Today's agenda was to buy Julien's first pair of walking shoes. And interestingly, without any discussion or any further research of other brands, we knew we would be getting him a pair of Clark's.
Now, I never thought I would be buying shoes from Clark's. 2 reasons - (1) very expensive and (2) not for me, 'cos the association for me is that its shoes are known largely for comfort, especially for older people; and my mum and others' mums make sure to buy at least a pair before they leave UK.
We went with a lot of anticipation because of what we have heard from other friends who have already made the visit to get their babies their first shoes. (How important word of mouth is in children's products!) Apparently, it is a quite an experience because of the star treatment!
So, we walked in... a staff member came forward to assist us. I told him of our mission. I think he was expecting it; after all, we had a baby in tow. The only thing he would not have known is whether we wanted crawling shoes, cruising shoes or walking shoes (Yes, they sell shoes for the first categories as well, though I am not sure who would pay through their nose for them, especially when the babies outgrow their shoes so fast!)
He replied with no hesitation while pointing to a corner in one smooth action, "Let me help you take a number." So, Step1 for children's shoe fitting: Take a queue number, dude!
Number 49. We held our slip and sat down. We started to take the scene in - other little islands of family units sitting around, waiting for their turns like us. There were 2 staff doing the fitting. Accompanied by an obviously excited mother, Client A was a little toddler girl accompanied, shopping for her first pair of walking shoes like us. And Client B was an adolescent boy, trying to decide between 2 pairs of boots, while Mum was droning on the side, "It's your choice, Charlie. You have to decide what is more comfortable for you", while Dad looked on listlessly, listening to what must have been the umpteenth repetition of the same advice.
Both had boxes of shoes piled up to a little tower near them. They clearly had no lack of choices. Excited Mummy of Client A coaxed her little girl to walk about in the sweet purple shoes with flowers on her feet. Client A took a few hesitant steps, then broke into a smile and started walking faster. Mummy crowed, "Oh, she loves it! That's the pair then!" As they walked to the till, Mummy's eyes lit upon a ladybird backpack on the rack and showed it to her baby, trying it on her little shoulders immediately. Baby couldn't take her eyes off it and walked away with the bag on and the staff said, "It is a lovely bag, isn't it? They have been very popular. And it's our last one now", whereupon Mummy said, "Yes, we will take that as well!" And I think to myself, "Oh, you! Took it line, hook and sinker!" ... but of course, my own eyes had been looking at that little ladybird bag and thinking. "Now, if J was a girl, that would be sweet..." Haha... the consumers that we are!
Client B had been walking round the shop in his possibly-would-be shoes for a while now and finally said, "Yes, I think they fit." Daddy seemed to come to life magically at those words and the slightly "dog-earred" staff smiled jubilantly, quickly asking, "Would you be keeping the shoes on for now or do you want them in a box?" No-nonsense Mum went," Oh, he will keep them on," and they trooped to the till to pay.
"Number 49!" And so finally it was our turn. Having observed others, I was nonetheless excited when it was our turn. The staff first measured Julien's feet. Step 2: Feet Measurement. Both feet: the length, the width, ankle fit as well as heel grip. Having got his size, she asked if we had any specific colours, features etc in mind. We didn't. She disappeared into the back recesses of the shop and took quite a bit of time, I thought. When she returned, she was, of course, carrying a tower of shoe boxes. There must have been 5 or 6 options there.
She had Julien sit down on the floor, then took out a pair of grey-red boots. Clearly, she had the boxes ranked. This was her first choice. Daddy Low really liked the boots, and she said boots are great for J 'cos he has rather narrow ankles. But I wasn't sure that J would like the feel of high boots wrapping his ankles.
Once on, we tried to persuade J to walk, so Step 3: Walk! But no amount of encouragement would move him. He stood there looking at us and I suddenly felt like I am in a Gary Larson cartoon, and that J must be thinking something like, "What strange things, these adults! How do they expect me to walk on demand?" or something like that... like he was the thinking one, and we the silly billies.
But really, that was, of course, all in my mind. For he started to take a tentative step after a long while. I think he was really just trying to figure out what we want of him. After all, this is the first time someone other than us is putting shoes on for him. And these shoes were very different from the flimsy ones we had on for him when he was still cruising. These felt a lot more sturdier and definitely much heavier!
One step, two steps, three... and he seemed fine. The staff felt J's feet through the shoes and said with finality in her voice, "Looks like this pair fits him well. It's snug; there's no big gaps between the shoe and his toes and his ankles look well supported. " She looked ready to keep the other boxes and bring us to the till.
And after seeing the process with Clients A and B, I understood what she must be thinking - this pair fits, so let's pay and move on to the next number in the queue. For that must be how her day is like - an endless line of numbers, an endless row of towers of shoeboxes and then trying on of pair after pair with an energetic Mum, encouraging the child on and a weary Dad in tow.
Well, alright - we were not exactly that stereotype, but we were sure like all other consumers and that's not buying the first and only pair we tried when there were all these other boxes waiting to be opened and shoes to be tried! So, on with the rest of the boxes.
It was interesting that when more pairs are tried, you can actually see the difference in the way it affects walking. With a pair, he walked really awkwardly as if, and I suppose, it is probably true, that it is indeed too tight. With another pair, his few steps looked difficult and the staff said that pair was heavier, so he must have felt the weight. In the end, it was down to the boots and a pair of soft leather shoes. And the leather ones won in the end, cos J walked so easily and quickly in them. So, Step 4: Decide - done!
So, we thought that was that. Then, the girl said, "So, if you wait with a bit, I will go get the camera." Ooh! Step 5: Take a picture with your first pair of walking shoes! :) She came back and we spent time getting Julien to stand properly, so that we can see his shoes. The lighting was not perfect, the camera was basic and the colours did not come out brilliant... but we loved it! It was a cute little picture with a sticker backing and together with the shoes, we were given a height chart with a little space at the bottom for that sticker.
Back home, the height chart went up on the back of J's bedroom door, where he never ceased to point and look at it. And his shoes? They now sit proudly on the shoe-rack with the Mummy's and Daddy's shoes. And every time he sees his shoes, he pulls them down, puts them near his feet and wants me to put them on for him.
These shoes will be seeing lots of action now, I'm sure! :)
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| Cool boots! |
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| J loved the dinosaurs on the side, but this pair was big and clumsy. |
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| The One - the soft leather shoes! |
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