The Search For New Pointe Shoes | Pointe Shoe Fitting
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| My old, no-more worn, Pointe shoes from August 2014 , as I was that delighted I wrote inside when I first purchased then xD |
My beloved old Pointe shoes are no more. They're frayed, too soft to use and just worn down. So off I went in search of my new Pointe shoes. As a result of this long journey in search of actually having my Pointe shoes fitted, I now currently have lovely, bright, lively Pointe shoes, and what a surprise the same brand... And by the way, some amusing photo of me my sister in law took of me during my Pointe shoe fitting, so yes, laugh away like she did haha.
Let me fill you in. I live in a Town near Oxford by roughly 40-60 minutes in the car, depending on traffic. The nearest Ballet Shop that sells Pointe Shoes as well as having a trained individual to fit the shoes for you, is on the outskirts of Oxford. I had multiple attempts to figure out a method of travel to get to the shop. Bus? No I finish college when the bus leaves and would have to wait over 40 minutes when I am busy later on. Train? wait the train goes back to where I live, not where the shoes are. Car? Oh wait, I can't drive without another individual with me as I am a learner driver. Walk? Oh no, that would take probably a day or more. Lift from someone? NO, no, no. Then: how about my brother and sister-in-law? And that's how I managed to get the Pointe shoes I needed. Thank you to my relatives I appreciate it so so much :)
So on the day, a Monday to be exact, I went to college in Oxford for the hour, the only hour lesson I have on a Monday, travelled back on the train to the town centre of where I live, met my brother and sister-in-law in the train station car park and hopped into their car. We set off towards the dance shop, which took about 45 minutes, finally arriving at the shop which had wooden floors, white wash walls, and a stash of new Pointe shoes of various different brands to the right of the shop's entrance.
When starting to try on shoes, we started with a brand that I hadn't heard of before, and annoyingly have forgotten. These were not very wide, and I couldn't even fit my feet into them. The next, the same brand and the next width up, still had the same issue. Next up, we tried the same brand, as this brand offered shoes for those with tapered feet, like mine. We didn't try on any Bloch brands as these are for square feet and unfortunately don't provide for my build of my feet.
After about 20 pairs of the same brand, and 45 minutes of deciphering the right width and length of the shoes best for my feet, I tried on Grishko Pointe shoes; resulting in more hopeful chances of finding the correct shoes for myself. The first pair of Grishko's was a pair that once again, the incorrect width, and in fact I couldn't even fit my heel into them. The second, had too much length to them, as my feet slipped down into the shoes when on point: definitely not the right size of shoe. The next pair, once on my feet standing and on point, were literally perfect, Right width, length and size. Only issue was that the shank (the part of the shoe that keeps the shoes structure and that you stand on) was too long, it dug into my feet and even after five minutes of wearing them staring to dig into my left foot really badly, ouch! So then the shop owner got another pair of Grishko shoes, the Grishko 2007 's. Once I put these shoes on, I knew they were the right ones. How? Because my feet weren't being crushed to death within a second of wearing them, because they fit snugly, not too tight or too loose. Standing on point felt effortless without pain as I was able to get over the vamp and onto the platform easily to stand. I had found the right shoes! After an hour and fifteen minutes, I had found them! Finally after waiting months to go and get a Pointe shoe fitting, I had finally got the Pointe shoes that were perfect. So I brought them, £45.50 plus length of four ribbons for £1.50, cheaper than I had ever seen these items on any dancing website that I know.
The happiness I get from the fact they are more comfortable than my old Pointe shoes, because they fit me! The fact that my left foot is half a size smaller than my right, that my feet are tapered (or 'somewhat tapered' because of my longest second toe), my arch is high and my feet are slim but wide where the toe bones meet the foot and that I have long toes, especially a longer second toe. All the things that made it so impossible and frustrating to find the right shoes, had resulted in the best, comfiest shoes! And yes, it still hurts to go on pointe and to wear the shoes, but the normal
pain to expect with Pointe shoes, and a pain that is so much less than what I experienced from my old pointe shoes.
Now I can finally reherse in my dance school's dance show in June, without struggling to get over the vamp and onto the platform because my old shoes were too small and the vamp was too long for my feet :)
Thankyou for reading,
Yours truly,
Caris
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| New Point shoes compared to my old Pointe shoes. Old shoes left, new shoes right. You can see some difference in their structure. |
So on the day, a Monday to be exact, I went to college in Oxford for the hour, the only hour lesson I have on a Monday, travelled back on the train to the town centre of where I live, met my brother and sister-in-law in the train station car park and hopped into their car. We set off towards the dance shop, which took about 45 minutes, finally arriving at the shop which had wooden floors, white wash walls, and a stash of new Pointe shoes of various different brands to the right of the shop's entrance.
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| Yep, this was taken the moment I couldn't get the shoe even onto my heel they were so small! And yes, my face says it all haha xD |
When starting to try on shoes, we started with a brand that I hadn't heard of before, and annoyingly have forgotten. These were not very wide, and I couldn't even fit my feet into them. The next, the same brand and the next width up, still had the same issue. Next up, we tried the same brand, as this brand offered shoes for those with tapered feet, like mine. We didn't try on any Bloch brands as these are for square feet and unfortunately don't provide for my build of my feet.
After about 20 pairs of the same brand, and 45 minutes of deciphering the right width and length of the shoes best for my feet, I tried on Grishko Pointe shoes; resulting in more hopeful chances of finding the correct shoes for myself. The first pair of Grishko's was a pair that once again, the incorrect width, and in fact I couldn't even fit my heel into them. The second, had too much length to them, as my feet slipped down into the shoes when on point: definitely not the right size of shoe. The next pair, once on my feet standing and on point, were literally perfect, Right width, length and size. Only issue was that the shank (the part of the shoe that keeps the shoes structure and that you stand on) was too long, it dug into my feet and even after five minutes of wearing them staring to dig into my left foot really badly, ouch! So then the shop owner got another pair of Grishko shoes, the Grishko 2007 's. Once I put these shoes on, I knew they were the right ones. How? Because my feet weren't being crushed to death within a second of wearing them, because they fit snugly, not too tight or too loose. Standing on point felt effortless without pain as I was able to get over the vamp and onto the platform easily to stand. I had found the right shoes! After an hour and fifteen minutes, I had found them! Finally after waiting months to go and get a Pointe shoe fitting, I had finally got the Pointe shoes that were perfect. So I brought them, £45.50 plus length of four ribbons for £1.50, cheaper than I had ever seen these items on any dancing website that I know.
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| New Pointe shoes and correctly coloured ribbon for my Pointe shoes brand new in their bag. |
The happiness I get from the fact they are more comfortable than my old Pointe shoes, because they fit me! The fact that my left foot is half a size smaller than my right, that my feet are tapered (or 'somewhat tapered' because of my longest second toe), my arch is high and my feet are slim but wide where the toe bones meet the foot and that I have long toes, especially a longer second toe. All the things that made it so impossible and frustrating to find the right shoes, had resulted in the best, comfiest shoes! And yes, it still hurts to go on pointe and to wear the shoes, but the normal
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| My new, shining, well-fitting Pointe shoes. |
Now I can finally reherse in my dance school's dance show in June, without struggling to get over the vamp and onto the platform because my old shoes were too small and the vamp was too long for my feet :)
Thankyou for reading,
Yours truly,
Caris
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