Zippy’s Kinderschoenen

Zippy’s sells pretty nice (read pricey) children’s shoes. They are super cute and well-​made, but I had a bit of sticker shock when I came here. I was hoping to get some shoes for my 18-​month old for around 40 euros, but everything was 70 – 110 euros and up. They did have some slippers for 40 euros though. Holy crap, have shoe prices gone up since I was a kid!
The thing of it is though, that I basically have to buy shoes here, because I’ve bought cheap shoes and socks at H&M and other places, and those shoes always fall off, or cause my baby girl’s feet to slide out from under her when she’s going around a corner, or some other unpleasantness. Really well made shoes stay on her feet and let her run around and do her thing without worrying about falling over or tripping over her own toes.
The socks here are also great. I bought 2 pairs of Egyptian cotton long socks and socks with rubber soles to act as slippers for her in the winter, and these 10 euro socks are the only socks she will tolerate on her feet. All other socks get pulled off within a few minutes. So maybe my baby just has expensive tastes, or maybe that’s just what good footwear costs to give her a stable footing as she’s running around and exploring the world.
The service is nice. The owner really has a good rapport with children, and takes her time to make sure the shoes fit well and the child is comfortable with them. She also tries to get the biggest size possible that can comfortably fit on the child’s feet so that you can maximize the expensive shoes’ wearing life. She really listens to what you’re looking for, and has helpful suggestions I wouldn’t have thought of. My only minor complaint is she kept telling me she’d speak Dutch to me, then she’d switch back to English and start us speaking in English again, and then complain that she’s not speaking enough Dutch to me, because if I get as much Dutch practice as possible then speaking Dutch will be easier for me. I guess she’s trying to be nice, but it is irritating getting a lecture on language use when I’m trying to buy shoes for my child. I already passed the Dutch NT2 state exam to stay in the country, so I’ve already spent 2.5 intense years learning the language. I just want to get some shoes!