We went to the Clarks shop in Bluewater, because first shoes should always come from Clarks! I didn't realise it was such a formal affair! We took our number, and had to wait for around 10 minutes, during this time Tom took great pleasure in trying to eat the shoes on the shelf, and took a liking to a pink pair of desert boots.
When it was our turn I held Tom on my lap whilst his feet were measured individually, he didn't really want to sit still as there were so many shoes left to eat, so I gave him the dribble of bottle we had in the pram which kept him just still enough! We found out that Tom is a 5.5 and that one foot is slightly wider than the other. The woman advised us that some children have to wear cruisers as they haven't worn shoes and they aren't used to them so they are too heavy to walk in, but they don't have those in Tom's size so he was going straight into shoes.
I did feel frustrated that the advice I had seen on the NHS website is that babies shouldn't wear any shoes at all until they have walked for around a month, but then I felt we were being told that we should have put him in cruising shoes. I still am not sure what the right answer is.
The sales assistant was really friendly and helpful and brought us a few styles to try, we started with the lightest shoe, which is called Softly Liam First Shoes priced at £32, and we were so happy with them so we didn't look at anymore! The shoe fitted well and after a few Forest Gump steps, he was off! The shoe is a navy, brogue shaped front with a small plane on the side. It looks like it will be versatile for smart/casual and should be hard wearing. It has an orange sole and some other orange details to break up the blue.
Clarks offer to take a photo and email it to you to document the moment, for free! I think that the touches like this and the superb service are why people go to Clarks. I am really happy with the service we received and even got a £10 online voucher for our next order, which is handy! They had a lovely selection and I am looking forward to choosing his next pair, I have a feeling it will be the blue desert boots as I was seriously swooning over them!
If I had any advice I would say to go at a quiet time such as early on a weekday as the children's section can get pretty manic, especially with pushchairs, which can't be helped but it is difficult to navigate. I also saw a sale last week with great prices but it was too busy to get him measured which was a shame. I will be first in queue for the next sale as the prices were fantastic! Clarks have a great first shoes service and I would really recommend them!
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