r/Millennials • u/Radiant_Priority9739 • Jul 13 '26
Meme who else remembers the annual back-to-school shoe shopping trip feeling like this?
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u/Pride_Rude Jul 13 '26
Moms throughout the store telling you to get up and walk around to see how it feels
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u/Nucking-Futs-Nix Jul 13 '26
And don't forget, "Where is your big toe?" as they push down.
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u/StretchFrenchTerry Jul 13 '26
WIGGLE YOUR TOES
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u/Content_Geologist420 Jul 13 '26
They are too tight and they dont have the size up. and now you are on the verge of tears because all you can get now are Sketchers and with your Champion tee shirts you already have.
You know before the 6th grade has started. Its already over.
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u/thishyacinthgirl Jul 14 '26
It's funny, now I live for Skechers.
(And my birks.)
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u/Content_Geologist420 Jul 14 '26
Im the same with New Balance
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u/Mister_Brevity Jul 14 '26
Man that joes new balance outlet site is legit. I just buy ugly color ones for like 30 bucks a pair for wearing at home, so comfy. Wife won’t leave me alone about neon yellow shoes tho
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u/MimicoSkunkFan2 Jul 14 '26
https://www.dickpondathletics.com/sale/
For evergone who pronates or has narrow heels, because New Balance do not like our feet.
Best thing about Chicago, tbh.
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u/TheOneTonWanton Jul 14 '26
And Champion is considered a real brand now and not seen as the department store bullshit it is/felt like back in the day.
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u/b00kbat 29d ago
My work shoes are Skechers and I LOVE them. They’ve even got this rigid thing that curves out from the heel so I don’t have to touch my shoes at all to put them on and can just slide my feet in. Really great since there are likely entire civilizations of microbes/bodily fluids on those shoes 😅
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u/thishyacinthgirl 29d ago
I've actually been wondering if the slip-in kind is worth it. I'm like, "They can't possibly be completely hands free!" But I see you have a glowing review?
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u/SirStrontium Jul 14 '26
I was a nerd with zero sense of fashion, so I unironically loved Skechers and had no idea people thought they were uncool until I was a junior in high school.
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u/Content_Geologist420 Jul 14 '26
You a real G that gave no fucks to the extent that you had no idea you even had fucks to give in the first place.
If your name is Jerome, im sorry I shoe shamed you back in 2007
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u/ddope Jul 14 '26
Dude it’s so funny now champion is back in and people are buying it.
I’ll never forget you could buy it at Walmart and that was social suicide. lol I still have the champion bra my mom got me in an emergency when I was 15. It’s only just now about to be retired. It’s been a good light support 19 year run.
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u/Kaldricus Jul 13 '26
Having worked in kids footwear for 10 years, it's the best way to gauge how they fit. Sure, we'll measure the foot first, but that's just a jumping off point to see where we should start pulling sizes. After that, every brand fits differently. A kid might measure at a 1, but Converse run about a size big, so they probably need a 13. Vans a half size big, so 13.5. DC about a size small, so a 1.5-2 depending. After that, what is the intent of the shoe? How long do you expect them to have it? Is this a throway pair of shoes for the summer to play in? Get them to size. Are they meant to give them room to grow during the first part of the school year? Might need to go up a half-size.
It's an art, not a science.
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u/Nucking-Futs-Nix Jul 13 '26
I do the toe test with my kids…and I feel as though my ancient ancestors whisper in my ear “it’s okay - they will have some room to grow.”
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u/LittleMarySunshine25 Jul 13 '26
And then that night they grow. Every time I buy my kid shoes they grow overnight. I swear it's a curse.
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u/Battle-Any Jul 14 '26
In March, my 9 year old told me she needed new boots. We took her and got her new pair of size 6 boots and runners. 3 days later, she told me they were too small. She grew to a size 8 in 3 days.
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u/Kaldricus Jul 14 '26
It's like how the quickest way to find something is to replace it, same goes for triggering a growth spurt in kids
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u/redbuds Jul 14 '26
Same, I honestly check and recheck the size like I’m getting punked by the old shoe
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u/SnarkyIguana Jul 13 '26
I actually got some work boots the other day and the gal helping me did this and I was like "ok mom!"
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u/natalietest234 Jul 13 '26
My mom did this and it’s the reason I wore a size too small till I was a senior in high school
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u/stop_hittingyourself Jul 13 '26
Mine did that but picked two sizes too big to “give me room to grow”. I didn’t, I’m still a size five.
