Have you been looking for a pair of dress sandals for your children? Are you looking for a pair that you can dress them up but that is supportive and durable enough for your child to be able to run around and play with?
There are a lot of different dress sandals available for children, but not all styles will be suitable for your child’s particular foot shape. Besides, some of them are going to provide certain features that will make them a better choice than others, such as being more supportive, lightweight, flexible, waterproof, durable, and comfortable.
Did I forget to mention stylish? While I am no fashion expert, the sandals that I will describe below are very stylish according to most parents that have tried them for their kids, but you will be able to judge for yourself!
In addition, not all dress sandals will fit the shape of your child’s feet. Most children have a medium width foot, but there are several children that have wide or extra wide feet, and some of them have narrow feet. Finding a pair of dress sandals for children with narrow, wide, or extra wide feet can make the process of providing your child with a dressy sandal much more complicated and time-consuming.
The good news is that I will be able to tell you which dress sandal styles are better than others.
I have been working for a specialized children’s shoe store for over 10 years now, and I know everything that relates to children’s shoes and the way they fit. This is a specialized shoe store that focuses on children with foot and leg problems, but we provide regular shoe fittings as well. I am familiar with the best children’s shoe brands and the best shoe styles among those brands from having fitted them before.
Some children might be dealing with foot issues such as flat feet, overpronation, rolled ankles, low muscle tone (just to name a few). If your child has a particular foot issue that is making it hard to find a pair of dress sandals, please do not hesitate to contact me because I will help you find them.
Dress sandals are meant to be worn for a couple of hours a day and once in a while, but some children (mostly girls), like to wear them for longer periods of time and on an everyday basis. If this is the case with your child, then you must find a pair of dress sandals that will be supportive enough for his/her feet.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the material that the sandals are made of will directly affect the fit and the comfort. The dress sandals that I will recommend shortly are mostly all made out of leather, which is one of the best materials a particular shoe can be made of since its soft and will mold to the shape of your kids’ feet.
Some of the children’s shoe brands that I recommend the most are:
- Naturino
- See Kai Run
- Frodo
- Livie & Luca
- Nina
- Primigi
- Stride Rite
Did I forget to mention a particular shoe brand that makes high quality and supportive dress sandals?
For the last 3 years I have dedicated myself to helping parents find the perfect pair of shoes for their children online. However in order to be able to buy your kids’ shoes online, you must know your child’s exact foot size. I wrote an article where I describe the simplest, yet most effective way to figure out your child’s foot size from home. Please go to the link below:
How To Measure Kids Shoe Size From Home – In Less Than 30 Seconds!
I will provide you with a selection of the best dress sandals for kids shortly (toddlers and older kids), but let’s first get familiar with what features these sandals must provide.
Dress Sandals for Kids – The 4 Most Important Features
Dress sandals must provide the following features in order to keep your kids’ feet and legs healthy:
- Support: This feature will allow your child to wear the sandals for most of the day (I still recommend switching to a pair of sneakers throughout the day). Dress sandals that provide good support will minimize the impact that your kids’ feet and legs take every time they come in contact with the ground.
- Lightweight and Flexible: These features will prevent your children’s feet from easily getting tired. Besides, depending on the age of your child, he/she might not have the strength to bend a harder sole.
- High-quality materials: Sandals that are made from high quality materials such as leather will keep your kids’ feet comfortable and healthy. The leather material will prevent the sandals from developing a smell, and it will also prevent your child’s feet and rom rubbing against the hard materials of the sandal.
- Last but not least, the sandals must be the correct size. Please remember that it doesn’t matter how narrow or wide your kids’ feet are, there are dress sandals out there that will accommodate your child’s foot shape, and I will help you find them.
Leather Dress Sandals for Kids – Soft, Comfortable, and Durable!
The main advantage of providing your children with a pair of dressy leather sandals is that they will feel more comfortable and get a better fit.
The leather material will feel soft and mold to the shape of your kids’ feet, while dress sandals made of synthetic materials often feel hard against your kids’ feet.
IMPORTANT TIP: When children don’t feel comfortable in a particular shoe style, they will refuse to wear it, so make sure that the shoes that you provide for your child are always the correct size and made form comfortable, high quality materials.
The leather dress sandals that I will describe below will provide your child with the following features:
- Durability: Leather sandals are the most durable type of sandals; this will allow your child to be able to play and run around. During summer times children love to run around and it’s important for the footwear to hold up until the season is over.
- Healthy Feet: Leather dress sandals will keep your children’s feet healthy by providing them with the correct amount of support and being flexible and soft.
- Fit: Leather sandals will provide a better overall fit by offering better comfort to your kids’ feet.
- Prevent Infections: Leather sandals are easy to maintain and clean, and they will prevent bacteria from building up and infections.
Now that you know what features these sandals will provide to your child’s feet and how to make sure that you provide them with the correct shoe size, you are ready to see a selection of the best dress sandals for kids.
The Best Dress Sandals for Kids – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Please keep in mind that I only review shoe styles that I have fitted before, since that is the only way for me to tell how well-made the shoes, the amount of support that they provide, and how they fit.
Here you can find a selection of the best dress sandals for toddlers. These styles will fit a toddler with medium, wide, or extra wide feet (choose the shoe width accordingly):
Here you can find a selection of the best sandals for older kids (ages 4 and up). These styles will fit a child with medium, wide, or extra wide feet (choose the shoe width accordingly):
Please note that most sandals come in whole sizes only and will not be available in half sizes.
All of these sandal styles fit “true to size”, which means that you need to provide your children with a “half a size” longer of the size that they measured at the standard foot measuring scale (Brannock device) in order to allow for growing room.
Just so you know, in order to allow for growing room there should be 3/8 of an inch of space between your kids’ longest toe and the end of the shoes. Keep in mind that certain shoe styles might run “short”, “long”, or “true to size”, and depending on how they run you will need to adjust the size that you get for your child.
For example, if your kids measure a foot size 5 but the shoes run “short”, then you will need to provide them with a whole size longer instead of a half a size longer (since the shoes run short), so your child will end up getting a shoe size 6 instead of a 5 ½. On the other hand, if the shoes fit “long”, then you will have to provide your child with the same size that he/she measured (since the shoes run long). If the shoes fit “true to size” then you will just go a half a size longer of whatever size your child measured at the foot measuring scale.
Makes sense?
If you happen to have a child with narrow feet, please take a look at an article I wrote where I describe the best dress sandals for children with narrow feet:
Is there a particular shoe brand or sandal style that has worked well for your kids’ feet? Please share your findings below so other parents can benefit from your experiences.
Leave a Reply