Kids footwear help request

[Dallan]

We are struggling for footwear for my youngest son. I've been able to find an inexpensive pair of pirate boots but struggling with footwear for his kilt and other ren garb. Any ideas? Obviously I want to keep inexpensive since he'll out grow them in a season or two.

[Friar Rohn the Chronicler]

       First of all, how old is he? We are finding ourselves with the same problem on outfitting my 11 yr. old nephew for the next two seasons. What we may have to do is have him fitted to a pair of womans's boots (of course we would never tell him that). Most charts size them down "2 sizes" in comparison to men's boots.
      Here's a link to who we probably have decided to go through for his boots:

http://www.scaboots.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=SFNT

[Dallan]

He's 6. The pirate boots I bought were 12/13. My 11 year old is a big kid and we can get small men's sizes and we too have bought him ladies boots in the past. We didn't tell him they were ladies either.

[Lady Jai]

You mean flip flops or tennis shoes are not proper footwear.  Don't tell B.

[Dallan]

You mean flip flops or tennis shoes are not proper footwear.  Don't tell B.

LOL. The secret is save with me.

[Lady Neysa]

Don't know what styles you're interested in but if you look up "minnetonka moccasins" on ebay, they list a variety of styles and sizes of boots and mocs good for peasant wear for not a lot of coinage.

[LadyStitch]

Some of our locals like the Rennisance/ medival moccasins (Different people but same pattern, just one uses suede the other slof leather)  Their shoes run 40-60 bucks for kids depending on style.  What is nice is that because of the nature of the design they can be let out up to 2 shoe sizes with out it being an issue.  One of the clerks told me one year her husband grabbed hers not his, and had to wear them all weekend.  Due to the design he had to show more sock, but he could still wear them 4 sizes bigger that originaly designed.

On a side note: I tried to costume a friend of mine in pirate and the ONLY way we could find him boots was use ladies.  He wears a men's/ kids  size 5, ladies 7.   His biggest problem is finding shoes he likes that doesn't have spider man on them.

[Adriana Rose]

I would go with the Minnitonka moc's they are fairly good priced and they are comfy!

I have a pair for my little guy, granted he probably has maybe one more fair left in them( and that is this weekend) but they were only 18 bucks..

But they look good with a kilt and they look good with pirate stuff too.

[Friar Rohn the Chronicler]

He's 6. The pirate boots I bought were 12/13. My 11 year old is a big kid and we can get small men's sizes and we too have bought him ladies boots in the past. We didn't tell him they were ladies either.

        A 6 yr. old......hhhmmmmm..... check some of the girl's shoe departments (without him there) for high boots and take a pair of his sneakers for comparison. Make sure they're flat footed without heels. There isn't a great deal to choose from when it comes to kid's garb. Unless if you pick most of the stuff I've seen online which looks like a step below some cheezy Nylon Halloween costume.

        As for garb, if it wasn't for our family being fans of The Tudors, he would not want to dress noble class. But.......As long as he gets various peace tied weapons on his belt/baldric combination......he wouldn't care if we got him hot pink GoGo boots. All he cares about is the crossbow.

It's a Guy Thing.

Friar Rohn

[wildthingjew]

        A 6 yr. old......hhhmmmmm..... check some of the girl's shoe departments (without him there) for high boots and take a pair of his sneakers for comparison. Make sure they're flat footed without heels. There isn't a great deal to choose from when it comes to kid's garb. Unless if you pick most of the stuff I've seen online which looks like a step below some cheezy Nylon Halloween costume.

        As for garb, if it wasn't for our family being fans of The Tudors, he would not want to dress noble class. But.......As long as he gets various peace tied weapons on his belt/baldric combination......he wouldn't care if we got him hot pink GoGo boots. All he cares about is the crossbow.

It's a Guy Thing.

Friar Rohn

your response was absolutely hillarious!!! i love it!! that is great!!!

[gem]

I would take the son to Payless, Walmart, Kmart, etc, and go through the fall shoes.  You may be surprised by what mundane shoes can be workable.  If you can find, say, kids' "jungle mocs," they'll work for just about any garb (this link is to LL Bean, which is probably more than you'll want to spend, which is why I recommend trying the discount outlets first).

My primary concern would be for his comfort--a quality (or broken-in) mundane shoe will be better than one that looks more period but is murder on the feet.  A little kid should definitely not have his day at Fair ruined by uncomfortable shoes!

[isabelladangelo]

Sandals.   Leather strapped sandals will look fine and great for everyday summer use as well.

Also, maybe covered for shoes?   Just get an pair of super cheap shoes that fit and buy a bit of leather.  You can easily cover the modern shoes with the leather and some buttons...

[Lady Neysa]

I've even seen at Walmart these suede or suede-like moc type shoes that are basically bedroom slippers, and some have a fairly firm sole, for a slipper.  Not sure how small they come though.

[Lady L]

My daughter in law found some leather looking boots for my grandaughter (age 7) at walmart, for about $3.00, on clearance. She's going to wear them with her pirate garb. I think they were probably microsuede, but they look quite good and at that price, wow.

[Dallan]

That's why I love this place. Need help, just ask. I appreciate everyones comments.

[Elennare]

Have you tried a resale store (i.e. value village, salvation army, etc)?  It's very hit or miss, but I have found several pairs of (women's leather) boots to use for various costumes for under $5.  My fiance has found boots there as well, and that's also where he got the shoes for his Indiana Jones costume, as they often have a wide assortment of different types of shoes.

In fact, the only costume shoe need I have yet to be able to fill from the thrift store is Jedi boots.

[Dustin]

Have you tried a resale store (i.e. value village, salvation army, etc)?  It's very hit or miss, but I have found several pairs of (women's leather) boots to use for various costumes for under $5.  My fiance has found boots there as well, and that's also where he got the shoes for his Indiana Jones costume, as they often have a wide assortment of different types of shoes.

In fact, the only costume shoe need I have yet to be able to fill from the thrift store is Jedi boots.

Thrift stores are great for all kinds of stuff. I found my 3-year-old some moccasins for $1.38, a set of 4 matching tankards (2 bigger, 2 smaller) for $1.96, and a stein for $2.38.

[Gwenwhistle]

One more thought, if your faire is in a mild climate, just use sandals with a kilt; it's period enough and he may already have some.  My son wore leather ones one year and last year, he just used his climbing sandals that have rubber soles and are very comfortable.  I guess it would depend on whether you're going for full "Highland" dress or something more along the lines of Braveheart. 

just a thought

Cat

[daggrim]

I make good quality, affordable turnshoes.  I could do a kids pair for $45.  I'm not at home, so I can't post a picture, but my website is "http://leatherhelms.com" . 
Daggrim

[kiara93]

Hi Dallan,

It is difficult to find pirate boots for 6 years old boy. But if you want to buy it then you should visit here:

https://www.amazon.com
https://piratefashions.com
https://petitelapetite.com/blogs/news/toddler-shoes-online