What is the best school shoe brand?
We all know how stressful it can be to get the kids ready for school after the holidays. We also know that back to school shoes are one of the most important things to get right, so that you can help ensure the healthy development of younger feet. To make things a little easier for you, we're going to answer a question we get asked a lot by parents and guardians: “What’s the difference between Start Rite and Clarks?”. Read our little guide below to find out about the differences and why we stock Start Rite!
Are Start Rite and Clarks sizes the same?
If you’ve visited a Clarks shop before coming to us, you may wonder why we ask to remeasure your child’s feet. This is because the two brands fit completely differently, with there being around a half size difference in the measuring between them. This doesn’t mean one is incorrect, however - the size difference is all down to how the growth room is calculated as both brands allow a small amount of room at the toe so children's feet aren’t compromised during growth.
Are Start-Rite shoes bigger than Clarks?
As mentioned above, there is around half a size difference between the two brands. On average, Clarks actually come up half a size bigger than Start Rite when measured and fitted. Of course the measure is just a guide, so don’t be alarmed if your child ends up in a slightly bigger or slightly smaller size once fitted.
Are Clarks and Start-Rite widths the same?
The widths between the two brands doesn’t seem to change an awful lot. If there is a difference in width, it’s quite often down to the style of shoe rather than the difference in brand. For more information on what to look for when checking the width, check out our previous blog posts.
Why choose Start Rite?
One of the reasons we love Start Rite school shoes is their use of full dye-through leather (excepting the vegan school shoes ranges), so if any scuffs happen whilst running around in school, you won’t see the greyish/white marks which you may get with other brands.
Specialising exclusively in children’s shoes mean that their only focus is making their shoes perfect for your children’s feet. The multiple styles, size (including half sizes and width fittings (D, E, F, G, H, M, W) means that we can (almost) always find a great fit, helping safeguard the healthy development of your child's feet.
They're built to last (or until the next size is needed, of course) so from brogues to t-bars and lace ups to rip tape styles, you can be assured of fantastic quality and style every time!
Check out our full range of startrite school shoes and remember, if you need any help or advice about back to school shoes, our trained staff are ready to answer your questions both in store and online! Let us do all the hard work for you and come visit us for your back to school shoes in Llandudno and get them professionally fitted by one of our trained Start Rite fitters.
