a shoe for every foot - a breakdown of our back to school styles

It's Back to School time, which can be daunting for any parent looking to get their child their first pair of school shoes or purchasing for another year. With the wide range of options out there, it’s difficult to know which one to purchase, which is why we have broken down each of the different styles we stock this year as part of our Back to School range.

• Traditional Lace-Up

  Traditional lace-up styles consist of a leather upper, are completely enclosed, with laces on the upper of the foot as the fastening. Some styles come in youth sizing and almost all come in senior sizing. They do provide a sturdier fit across the upper of a child’s foot and come in slightly different silhouettes for older children at high school. Majority of lace styles are available in a range of width fittings, and almost all are orthotic friendly.
  
  To view all of our lace-up school styles, click here.

• Self-Fastening Strap

  Self-fastening strap styles are an enclosed shoe, usually with 2 straps across the top of the foot to provide a good fit and hold for day-to-day wear. Within this range, you have different added features – rubber tabs on the end of the straps to provide stronger wear, scuff guard at the front (to prevent scuffing of the leather & holes forming through general wear) and multiple width fittings for the most ideal fit. This is a youth style, with sizing stopping generally at a size 3 or 3.5 UK/AU.
  
  To view our range of Self-Fastening Strap styles, click here.

• Mary Jane & T-Bar Styles

  Mary jane styles are enclosed at the toe, with a gap on the upper of the foot and single strap enclosure around the ankle. These can come with your traditional self-fastening strap or with a buckle as the fastener. This is more of a girl-predominant style due to the nature of the silhouette. Similar to the self-fastening strap styles, within this range depending on the brand and style, you can have rubber tabs on the ends of the straps for stronger wear, scuff guard at the front (to prevent scuffing of the leather & holes forming through general wear) and multiple width fittings for the most ideal fit. These styles are mostly youth (ending at a size 3 or 3.5 UK/AU) however, some styles are available in a senior size range as well.
  
  T-Bar styles are like Mary-Janes, but the upper connects from the front of the shoe to the single strap around the ankle, forming a T shape across the top of the foot. These are worn only in VIC schools and some SA schools. These have a buckle as the form of fastening and have comparatively fewer options. Available across youth and senior size ranges for all girls.

• Sports Self-Fastening Strap & Lace Styles

  Sports style school shoes are your typical sport styles in all black – appropriate for school. You have a range from Asics, Nike and Clarks which come in both lace up and self-fastening strap options. These styles are all enclosed with either a mesh combo upper (usually traditional “running” styles) or a more solid leather look upper (usually traditional “cross training” styles). For global sorts brands, the self-fastening strap styles stop at a size 3US, and laces continue up to a size 7US.
  
  

• Lifestyle & Boots

  As an alternative to any of the above, for those schools with a more relaxed uniform policy, these range from lifestyle shoes such as Converse to boot styles. These range between sneaker-like shoes to boots. If any of these styles are preferred, it is best to check the school’s uniform policy to ensure they can be worn.
  
  

Once you’ve had a browse through the range, and have an idea of what you would like, head into one of our stores or Myer concessions so your child can be fitted correctly. Or, chat to our Fit Squad online to select the right fit and beat the queue in-store. Remember, all full school shoes can be returned or exchanged in any of our standalone stores if the fit isn’t 100%.