Brantano

Wheee! Shoe shop! Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love love love shoes. That I live by the motto that money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy shoes and shoes make me very happy.
I was pretty disappointed with Brantano though. The women’s section, anyway. I’d heard so many good things about this shop and was very excited to be able to go in and browse a whole section of shoes just in my size, rather than falling desperately in love with a pair that is in every size but mine. For anyone who doesn’t know, the point of Brantano is that the shoes are arranged by size, and that the boxes of those shoes are there ready for customers to help themselves, try both shoes on, and then buy them, without the need to hunt for a style you like in your size, or wait for someone to check the stockroom for them.
Sadly, despite the great idea behind this shop, the selection of shoes for women isn’t that fantastic. I mean, there are a lot of shoes, but they seem to be aimed at slightly more mature women. It’s mostly flats or frumpy work shoes. The few pairs of high heels aren’t particularly fashionable and are pretty boring. However, while this range of shoes may not be for people my age or more fashion-​conscious women, for older women it’s quite good. Lots of Hush Puppies, lots of black leather, low, wide heel types, and they go down to a size 2 (old women seem to have really tiny feet, don’t they?)
For children and men, though, this shop works much better. The children’s section takes up almost half of the store, and there’s a huge range of popular children’s character shoes, and it’s an ideal place to buy school shoes. Apart from Skechers there aren’t many well known trainer brands, but my brother assures me that what they do have is still cool, and much cheaper than you’d pay for a pair of DCs in another shop. The men’s section has some nice shoes, too, and they go up to a size 14, which, I believe, is quite big.
One big plus is that the people who work here really know their stuff. If you need to know how to care for your shoes, or what kind of insoles you need, this is the place to go to find out.
Good for kids, old ladies and men with big feet. Younger women probably wont find much to get excited about, sadly.

In Brantano the shoes are all on the shelves still in their boxes so you are free to wonder around and try them on as you wish instead of having to find a sales assistant to pick them up for you from the stock rooms. This branch is the largest Brantano I have visited and they stock a wide range of men, women and childrens shoes, boots, slippers, trainers and wellington boots. There are trained fitting advisors on hand if help is needed to fit the kids shoes and they are willing to order any shoes in for you if they arent available in the right sizes. My partner has size 14(mens) shoes and this shop caters up to a size 15 (limited ranges) which makes things easier for him — and he has often picked up some bargains.