Entries in Childrens Clothing (2)
Fancy Feet | Children's shoes
Friday, April 15, 2011 at 11:18PM Ugh. The Beast isn’t even 9 months old and he is already starting to stand on his own. That was fine, it was amusing, it kept the cats on their toes. Now though, he is doing this funky, twisty move....I don’t even want to say it ….I haven’t said it out loud. This is my confession, I can’t admit this to anyone else. My baby beast is starting to get the idea that he has the balance and the know-how to get on the move and start walking.
Sigh.
This means it is time for us to get serious about getting this kid some shoes!
Okay, so what I can muster up from the depths of the Internet is that there are several types of shoes. Pre-Walker, Early-Walker, and Walker. As a parent, where on earth do you start? I had no idea, and I need to get a clue because it is time to shop! Let’s break this down.
Pre-Walkers: These are the shoes that are soft all over, with no real structure to them, they are also referred to as “crib shoes”.
Periwinkle and Posies by Gracious May
Softsole Baby Leather Crib Shoes by Wild Cub
Port Red Soft Sole by Livie + Luca
Birch Happy Camping by Growing Up Wild
Early-Walkers: These shoes still have a flexible sole but added structure for those little feet that are just starting to explore the terrain.
Ferris Boardwalk by Livie + Luca
Blue Elephant by Livie + Luca
Ginger Brown Skate Shoes by Preschoolians
Joli Petal Baby Shoes by Zuzii
Pio Pio Pink by Livie + Luca
Tierra Violet by Livie + Luca
Walkers: These are just regular old, everyday shoes with a more rigid sole for kiddos that have gotten the hang of walking.
There are several options when it comes to baby shoes. So, so, sooo many options. The ones shown above are all handmade in the USA, and the Ferris by Livie and Luca are 100% vegan, while the red Livie and Luca soft soled shoes shown above are cut from scraps of leather that other wise would have been tossed into the trash. I had never heard of Livie and Luca until I started poking around the Internet for the Beast, but after some research they are a company well worth checking out and in my personal opinion, well worth supporting. They know how to do fun, fresh, and conscientious.
Additionally, when it comes to early walking shoes, there are not as many options when you compare them to pre-walkers, or walkers. Preschoolians offers the option to design your own. Nice.
What did we end up doing? We went a little differently than planned after looking at all of our options. Summer is coming up, it gets hot here and we toggle between the beach and inland and two pairs of shoes (sandals and close-toed shoes) just don't fit into our financial plan. SO! We went with these puppies.
The Jefferson by Native Shoes
We chose these because they are ridiculously light and adorable. If he gets sand or water in them, no big deal. He can wear them to the park and he won't kick wood chips into them; they wash off easy and they just seemed like the perfect shoe for our messy, beach-loving baby.