The heeled ones look a bit weird and indulgent, I think. Like the other ones, but realistically, I think it is a waste of money! As a mum of three, I have found hardly any baby shoes that ever stay on. I have heaps of seldom worn baby shoe hand me downs and some adorable baby ballet shoes that were gifts. None of them stay on. Nor to more traditional knitted booties. The only things that have a chance are cloth booties gathered with elastic around the ankles. My babies have mostly just worn socks, or clothes with feet (eg babysuits)

I think they are ridiculous looking actually. They sort of remind me of those terrible shoes that Geisha’s feet were bound into for absurd reason back when. As a mum of four I would never push a grown up idea of a shoe (high heels) onto my infant. Society requires our kids to grow up to quickly as it is. I want my wee ones to stay little and innocent looking as long as possible. Trust me, the older they get the harder it is to buy them clothes that dont make them look like hussys or grown old women before their time anyway, why start it in the crib? I really just don’t understand this one. Maybe I am just from the wrong generation.

And I have to agree with Anne, shoes never stay on anyway. We prefer the way of very cute leggings and socks to keep our wee feet warm and pretty.

CREEEEEEPY!

I am nauseated by the first pair of shoes. Why on EARTH would anyone want to put anything so mature looking on their infant? Babies should wear things that feel and *look* soft.

I agree with Risa completely about kids looking too old too fast. It’s difficult to find age appropriate clothing for my 11 year old daughter. She wears a junior size 1–she is tall and lean and starting to develop. So my clothing choices for her are designed for teenagers. I know I’m not the only parent who faces this dilemma. When I showed my daughter these shoes she immediately said “Disgusting”.

Those first shoes are horribly disturbing. Why can’t people let kids be kids? I don’t understand the drive to sexualize small children. Ugh.

I’d have bet loads of money on your reactions, and I am with you.

Anne, you are so right about booties falling off most babies. But this somehow does not prevent new mothers or friends and family from buying them because they look so cute (and they are none the wiser). So from a business perspective, there is profit to be made by offering the product in stores or online. Unfortunately, the retail industry revolves around making money. I hear you on how impractical the concept is, though.

I personally think the baby heels are awful too. I’m all for babies looking like babies; and for dogs looking like dogs for that matter.

Baby heels, disturbing. Very disturbing! Not cute.

I agree with the sentiments of every one else today. Dressing young children up like grown ups is utterly inappropriate at any age.

More broadly, I worry this sort of focus on a young girl’s appearance will translate into an increased focus on her appearance as she gets older, and finally a skewed body image that will stay with her throughout her life. The best gift we can give to our girls is the assurance that they are beautiful no matter what shape, size, or color. In other words, you don’t have to look 25 years old when you’re a baby, a 4 year old, or an 8 year old.

I will quietly step off my soap box now.

love,
m!

Angie – I totally see your point! And tiny shoes do indeed look very cute!

I’m with you all. The high heels are ugly and incongruent with the lovely softness and delicateness of babies. Babyhood is such a short and singular time, why would one want to hurry it up?

The baby shoes that I swear by are Robeez (little leather booties with elastic around the ankles.) They stay on unless enthusiastically tugged by a 6+ old. My kids mostly left theirs on. When babies are learning to walk, the less shoe related support the better to allow their little feet to develop muscles so these booties provided some protection for their skin…mine even wore them to the park, etc… when they were learning to learn to walk. Plus they come in cute designs.

(no, I don’t work for Robeez company.

The first pair reminds me of those shoes on old Chinese lotus feet. They are unnatural, unhealthy and disturbing looking to me. I don’t understand how people find them attractive.

This says it all:

CRAWLING DOWN THE CATWALK
“Little girls can get a jump start on their strut and be top-models-in-training before they leave the crib! Celebrities like Nicole Richie and Elisabeth Rohm are getting a kick out of their kids with Heelarious’ high-heel crib shoes for babies. Their little girls just might develop a footwear fetish with these silly, soft pumps that are meant to be “her first high heels.”

Yuk!

I agree with Risa. I’m tired of all this crap with expecting kids to grow up way before their time like that. =( Why can’t kids hold onto their innocence longer? Those high heels look disturbing. The sexualizing of young girls is frightening.

Laurel, that statement that comes with the shoes is extremely disturbing. Just plain creepy, the whole thing! *shiver*

Poor babies!

