Starting en pointe is an exciting and sometimes nerve wracking time in a ballet dancer's life. It is a rite of passage that they have probably been looking forward to since they first started ballet! When your teacher finally gives you the go ahead to get your pointe shoes, you may have a million questions about what the fitting process is like, so Gabie’s is here to help get you ready for your first pointe shoe fitting!

Preparing to come to your appointment:

There are a few things you can do ahead of your appointment that will make your shoe fitting easier. First, make sure you trim your toenails! This is something that you will want to be doing regularly when dancing en pointe, but coming to the fitting with nails that are short will be helpful. You want to have a bit of white nail showing at the top of your nail, but do not cut deeper into that or else it will be painful!

When coming to your appointment, make sure you are wearing (or have with you) a pair of convertible tights. The Pointe Shoe Fitter will have you roll your tights up and down over the course of the fitting, so these are a must!

At your appointment:

In your first pointe shoe fitting, your Pointe Fitter will do a full assessment of your feet, including checking to see if you have a likelihood of developing bunions, determining your arch and ankle strength, and talking to you about any past injuries or weakness they may identify. Once your Fitter has completed their assessment, they may recommend items such as toe spacers or bunion guards. All dancers will be fit with a soft protective guard called an Ouch Pouch, to reduce toe pain while dancing. One of the most important parts of a fitting is ensuring that we are focusing on the long term health of the dancer's foot, which is why the assessment is a critical part of the fitting process. We want to ensure that the dancer’s feet and ankles are strong, and that no permanent damage is caused by putting them in a shoe that is not the right fit. 

The Fitter will then move onto your shoe fitting, where they will bring out a couple of styles of pointe shoe for you to try! They will match the strength and shape of your foot with the strength and shape of a shoe, and will try on shoes until you both agree you found the perfect pair. To determine if it’s a good match, the Pointe Fitter will have you do a variety of exercises to check width, length, shank match, and to check for any pain or sore spots. Your pointe shoes may feel uncomfortable, but there should never be any true pain. It is critical that at every point of the fitting, the dancer is paying attention, following instructions, and communicating with the Pointe Fitter. It is up to the dancer to identify any pain, pressure points, or discomfort they may be feeling while trying on shoes, so that the Fitter can adjust as required to ensure the perfect fit. 

Once you have your shoes, your Fitter will take some photos for you (don’t forget to tag @gabiesboutique and use the hashtag #GotItFromGabies)! They will then move on to discuss how to keep your shoes in good condition, how to sew your shoes, and any other advice they may have based on the initial assessment. 

Keeping your shoes in good condition:

You may have heard the phrase “my pointe shoes are dead.” What this is referring to is the breakdown of the shoe that happens with use and over time. Traditional pointe shoes are made up of leather, glue, paper, and other natural fabrics much like paper mache. With the heat and sweat from your foot, the glue and paper will soften and break down over time, reducing the support in the shoe until they are finally completely broken in, or “dead”, and no longer safe to dance on. If you continue dancing in pointe shoes that are too broken in, you are at risk for serious injury, as there is no longer any support in the shoe. Pointe shoes only have a 24 hour wear time life span, meaning if you are doing pointe class for 30 minutes a week, you should be able to get 48 weeks out of your shoes, whereas a 1 hour pointe class per week works out to 24 weeks. Keep in mind this is a rough estimate, and dancers who are stronger or sweat more may notice their shoes breaking down faster than expected. 

To keep your shoes “alive” as long as possible, it is imperative that they fully dry out between classes. We suggest keeping your shoes in a mesh bag. After class, put your shoes in the mesh bag (facing away from each other, NEVER with one shoe slotted in the other, and never with Ouch Pouches tucked into the box of the shoe), and put them in your dance bag. When you get home, take the mesh bag out of your dance bag, and hang it somewhere with good ventilation. This will allow the shoes to fully dry out from the heat and sweat from your feet, which will help them maintain their strength longer.

Water is a pointe shoe's worst enemy, so if your pointe shoes are in your dance bag, make sure your water bottle is in an outside pocket, to avoid water leaks getting on your shoes! Additionally, pets notoriously love pointe shoes because they will smell like you, so keep your shoes away from furry friends like cats and dogs. 

Sewing your shoes:

There are plenty of amazing blogs and videos online about how to sew your pointe shoes. Our favourite is this one from Bloch: How to sew pointe shoe ribbons

In general, you want to try to sew your ribbons and elastics through the inner fabric without piercing the outer satin. Additionally, never sew through the drawstring, as this will prevent you from adjusting the support from the drawstring should you need to. 

Remember, you can always rip out the stitches from your ribbons and elastics if you aren’t happy with the placement!

We highly recommend that all pointe dancers get their shoes approved by their teacher. To do this, the dancer will go to a clean spot at the studio, put on their Ouch Pouches and any other purchased tools (such as toe spacers), put their shoes on, and show the teacher the shoes while up en pointe. 

We hope you love your pointe shoes, and that you have fun continuing your ballet education! Your first pair of pointe shoes is an exciting time for all dancers, but always remember that your health and safety comes first. If anything ever starts to hurt in class, always stop and talk to your teacher and a parent or guardian, and give us a call to see if there’s anything we can do to fix the issue!

Pointe Shoe Fun Facts

1. Traditional pointe shoes don’t have a right or a left and are still almost entirely handmade!
2. Pointe shoes have a 24 hour wear time life span (i.e. 24 one-hour classes)
3. Traditional pointe shoes are made like paper mache. Water is their worst enemy!
4. A shoe that is too weak can be just as bad as a shoe that is too strong!
5. Pointe shoes don’t come with pre-sewn ribbons and elastics because each dancer will position them specifically to their liking!
6. Fitting pointe shoes is like doing a puzzle. Every shoe has a different strength, box shape, vamp height, and wing height. Your pointe fitter will match your foot to your perfect shoe!