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Shoes for Childhood

A full set of shoes in all sizes from infancy to adolescence
 
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Little Tarquin's grown out of his shoes - what should you do? Simple - open the cupboard, there's the next size up!

No more guilt at things being put off by cashflow/timeflow problems. No agonising over whether to give a fingernail or a thumbnail's growing room. No wasting half your weekend trawling round the shops. Less consumer-conditioning for the little darlings too. It won't cross their minds to say "I don't like those" because they will never have been asked to choose. Or ever been to a shoe shop!

But what about the cost? Well remember all those baby clothes friends and family felt obliged to buy, which were too small after 6 months? Let them buy a pair of size 6's instead. Or 9's.

There could be a cost benefit from buying in bulk, plus the shoes they wear at age 6 will have been bought at the prices of 6 years ago.

If a full set is beyond your budget, what with prams and dummies and the rest, then you can go in 2-size "steps". Any parent will know that kids spend most of their childhood in shoes which are a bit too small or a bit too big anyway. This should allow for more frequent changes, especially in households like mine, where kids get attached to their shoes and Dad gets attached to his folding stuff.

forkhandles, Apr 13 2004

inchworm shoes http://www.inchworm...technologypage.html
Here's a different solution to the same problem. Expandable shoes! Pretty cool. [samk, Oct 04 2004]

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       //the shoes they wear at age 6 will have been bought at the prices of 6 years ago// along with the style.
skinflaps, Apr 13 2004
  

       why stop at shoes? what about clothes, all the toys/gadgets/adult playthings they'll need, all the cars (starting with old banger and working up to volvo with dog and wellies), houses (one bedroom starter flat to sheltered accomodation). and some f**k off big cupboards, to store it all. or you could form a community group where everybody can swap everything they're ever likely to need around? bloody marvellous - who needs money anyway? i'm off to buy some giant pant horrors with incontinence pads, 'cos i'll need them one day...
iamnotaprettygirl, Apr 13 2004
  

       It'd never fly in the current market, given that shoes are currently designed to not last much longer than a year -- especially the way kids wear them. You'd have to bring up quality. However, the idea in general is a good one. It may not revolutionize shoe-buying, but would sure be nice.
imagine002, Apr 13 2004
  

       Make them fit inside eachother, for easy storage.
Worldgineer, Apr 13 2004
  

       But is this really an invention? Isn't it more of a "Let's all..."?
Taika, Apr 13 2004
  

       I agree. [m-f-d] let's all.   

       Sorry for giving you a hard time, [fork]. Welcome to the halfbakery. Take a look at the help file.
Worldgineer, Apr 13 2004
  

       No worries [World], you're absolutely right. Sounds like let's all. Spotted it in Help too. But all I need to do is pack it in a big box, wrap with a ribbon (pink for a baby girl, blue for a boy), adjust the cost for a volume purchase and it's ... well it's not let's all. It's eat-and-keep pears from the supermarket: two ripe, two rock hard.   

       Of course eat-and-keep pears are baked, in a manner of speaking. So is buying-something-before-you-need-it. And bulk purchasing. Guess I'll have to kick this one into touch.   

       [imagine] //not last much longer than a year // sounds like you need the "10 pairs for 10 years" package, sir - step this way.
forkhandles, Apr 13 2004
  

       mfd removed, but many around here don't really consider a marketing strategy an idea.
Worldgineer, Apr 13 2004
  

       Can anyone explain to me why this is a "Let's all ..."?   

       This is an excellent idea. No more "We need to go, get new shoes for Little Brat". Fashion fetishists or space deprived apartment dwellers can join a "Shoe of the month club" where they get a new pair by mail when its needed.
kbecker, Apr 13 2004
  

       Kids under the age of 8 should be allowed to wear rubber boots 365 days a year. Just buy them at a forgiving retailer (ie. Wal-Mart) and take them back when they grow out of them.   

       What model this year? Oh, the black ones with the red soles again...
Cedar Park, Apr 14 2004
  

       gosh. have just read the help page - i have a niggling feeling that all this is more serious than i thought it was.... however, is the point that parents/carers should buy in bulk, or that retailers should sell in sets, in a "Russian Doll" style and fashion?
iamnotaprettygirl, Apr 14 2004
  

       Buying something in advance only has a cost benefit if its price increases more than inflation. (Otherwise, you could have invested the money and would have something left over.)
Nevertheless, this has other benefits, and I like the idea of turning a fashion item into a commodity bought in bulk. Magic self-adjusting shoes, without the magic!
  

       Shoe retail stores should institute offers where, if you buy one pair of children's shoes, you get 30% off of the next larger size if you buy it right now.
jutta, Jun 06 2004
  


 

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