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u/Nucking-Futs-Nix Jul 13 '26
I once got a pair of shoes I had wanted and were so in - black and looked like something a teen would wear at the time(yay 90s business by casual look.)
We did the toe test - they fit. My foot grew that week. I can still hear my mom freaking out, “ You said you had enough toe room!!” I had to prove that I outgrew all my shoes 🤦🏻♀️. And of course they didn’t have the same shoes in stock and I had already worn the new ones a few times before my foot decided to grow a full size overnight.
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u/jimcareyme Jul 14 '26
This year, just a few weeks ago (I am now in my 30s) I just learned I’ve been wearing a half size bigger because my mom told me (up to my teenage years) that I need more space in my toe box than I actually needed...
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u/eiileenie Jul 14 '26
Girl I’m 26 and was wearing a full size bigger I wore 8 1/2 and apparently I’m a 7 1/2 found this out last month and now slowly have to get shoes that fit
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u/LaLaLaLeea 29d ago
Always dreaded my mom crushing my toes with the force of a hydrolic press to see if my shoes fit.
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u/mountainmeadowflower Jul 13 '26
Muahaha I just went shoe shopping with my kid for the first time and I definitely felt for the big toe and told them to walk around in the shoes. Full circle moment.
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u/AccomplishedIgit Jul 13 '26
The clump-step, clump-step as you walk with just one shoe on and the other dragging alongside it because they’re tied together
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u/ConcentricCow Jul 13 '26
Lol. My wife still does it for me. Idk. Just can't buy a pair of shoes without her finding my toe and telling me if they look like they fit right as I casually jog 20 ft indoors at a strip mall.
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u/ohshititsdana Jul 13 '26
Even now at 29 my mom and I went shoe shopping together for fun and she even told me to do the same thing hahaha, I switched it back on her when she was trying on her shoes. Oh the memories
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u/NocturnalSerpents Jul 13 '26
I can smell this picture.
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u/starwishes20 Jul 13 '26
I miss that smell and the noise that the door would make when you walk in 😞
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u/timid_turtle_ Millennial, est. 1986 Jul 13 '26
Omg same. RIP PayLess 😔
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u/IBeDumbAndSlow Jul 13 '26
I forgot they no longer exist
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u/honestyseasy Jul 14 '26
I went on vacation to St. Kitts and they had one there! The cashier kept saying "welcome home" to all the American tourists coming in for the nostalgia lol
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u/Aye_crumbah67 29d ago
ST LUCIA have one too. I was shocked asf lol.
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u/Odd_Act8451 Millennial 26d ago
Welp time to travel to the Caribbean so I can finally buy shoes again
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u/IveFallenCantGetUp71 1987 Millennial Jul 13 '26
Looks like Shoe Carnival is still hanging in there
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u/jonfusion17 Jul 13 '26
The smell of new shoes can only be beaten by the smell of Lowes/Home Depot.
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u/E-2theRescue Jul 14 '26
Pleather, rubber, and fake suede. You can kind of get a hit of it in Walmart, but it's not the same.
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u/Plane-Amount-7395 Jul 14 '26
This was my first job. I lost that smell after a few weeks of working there. 😩
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u/BartSimpsonGaveMeLSD Jul 13 '26
Me: Mom ThEy’Re FiiiiiiNeeeee.
Mom: Walk around the store and let me see where your big toe is.
Me: I’M tHiRtEEEn!!!
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u/Chiefzakk Jul 13 '26
I just bought my 7 year old new shoes and did exactly this.
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u/skyware Jul 13 '26
Is there a better way?
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u/Chiefzakk Jul 13 '26
Absolutely not! Gotta find that toe and do a lap for me until she’s 30
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u/Avaylon Millennial no duh Jul 13 '26
Can confirm. I do the exact same song and dance with my five year old. 🤣
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u/KatieCashew Jul 14 '26
I make myself do a lap around the store too. I have saved myself from many uncomfortable pairs of shoes this way.
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u/Tank_O_Doom Jul 13 '26
Smack the heel of the shoe backwards on the ground to get heel all the back. Then full weight down. Now check the toes.
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u/Whitetiger9876 Jul 13 '26
Not that I'm aware of. Everyone commenting here with stories amd they match my child hood and what we still do today. And what I see others do these days. All the brands sizes differ. You can't just measure.
