Seven Clarks shoes and boots worth buying, from a £10 PE plimsoll to the Desert Boot, with the widths, sole materials and returns charges that decide whether an order works out.
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Stock photo, not supplied by Clarks
Most British adults had their feet measured at Clarks as children, and the Somerset shoemaker still sells more width fittings than almost anyone on the high street. That is the reason to shop here: if your feet, or your children’s, are narrower or wider than average, Clarks will usually have something that fits.
This guide covers seven pairs from the current UK range, from school shoes and a PE plimsoll to two women’s boots, a work shoe and the Originals icons, plus the one product we would skip. The short version: check the widths offered before the colour, buy Originals for the look rather than for long walks, and return anything that does not fit to a full-price shop, which is free, rather than by post, which is not.
If you buy one pair from Clarks, make it this. The Desert Boot has barely changed since the 1950s: two pairs of eyelets, a soft ankle-high upper and the pebbly crepe rubber sole. The beeswax version has a waxed leather upper and a leather lining, comes in men’s sizes 6 to 12 and one width (G, standard), and costs £99. Most suede colours are the same price; some newer colours cost more.
It has more than four hundred reviews on the product page, most of them glowing. The one-star reviews (some syndicated from Clarks’s overseas sites) cluster around three things: stiff leather that blisters before it softens, crepe soles that wear or come unstuck within months of daily use, and pairs arriving scuffed. Crepe is grippy and comfortable, but it is not a hard-wearing commuting sole.
Pick it if
You want a boot that works with jeans and chinos
You like a soft, flat, grippy sole
Pass if
You walk miles a day on pavements
You need a wide fitting
2Best for school
Daze Step 2 Youth
A black leather riptape school shoe offered in four widths, from narrow to extra wide, with a rubberised toe for scuffing.
School shoes are what Clarks does that supermarkets cannot, and the Daze Step 2 shows why. It comes in four fittings, E (narrow), F, G and H (extra wide), across sizes 3 to 10, which covers children that most school-shoe ranges simply do not fit. The upper is leather, the straps are riptape, the toe is reinforced with rubber, and the lining has a Microban odour treatment (the product page names the biocide in full). It was £49 to £51 depending on size.
The weakness is the sole. Every one-star review on the page says the same thing: holes worn through the rubber within about three months, in one case through to the inside of the shoe. If yours does it inside six months, that is a fault, and faulty returns are free.
Pick it if
Your child needs a narrow or extra-wide fitting
You want riptape rather than laces
Pass if
Your child drags their feet and wears soles fast
3Best for wide feet
Matron Ella Ankle Boot
A slouchy leather ankle boot with a low heel and inside zip, sold only in wide and extra-wide fittings.
Plenty of brands sell a wide fit. Few sell a women’s boot that comes only in E (wide) and EE (extra wide), and that is the Matron Ella’s appeal. It is a ruched black leather ankle boot with a textile lining, a 30mm heel and an inside zip, in sizes 3 to 9. It has more than 650 reviews and an average above 4.6 stars when we checked.
The complaints are few but consistent. Several one-star reviewers found the boot no wider than their usual Clarks, or a size small, so measure before you order. Two say the heel wore down within a week or two, and one owner found the ruched folds went baggy and stopped trousers hanging straight. It is a comfort boot, not a sharp one.
Pick it if
You struggle to find boots wide enough
You want a low heel and a zip
Pass if
You want a sleek, close-fitting ankle boot
4Best for winter walking
Orinoco 3 Style
A lace-up leather ankle boot with an inside zip, a cushioned footbed and a grippy rubber sole, in standard and wide fittings.
The Orinoco is the Clarks women’s boot of popular memory, and the third version keeps the formula: a soft leather upper, laces for looks with an inside zip for getting in, a Contour Cushion footbed and a thermoplastic rubber sole with a 40mm heel. It comes in D (standard) and E (wide), sizes 3 to 9, in black, dark brown and walnut.
The reviews are short and very positive, with no one- or two-star ratings when we checked, but only two dozen of them. The reservations are about shape. The sole is deeper and the cut higher than on older Orinocos, enough for one long-time owner to send them back and another to say they look a bit like work boots. One buyer needed a whole size up, and another found the laces short.
