Kids, fancy night & dress shoes

DS will be 9 when we cruise and mainly wears sneakers. I did find a pair of tan "docker" shoes he has tried on and likes. I thought we can use those for casual dining, but what about fancy shoes?

I don't own a pair for him and since there are no weddings or other fancy galas in our future I don't think he will wear them anytime prior to growing out of them. I got him a pair of black dress pants at a yard sale over the fall. He does have one pair of mainly black "cars" sneakers....can I bring those as his everyday shoes and will they be noticed on the fancy nights? I would hate to buy & pack shoes that he might not wear even if I bring them.

Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas other have done? Thanks!!

When we went on a RCI cruise a few years ago with my three boys; they just wore plain black tennis shoes to dinner each night.

I have some dress shoes for them now; so for our cruise this summer they may wear those. But if they don't fit and I end up buying something; I'll buy the plain black tennis shoes again. More comfortable. And no one seemed to care. Even my grandma who is very into the dressing for dinner thing.

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DH has taken to all-black court shoes for formal night. With luggage restrictions, he cannot justify taking dress shoes for one or two formal nights.

If they are new or in very good condition, they will look fine. If you are doing formal pictures, let the photographer know and he can position everyone so that the shoes are not an issue.

Thank you!!! DH thinks I'm crazy for even "thinking" of the shoe situation. For the first time I really, really PLAN on packing light and interchanging alot. I even found a 3 in 1 tide sheet "incase" I NEED to wash something that ties into the "interchangeable" scenario.

So, thumbs up on black sneakers!! Thanks so much!

Hi, We are sailing on Celebrity Reflection over spring break. My son is 8. I bought him a pair of Vans to wear with his formal attire. They are all black, even the soles. It is hard to tell they are sneakers. This way he will wear them again :-)

My 2 year old wore a pair of black reebok with his dress pants. No way am i spending money on dress shoes that he would have outgrown in 4 months!

When we went two years ago I bought some slip-on loafers for my then 8y/o son at Wal-Mart for maybe $15. It was just before Christmas, and I bought them large, so ended up getting at least 4 dress-up wears out of them. I just had him try them on and he's outgrown them, so I am a bit disappointed about how little we used them. I looked at a resale store (once upon a child) and did find slacks and a dress shirt there for under $5 each, but no shoes. My son likes to "dress fancy" and didn't want to wear sneakers. For our cruise this December I'm going to keep on the lookout for used loafers.

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Just looking at some pictures from my DD's Junior Prom from last year -- about as formal of an occassion as possible in most high schoolers' lives - and about 1/2 of the guys had on some sort of sneakers. I know DD's date bought new black converse high tops :D. They actually looked nice with his tux. DD had a fairly boring pair of black pumps for the "formal pictures" but bought herself a pair of black and white spectator oxfords (white linen and black patent, with red shoe laces!) for dancing. They were named the most "hipster" couple!

Shopping for kids' shoes for special occasions can be difficult as their feet are growing, so if your child doesn't have a lot of places and events to wear dress shoes, it may not be worth spending a lot of money. Then there's the case when older kids move from child sizes to adult, but really small, sizes. It could be difficult to find any shoes then, much less dressy shoes.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it. All black nice clean sneakers may do in a pinch for boys, and sandals for girls.

Yes to a plain black sneaker for a little boy. Forget it, their feet grow so fast why buy dressie shoes they'll never wear!

I'm a frugal father.

Hi, We are sailing on Celebrity Reflection over spring break. My son is 8. I bought him a pair of Vans to wear with his formal attire. They are all black, even the soles. It is hard to tell they are sneakers. This way he will wear them again :-)

Vans slip-ons were the goto shoes of all the guys in college in the early '80s. At that time they either wore 'velvet' or a deep-weiled suede. We had two dances a year, so they got two new pair a year,lol.

Unless you really want to go with the black dress pants, I would go with the tan docker shoes, khakis, dress shirt and maybe a tie and jacket (I used to get them at the thrift store for around $7, depends on you store). Khakis and shoes are good for dinner every night. My son would change back to play clothes for kids club, if he was going or stay in khakis if going to the show with us.

If anyone is going to get bent out of shape by why your child is wearing, they really need to get a life. Do what's best for you and your family. Like you said there are no upcoming events where he'll need dress shoes

I got my son simple, plain black dress shoes from Payless for $12. They are comfortable too!

My son who has autism is usually really picky with shoes (no ties has to fit just so)when he was that age I found some nice black leather velcro shoes for him at target. He isn't really fond of them but he knows if he needs to dress up (church, concerts for school, funerals, weddings, ect) he is to wear them. Now he has a pair of slip ons we got at pay less for like $15. Other 3 always had dress shoes and since they only got worn about once or twice a month they could get passed down. I think he should be fine.

Thanks again for the comments about him being ok in the black sneakers. I found a black dress shirt the other day at goodwill for 1.99 and when I worked retail I bought him a bunch of clip-on ties for under a buck. So we are getting there....slowly, but also have plenty of time =-)