My 5yr old has just started her 2nd year of ballet/tap lessons. I bought these Bloch tap shoes for her because of how well they worked during her 1st year of dance. About 3/4 of the way through last dance season, not long before the recital, it was necessary for me to replace her tap shoes. They were still in perfect condition, but she had outgrown them. Instead of buying another pair of Bloch shoes, I went with a slightly cheaper brand (Dance Class.) It turned out that while the price of the 2nd pair was slightly cheaper, the quality of the shoe was significantly cheaper than the Blochs. The dance Class shoes simply were not nearly as well made: cheaper materials, smaller/thinner taps, poor craftsmanship etc. (See my review of the Dance Class shoes for more details.) We kept the "lesser" shoes and finished the year with them, including the recital. Fast forward to this year and the start of 2011-2012 dance season. Of course the tap shoes that fit my daughter 3 mos ago in June are too small in September (!) So we are going back to buying a new pair of Blochs. I bought them a 1/2 size larger than she is measuring, hoping they will last. But if they don't, I will buy more Bloch's as replacements, because saving +/- five dollars is not saving anything if you get a crappy shoe.