About Shoes

There are so many children’s winter boots and shoes in the shops for the season, they are spoiled for choice!  Children, these days, tend to go for sophisticated, elegant styles, often against the wishes of their parents.  Influenced by their favourite celebrities, they demand expensive designer ranges which can be totally impractical, rather than practical, well-fitting shoes from children’s shoe specialist shops, such as Clarks or Start-rite.

Children’s foot size can increase considerably throughout the season, and it’s important for both feet to be measured by a foot specialist.  When children find a shoe style they like, after being measured, the child should be asked to walk round the shoe shop to check whether they hurt anywhere.  With the child standing, press at the front of the shoe to check how much room there is to allow for growth.  Check that the sides don’t ‘bag’ out and there isn’t too much spare room at the heel.

As the shoes – or boots - are to be worn during the coldest season, it’s important that they will protect against the bitterly cold temperatures typical of the season.  It’s always best to buy leather as this will protect against cold and rain, and allow the skin to breathe.  Leather also stretches slightly resulting in shoes which last longer and fit more comfortably.  Lace up shoes or shoes which have bars across the front are more suitable for children as they won’t come off when the child is running and playing.  Check that the soles of the shoes are strong and made of thick rubber, making them skid proof.

Children, of course, have their own ideas of the fashionable shoe styles they want to wear, and usually they don’t always correspond with their parent’s wishes.  Children often choose something like ‘moonboots’ made from silver lurex, priced at £45.  They are also tempted by Fizz boots, priced at around £50, in light pink or turquoise colours.  Fashionable styles like these are expensive and aren’t designed to last for the coldest 5 or 6 months of the year.

Really fashionable children’s shoes and boots are often not designed for vigorous rough and tumble play, and are often built of materials too thin to protect against severe winter conditions.  If parents and children can compromise, there are some great and practical styles available in the shops.
Start-rite, among other children’s shops, has a large range of winter shoes and boots specially designed for children.  Designs are guaranteed to last against normal children’s wear and tear, and styles appeal to the most fashionable kid.  Boot styles such as Amber-Leigh  and Flowerchild are made from leather and come in appealing trendy colours.  Both parents and children love them.

As we head into winter, the thought of plunging temperatures must be striking fear into the hearts of many a shivering citizen (well, when I say we, I mean you, I’m basking in Spain and unlikely to see snow, or ice on the inside of the window). With utility bills rising faster than inflation in Zimbabwe, it seems that many people will be wondering if they can afford to turn on the heating this winter. Fear not, there are ways that you can keep warm without taking out a second mortgage to pay your gas bill.

The best way is to think smart. Suppose you have to spend a lot of time at home, because you’re retired, or not working. Well, there’s no need to sit around shivering, especially if you have the right Damart thermal clothing. If you live in a city or large town, try enjoying some of the cultural sites. Visit museums and galleries; after all, you are paying for them in your council tax, and take advantage of their central heating. You could even volunteer as a guide, and stay warm all day.

An even more useful tool is your local library. Make maximum use of this wonderful resource (and its warmth). No-one will think it odd if you spend all day, every day, there – unless it´s closed, in which case it will be unheated, and you´ll be arrested for breaking and entering. I can´t promise the police cells will be heated, so you may want to avoid that option. Anyway, the library is a perfect way to save on your own heating bills, and it has enough material to give you good reason to stay there for hours. They have newspapers, internet, even books (if you look hard enough among the DVDs). I am writing this on my laptop in the local library, and even though it is warm and sunny here (sorry to rub that in … okay, I´m smug, not sorry), I am still saving on lighting and electricity.

Supposing your libraries don´t have the generous opening hours that we do in Spain, which are open until 9 pm? What do you do on a weekend, for example? Simple – go shopping. Visit your local mall, and check out the Damart winter clothing range to keep you warm while walking back and forth to the library. Shops are guaranteed to be overheated. Or why not visit a friend, who can afford heating? In fact, you could while away the winter spending a week here, a week there, and before you know it, spring will arrive … You might have to invent some creative excuses for wanting to stay with friends in your own town, but it´s better than staring at a four-figure electricity bill, and wondering if you can pawn your children …

In the current climate it is essential that everyone considers investing in a lovely set of thermals. Although they are perhaps not quite as fashionable as they could be they should become (and remain) a staple of your winter wardrobe. If you live up in the north of Scotland they should become a staple of your winter, spring, autumn and sometime summer wardrobe. Honestly.

As the costs of heating our houses increases (at a fairly alarming rate) we must act now before it’s too late. The soaring cost of fuel has resulted in many families unsure how they are going to heat their houses (a dilemma faced by many a pensioner year after year). The answer has got to be Damart thermals whether they’re thermal undergarments, thermal pyjamas, thermal blankets, thermal baby grows or even thermal socks. The list is endless, but they’re all valid. If you are going skiing and are a bit chilly then you put on a set of thermals – why not in the comfort of your own house as well. After all thermals are possibly the most comfortable clothes ever invented.

Another, more globally responsible, reason for wearing Damart thermals is of course that the burning of fossil fuels is adding to global warming. If people stopped burning fossil fuels to keep themselves warm and snuggled into a pair of thermals then the world would be a better place. Indeed I can’t think of a better reason to switch off the heating, put on some thermals and snuggle up with a loved one. Maybe the world would also be a happier place.

The only issue I have with thermal wearing for younger folks is that the clothes themselves are awful. They have been designed for people with old fashioned taste. This is fine for people with that type of taste, but not those who prefer more fashionable clothes (ie most of the younger generation). So come on designers, make us some nice thermals made for snuggling.