These shoes are very nice.  They have an elastic band across the top of the foot as well as the ribbon tie, so it's possible to remove the ribbon so toddlers who cannot tie them yet can just slip on the shoes.  I ordered about a half a size bigger than my daughter wears so that there would be a little room for her to grow this year. I worried that would be too big to start but she's not having any trouble with the heel slipping up and down that I can tell.  I recommend!