Buying Pointe Shoes Online

Is it a good idea to buy pointe shoes online?

The answer is a resounding yes, if:

• you've already been professionally fitted for pointe shoes;
• you're happy with the brand you chose at the fitting;
• your feet haven't grown since the fitting;
• you're on a budget and need to buy at the best price.

But even if it's your first pair, it's not impossible to buy pointe shoes online. After all, thousands of dancers have been ordering their shoes by mail order for years, long before the internet was invented - and our feet survived!

Many of us didn't have a choice:  in the olden days, small British towns didn't have dancewear shops (and if they did, they didn't sell pointe shoes).   I couldn't afford to travel to London for a fitting, so I had to order all my pointe shoes by mail - including my very first pair.  It wasn't until I was 18 and working at the RAD in London that I was finally able to visit the Freeds shop in Leicester Square and have my first real fitting.

So my personal view is, it is possible to buy your first pointe shoes online, provided you buy from a reputable, specialist online dancewear shop where you can speak to a real person if you need to, and where you can return the shoes if they're not exactly right.

I wouldn't advise a first-time buyer to buy from our eBay listings, however.  eBay is more suitable for people who know exactly what size and features they need, before they buy - and for those dancers,  it can offer some fantastic pointe shoe bargains.