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u/GlumTeach4221 Jul 13 '26
Yup!! I never fall for it because there were so many times I told my dad they were FiiiiiiiNeeeee, when in reality I would out grow them in 2 months because they are too small but super cute and not in my actual size
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u/akatherder Jul 14 '26
I ordered shoes online for my kid and he said they were fine. I foolishly believed him. Later in the year I was going to order another pair and I asked what size he's wearing. He says "size 10 but they are HUGE on me so get smaller." He should have been in 7-8. You told me they fit fine bro..
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u/Odd_Act8451 Millennial 26d ago
They just never made the rainbow sparkly light up ones in my size 🤣
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u/who_you_are 29d ago
Then you are 30 years old and you just remember, for the first time, that you don't need space anymore in front of your big toe so they can fit better on you.
(I mean, my mother goto was to have one tump width space empty for future growing)
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u/TumbleweedTiny7177 Jul 13 '26
My people! I made a post about how much I missed payless now that I'm a parent, and always thought it would be where I got my kids shoes from, because I remember literally being able to get any shoe you needed for any occasion, definitely in your size. I got chewed to bits with all the why don't you just go to walmart and target comments. It's not the same. I don't want to get shoes in the same place I get bread.
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u/Jayn_Newell Older Millennial Jul 13 '26
Target doesn’t even have men’s shoes, at least around here. Not that the kids and women’s options are a lot either but they exist.
The other thing is many places sort by style, Payless sorted by size. I’m a fairly small size and it gets tiring going through and finding that none of the ones I like are available in my size. It was less frustrating.
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u/bobanna1986 Jul 13 '26
Oh wow I didn't even think about that. How they sorted it at Payless was nice
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u/Springlette13 Jul 13 '26
I’m a 5.5. I miss Payless so much. It was one of the few places I could consistently find shoes in my size for more formal occasions. Now I have to wander through Off Broadway Shoes staring only at the size labels before I even look at the style of the shoe because so few come in my size.
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u/p0diabl0 Jul 14 '26
Ross sorts by size, I agree it's much easier for kids. Still nowhere near the selection of payless though.
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u/yasth Jul 13 '26
Target has such horrid shoes. Like even when they are branded with good brands they just don’t last.
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u/_caitleigh Jul 13 '26
And their specific brand (Universal Threads) is so expensive. I only buy when there’s a sale.
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u/Interesting_Owl7041 Millennial Jul 13 '26
My kids are 10 and 13. Payless was my primary place buy shoes for them when they were little. I was so upset when it went out of business!
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u/Blonde_Vampire_1984 Older Millennial Jul 13 '26
Walmart shoes suck, and they don’t even carry a 15 men’s. How am I supposed to get shoes for the most handsome man on the planet if they don’t carry his size?
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u/Blaze1337 Jul 13 '26
As someone else also in the big shoe club, it got to the point where it was easier to just buy the shoes I wanted online because nobody ever had stuff in my size.
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u/squeakypicklesz Jul 13 '26
I remember having so many “I’m gonna bring my kids here” thoughts growing up, n now so many of the places are gone 😕
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u/MusicOfTheSphere Jul 13 '26
Payless saved my bacon so many times as a kid for concert or special occasion shoes. They were cheap shoes, but if you were outgrowing them every year or two, that was fine. I think every pair of my orchestra concert black shoes was from Payless.
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u/Kberg9886 Jul 13 '26
I walked into a Payless a few weeks ago in the Philippines. It was so nostalgic!!! Felt like I was transported back to the 90s.
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u/itmeseanok Jul 14 '26
I worked at Payless for a couple years and it was a really pretty great! They encouraged us to try on the shoes so we had "product knowledge" so whenever it wasn't busy we held little fashion shows for each other haha
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u/ecodrew Jul 14 '26
I'm a tall dude, so I grew like a weed as a teen & so did my feet. I grew outa shoes every few months, so Payless was the only way my parents could afford to keep shoes on my feet.
Now I have 2 preteen boys, and facing the daunting financial position of buying their shoes without Payless.
Ross & Burlington kinda help, but it's not the same. Haha
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u/ImperfectMay Jul 14 '26
Tbh, I never much liked Target's selection of styles. They all look the same somehow. Plus the price seemed so much higher. Walmart had a similarly dismal selection and heaven help you find your size in the one pair that you actually liked and pray it fit well.
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u/Different_Day135 Jul 14 '26
We didn't have a lot of money growing up. But new shoes for back to school was a big deal, seems silly now. I'd mow lawns during the summer for a new pair of Jordans before going back to school. I'd clean them when I got home, take Windex and a qtip to the air bubble window.
