Stride Ritegirl's Claire 525-K

I have bought these Mary Jane shoes for the last several years to go with school uniforms and never had an issue until this last order. The shoes have always been sturdy to the touch and durable - the only reason I need to get a new pair is because my daughter outgrows them. (Caveat: We do alternate with a pair of all-black sneakers throughout the school year.)This time around, however, the shoes seem flimsy and of much inferior quality. At first I considered that the quality is just not the same, as is the case with a lot of stuff today. But now I'm wondering if these are even authentic Stride Rite shoes. The reason I say this is because the shoebox and packaging inside did not match shoes. Not only was the shoe box too large for the actual shoes, it was a generic box with no indication of the Stride Rite brand. To make matters worse, the shoes on the inside did not appear to be new or at the very least looked like it was a return that someone haphazardly threw together in a men's shoebox.As I already mentioned, I purchase these shoes every year and they have always arrived in the properly branded box and packaged as new shoes are normally packaged. I have re-ordered these directly from Stride Rite and will update my review along with some comparison pictures to determine whether they are the same product or not.*Update: Buyer beware. These shoes are most definitely defective at best. I have added some photos to illustrate the differences in the packaging and the actual shoes. The shoes purchased on Amazon are on the left with the ones purchased from Stride Rite on the right. I have no idea where they're sourcing they're merchandise from but this is not a $25 shoe, much less $45. I am returning the ones from Amazon first thing tomorrow.

In just a few weeks of school and the shoe color is fading and seems as if they have been used for the entire year.

Though my daughter loved the look and feel of these shoes, after one day of wearing the black dye started coming off....not just on the shoe, but the black dye transferred to her socks! It's so bad that if I rub a paper towel along the side of the shoe, it will also turn black. Very poor quality, bought just over a month ago for school that started this week, and after one day of wearing they're going to be donated! Might wind up calling Stride Rite directly, to see if I have any recourse.

Four months and toe broke open. Not happy because these aren't inexpensive so they should wear better than that. Also I had to polish often because color fades fast. I won't get these again and I'm disappointed in stride right. This isn't the quality I normally get from them. I don't recommend.

Like many other reviewers have experienced, the blue Mary Janes fade out very quickly and are overly prone to scuffing. Coupled with unreasonable sole wear, they look trashed after a single week. I'm debating on whether it is worth the hassle of re-dying them a darker color or tracking down navy blue polish, but for $50 I expect a little more.

The black finish is holding up much better than the blue did last year. The shoe itself holds up well to daily school wear. It's comfortable and secure while dressy enough for her school dresses. Last year we got the blue and most of the finish had come off the toes by the end of the first day...and finding blue shoe polish proved impossible...every order of it just got backordered over and over.We will order black from now. We will order again each year as long as our girls fit in them.

As usual, Stride Rite provides an excellent quality shoe, but Amazon provided an even better price! I paid less than $15 for these shoes. These shoes are high quality leather mary-janes with a rubber sole. I purchased them as uniform shoes for school, and they did not disappoint. They have a thick rubber sole to provide comfort and stability, and a supple leather upper to withstand everyday use and roughness to the shoe. The inside has a soft, cushiony lining. I expect these shoes to last through the school year and still be in great shape for my younger child to use as a hand-me down.

We ordered these for my daughter who has wide feet. She normally wears See Kai Run canvas Mary Jane-style shoes, which are just wide enough, but we were looking for something a little wider. The 1.5W in this shoe is actually quite a bit narrower than the regular 1.5 See Kai Run shoe and much stiffer. My daughter found it too uncomfortable to even try both shoes on. I suggest ordering a double wide if your child has wide feet, or skipping entirely. The length seemed correct.