When I was a child I remember being dragged shoe shopping and it was always to Clarks. Back then Clarks didn’t do pointy shoes like I wanted. They didn’t really do colourful shoes like I wanted either and they definitely didn’t do shoes with heels like I was desperate for. Clarks did shoes my Mum called sensible… And I’ve never been a ‘sensible’ lover…

There was one pair I liked but only one and I still remember the shock I felt when I was allowed to have them. For school! They were white with a magic key embedded into the sole of the heel and they were called Princess Shoes. For me, that was my only good memory of Clarks!

The rest of my Clarks memories are all hazed into browns, fumpies, sensibles and definitely NOT shoes I could get excited about. I suppose the experience has tainted my views somewhat over the years and it’s not been Clarks I have automatically turned to when looking for shoes for my children. I’m not saying I want them in heels and sparkles, far from it, but I never found happy compromises in Clarks when I was little with my Mum and I think it’s important that the children like their shoes as well as the parents! (I know from experience that hating your shoes is rubbish!)

Florence has had Clarks boots in the past but only because I saw them on a sale stand for £10 and bought them hopefully for the following year. My bet paid off as they were the perfect size the next winter and she loved them. They were brown but they were very cute with owls on the side and she wore them for ages. Funnily enough she was given the exact same pair of boots as a hand me down from a friend for this year too and was very pleased to get them again!

Even though I liked those boots it somehow didn’t log in my brain that things have changed at Clarks and when buying again in the non sale it wasn’t Clarks I turned to. This year we bought Florence some boots from Startrite. I felt Florence needed a new pair as well as the hand me down ones from my friend then she could wear the new ones for best and the old owl ones like her previous pair for playing in. But… She has had the Startrite boots for only two months and they are ruined. She hasn’t worn them excessively but they are, compared to the Clarks ones, a very bad design! The Clarks ones have a rubber toe which means that even though they are old, they have been worn thoroughly by my friend’s child for months on end and now by Florence, they still look pretty good. Florence’s relatively new Startrite ones look battered and super scruffy. She definitely can’t wear them for best!

Two month old Startrite boots on the left = Battered! Hand me down, thoroughly well worn Clarks boots on the right = Still looking good enough to wear!

This fact of the durability got me thinking about Clarks and when I was invited to their press Spring/Summer preview I thought why not? I love the brown owl boots, I bought them myself for Florence’s first pair of Boots after all! In the sale and lucky they may have been but I still chose them because I liked them and when we were given the hand me down pair I was very grateful. Perhaps my views on Clarks were a bit skewed and old fashioned… Perhaps they are now far more pretty and pleasing to the eye as well as being quite sensible and durable?!

Actually I loved the press preview and thought the shoes were fabulous. I might even be getting a pair to review for myself and I’ve seen them, I absolutely WOULD wear them, so it really wasn’t just the children’s shoes I liked. The children’s shoes are now modern and fashionable in a retro chic way and I found loads of pairs I would buy for the children as well as even my husband. I was very impressed, take a look here.

So… When the Clarks team asked would I like to review an in store experience and buy a pair of shoes for Florence from their party range, the answer was a definite yes please! I know that Clarks do indeed make party shoes little girls would want these days so why not? They might not have done in 1985 but they do now and Florence was spoiled for choice! In fact, Florence liked a pair of pixie boots in Clarks that I absolutely would never allow her to have because they were too shiny and sparkly with diamontes – not what I want her to be wearing. I suppose they cater for every demographic and I suppose I might be turning into my Mum!

I love that Florence can have pretty shoes where I couldn’t but I still want them to be traditional and designed for a little girl. She has plenty of time to grow up and wear sparkles and shiny zing! Flashing lights in the heel I don’t mind but I don’t want her looking like a tween! Thankfully all of the rest of the collection was to my taste and Florence narrowed her choices down to two pairs of patent Mary Jane shoes. One pink pair and one black, both with flashing lights in the heels. I know some are not fond of the flashing lights but I don’t mind them, find them unobtrusive and actually I barely notice. The black pair Florence chose even have an on/off switch.

While we were waiting, we were a little early for our appointment, I perused the boys shoes and loved them too! I hadn’t seen this collection before and I was impressed that they had such funky boots for boys, usually boys are not very well catered for and the choice is extremely limited. At first I thought that was the case here and then I noticed a whole wall with loads of boys shoes choices! I decided to get Jimmy a pair too. I’d fallen in love with a little pair of desert boots so we needed to get him measured too!

Despite being early and the shop being very busy we were assigned our sales assistant Syed who promptly got to measuring the children’s feet. We had already chosen the shoes we liked so it was just a case of finding out which size!

Florence enjoyed going on the machine which digitally detects your child’s foot size but actually Syed decided he would hand measure as well just to confirm!

Jimmy’s turn for being measured and trying on shoes came next and he was very good, sitting still and letting Syed do his job!

Jimmy too currently wears Startrite shoes but actually I really don’t like them. I would never have chosen them if I’d had much of a choice but when I went to the Startrite shop these were pretty much all he could have for his size… Rubbish. The little desert boots in Clarks with the bright orange laces are so much more fashionable and far more to my liking!

Jimmy ran riot in the shop if I’m honest, he pulled shoes off shelves and ran around like a loonatic! Not one eye was batted and the sales assistants just picked the shoes up and put them back on the shelves. They were very kind and seemed to just understand that shoe shopping with two little ones is very difficult. They cleared up the shoes as the children (all of them, not just Jimmy) dismantled displays and they smiled at the parents as they did so to let us know it was ok and not to worry. We were seen quickly and the measuring and shoe trying on was very quick – just what you need with children!

Syed felt the toes and straps and decided that the pink pair just weren’t right for Florence in the width fitting they had in stock. He explained to Florence that he would order them and have them delivered to our home free of charge if she liked them best but Florence just didn’t want to leave the shop without a new pair of party shoes so she opted for the black pair instead! A great choice and I’m pretty sure she liked them both the same anyway! Jimmy’s shoes were in store in his size so all that was left to do was pay.

We were offered patent polish but no hard sell was delivered and when I said I might pop back for it if we needed it they took my payment details, boxed up our shoes and we were away!

Crazy Crew boots for Jimmy at £36.00 and Trixi Bay shoes for Florence at £34.99!

Jimmy’s boots are super soft leather and are designed as a first boot! We are very impressed and Jimmy looks ace in them! Florence’s shoes are just gorgeous and exactly what I would choose yet they are the ones she also chose for herself! The flashing lights on the heel which work when stamping heels have that on/off switch and they have a beautiful flower design on the toe. Lovely!

I didn’t have Clarks on my radar before but I absolutely do now and the service was wonderful! I’d like to thank Syed in the Westfield Stratford store for making the experience not just bearable but enjoyable!

(Just in case you are wondering, the boots Florence and I couldn’t agree on that she LOVED but that I hated are called Ella Lady, they are not for me but they were the only pair I saw in the shop that I wouldn’t happily let Florence wear).

I was provided with a voucher to spend in store in return for an honest review.