Ballet shoes.

[Jada59]

This isn't so much of a "How To" but a why is this happening? I know we have some dancers and former dancers here. I am hoping one of you has the answer since the Internet does not.

I have always worn Capezio ballet shoes. I am talking regular ballet shoes and not pointe. When I was younger, I wore the full sole. In those days, the shoes did not come with elastic so it was purchased and sewn on at home.

Some years ago, I took up dance again and bought some Capezio, Daisy shoes. Those are a full sole, beginner's shoe with a single, pre-sewn elastic. They fit fine and served my purposes. I wound up giving that pair to my daughter's friend who had outgrown hers. The shoes were a 9W.

My street shoes are 9W. My feet are hard to fit in that I don't really have wide feet but a very high instep. So only certain brands fit me.

I had been buying the Capezio Daisy shoes in 9W, black from Amazon. They always fit. But... At best I can get 2-3 months wear out of them. I don't dance every day but most days, 5 hours maximum. The problem? The insoles come out quickly on some pairs. I was using them anyway but they were irritating to my feet. Two pairs got holes in the toes. One within two weeks!

I ordered some pink, leather shoes from some dancewear company on clearance. Same size. I think the brand was Sansha. They were a tad short. I could live with that. I know they'll stretch. But they kept sliding sideways on my feet to the point where the sole was almost at the top of my foot.

Recently I bought 2 pairs of pink, Capezio Daisy in 9W from Ebay because they were cheaper. They do not fit at all! They seem almost a size too long, the cords are extremely long. I do know how to tighten and adjust the cords. I have done all that I can there. Both pairs are sliding sideways on my feet to the point that they are dangerous! I can't do a turn in them at all.

I just ordered a pair of canvas split sole, 9C, Leo brand from Amazon. Elastics are crisscrossed and pre-sewn. Sewing is just not my thing and after all my years of dance and a daughter whose life revolved around dance, I'd rather not have to sew. I do have tons of pink elastic in case I need it. Ha!

What I do know is that Capezio do not seem to be the quality shoes they once were. Capezio run wider in ballet shoes but Bloch run wider in tap shoes. But my question is... Why are my shoes slipping sideways? Comparing them to the black ones that fit, turns up nothing as they appear identical in width and length.

I have found plenty of information online about how a shoe should fit. I already know that. And they shouldn't fit like these! I know I could go to a dance store to get fitted but the closest one has no AC and high prices. They won't just do a fitting either. Fittings cost $20 if you do not buy from them.

Help! I am thinking maybe the pink ones are somehow wider or deeper than the black ones. Thanks!

 

[twister947]

J, I don't know a thing about womens shoes, but I'm quite familiar with the concept of going broke saving money. You know what to do.

 

[Jada59]

J, I don't know a thing about womens shoes, but I'm quite familiar with the concept of going broke saving money. You know what to do.

Ack. I know. I actually saw some woman on YouTube suggesting that the best thing to do is order several pairs online and return the ones that don't fit. I know my daughter had to be fitted each and every time until her feet stopped growing. After that I could order online.

 

[bailadora]

I had been buying the Capezio Daisy shoes in 9W, black from Amazon. They always fit. But... At best I can get 2-3 months wear out of them. I don't dance every day but most days, 5 hours maximum. The problem? The insoles come out quickly on some pairs. I was using them anyway but they were irritating to my feet. Two pairs got holes in the toes. One within two weeks!

Getting holes in the toes within two weeks is not usual, and I would certainly ask for a full refund from the seller. But the other things that you describe (getting holes in the toes and the insoles coming out) all sound perfectly normal for the amount of dancing you describe. If you *only* dance four days a week, about 5 hours a day, that's still a helluva lot of wear on a shoe at 80 hours a month. Within 2-3 months, all that foot sweat is going to degrade the glue and the insoles are going to come out. If you want your slippers to last longer, you can try the time honored dancer's trick of re-gluing the insoles with something like Fabri-tac. This thread has more information on other products you could try.

Holes in the toes of slippers are harder to repair. As broke college kids, many dancers at my studio used to slap a piece of duct tape over it and continue on for as long as we could.

Why are my shoes slipping sideways? Comparing them to the black ones that fit, turns up nothing as they appear identical in width and length.

Honestly, I think one of the major reasons you're having all these problems is because you're ordering the wrong size. For one, shoe sizes do not equally translate from brand to brand. The size I wore in Capezios was not the same size I wore in Sanshas (LOVE Sanshas, btw, especially that split sole.) Secondly, while I know you said the black Capezios in your street size were fine, I'll just say it's been my experience that my neither my slippers nor my pointes were ever the same as my street shoe size. They were always, always at least one to three sizes smaller. Everyone who has ever fit me or my daughters for ballet shoes has said the same.

I just ordered a pair of canvas split sole, 9C, Leo brand from Amazon. Elastics are crisscrossed and pre-sewn. Sewing is just not my thing and after all my years of dance and a daughter whose life revolved around dance, I'd rather not have to sew. I do have tons of pink elastic in case I need it. Ha!

Yeah, it can be a PITA, but sewing to add or adjust your elastics and ribbons is simply part of dance life, girlfriend. As a teen and young college student, I used to earn money towards my dance shoes by charging $10 per pair for students and dance moms who either didn't know how to or who didn't want to bother with their own.

I know I could go to a dance store to get fitted but the closest one has no AC and high prices. They won't just do a fitting either. Fittings cost $20 if you do not buy from them.

