Barratts

When I was a little girl, I used to always be brought to old style shoe shops… where the sales person would give you suggestions according to your foot shape and lifestyle, help you put the shoes on and check if they fit. As I spoilt myself with some Sketchers Shape ups (oh heavens these shoes !!), I heard one member of staff say to a nearby lady «well, if you really like these, you can get soles and you’ll be grand», which is not the first time that I heard that kind of comment in there and in case you don’t know… that’s a bad advice… it’s like asking a woman to stuff her bra if it doesn’t quite fit ! Actually it’s a worse advice than that because a size too bit will make your feet evolve and move in an unnatural way.
So I was happy with my sketchers (delighted to find a shop that sells a wide variety of them) and the choice of shoes overall is ok, quite varied, but don’t go there to have quality advice !

Barratts is definitely at the lowish end of the shoe chain, but on saying that they do tend to have a good array of shoes at reasonable prices. If you’re looking for a fashion shoe in a particular colour this is a place to try. Shoes here seem to fit into two categories: everyday shoes that don’t really date and you might wear to work or trend items in ridiculous colours or heal heights… which points to them being worn once and then never again!
Over the years I’ve bought a few pairs of shoes here and they’re ok. They don’t make the best quality shoes or have the best designs but they’re reasonably middle of the road in price. Barratts also stock some women’s shoes in larger sizes and wider fittings which gives them one up on the other shoes stores on the same street.

Anywhere with a perpetual sale should be treated with caution. Ask yourself why that’s the case? Are they going under? If the answer’s no then there’s only one other conclusion… they aren’t all that good. And that’s Barratt’s problem, they just don’t have all that nice stock. It’s almost like an expensive Pennys, where the designs are just that little bit off, but enough to make you question your purchase. So they put them on sale, forgetting one very important piece of information… a sale can really only exist if there’s a price knocked down. As far as I can tell, they’ve just skipped the full price part and gone straight to the knockdown price. Great on the pocket, not the best on the feet…

I think barratts is a great little shoe shop — there are a couple of them dotted around Dublin and they are gorgeous shoes at really reasonable prices.
They stock ladies, mens and kids shoes and do everything from workwear, to boots to strappy sandals… well not for the men obviously!
They also do some cute bags too, and things like shoe sprays and insoles.