Clark's YoToy Shoes: A new force of evil.

Parents, there is a new evil out there, and it is the Clark’s YoToy shoes. Whether you know what these are yet depends on whether or not you have embarked on New Term School Shoe Buying yet.
If you haven’t, then - briefly – YoToys are fairly ordinary shoes, but with a toy (car for boys, doll for girls) hidden in the sole. They are £28.99.
If you have, then you, too, will almost certainly have experienced the full misery of a child, face down on the floor in Clark’s, weeping “I want the YoToy shoes! I want the YoToy shoes!”, as you uselessly brandish an alternative, toy-less shoe above their head.
Now, I am all for joy. To be frank, you could hide a toy in almost anything and I’d be happy. Coats, icecream, contacts lenses. Go on. Stick them anywhere. I don’t care. But if you put a toy in a shoe, children will, fairly inevitably, only ever want to get the shoes with the toy in. Children would happily sacrifice your life for a medium-sized bag of Haribo, so screwing up their feet for a secret toy is a no-brainer. Of COURSE they’ll tell you that the toy-shoe is the most comfortable one, whether their feet have just gone numb or not.
Clark’s are now breeding a generation of crump-toed, heel-crushed cripples. This is capitalism’s answer to FOOT BINDING.
I might have to basically renounce my new-found middle-classness, and go and get some Kickers, instead.

Comments

[Jeffrey Ahamed]

I am from Sri Lanka and although Clarks shoes are nor freely available when ever some one inquired from abroad of a gift for me it is in tip of my tounghe the favourite of getting a pair of Clarks shoes.

Recent times I had a bad experience in a pair of Claks shoes soles of been damaged. To clarify about this matter please forward me the E mail address of the manufacture.

Thanking You

Jeffery Ahamed

[vikcy m]

i have some yo-toy shoes as the were the only ones in my size( i am in year 7) butwhen we were getting changed for pe we were mucking about with it and then named it cinderela pearl rolson n it is now the best thing ever! lol

[laura]

Hi, I really want yotoy shoes for my 12th birthday. My mum and dad are getting me some.

[Yotoy Hater]

I think its really stupid to have a toy in a shoe I mean their not even proper shoes.

Crappy shoes, i thought clarks was better than that!!!!!

[Yeoman]

So beautiful it is.

[DESIGNER: Ruth Bettles]

Hi, I'm a final year design student and I'm thinking about designing a new shoe with storage within it for women as my final year project. I was wondering what are your views on this and what other applications would you like to see with a shoe? All comments & ideas welcomed!

[Jennifer]

John, thanks for the update on the shoes with a wallet in them. my only question is, does the wallet come loaded with money? that would be a surefire winner with parents.

[John Blige]

The ArchPort shoes with wallets in the soles have been around for some time now. The compartment is removable, and I hear they will have children's shoes soon.

[Steph]

I am a nursery nurse and have just found out about these shoes on the first day of the new term! I think that they are the most ridiculous shoes i have seen! A girl on the playground came upto me because she could not get the lid on the little box. I couldn't believe what i was seeing when she showed me where she got it from! I am surprised by a gimmick like this from clarks!

[James]

Ah the secret shoe compartment. Very useful if your child gets captured by Goldfinger and gets the urge to brum a toy car....after all, he's still too young to play with Pussy Galore.

[Christine Casey]

My children always wear Clarks shoes. They are a well made properly fitted shoe which although some would regard as expensive, they are not since they outlast many cheaply made ones. As for the toys, yes they will lose them. In fact my children have already replaced the toys with other ones from their toy box (a dinosaur and a pink pony). They love wearing them.
Also, I think they are made in the UK. My goodness, if it's true of course we should support them. Or do we need everything Made Badly in China.

[C]

I remember desperately wanting Clarks Magic Key shoes in the 80s which had the most amazing marketing campaign - ads on TV of the princess lost in the forest, finding the key etc....However, my mother asked the shop assistant to tll me they had run out in my size and I had my nice Startrite ones instead. Apparently this was preferable to telling a 5 year old they looked common!!