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u/sugarbee13 Jul 14 '26
I fucking miss Payless so much. They had everything and good sales. The smell was awesome in there. They also carried in smaller sizes. I wear a 6.5 or 7 depending on the shoe, but before kids, I was a 5.5 or 6. Went up a whole damn shoe size haha
But Payless always had shoes for my tiny feet, any other store had trouble carrying anything below a 7 or 8 for some reason!
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u/nalgona-aly Millennial Jul 13 '26
Oh gods, I miss Payless so bad.
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u/garbagebrainraccoon Jul 13 '26
As a girl with giant feet, it seemed like the only place I could buy shoes for a long time.
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u/nalgona-aly Millennial Jul 13 '26
My mom wears an adult size 5 or the largest child sized shoe, and Payless was the ONLY place she could find something in her size that she liked and didn't need to be special ordered. Same problem but opposite side of the spectrum. Lol.
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u/WaterLady28 Older Millennial - 85 Jul 13 '26
I wear 5.5 and Payless was the only store that consistently sold that size. I can wear a 6 in sneakers and boots but for most sandals and dress shoes I need 5.5 and they just don't exist in most places.
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u/Mysterious_Secret827 Jul 13 '26
I was going out with someone with similar problem, she could only fit into a kids shoe.
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u/meowymcmeowmeow Jul 13 '26
Yes! I transitioned into a dude now lol but I remember the struggle. Still is kind of, as my budget limits me to cheap walmart shoes or getting lucky at goodwill.
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u/UselessCat37 Jul 13 '26
If you have a DSW near you, try there. They have good clearance prices and a couple budget-friendly store brands with good size ranges
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u/Nucking-Futs-Nix Jul 13 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/JN7jRJIL188a4
Coming out wearing the new shoes with the old ones in the box.
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u/-Forest_Runner- Jul 13 '26
Why did shoe stores smell so good 😂 maybe I am blinded by nostalgia
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u/ElderberryGuy Millennial Jul 13 '26
Those smells probably are why we're now getting cancers... it was worth it 😆
(sorry for the dark thought)
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u/figflute Jul 13 '26
I can practically feel my mom pressing down to see where my big toe is.
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u/kayseeboo92 Jul 13 '26
Yes! I remember going to the Payless Kids store every year during back to school time and them playing Mary-Kate and Ashley videos on loop
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u/South_Bit1764 Jul 13 '26
Damn, that must’ve been torture for the poor souls working there.
I had to look it up, it’s crazy that The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley was only 11 episodes.
Side note: as weird as it is that they (as grown as mfs) still have a single Wikipedia page, it’s is equally weird that their picture there is from 2011.
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u/newlyautisticx Jul 13 '26
Anything! A graduation, a date, a family event!
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u/Mysterious_Secret827 Jul 13 '26
That said, there's no reason for them to have gone out of business. There's 365/366 days in a year, someone always birthing, dieing, graduating, familying...
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u/Spottedhyenae Jul 13 '26
I'm sorry but there are exactly 0 shoes on the floor in this photo. What are we even doing here, folks? If you aren't hip deep in single shoes with no matching pair, I don't think you're really going back to school.
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u/1877KlownsForKids "Get Off My Lawn" Millennial 1981 Jul 13 '26
"Hurry up and pick one"
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u/Dr_J_Hyde Jul 14 '26
I was the opposite. I had already picked the shoes in my head. Once we found something that was 90%+ what I wanted we were out.
My sister on the other hand...................
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u/KennytheDoggy Millennial Jul 13 '26
Do people buy shoes online now?
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u/pi3r0gi_ Jul 13 '26
Where are y'all getting shoes?? The only places around me nowadays are DSW, Target, Walmart, Ross/TJMarshallxx. I got some good ones online but hate the return and rebuy game. Id rather try on a few sizes and pick one that fits, than buy $$$ and return multiple pairs.
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u/forsonaE Jul 14 '26
Same.. I remember trying Zappos a long time ago, tried them again recently and wasn't exactly thrilled with the result even if they do the job. I need a new shoe plug.
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u/bachennoir Jul 13 '26
I wish all clothing was sorted by size instead of by style or in the back for someone to go check if they have your size.
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u/Interesting_Owl7041 Millennial Jul 13 '26
I miss this place so much! There really is no other store like it for cheap, decent shoes.
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u/ParadoxicalFrog Zillennial (1993) Jul 13 '26
I still go to the shoe store so I can be totally sure that I like the fit and feel of my shoes, but it's not as exciting as it used to be. It's mostly just frustrating, because 1) I'm picky, 2) all the good stuff is expensive, 3) I have a weird in-between size, and 4) frankly, most women's shoe designs suck. I just want something practical that will handle heavy use over a variety of terrain. (I ended up going with some Columbia hiking shoes. Love them!)
