Consumer Critique: Stride Rite

I recently received a pair of Stride Rite shoes to try for my daughter.

Stride Rite, as a company, focuses on children's shoes. Unlike normal shoe brands that have lots of sizes from baby to adult, or baby clothing companies that also make shoes, Stride Rite focuses on just baby and children's footwear. The company's aim is to create footwear that will help their little bodies develop well, without putting strain or stress on joints and spine that can come from poor-fitting shoes. Stride Rite stores (not just authorized retailers, but store that are Stride Rite branded) make it a point to accurately measure children's feet to ensure that they are getting shoes that are the proper size and width.

The shoe I received is the Natural Motion System Gabby Brown. For a girl, I think these shoes are adorable. I'm not a huge fan of lots of pink, so finding cute shoes in brown with hints of pink that will match many nice outfits was great.

The biggest drawback to Stride Rite shoes is the price point. At $40+ a pair, that's pretty steep. From my experience as a kid, though, the shoes last for an incredibly long time. I know there was a pair of Stride Rite shoes that went through several neighbor kids' feet - I believe five or six kids wore the shoe - and it still looked great (I was kid number four to wear the pair, and they were a little scuffed up but not worn out). So if it's a first child, go ahead and make the investment, because they'll last for all your kids, and you'll still be able to pass them around to your friends with younger kids.

The Natural Motion System is designed to aid walkers and early walkers with a shoe that doesn't impede the learning process. The shoe is lightly padded, and doesn't seem to rub uncomfortably anywhere. My daughter was already fairly used to shoes, as we go out and about a lot and I wanted to make sure she learned how to walk in both - so I can't comment on whether or not it's easier to learn to walk in shoes using the NMS technology. However, walking was not a problem for her at all.

I am very pleased with the pair and I know that she'll get plenty of wear out of the shoe - and then I plan on adding them to the pot of hand-me-downs that are going around my friend groups. If they're anything like Stride Rite shoes I remember, they'll most likely be in great shape when they come back around to our house again!