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| pink adjustable shupeas |
Shupeas are a really innovative new leather soft-soled shoe for babies and Holly has been trying a pair out. To me, the instant appeal was that Shupeas grow with your child; one pair is suitable from birth up to about 18 months which means that you don't need to keep buying soft shoes as they grow... it also means that if you buy them as pram shoes when your baby is tiny, you don't feel like you are wasting money if they don't wear them very much until they are toddling.
Holly is always most comfortable around the house and nusery wearing a pair of soft-soled shoes (although now that she is walking, I tend to put her in a harder shoe when we are out of the house); soft leather shoes like Shupeas are much better for a baby foot because they don't restrict growth or movement and allow tiny bones the freedom they need while still keeping little toes warm.
The soles of the Shupeas are leather too but with a simple pattern which is ever so slightly grippy.
The shoe adjusts extremely cleverly through use of a velcro-style fastening as the back of the foot which is hidden beneath the flap of fabric. I much, much, much prefer this fastening than the more common elastic because it means I can get the fit just right to Holly's foot and know that when I take the shoe off there won't be a horrid red mark from a tight elastic. At the front of the shoe, the embroidered tab (a gorgeous little flower in Holly's case but the Shupeas range features lots of great motifs for boys and girls) is used to pull the front of the shoe up to make it longer or shorter depending on the style of your child's foot.
For me the Shupea is perfect because we don't use a soft shoe all of the time but I do know mums who use them all day every day and I would worry about whether any shoe is capable of withstanding wear and tear for a whole 18 months of use.
Our Shupeas are some of the very best quality soft shoes I've used with either of my girls and I think the design is very clever indeed.
