IDS vs. Ray Rose vs. Aida Latin Shoes

[j_alexandra]

I've really wanted to try the Paoul brand... i never seemed to get the chance to get my hands on some. Although I think you can order from their site now?

I order directly from their website. Excellent customer service, fast shipping. No VAT, the website ordering takes it off when you give your address in the US.

 

[j_alexandra]

Recently I bought some Aida standard shoes (044, with S2 rounded toe shape, wide) as well. I have a wide foot and I need a rounder toe (much more comfortable for the bunion situation). LOVE. I actually only wore the standard shoes three times before wearing them at a competition, and I can't remember ever having a standard shoe that felt that good after only 3 wears.

I tried these on yesterday. They felt great.

 

[theAnnelis]

Sigh. I know, I saw these. I'm trying to decide what to do next: buy these new suede ones for practicing in? Do I buy these new suede ones for competitions only? (And how would that look on the floor?) Buy a brand new pair of Karinas for competitions only and just use the 3 month old pair for practice only? Sigh. For a $200 shoe I was really hoping not to need three or four pairs a year. I'm not a pro, for crying out loud! I guess I just expected the quality of the shoe would match its cost. I love everything else about the Karinas.

I am by no means a rich woman, but that's what I did. I have my beloved Karinas in the tan satin and I have an identical pair in black that I use for lessons and practice. So that way, only the black pair takes the punishment and I have my nude pair preserved for competitions and showcases. I haven't gotten the heel cup scar yet (knock on wood), but at least I know when it happens I won't be SOL when competition time comes and I have to look correct.

 

[Miss Silly]

That's what I do too. I have a ratty old pair I use all the time, then the nice pair I only wear for comps.

 

[jeff@DFI]

Have you tried Werner Kerns?

 

[lisaray12]

Hello everyone,

I new here and started learning dance. I want to ask to that now in starting I am not feeling comfortable while dancing in heel so can I start with
running trainers women shoes so when I learnt dancing then I will start dancing in heels.

 

[jeff@DFI]

lisaray12, I recommend that you find a low, chunky Ballroom heel, 1.5" high or so, and start learning to dance in those. You want to start working with a heel of some kind, but it isn't necessary to jump all the way to 3" pumps on day one if you aren't comfortable in them.

 

[Miss Silly]

Figured I may as well post this here as well... just was sending this to a friend this morning. BOTH shoes are "wide" versions, but you can see that the IDS one on the left is still more narrow than Aida.

 

[Sania]

I used to love Ray Rose Kalaharis, but found that my last few pairs seem to have the heel set back further than I remember in the past.

Heels set too far back in dance shoes are one of my pet peeves, and in addition, I think this may be contributing to their brief useful life - the extra strain caused by the shoe heel not being centered under the actual heel of the foot may be what is causing the heel-to-sole connection to noticeably flex when I take a step.

I guess I will be moving on to Aida, and now will need to figure out their sizing. For those of you who have worn Ray Rose Kalaharis and Aida Karinas, did you take the same size in each? (My feet are wide across the toes, so I would be getting the square toe version.)

Thanks!

Sania

 

[s2k]

For those of you who have worn Ray Rose Kalaharis and Aida Karinas, did you take the same size in each? (My feet are wide across the toes, so I would be getting the square toe version.)

I wear a 6.5 US street shoe and my Aida Karina size is a 22 - however, according to their size chart (your US shoe size +17) I ought to be wearing a 23.5. Good luck - I love mine, but be prepared to tear through them pretty quickly, unless you get the new suede heel cup.

 

[Sania]

You have confirmed my concern about picking sizes off a chart

I wear Ray Rose 6.5 in Kalahari and 7.5 in Rockslide - US street shoe size 9.5

My feet tend to roll out so the heel cup wear on the inside will probably not be an issue - but the Ray Roses have only been lasting 4 months before the heel flexing issue becomes uncomfortable and the toe straps stretch out

 

[Miss Silly]

I was wearing a size 5.5 RR kalahari and now i have Aidas (wide, square toe) size 24.5.

My street shoe size is about 8.5

 

[Cal]

I'm now about to start the long process of exchanging shoes. My street shoe size is 9.5 and I ordered Aida Nikolishina at size 26 - they are way too long.

 

[Sania]

I'm now about to start the long process of exchanging shoes. My street shoe size is 9.5 and I ordered Aida Nikolishina at size 26 - they are way too long.

That's a helpful data point for me - have you selected the replacement size?

 

[Cal]

No, I haven't. I contacted the vendor and he asked me to take some photos of my feet in the shoes, and send them with the shoes so that he can get an indication of sizing. So, I did that and put a ruler next to the shoe for some additional information - to me it looks as though it's almost a whole centimeter too long. And I tried to draw a template around each foot, but it's hard to keep weight on the foot while bending down to trace, so I didn't get a very reliable template; I might ask someone to help me with that.