Twinkle Freaking Toes

Oh, so cute.

Lily's feet keep growing, and every time she spends the night at her dad's house it seems like the shoes she returns in are more impractical than the ones I sent her in. Normally, I wouldn't care. But she needs specific closed toe/heel shoes to wear for school. Not pink high heels with rhinestones, not sandals with socks. Of the 4 pairs of school shoes I bought her this past fall, two have disappeared at her dad's house, and one she claims is too tight. That leaves only one viable pair to wear for school. It's only a matter of time until that one disappears and I'm sending Lily to school in Tinkerbell dress-up shoes, frantically texting her dad to send back the ones she abandoned at his house. Oh, the joys of shared custody.

On Lily's 1st birthday, just after she learned to walk. Shopping for shoes was so much easier then!

So yesterday, while shopping sans offspring, I bought her some size 13 sneakers at Walmart. They look cute enough- there are colorful ribbon decorations and little hearts, and they seem like they would be comfy. Easy on, easy off. Fourteen bucks. Perfectly fine for an almost six year old without a job. Lily came home and discovered the new, practical shoes I'd bought from Walmart. First question? "Mom, do they light up?" No, they don't. Disappointed, she tries them on. She says they're too tight. Sure they are.

Perfectly cute, perfectly practical. Wildly unpopular.

How ironic that earlier in the day I was looking around at Kohls for something to buy with my store credit (an increasingly frustrating result of the Kohls cash that I earned at Christmas time- but that's a other story). I couldn't find anything for myself, so I thought I'd grab a pair of shoes for Lily, or maybe some navy uniform pants. I stumbled upon those adorable Sketchers Twinkle Toes sneakers- on sale for just $42.99. Sorry, but I'm just not that mom. Not yet, anyway. The scary part was that there were several pairs of kids shoes for $50 to $65. Hello? Really? I can barely stomach paying half that much for my own shoes, and my feet have stopped growing! I snapped a picture of the shoes and the brilliantly designed, beautifully merchandised shoebox (that says "I light up!") with the intent of blogging about them.

The merchandising isn't lost on me... I'll concede that they are super cute- but I just can't do it.

And so, the fight for fashion begins. Name brands and gimmicks, things that shouldn't matter to a kid but really do matter. I know this too well. It wasn't that long ago that I was BEGGING for clothes from Gotcha Covered in Mandeville- the go-to place for cool clothes in our small town. If only I could have a pair of Bass shoes, an ESPRIT outfit, a pair of Guess jeans- it would change my life! My mom was as practical as I am now- I got a pair of Bass style shoes, probably from the Sears or JCPenney catalog, but they weren't "real" Bass shoes. My Grandma was more willing to treat me to the name brand stuff, at least for special occasions- birthdays and Christmas. I have vivid memories of a $69 Guess mini-skirt she got me in 4th grade, and of a white knit ESPRIT outfit she bought for me in 3rd grade. That was about the extent of my name brand fashion luxuries. But how I longed to be one of those "it" girls at school- the girls that had a dozen pairs of color-coordinated socks from the Gap and ribbon barrettes to go with everything. Did any of this stuff matter in the long run? No, not really. But I think it did and does influence how a child is treated by its peers, and that helps to mold that child's conception of herself- for better or worse. In a perfect world, it wouldn't matter, but our world isn't perfect.

How many did you have?

Ads in Seventeen Magazine: surprisingly influential to a 9 year old.

Our schools have implemented uniforms to help level the playing field of labels, personality, and potential fashion hierarchies, but there is still room for personal expression in the student's choices of shoes, jackets, tights, and accessories. I'm sure that this is why Lily knows about Twinkle Toes sneakers; she learned about them from kids at school. My Lily is far from being a style-less kid; she is far from being deprived of anything she needs and most of what she doesn't. But, even though I know how much she would enjoy wearing those Twinkle Toes sneakers, as a matter of principle I just can't do it. Maybe for a special occasion? Maybe with her own saved up allowance? Maybe from her grandma? Oh, MeeMaw!!!

So, dear reader, I ask you, what do you think is reasonable to pay for a child's shoes and why? Don't tell me that they are more well made and that you get what you pay for. I'm well aware that all of this stuff is made in China, and that the shoes I have from Walmart will last just as long as the ones with the triple/quadruple price tag. And even if they did, what point is there to longevity if the shoes will be outgrown far before they are outworn? Am I being too practical for Lily's own good or am I simply being sensible?