Our Children Tested Rothy’s (Very Nice) Kids’ Shoes
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I first bought a pair of Rothy’s shoes a few years ago after Strategist contributor Erika Veurink wrote aboutwalking all over Florencein the brand’sSquare mary janes. Since then, I’ve talked to dozens of women who love various Rothy’s styles and recently became infatuated with a pair ofRothy’s fisherman sandalsmyself. But I was still surprised to notice that Rothy’s makes kids’ shoes, too, from mini versions of the adult ballet flats and mary janes to an impressive and growing line of sneakers, clogs, loafers, and sandals in sizes little-kid 8 to big-kid 3. So I asked two other Strategist staffers to join me in testing a few pairs on our kids ranging in ages from 3.5 to 8 years old.
Rothy’s shoes look better on kids
The appeal of Rothy’s shoes is not that they are the most stylish or trendy shoes around. It’s that they are reliably nice-looking and easy, especially since one of the brand’s key selling points is that its shoes can be thrown in the washing machine or quickly rinsed off in the sink. But there are instances when that proposition breaks down for adults: Even the most sophisticated Rothy’s styles are usually too casual for weddings or other formal events. For kids, that’s not really an issue — and the children’s versions of Rothy’s are brighter and just more fun.
There are clogs covered in rainbows and daisies, slip-on loafers accented with cherries and sardines, candy-striped mary janes, and Velcro sneakers in watermelon pink and electric blue. Rothy’s also just launched a new kid sneaker, the Stretch sneaker, with elasticated no-tie laces.Aurielle Sayeh, a creative director and DJ, has a 4-year-old daughter with a really colorful wardrobe that she says pairs perfectly with Rothy’s kids’ shoes, especially the sardine loafers (which she told me she has put in the washing machine without any worries).
And our young test subjects love wearing them
Like the brand’s adult shoes, all of Rothy’s kids’ pairs are knit from recycled plastic water bottles. The resulting material is virtually seamless and flexible, so they are ready to wear (blister free) right out of the box. This is huge for kids who don’t like hard edges or too much friction against their skin. When my 3.5-year-old son, who regularly refuses to try on new sneakers or sandals, put on a pair of Rothy’s Teva-esqueKids Double Strap Sandalsfor the first time he said aloud, “Ooh these are soft.” They feel airy, too, like they weigh nothing, and the soles are squishy and bouncy. Strategist senior writer Lauren Ro’s 4-year-old son has been wearing the Kids Strap Sneaker all summer and started calling them his Sonic shoes because they are the same color blue as Sonic the Hedgehog and he thinks they make him go fast. Ro says she has been impressed that the material feels nice and flexible, but also sturdy, and that they run true to size.
The sizing is the trickiest part
My only complaint is that the size range for Rothy’s kids’ shoes is limited. All of the shoes top out at a big-kid size 3, which typically fits kids around 8 or 9 years old. And the smallest size Rothy’s offers is a little kid 8, which typically fits kids around 3 years old. So if your preschooler is on the small side or you want to buy a pair of Rothy’s for a younger toddler, you might be out of luck. Plus the size range for some of the shoes, including theKids Strap Sneakerwith Velcro closures, starts two sizes bigger at a little-kid size 10. That’s too big for my 3.5 year-old son, unfortunately, but just fits Ro’s 4-year-old true to his current size. Thankfully the new stretchy-laced sneakers start at little-kid size 8, but I wish the Velcro pair was available in smaller sizes so toddlers could wear them too.
I found that the double-strap sandals my son tried were pretty true to size, but it can be hard to tell at his age when he is growing so fast. I liked that they fit with plenty of width and that the soles are soft and flexible. That said, the soles also have a bit of lift, like a half-platform shoe, which can often be a tripping hazard. None of the other shoes have that issue, though.
Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio’s 8-year-old daughter is at the top end of the Rothy’s size range andfound that the styles she tried ran small. Her daughter loved the look of the mary janes in particular and wears a size 3 in other brands right now but could not get her feet into any of the size-3 pairs of Rothy’s that were sent to us for testing. So one of her cousins is going to get really lucky with some snazzy new kicks, but alas no Rothy’s for her until her feet grow big enough for the adult sizes or Rothy’s widens its kids’ size range.
More kids’ shoes we like
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Keen’s lower-profile closed-toe sandal that’s great for little kids.
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The sneakers one editor’s tween has been wearing for the past three years.
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Basketball shoes that delight another staffer’s 11-year-old like no other fashion purchase has.
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