This is actually quite disturbing. When you think about all the reasons women wear heels, none of those should apply to kids or babies. Way to start giving girls a complex before they even learn how to talk. Reminds me of the whole “thongs for 10 year olds” thing that happened a few years ago.

Heels for babies. Two words: Jonbenet Ramsey

Eeew! I had a very strong reaction to this, just as some of the other posters. I find these shoes disturbing, offensive, creepy. There are so many aspects of this that I take issue with, from the basic concept of trying to sell fancy stiff shoes to a non-walking/crawling infant (socks or those Robeez thingies seem so much more appropriate and probably much more comfortable to the little worm), to the concept of making infant girls resemble grown women. Yuck yuck yuck.

For me this is a horrible extension of some other things I dislike on little girls, e.g. lipstick and make-up (except for play) or bikini tops on toddlers that pretend that they have “breasts” that need to be covered rather than a child’s chest. I’m sure some will disagree with me on these things and that’s alright, to each her own, but I personally cringe when I see kids turned into little grown-ups with all the worst gender trappings there are.

Wow, this is probably the strongest reaction I’ve ever had to a blog post on YLF. You hit a nerve there…

Not a fan. I’m not a parent, and I think this is a deeply wacky idea.

Antje, I’m so glad you mentioned the bikini thing. I thought I was the only one who found that weird.

Maya, this has always bugged me, and now that I have a kid myself it bugs me even more. Part of this might be due to my upbringing in Europe, where people are a little more relaxed around nudity, and where kids of both genders typically wear swim bottoms only. I totally cringe when I see 2-year old girls waddling around in frilly bikini tops, it looks so wrong to me…

I consider high heels to be the modern day version of foot binding. I don’t ever wear them because they hurt and they are bad for you. It is scary that they’re trying to impose this trend onto babies too! I would never buy them.

I also agree on the bikini top comment. I wish America were more relaxed about nudity for all ages. It’s really not that big of a deal.

No. Just don’t even compare heels with foot binding. They’re apples and oranges. Foot binding was not something chinese women did to feel sexy. It was something imposed on them from childhood, and was a sign of grave gender inequality. We wear heels and put up with the pain to look good. This choice is ours only.

And the japanese did not bind their feet, especially not geisha. How would they dance?

Looks creepy and pageanty!

I agree that kids should remain kids and should dress as such. However may I suggest that some people are overreacting? Angie has explained in her post that they are totally soft and the heels collapse so they are probably just as comfortable as regular booties. Also, if you look at the proportions of the shoes, they look more like Minnie Mouse’s shoes than ladies’ heels. It’s obvious they were designed as a piece of whimsy rather than a serious attempt to sexualize children. So I think we need to calm down here. That said, at $35 they’re awfully expensive and would probably look silly outside of a Halloween costume so I would opt for the ones on the right.

Now, Maya’s comment about thongs for 10 year olds–that is what I call creepy, offensive, and totally disgusting.

This is slightly disturbing to me! I’m assuming that most kids 0-6 mos haven’t really even thought about walking yet — let alone walking in heels. Talk about socializing behaviors at a young age!

I don’t understand it, why would you want to force a child’s foot into something with a pointy toe, let alone a heel (even if it is collapsible), kids feet bones are very soft, and you don’t really want to put them in a shoe at all so that you don’t damage them, socks are all they need til they’re walking, and then those nice soft ROUND toed leather baby walkers with only a soft sole. Don’t squash their poor toes before their feet have had time to grow and the bones to harden (like when they’re an adult).

Joelle, regardless of what the designer intended the shoes to look like (Minnie Mouse shoes or grown up women shoes), the fact is the shoes ARE disturbing to people. Maybe you see Minnie Mouse, but I see something completely different.

As a mother of a daughter, I am faced with inappropriate clothing options every time she needs new clothes. Sexy clothes do not belong on children of any age, and what people perceive as sexy varies from person to person. This is why I don’t think anyone is over reacting.

The first “shoe” looks like a factory malfunction. The trend of skanking up our babies and kids will come back to haunt us.

Take for example, Barbie vs. those Bratz Dolls. Class vs. Trash. It’s that simple. Do the right thing fashion and moral wise and dress age-appropriate.

(Hear me, Mariah Carey?) She dresses like a teenager!

I can see the artistic appeal for something like a photograph session with a baby girl in a fancy little dress, these shoes, and a long string of pearls, but that’s about it. The Halloween costume others have suggested would work too. Other than that, I’m disturbed by these too.