Sneakers for 3 y.o

[OakBerry]

I am having the hardest time finding sneakers for my 3 y.o ds. I don't want to spend a fortune, but I want decent quality. All the ones I've seen in my price range are either character sneakers (I hate them!) or just plain ugly looking. Is it too much to ask?

[1growingsprout]

kids shoes

i dont know what part of the country you are in however KOHLS and MERVYNS have great sales on the weekend and they have 'normal' kids shoes at reasonable prices (around 20$) also i love stride rite outlet, just like the store, same great service just much cheaper... sometimes target is okey i think they have spalding now.

[hottmama]

I find tons of shoes on sale at babygap for $10 or less. Check their website if you don't have one nearby. Old Navy has cute, cheap sneakers, but the soles are usually too hard for my liking.

[MindfulBirth]

Have you looked on eBay? I just got my 3.5 yr old some leather Keds for $4.00 (New) and my 18 mo old some GAP canvas maryjanes for $10 (also new).

I love eBay. I get all the kids clothes there. Let someone else pay full price for brand new Gymboree, GAP or Tommy. I'll take their second hand stuff, since my kids grow to fast and have too much fun (read: messy) to pay too much. (Shoes I only buy new though)

[4evermom]

Have you looked on Zappo? Free shipping and free return shipping, so you can't go wrong. I've also had good luck at discount stores like Marshall's.
http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/7220418.../1/page/1.html

[TiredX2]

I really require flexible shoes (at that age, you should *still* be able to bend the sole of the shoe using just your thumb and one other finger). Converse ALl Stars are pretty flexible and not too much, BUT they tie (we did them once and never will again).

Sometimes Sears has good shoes on clearance. For the warmer months DS (4.5) just wears Robeez a lot of the time.

[OakBerry]

Thanks all. I found a pair of Vans at Kohl's!
Of course, now ds says they are too tight. He is very particular about shoes and how they feel. Thanks for the tip about the Stride Rite outlet. We have one within 30 minutes, I just forgot about it..

[luvmy2boys]

I love the shoes by Lands End. They are pretty affordable ($20-$25) and very durable. Sears carries a limited selection of their shoes...I've gone there a couple of times to size DS5 and then ordered the particular color/whatever that I liked online. Now I'm pretty confident in measuring his feet, so I can just order straight from their website. They also have an "overstocks" section on their website where you can sometimes get good deals.

We bought DS5's shoes new when he started preschool last August. I couldn't quite make them last until the end of the schoolyear (he wears sandals most of the summer) because one of the elastic laces broke (I could have probably fixed it, but they were getting pretty worn, anyway). I know the cheapie Target shoes I used to buy for him would have worn out long before now.