees straight and hands on the wall at shoulder height, lean into the wall and hold for 30 seconds.
  • You should feel the stretch in your back calf.
  • Repeat on the other leg.
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Foot Health Tips...
Socks: If you're wearing socks, make sure they're the right size and made of natural materials. Feet need to breathe and socks that are too tight can squeeze feet into an unnatural shape, causing permanent damage. Socks that are too loose can bunch up causing blisters and corns.
Blisters: Can form when skin layers separate and fill with fluid. The right fitting shoes can stop the rubbing that causes blisters.
Bunions: Are a painful inflammation of the big toe joint, that can enlare and displace the toe. Ensure your shoes fit correctly, and ease up on the high heels now and then.
Athlete's Foot: Is a fungal infection that can be encouraged by hot and sweaty feet. To avoid athlete's foot, choose shoes made of materials that let your child's feet breathe properly.
Corns: Are a concentration of hard skin often caused by pressure from poorly fitting shoes.
In-growing toenails: Can occur when the big toe is pressed into the second toe. With a well fitting shoe, in-grown nails are much less likely.
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Foot Fact:  Hiding shoes in a house that is being built is meant to ward off evil spirits.
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