<p>I am required to get two pairs of character shoes for my program (one pair black and one pair tan) I have a $500 budget, and want La Duca's, which style and heel height would everyone suggest?</p>
<p>If they have them, T strap with 2-3 inch heel. That depends on how tall you are and what you are comfortable dancing in. If you over 5-5 I’d recommend the 2-2.5 inch. It still is elegant and elongates the leg, but you don’t risk being much taller than your peers/male counterparts. If your on the shorter side and can dance in heels go for the three inch. I prefer the tstrap because it tends to conform to the feet and provides better surface. If you tap,don’t forget to bring heeled and non heeled tap shows. They don’t need to be la ducas. You may not need them as much but they can come in handy. </p>
<p>My daughter also has La Ducas and loves them. However, she prefers the Elizabeth model as she feels they better hold her feet in the shoe.</p>
<p>Question - Can anyone with La Ducas suggest a shoe polish brand and color? D needs to clean up and polish hers for her summer work. </p>
<p>@Larkmom I’m sure any shine shop, shoe repair store or department store with a shine stand can polish them up for you and suggest a polish to purchase. If you are near a Nordstrom take them there. Also call the La Duca store in NY for suggestions.</p>
<p>For those near NYC, the annual LaDuca sale is coming up July 20. Do a search on Facebook for “LaDuca Shoes Annual Sale” to get all the details on their event page.</p>
<p>I think July 20th was the 2013 date. This year it looks like the sale is the weekend of July 26-27. The store also requests that if this is your first La Duca shoe, that you come in prior to the sale to get measured. Because of the amount of people coming in during the sale, they don’t measure on those days.</p>
<p>LaDuca folks are so nice! I ordered a pair online for son after deciding to bite the bullet, and make the investment in a nice pair of character shoes. I ordered a size 12, and a few hours later I got a call from LaDuca’s to say they did not have his size after all. The woman I spoke to was very nice, and I told her how appreciative I was that she called when she could have sent me an impersonal email. This was this past Saturday. She called today to say they unearthed a pair in his size and she would be sending them out. We are in Maine, and I know zip about character shoes, so her personal attention made my day. One thing to be aware of if you do order online, if the shoe doesn’t fit, you cannot get a refund, but may have another pair of shoes. Also, the factory in Italy is closed for a month, so if you need something ordered because they are out of stock, it may take 4 to 8 weeks (as of last Saturday). Have fun at the sale!</p>
<p>Is the sale at the store only, or is it also online?</p>
<p>The sale is in-store only. We will miss it by a week :(</p>
<p>I know this is about character shoes but just as an FYI while we were in the store a couple of weeks ago D decided to try on tap shoes too (Christmas???) and she needed a 5.5 - her LaDuca character shoes are size 7. Huge fit difference. Also different styles fit differently. If you have to order they are very helpful. </p>
<p>The staff at LaDuca is excellent and they really know their stuff. They can tell you exactly how each shoe will fit, stretch and wear over time. If you are nearby or planning a visit to NYC, take the time to stop in. Plus you may get the bonus of seeing shoes they’re always preparing for various casts. When we were there a couple years ago, they were prepping huge bags of shoes for the tour cast of Book of Mormon. Fun to see it all in action. </p>
<p>We were excited to stop by La Duca when we were in New York last week – little did we know that we had stumbled into the summer sale. What controlled chaos! 150 people in front of us in line. Alas, show tickets and dinner plans with family prevented us from sticking it out. Has anyone ordered over the internet without a fitting?</p>
<p>^I ordered for son over the internet. Ended up exchanging for the next size up. I wrote about my experience further up this thread. I called to say I was returning and the man I spoke to said they have customers all over the world and do quite a bit of “fitting” over the phone. The new pair fit son great. They are beautiful shoes.</p>
<p>We ordered the first pair online and when they came D wasn’t sure about the fit - I emailed them and they had her send a picture of her foot to them so they could see! All was good & they were the right fit, but they were very helpful. </p>