Pick it if
You want a warm, grippy everyday boot
You like the ease of a zip with the look of laces
Pass if
You prefer a slim, low-profile sole
You want lots of reviews before you buy
5Also great
Wallabee
The moccasin-style Originals shoe on a natural crepe sole, here in maple suede, with the highest rating of the Originals we read.
The Wallabee is the odder relation of the Desert Boot: a moccasin-construction shoe with a raised seam across the toe, a thick natural crepe sole and two leather fobs on the laces. The maple suede is the classic colour, at £99, in men’s sizes 6 to 13 and a single standard width. Clarks sells it in a long list of other colours and materials, some much dearer.
Owners love it: the average was close to 4.7 from more than three hundred reviews. The one-star reviews mention suede pulling away from the sole, soles that lift or turn yellow with age, and a pair that felt small against an in-store measurement. Like all crepe, it marks and picks up grit, so treat it as a weekend shoe.
Pick it if
You like a chunky, soft-soled casual shoe
You already know your Originals size
Pass if
You want a shoe for rain or long walks
6Best for workdays
Banbury Derby
A plain black leather Derby on a light EVA sole, offered in narrow as well as standard width.
Men’s work shoes are a Clarks staple, and the Banbury is the plainest and cheapest of the current Derbys at £60. It has a black leather upper, a textile lining, a lightweight EVA sole and a cushioned footbed, in sizes 6 to 12. Unusually for a shoe at this price, it comes in F (narrow) as well as G (standard), which suits slim feet that slide about in most formal shoes.
The evidence is thin: only nine reviews when we checked, most of them five stars. The two three-star reviews both say comfort takes time, with one owner still breaking them in and another calling them not a comfortable pair. An EVA sole is light and cushioned, but it will not take a traditional resole.
Pick it if
You need a black shoe for work or a suit
You have narrow feet
Pass if
You want a shoe you can have resoled
7Best value
Hopper Run
A machine-washable canvas plimsoll with a riptape strap and a non-marking sole: the cheapest thing Clarks makes worth buying.
Every child needs a pair of plimsolls in a PE bag, and the Hopper Run is the Clarks version at £10. It has a black canvas upper, a padded collar, a riptape strap, a toe bumper and a non-marking sole, and it goes in the washing machine. It comes in F (standard) and G (wide), in children’s sizes 7 to 13.5 and 1 to 5.5.
It is well rated overall, with more than three hundred reviews, but the one-star reviews nearly all say the same thing: it runs narrow and tight over the top of the foot, even in the G fitting, to the point that some children could not get them on. There is no H fitting. A couple of reviews mention straps fraying quickly. If your child is wide-footed, try a pair in a shop first.
Prices as shown on Clarks's UK site in October 2026, before any discount code.
How to choose
1Start with the width letter
Every Clarks product page lists its fittings, and they are the most useful thing on it. Adult women’s shoes run D (standard), E (wide) and sometimes EE; men’s run F (narrow), G (standard) and H (wide); children’s school shoes span E to H. The Originals are mostly standard width only, which explains many of their fit complaints. Filter by fitting before you browse styles, and if you have never been measured, book a fitting in a shop.
2Know what the sole is made of
The sole decides how long a Clarks shoe lasts. Crepe, on the Desert Boot and Wallabee, is soft and grippy but wears and discolours; TPR rubber on school shoes and boots is tougher, though the Daze Step 2’s reviews show it can still wear through; EVA on the Banbury is light and cushioned but not resoleable. The materials list on each product page names the sole material.
3Return in a shop, not by post
A postal return through the Evri portal costs £2.95, deducted from your refund, and delivery charges are not refunded unless the item is faulty. Returning to a full-price Clarks shop is free, refunds immediately and lets you swap sizes on the spot. Outlet, factory and concession shops are excluded, and anything bought from a partner seller on clarks.com goes back to that seller.
