A Little Help- Girls Ballet Shoes

[dmogs]

Hey gals,

So Lexi really wants her first pair of ballet shoes for Christmas (in her class its optional, the girls mostly just dance barefoot but now she is asking for shoes). I am trying to figure out what size to buy her. She wear a size 9 or 10 in little girls (she is 4 years old) any ideas from Mom's of dancers? I am kinda clueless here LOL. Any help is soo appreciated!

~ Dani

[Jennifer]

Capezio makes good ballet shoes. They should stick pretty close to normal sizing, I think. I found some at Zappos that look like they would work:

http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722119490/page/1.html

It looks like they have the right sizing, too. I'm sure you can find them other places just as easily. HTH!

[Paula]

I second Capezio. They are pretty close to regular sizing. I would maybe buy one size larger for growth.

[kscwgirl]

We buy Abby's one size bigger. The way to test, when she has them on, you should get half a thumb width between her toe and the front of the shoe. Also, there is no right or left shoe, and it's better for them to mix them up, that way the shoes wear evenly. We buy Abby's shoes directly from her dance studio, and her studio has used shoes for really cheap.. you might check to see if yours has anything like that, or I can check here if you let me know what size you want to go with.

[Amber1279]

I don't have Ellie's in front of me right now, but hers are not measured by shoe size. She wears a size 9 and her ballet shoes say 11cm and they DO have a right and left. It is labeled inside the shoe.

[lauren grier]

yeh I was going to say the sizing is nothing like shoe sizing from what I know of ballet shoes.. maybe just that particular brand is *shrugs* you should be able to go into a dance store-- or maybe your dance studio can help and get her sized.

[lauren grier]

also.. because of the shape of ballet shoes etc.. you may end up needing a different size than you expect. I remember with ce we had like figured out his size with the peeps.. and he ended up needing a size that was like 2 sizes up. it was weird.

[kscwgirl]

Originally Posted by Amber1279

I don't have Ellie's in front of me right now, but hers are not measured by shoe size. She wears a size 9 and her ballet shoes say 11cm and they DO have a right and left. It is labeled inside the shoe.

That's interesting. Her dance studio said it's better for them to mix them up so that they wear evenly. Abby's are a size as well.. so must be a different kind.

[Paula]

Dani, are you talking about toe shoes or just soft ballet shoes? With the soft ones, size is similar to that of shoes. With toe shoes, it is different.

[newfiemountiewife]

I have always bought Bloch shoes for Amelia. Hers are the same size as her shoes, but I always take her to be fitted, because they come in different widths. She has short fat feet, and at age 5 wears a C width in ballet shoes. These are the soft shoes.

[Rose]

I hate to say this, but with how kids' feet grow, we buy ours at Payless. This year we bought a size bigger than her feet and they are doing great. She loves them and of course, every other girl in her dance class has the same slippers. We also get her tap shoes from Payless (BOGO). . . Jazz Shoes on the other hand were from Academy

[dmogs]

Wow! Thanks for all the info! I know I am just looking for little flat shoes- not pointe. Hmm I was hoping I could just wrap them up under the tree and have her be surprised... sounds like she may need to be involved though LOL. I will have to chat with her dance instructor- maybe I can have her sized on the sly... LOL!

Thanks again!

~ Dani