If you’re visiting Parenting from the Heart for the first time, click here to see my Readers’ Favourite…
If you’re visiting Parenting from the Heart for the first time, click here to see my Readers’ Favourite Posts.
I take pride in dressing my kids well. What I have a difficult time with is successfully getting through one store with both of my toddlers. They are incredibly active, curious, and a little too similar to wild orangutans in the way they approach shopping. Much to my good fortune, my mother in-law lives in Europe and prides herself on dressing them well too. So a few times a year, I get nice parcels in the mail with clothing for them to grow into. This gives us a good base of clothing and minimizes how much I have to shop for the kids. Recently, our shoe selection has dwindled down. I guess the reason I’ve avoided online shopping for my kids is I was nervous that it wouldn’t work out. Exchanges might be difficult and costly. So I haven’t given the whole thing much more thought than that.
Enter in Jack & Lily, a young children’s shoe company based out of Vancouver, BC. As soon as I stumbled upon their website, I fell in love with their product and the overall feel of their site. Despite loving their product, my concerns about shopping online remained. Jack & Lily have twenty retailers carrying their product in Metro Vancouver. Unfortunately, I just moved from Vancouver across the country. If I really wanted their shoes, I would have to order online. Immediately, I started dialogue with one of their customer service representatives (see I was nervous). He was exceptionally thorough and helpful. I mistakenly used a ruler to size my kids’ feet to start off with. I was informed their official size finder provides the most accurate sizing. I just needed to make sure the PDF was set to 100%, print it off, and then use it on both children to get accurate sizing. The website recommends that if my kids will typically be wearing socks with the shoes I’m buying to make sure to have socks on when sizing. Also, as is the case with all children’s shoes, adding a half size is paramount in order to get the longest wear out of the shoes. Finally, my last bit of trepidation about ordering online was addressed in the company’s return or exchange policy. Their focus is that you love your shoes no matter what.
Upon receipt of the shoes, I was thrilled to see the quality and appearance of them were as good if not better than what I thought I was getting. The packaging is adorable. My son’s shoes are made of genuine leather. Both sets of shoes have no-slip rubber soles. Aside from aestheic, soles of my kids’ shoes are the first thing I always check. Any parent who has bought girls’ dress shoes has certainly come across cheaper styles that have next-to-no grip. If you were to get Jack and Lily shoes for the first time, you may be surprised at the flex of the shoes. The reason they are as flexible as they are is because bare feet are the most optimal choice for learning how to walk. A flexible sole is the next best thing 🙂
A final concern I had was getting my son’s shoes on him. He has a bit of a wide foot and also has a tendency of flexing his toes when I put his shoes on. Fortunately, the shoes have enough give that it isn’t too hard to put them on his feet. I also like that the runners don’t have actual laces that need tying. Been there, done that with a young toddler.
Would I buy these shoes again? Absolutely! My kids are growing out of Jack and Lily’s sizing that ends at 30 months, but I would buy these for friends and family without hesitation.
Disclosure: I receive special perks for being affiliated with Jack & Lily. The opinions on this blog are my own and that of friends who also tried the shoes.
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