One Pointe Shoe to Fit Them All

Lindsay is my name, and research is my game.

In my travels through the depths of internet ballet and pointe discussions, I've seen a recurring theme.  New pointe students are super stoked to take their first steps en pointe, fulfilling their young lifelong dreams.  Their teacher has told them exactly what pointe shoe make and model and shank strength the whole class is expected to buy.  They have a fitting scheduled at 5pm Tuesday and they can't. wait.  

And I cringe.

There is not one magical pointe shoe that will be right for all members of the same class.  It's unlikely even that two girls in the same class will have the same exact feet and need the same exact shoe.  

So why does this happen so often?  I think a combination of things contributes to this scary trend.

1. The teacher doesn't know better.
2. The teacher had a bad experience with a certain brand of shoe and refuses to allow his/her student to purchase them. 
3. The teacher found their perfect shoe, and now requires her students to wear the same.  
4. The teacher knows better but is of the old school of thought, where everyone got the same shoe and nobody was allowed to wear padding (cringe!)
5. The local pointe shoppe only carries a couple different makes/models of pointe shoe.  

None of these are reassuring, and all of them are scary.  

In my quest to find the right shoe, I went through 5 pairs and 3 different fitters, and none of them were really quite right.  The closest I came to the right fit happened to be when I fit myself after researching my feet.  

There are a few different models of shoe that are said to fit a wide variety of foot shapes, but after what I've seen, I really have a hard time believing it.  

The problem is that "fit" is subjective.  At my very first pointe shoe fitting, I asked the fitter what she thought.  She replied... "the shoes look nice, but only you can determine the fit!".  I was a naive pointe shoe newbie, how was I supposed to know if they fit right?  I'd never worn something so foreign in my life!  

I walked out of my first fitting with shoes that were quite comfortable, but as we've seen before, totally wrong for my feet.  

????????????????????????????????

If the pointe fitter can't tell you how the shoes should feel, and the teacher can't tell you, what do you do?  Take off your blinders and look beyond the shiny pink satin!

It's imperative that you take the time to figure out your/your child's feet before stepping foot into a pointe shop.  Each pointe shoe model has different characteristics that will help or hinder the student if fitted correctly or incorrectly.

Here are two different shoes that I have purchased.  The shoe on the left has a square shaped box.  The shoe on the right has a tapered box.  Take one moment to look at the differences in shape.

The shoe on the left is intended for a person with square shaped toes, like this:

Notice how all the shoe is broad from the bunion area down to the floor.  It only barely tapers.  Square shaped boxes are for square shaped feet, allowing for all toes to have adequate room within the shoe.

The shoe on the right is my current favorite, and fits my peasant shaped foot well. 

Notice how the shoe tapers from the bunion area to the platform.  The shoe cups my metatarsals, while accounting for the way my toes taper.  My peasant shaped feet were in agony in a square shaped box because there was so much extra room and no support of the metatarsal.  

Please do your research.  Your feet will thank you!

Happy dancing! 

RB