Hi,

I'm trying to find relatively sophisticated flower girl/bridesmaid
shoes for a twelve year old girl. I've only been able to find slipper
styles and young-looking mary Janes, neither of which would be
appropriate for her. White crepe or satin is prefferable, and no
patent leather please.  The heel should be at least one-inch high and
not over two and a half inches high.

 I need a size 3 in a style that runs slightly wide (I know Nine West
kids and Kenneth Cole kids fit her well, and Colorifics run too
narrow). Any suggestions on who carries shoes to these specifications?
I'll need a few style suggestions to run by her.
Thank you for your help!

-Patricia

Hi,

It's been driving me crazy that I couldn't answer your question last
night, since I was also in a wedding at that age.  I recall that we
had a similar shoe problem, which we solved by using dyable shoes. 
These shoes usually come in both crepe and white satin and are
available in a variety of styles.  Pickings are indeed slim for the
smallest sizes, but there are some out there.  It's a shame that she's
not a size 4, since that seems to be where most of the "small sizes"
for women start.

You didn't specify whether you wanted closed- or open-toe shoes, so I
found some of both:

http://www.discountweddingshoes.com/showroom.asp?id=823&catgroup=&cat_id=106
is a closed-toe semi-flat.  It does only have a 1/2 inch heel, but
it's not a slipper type, and certainly not a children-only style.

http://www.discountweddingshoes.com/showroom.asp?id=826&catgroup=&cat_id=106
is a more sophisticated sandal type.

http://www.discountbridalshoes.com/showroom.asp?id=452&catgroup=&cat_id=48
has a different sandal style.

http://www.discountweddingshoes.com/showroom.asp?id=821&catgroup=&cat_id=106
is an open shoe with a closed toe - it verges on the Mary Jane style,
but is more adult looking.

http://www.coloriffics.com/html_child/3938bg.html is similar to the
above, but with embroidery on the toe.

The flower girl section on the Coloriffics website is located at
http://www.coloriffics.com/html_category/girl1.html and while some of
them are less mature, there are a couple of styles that are grownup
looking.

You can also look at -
http://4.22.201.193/store/prodpage.cfm?CFID=119573&CFTOKEN=28823378&CategoryID=17

I hope this has been of some help to you.  Have a lovely time at the
wedding!

Search strategy used:

"flower (girl OR girls)" shoes
(dyeable OR dyeables) kids

(note that putting an either/or choice in parentheses can keep you
from running twice as many searches, and may be used within quotation
marks so that you get the exact phrase you're seeking)

---

Request for Answer Clarification by juliadx-ga on 19 Jun 2002 17:09 PDT

To: austin_trill-ga

Just wanted to thank you first for working on my inquiry and for
offering such great possibilities. The problem is, I know she (the
flower girl in question) has had trouble fitting into Colorifics (they
run too narrow - see original inquiry) and the other options you
suggested only come in width B.
I have sent an e-mail to Discount Wedding Shoes, to see if other
widths might be available, or other alternatives in larger widths.
It's a very hard question to solve - I've searched all over NY and the
web and haven't found children's wides in anything but ballet shoes. I
just don't want her feet to be in pain all day, yet she really doesn't
want to look like a toddler...
  Thank you for your ideas - I hope Discount Wedding Shoes can help.

---

Clarification of Answer by austin_trill-ga on 19 Jun 2002 19:49 PDT

I am so sorry, I misread and thought that you had said Coloriffics fit
well!  I humbly apologize and offer some more links to shoes that come
in wider widths.  Following knowledge_seeker's tip, I've found some
nice looking dance shoes that are available in wide widths here:

http://www.dancesport.uk.com/shoes/index.htm , under Children shoes on
the left frame:

Supadance - style #1007 comes in white satin, wide width, and 1.5 inch
heel.  Her size 3 American foot would be a size 2.5 English foot. (see
size chart at http://www.dancesport.uk.com/shoes/conchart.htm ,
although I would probably email them for clarification since I've seen
that English sizes are either .5 or 1.5 sizes smaller than American)

International - Melissa T-bar has the same optiions

They are prepared to ship internationally and have a secure ordering
process.

Also, Saugus sells some childrens'shoes in sizes 12-4. :
http://www.saugusshoe.com/product.html?style=138&page=14 .
http://www.saugusshoe.com/product.html?style=135&page=14
http://www.saugusshoe.com/product.html?style=141&page=14 
http://www.saugusshoe.com/product.html?style=142&page=14
http://www.saugusshoe.com/product.html?style=143&page=14
(clear shoes seem to be all the rage this wedding season)

I see from your request for clarification that you're in New York
(City?).  A listing of stores in New York that carry Saugus can be
found by searching at http://www.saugusshoe.com/locator.html .  You
can call a local store and ask them to special order you a pair if
they don't have it in stock, and then go in to try it on.

Search strategy used:

"size 3" wide "satin OR crepe" heel
ballroom shoes satin wide childrens

Please do not hesitate to ask for further clarification if needed!

Thanks, and have a great day.

depends on where u are located... do want a store in ur city and area
or only online.. if u tell ur location it'd be helpful =)

mean while u can use these links to find what u want inside shoe stores.. 

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=shoe+store
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=wedding+shoes
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=kids+traditional+shoes

i would of researched & given u an answer but I am not a researcher so good luck =)

Hi!

I'm no style-maven so I just have a comment rather than an answer.
Something that worked for me once was Tap Shoes. No. Don't laugh!
Really. They look nice, sophisticated, and are actually really
comfortable. And, yes, you can buy them without the taps.

Here's a link to the Capezio website (they are the big name). I don't
think this link will take you right to the shoes I'm looking at, so
follow the footwear links to the Jr. Footlight 560.

http://www.capeziodance.com/catalog.html

Good Luck -  -K~

davidsbridal.com or try payless, i got my neices'shoes there

It seems as difficult to find small womens' shoes as it is to find
large ones.  There is a website called SmallShoes located at
http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/Stage/8900/ that has some
places to try for shoes smaller than size 5.

Thank to everyone for your suggestions - I really do appreciate them
all. The trickiest part of my inquiry is not just so much finding an
older looking dress shoe in a small size (children's size 3), but the
width - she has a wide foot.

Most styles for kids only offer a standard width of B (medium) and
they tend to be too tight for her in the toe box.  If anyone can
suggest a manufacturer that not only carries small sizes in more
sophisticated dress styles, but also tends to run wide, that would
really help a ton. Or, a site that offers older looking styles in  3
wides (C width). Again, thank you all for your ideas!