Last night DanO and I had a date night. It started, as all good date nights should, at Target . We went to make a quick exchange (the red fitted sheet I had bought for OBaby’s bed was totally the wrong shade of red. My life is so awesome.) which turned into me wandering the baby section, the homewares section, and the bedding section with husband in tow (no, you can’t have him, he’s mine).
Between the baby section and the bedding, I saw them.
The toddler size 5, red Allstar Converse shoes on clearance for $12.
Just yesterday I was talking with my friend about toddler shoes and how to do them, given that our boys both seem to be in a new size every other (well, in OBaby’s case, every third) month. There’s a chain of great used children’s stores in the Twin Cities – and they are a great source for everything, especially for little ones who grow out before they use up. That’s where she has gotten most of her boy’s shoes.
There are Robeez (of which we own a pair, they were absolutely awesome in the early walking days), and all sorts of other approaches to pre and new walker shoes (Italian leather, anyone?). I wanted to share what we have done for OBaby’s shoes.
At pretty much any point since he started standing (9ish months), we have owned no more than 2 pairs of shoes for him. We had some Old Navy sandals for the summer which he actually did wear into the ground before he grew out of them because of all the outside walking we did. The Robeez were his ‘indoor shoes’ from around 12mo when he started walking until he wore those into the ground at 16 months (we might have let him wear them outside too often. Lesson learned for next time.)
And then, for his 1st birthday Dan’s youngest sister, OBaby’s super trend-conscious teenage auntie, got him the coolest, cutest, smallest pair of Converse shoes I have ever.seen. They had two tongues and were electric blue on the inside.
(Everyone should have a cool auntie Sarah.)
Those size 3s were on his feet everyday from his birthday until we couldn’t fit them on his tootsies anymore – mid October. But I could not, would not, part with Converse as his primary (read: only) shoes. They were sturdy but not clunky, basic but insanely cute on a toddler, easy enough to get on with laces long enough to double knot, and we had zero problems with them falling off (I think because the laces actually run down a good length of the shoe, unlike most miniature shoes).
So we bought another pair in the next size. We found them online for $15 with shipping.
Now, $15 might be twice as much as you spend on toddler shoes, or, believe me, it could be dozens of dollars less than you spend (some of the nicer brands are $30-$40). We now have some boots for OBaby out of seasonal necessity, but his Converses still get very heavy use. Second pair in, we are absolutely committed. I love that they are durable enough to be his one and only pair of shoes for a 3 month stretch and still have enough life in them to be stored away for the next kiddo (and frankly, depending on the pattern, they can be very gender neutral).
I say, for $15, that’s a steal.
His size 4 pair has started to feel tight these last few weeks, so when I saw the red pair last night I was pretty much over the moon.
Why re-invent the wheel? Especially when the wheel is so dang adorable on your kid?
Now I am itching for a Target run!! $15 is cheap when you use them for two kiddos! and if you think one runs them into the ground, just wait until 2! by the time we are done with shoes, they are rags.
I absolutely love baby cons. Also, funny story: Lucy’s younger than OBaby but her shoe size is 6. Baby sizes are such a gong show!
i love buying shoes for my little guy. my mom has always told me to buy “good” shoes for their little feet so they don’t run in to feet problems down the road…so with the advise of my mother, i splurge and go for the cute little adidas velcros. granted, they are more expensive, but i purchase when they are on sale and i have a coupon to use. i too love the second hand store for ‘play’ shoes or for the dressy pair that gets worn to church…btw, i do love the litte red cons!
converse are great!! really durable, and easy for them to walk in. My little guy had a pair of black ones. Super cute! They were also a gift from a super cool Auntie, 8 years ago, my son is the 4th kid to wear them, they went through 3 of his cousins first, and they still look great! Granted they were tiny, and I think only two of the kids ever walked in them…
With having twins and the need for two of everything…buying shoes is my least favorite! They are just so dang expensive! We too, however, found two pairs (different colors and I love it) of the same size (because they do have the same size foot thankfully, even though my twin nieces did not) Converse’s from Target as well in the fall and that is the shoe they wear most often as well! Like you said, sturdy, not clunky, and they NEVER fall off! My son has a pair as well and we love love love them. I’m a total Converse junky now!
So darn adorable! I wish my little guy could figure these out! We tried but the flat sole made him trip all the time. So, for now we pay the $40 for Saucony gym shoes that last about three months. Sigh…at least he wears them all the time!
I have adored Converse All Stars since the day we had a boy! I love the high tops — so cute seeing those little chunky legs above them!
O MY ADORABLE! I love Target and I love Converse! You made a good decision. They are too cute for words and the price was definitely right.
good to know that converse are a win. I’m always looking for recommendations, seems hard to find good toddler shoes for boys. Our favorites so far have been Keen and Stride rite. We got the Keen’s on craigslist for $3 – looked brand new! And the Stride rite’s at the outlet for $17. I love me a bargain!!
cayden had his first pair of black ones this past summer. he’s pretty much outgrown them, and thankfully his aunt jenny got his this great pair of hightops from baby gap for christmas… so those are our norms for now. but no worries, we’re heading back to the chuck taylors when these get too small (or the season changes; whichever happens first)! the red though? i die. too cute!
I <3 converse too. I got a pair for d2 at the fred meyer on clearance. For $10!
Cant go wrong with that price when they out grow them soo fast. d2's shoe life span is 3 months as well.
Hmm…I feel totally the opposite about converse- although adorable, these did not last AT ALL with my toddler. After 1 month they looked so bad we threw them away- they were falling apart at the seams! I was so surprised- and they were the real ones from Gap, black with cute little velcro closures. Sigh. They were so cute though, that it was worth the purchase- I think I got them for $8.00 or something. ALSO, my kid has really chubby feet and couldn’t wear them until he was about 16 months old…they’re made for the narrow footed child. :) All of yours are adorable!
It is so smart to buy good quality shoes. Our orthopedist says that most people’s problems with their feet and knees can be attributed to poor quality shoes as a child. He says NEVER put your kids in payless or walmart shoes or you are pretty much guaranteeing foot problems later on. Converse were one of the high quality, lower cost brands he really recommended (especially the high tops because the ankle support keeps your feet from learning bad placement habits.).
So you can feel really good about your smoking deal on a great pair of shoes!
I love little Converse shoes. I haven’t gotten any for the boys since their teeny tiny size 1’s from back inthe day. Once we grew out of the Robeez we went right into Stride Rite’s and haven’t looked back. These kids of mine have more expensive shoes than I do (Thank you Grandma Debby!).
SUPER CUTE!!! I was so happy when our daughter rec’d a pair of converse looking Granimal Pink High Top that velcro for her bday…I will be sad when she out grows them. We had hand me down Robeez from a friend and LOVED THEM! I Adore Target and am still sad we don’t have one in our town.
We love converse high tops and both my son and daughter have worn thiers ragged.
i shelled out some serious dough for my converse, but oh boy…i love them so much it hurts. but you know what hurts even more? the cute that OBaby will be when we see a pic of that boy.
Sarah-Anne
i so bought my daughter those same shoes from target, but in the most beautiful shade of purple. i wish i could get away with wearing them!
Great shoe find! Now heading to Target to try and score a pair for my little guy too!
So cute! I found some green converses for like $5 at a JBF sale last summer, and can’t wait until my son’s feet are big enough to wear them! :)