Why Clarks, and why not
Clarks’s advantage is fit. Its school shoes come in up to four widths, its women’s boots in wide and extra-wide, and it still runs full-price shops where children are measured and online orders can be collected, exchanged or refunded on the spot. The Originals line, the Desert Boot and Wallabee above all, has a cachet no other high-street shoemaker can copy.
The weaknesses are durability and service. Recent one- and two-star Trustpilot reviews describe school shoes whose soles came unglued within months, orders cancelled for stock errors and slow, scripted replies, even though the overall score was high when we checked. Start-rite is the obvious rival for children’s shoes, Loake makes adult shoes you can resole, and Schuh sells Clarks Originals alongside most other brands.
What we'd skip
Junior Gauge
A £12 home foot gauge for children, and one of the worst-rated things Clarks sells: about a quarter of nearly six hundred reviews give it one star. It measures in millimetres, so you then need the online size calculator, which reviewers say often returns no size or the wrong one. Gauges cannot be exchanged. A fitting in a shop does the job properly.
The practical stuff
Delivery
Standard delivery is £4.95, free over £75, in 4 to 5 days (a limited-time banner offered free standard delivery when we checked). Evri next day costs £6.95 and DPD next day £9.95, seven days a week, both ordered by 7pm. Collection from a full-price shop is free. Read October 2026
Returns
Unworn items within 28 days of receipt, or 14 days for sale items. Postal returns by Evri cost £2.95, taken from the refund; returns to a full-price shop are free. Refunds take 5 to 10 days once the warehouse has checked the parcel. Read October 2026
Exchanges
Free through the online returns portal for a different size or fit, sent once your return arrives. You must post the original back within 14 days. Shoe care, accessories and foot gauges cannot be exchanged. Read October 2026
Faulty items
Faulty returns are free. Faulty goods are accepted within six months of purchase; after the normal returns window you contact Customer Care with photos of the sides, sole and inside of the shoe. Read October 2026
Customer service
Phone (+44) 20 4639 9247, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm; a chat assistant called Cyrus covers other hours and hands over to staff when the team is open; or use the contact form. Read October 2026
Yes. Full-price Clarks shops measure children’s feet, and the site lets you book a kids’ in-store fitting in advance. Clarks also sells home foot gauges, but their reviews are poor (see below). A measured fitting is the main reason to choose Clarks over a supermarket school shoe.
Are Clarks Desert Boots true to size?
Broadly, but they come in a single standard width and the one-star reviews include buyers who found them tight or short, particularly in larger sizes. The leather can also feel stiff at first. If you can, try a pair in a full-price shop; if you order online, an exchange for another size through the returns portal is free, while a refund by post costs £2.95.
Does Clarks have a discount code?
When we checked in October 2026 the site offered £10 off a £50 spend for signing up to emails, excluding partner sellers, and had pages for student and over-55s discounts. Sale and new-lower-price sections were also running, with some school shoes cut by half. Bear in mind that sale items have only 14 days for returns.
Why can’t I return some items to a Clarks shop?
Because clarks.com now sells products from partner brands as well as its own, and those orders are fulfilled and returned by the partner, on the partner’s terms. Outlet website orders also follow a separate policy. Only Clarks products bought from clarks.com or a full-price UK shop can go back to a full-price Clarks shop.
Rivals worth a look
Start-rite is the main rival for children’s school shoes, with similar width fittings and a smaller shop estate.
Loake makes Goodyear-welted adult leather shoes that can be resoled, which most Clarks shoes cannot.
Schuh sells Clarks Originals alongside most other casual brands, in shops on many high streets.
Sources
Clarks UK product pages for all seven picks and the Junior Gauge, including widths, materials and sizes, read October 2026.
Clarks on-site reviews (Yotpo) for each pick, read lowest-rated first, October 2026.
Clarks UK Delivery & Collection, Returns & Refunds and Contact Us pages, read October 2026.
Clarks UK category listings for school shoes, women’s boots, men’s shoes and Originals, October 2026.
Clarks’s Trustpilot page, one- and two-star reviews sorted by most recent, read October 2026.
Desk research only: we read these pages and reviews; we did not test the products. How we choose.
Stock photo