Again, I know it's a PITA, but given how often you're dancing and the length of time you're wearing these shoes, you owe it to your feet to get properly fitting shoes. If you don't want to buy them from the B&M store, be upfront about it and pay the fitting fee. The point another Litster made about going broke trying to save money is spot on. Find out what brands truly work for you, the proper size in each of those brands, and then you can bargain hunt on the net, with the caveat that you might still occasionally get burned (as with your EBAY Capezios).


ETA: Have you looked into the Grishko line? I seem to recall several dancers who had wide feet loved them. It's worth a try.

 

[Jada59]

Getting holes in the toes within two weeks is not usual, and I would certainly ask for a full refund from the seller. But the other things that you describe (getting holes in the toes and the insoles coming out) all sound perfectly normal for the amount of dancing you describe. If you *only* dance four days a week, about 5 hours a day, that's still a helluva lot of wear on a shoe at 80 hours a month. Within 2-3 months, all that foot sweat is going to degrade the glue and the insoles are going to come out. If you want your slippers to last longer, you can try the time honored dancer's trick of re-gluing the insoles with something like Fabri-tac. This thread has more information on other products you could try.

Holes in the toes of slippers are harder to repair. As broke college kids, many dancers at my studio used to slap a piece of duct tape over it and continue on for as long as we could.


Honestly, I think one of the major reasons you're having all these problems is because you're ordering the wrong size. For one, shoe sizes do not equally translate from brand to brand. The size I wore in Capezios was not the same size I wore in Sanshas (LOVE Sanshas, btw, especially that split sole.) Secondly, while I know you said the black Capezios in your street size were fine, I'll just say it's been my experience that my neither my slippers nor my pointes were ever the same as my street shoe size. They were always, always at least one to three sizes smaller. Everyone who has ever fit me or my daughters for ballet shoes has said the same.



Yeah, it can be a PITA, but sewing to add or adjust your elastics and ribbons is simply part of dance life, girlfriend. As a teen and young college student, I used to earn money towards my dance shoes by charging $10 per pair for students and dance moms who either didn't know how to or who didn't want to bother with their own.



Again, I know it's a PITA, but given how often you're dancing and the length of time you're wearing these shoes, you owe it to your feet to get properly fitting shoes. If you don't want to buy them from the B&M store, be upfront about it and pay the fitting fee. The point another Litster made about going broke trying to save money is spot on. Find out what brands truly work for you, the proper size in each of those brands, and then you can bargain hunt on the net, with the caveat that you might still occasionally get burned (as with your EBAY Capezios).


ETA: Have you looked into the Grishko line? I seem to recall several dancers who had wide feet loved them. It's worth a try.

Thanks! I used to wear size 8N and took 6N in Capezio. At some point, my feet widened and I took the same size but M width. Life was sweet then! My feet changed shape when I was pregnant and none of my old shoes would fit.

I was thinking that 5 hours a day wasn't much dance but... When I used to dance, I was also wearing pointe shoes, tap shoes and whatever other types of shoes or none, based on the style I was doing. Although I don't strictly do ballet, I wear the same shoes for all styles, including hip hop. I am disabled now, have to wear compression hose and find that my balance is much better in ballet shoes than sneakers. So you are right, 5 hours a day in those same shoes is a lot!

I don't think Grishko makes a wide. But I will look again. I just remember going through hell when my daughter was going en pointe. Her studio required pre-pointe shoes to start with and none fit her feet. Her teacher told her to buy real pointe shoes and de-shank them. That meant having to glue all the stuff back inside. None of the glues the teacher told us to try would work. Super glue finally did! Then that teacher quit and the new one would not allow the de-shanked shoes. Weird because that's was pre-point shoes are. Ah fun times! I will look up the glue that you mentioned.

You make many good points. I was thinking since I am only dancing at home now and most likely will never be on stage again, that the shoes didn't matter so much. I do know better! Thanks!

 

[boytoyjoy]

What I do know is that Capezio do not seem to be the quality shoes they once were.

I wonder if someone might be selling counterfeits through Amazon. They do it for everything else, so why not ballet shoes? Dancers are great by the way.

 

[Jada59]

I wonder if someone might be selling counterfeits through Amazon. They do it for everything else, so why not ballet shoes? Dancers are great by the way.

Amazon does sell fake goods. I know that. Thankfully, the Leo's are a much better fit. They do shift a tiny bit but I just have to stop every hour or so and adjust them a little.

 

[Jada59]

I think everyone knows that Amazon sells fakes, and it's not a secret.

Not everything is fake.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Not everything is fake.

It's a spam account. They resurrect old threads, make some bland comment, and then a couple of days later they'll edit their post to add a link to whatever site they're promoting.

 

[ToPleaseHim]

It's a spam account. They resurrect old threads, make some bland comment, and then a couple of days later they'll edit their post to add a link to whatever site they're promoting.

Yep, looks like another one. I’ll move it so they can’t edit this one and notify Laurel.

#sweeptheleg

 

[Jada59]

Yep, looks like another one. I’ll move it so they can’t edit this one and notify Laurel.

#sweeptheleg

Hoo boy!

 

[stickygirl]

So come on Jada - did you resolve the shoe issue or not?! The world wants to know!!

 

[Jada59]

So come on Jada - did you resolve the shoe issue or not?! The world wants to know!!

I just switched to hip hop. Sneakers last a lot longer.