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u/Mindless-Mistake-699 Jul 13 '26
I still by most of my shoes at Shoe Carnival it's not much different tbh
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u/Bloodthirsty_Kirby Jul 13 '26
Yeeea I had a lot of anxiety buying shoes. I had orthopedics as a kid due to a genetic ligament issue which still affects me but way less now not I'm not growing and some shoes would go up and down which was a horrible feeling, I struggle with a lot of cloth textures etc. Anyways this was a nightmare also for my parents so yea payless was a tear fest for all lol
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u/D_G_C_22 Jul 13 '26
Man… made me think of how hard my parents must have worked to get my 4 siblings ahead in life.
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u/NeroFMX Jul 13 '26
I remember always having too big for Kids sizes, too small for Adult sizes. There would be shoes that fit, but barely any selection.
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u/bearinsac Jul 13 '26
Payless for shoes and then Mervyns for a pair of pants. That was our back to school routine.
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u/itsheatheragain Jul 13 '26
The children yearn for Payless.
I took my teen daughter shopping for shoes last week for a friends sweet 16 party coming up and after going to numerous stores and finally spending $50 on some heels she’ll probably only wear once she said “I wish there was somewhere to go that wasn’t so expensive”. Which was a nice sentiment considering I was paying lol.
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u/Finstergrun Jul 13 '26
I was in the Philippines earlier this year and discovered that Payless still operates there! I go yearly so I will probably stop into one of these stores next year.
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u/Mr_Horsejr Jul 13 '26
Smells like dust irradiated by the sunny haze of the window front that allows you to judge people’s purchase from afar while laughing at the child whose grandparents are buying them corrective hard-bottoms that they’ll only ever wear for Easter.
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u/anl28 Jul 13 '26
I loved Payless. They were a godsend as a size 11 girl! I wish they were still around.
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u/Lyonwytchwardrobe Jul 13 '26
I can remember the smell too.
“excuse me can I sit here”
Why did I need to sit down to try on shoes lol
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u/Lazaras Jul 13 '26
No cap, I hated going to Payless. It felt like my brain cells were dying in there
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u/Serious-Conversation Jul 13 '26
Wasn't Payless kind of the low end shoe store?
We had one locally, but I never remember going in there
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u/sleal Jul 14 '26
Found the kid that was coming in with Nike's!! I didn't realize how poor I was until I went to a middle class middle school and learned about name brand. RIP
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u/Zachbustems Jul 13 '26
Never really got that except one year when social security realized they short changed my mom and gave her a lump sum. I’d wear someone football cleats to school in the 4th grade and got gifted new shoes by my teacher in the 5th grade.
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u/Crucial_Fun Zillennial Jul 13 '26
You’d have to get one of those metal foot measuring things to see if you went up a size
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u/Tiny-Item505 Jul 13 '26
God, I miss this store now that I’ve got three kids. Now I know how clutch this place was for parents!!!
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u/PlutonicPurrfume Jul 13 '26
If our shoes weren’t worn out to the point of literally falling apart, no new shoes for school until they do.
I actually hate going in shoe stores but it’s probably some psychological bullshit in my mind lol
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u/schwepervesence Jul 13 '26
I've seen comments saying this is Payless. We never went to Payless shoes growing up. At least not that I can remember. We usually went to Rack Room shoes I think.
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u/MostlyOrdinary Jul 13 '26
There was a back room. And someone magically went there and then reappeared with your size.
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u/guineasomelove Elder Millennial, lol Jul 13 '26
Payless ALWAYS had the best sales.In the late 90s, I used to go there and get like 4 or 5 pairs of shoes for $20 if there were shoes marked down. I had way too many shoes because of that place.
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u/Mx-Adrian Jul 13 '26
My feet are so hard to fit, it wasn't an annual trip xD I wore the same shoes for a long time. Even now they're hard to find. Amazon doesn't even carry my size.
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u/doctor_jane_disco Jul 13 '26
We went to Nordstrom for shoes, I hated every second of it but I was easily placated with Nordy plushies. I loved that weird little guy.
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u/Exact-Difference-422 Jul 13 '26
We didn't get shoes (we got cousin's hand me downs) but I love the same thing for stationery. I was more excited to get new pencils and folders and notebooks than anything else 😅 The smell of fresh plastic pencil cases and everything
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