[Jo J]

I remember when I was a littlie about 35 years ago (my how time flies) my grandfather was the one to cough up for Clark's shoes as they came in half sizes and different widths. I loved them as they were so comfortable. Didn't matter that they didn't come with toys - they didn't leak! An added bonus was any size we grew out of was passed onto younger siblings, the shoes never seemed to wear out!
I now live in NZ and still occasionally buy Clark's shoes for myself.

[Claire]

Clarks main selling point (to parents anyway) is half sizes and a range of widths properly fitted by trained assistants.

Having fitted children's shoes for five back to school periods (it's a miracle I'm still sane), I know most fitters can tell when the shoes aren't right regardless of what the child is saying, and will point this out to the parent.

Selling shoes that don't fit properly just because the child wants them is a total waste of time, because inevitably the parent will be back ranting about their poor child's feet.

Frankly parents are the worst culprits for trying to buy shoes that don't fit properly. The classics being, can we have a size bigger because they grow so fast or but I don't like that style, I prefer this one.

[MC]

When my 5 year old son spotted the YoToy trainers in Clark's and told me he'd seen them on TV I was inclined to dismiss them immediately.

However I had a long chat with the sales assistant who assured me that the trainers have been through the same testing process as any other Clark's shoe or trainer.

Sometimes shoe buying can be a win-win situation. The trainers fit my son's wide feet, they look great, and he got the YoToys he wanted. They only have to last 3 months as he'll have grown out of them by Christmas.

[Another J]

When I was little I had Jumping Jacks which came with a free box.

[Grayman]

I had shoes with a little removable magnet in the heel when I was a kid 35 years ago. That didn't make me the coolest in the class though - some kids had a compass in theirs!! And yes, I kept messing about with it in class, and yes, the insole eventually rucked up and flapped about.

[Jules]

Sorry J, I didn't realise I'd hijacked your name, I'll revert to my actual name from now on!

The YoToy is no competition for the heinous Lelli Kellie gifts! (for girls anyway) Lip gloss for 3 year olds? the shoes are borderline porn for foot fetishists as it is!
I still can't resist buying the shoes for my daughter though, I think I'm compensating for the brown crepe soled sandals I was forced to wear as a child! Plus they have the added bonus of winding my mother up no end!!

[J]

Can I just say this is a different J from me

[J]

When I was little Clarks sold 'Magic Steps' shoes, which had a crystal in the sole and came with a plastic key broach (if I remember correctly!) There were adverts on tv and in store, and the shoes were a must have for all the girls in my reception class! I badgered my mum into getting me some, and it made the back to school shop something I really looked forward to for a good few years! I could be cynical about the marketing aimed at young kids, but I still have fond memories of the Magic Steps shoes! I must be a victim of Clarks! :)

[Gipsy]

what is wrong with Clark's shoes? They're certainly not cheap. Unless £26 for a pair of shoes that a 2 year old will grow out of in three months is considered cheap to you?! I am incredibly careful to get properly fitted shoes with the correct width for my son, and invariably they end up being Clarks. He has, like me, very wide feet, and Clarks seems to be one of the few children's shoes that work with his square, wide feet.

[red juice please!]

I had to suffer the school shoe shop yesterday. Went to a fantastic shop in Farnham - Piggy Toes (or some such thing similar!) Thankfully no Clarks shoes, ten minutes and two pairs of shoes later we were free. Sadly £80 down, but then those that waste their pennies on the cheap imports will hobble in pain for the rest of their days. How on earth can they even think of putting toys in shoes??!! Oh, and why would anyone let a child bully them in to buying the wretched things....

[kk]

All fair comments if the toys came in one model & colour, but I noticed a large poster of the cars with "3 to collect" in big letters. Free shoes with every crappy plastic car!

[Mum of 5yo twin boys]

What's wrong with YoToy shoes? They look good to me. I can see the idea of a secret toy would be very appealling if I was a kid. What's wrong with you - fight only the battles you need to, not about some toy in a decent pair of shoes!