I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, kids’ shoes are superior. 

Not only are they cheaper, but they often come in much more exciting, creative, and self-expressive colors and patterns. I’d recommend buying kid’s size shoes to anyone that can fit in them, which is typically a Women’s 6.5 and below, but for Nike, it’s a Women’s 8.5-9. The best way to determine a shoe size in its kid’s equivalent is to use the European size.

As a person with a shoe size of a women’s 6, I use the price difference for kid’s shoes to my advantage. For instance, when I had been wanting a pair of Nike Air Force 1 Mids, I bought them in a kids’ size 5Y, and I saved about $15. While this doesn’t seem like much, I am a shoe hoarder, and in the long run, that little amount of money I save on any kids’ size shoes ends up paying off. 

Currently, I am looking for some fun shoes that I can wear this spring and summer. I decided to hop on Nike’s website and browse through the kids’ shoes to find a few that I like.

The first pair that caught my eye is the Nike Blazer Mid ‘77 ($90) in White/Vivid Sulfur/Washed Teal/Metallic Silver. To start off, I love the bright floral pattern on the back of the shoe; it’s something I don’t ever see on a day-to-day basis. The pops of color in the laces, top eyelet, and inside of the shoe add personality to the shoe along with the back pattern. The abundance of different colors creates more options for matching with outfits which I appreciate.

The next shoes that drew my attention are the same style as the last but in White/Game Royal/Sail/Black which are on sale currently ($58.97 ). My favorite part about these shoes is that the mesh overlay can be cut or torn to reveal a zebra-print pattern beneath, or left intact for the natural wear and tear of life to break them down. The one part I don’t like about these shoes is that the only pop of color is the tag on the tongue. While I’d prefer more so I could make cohesive color-matching outfits around them, the simplicity keeps them from clashing.

The third pair of shoes that I added to my cart for safekeeping is the Nike Air Max 90 LTRs that are also currently on sale ($61.97) in Wolf Grey/Anthracite/Yellow Strike/White. These are the shoes I saved that I am least likely to wear, but I still think they look phenomenal. I’m not a fan of grey shoes, but the pops of yellow and little smiley face design almost make me change my mind. I have a pair of Nike Air 200s that have the same smile design as a shoelace charm and I always get people asking about it when I wear them.

I found another pair of shoes with a shoelace charm on Nike’s website that I added to my cart. These Air Force 1 LV8 EMBs ($95) in Black/Washed Teal/Court Purple/Gym Red are maybe the only (somewhat) black shoes I would wear. Again with my love of pops of color, these have so many matching opportunities. The difference in the colors of the inside and outside Nike swooshes adds a contrast that I adore. The gold shoelace charms are a great touch since they are to celebrate 75 years of Air Force 1s.

These next shoes are at the top of my shoe wishlist, but also the most expensive at $110. They’re Air Jordan 1 Mids that are completely white. While I would never think of spending that much on plain white shoes, these ones are dry erasable. They can have a different color every day as long as they’re colored with a dry erase marker. These may possibly be the coolest shoes I’ve ever known to exist. I would invest my life’s savings into dry erase markers just to customize these. 

These shoes are all pairs that I never see in women’s sizes either at all or for such a low price. For anyone with children’s size feet, please take these five pairs of shoes into consideration for your next buy, or at least try to buy in kids’ sizes to save money for the same quality.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Nike Blazer Mid ‘77 ($58.97 on sale currently) in White/Game Royal/Sail/Black.