Freed of London — Local services in London

The service at Freed of London decayed quite a bit since I last bought there in 2018.

I went in to buy ballroom dance shoes as I was looking for a silver pair. Since I bought before, I showed the size (4.5) to the girl helping and chose 2 models I wanted to try on. She brought me first a 4.5 and the size was clearly too big for one of the pairs. She never gave me the second one. Then she came back with a smaller size for only one of the pairs. It seems to fit ok while sitting. When I put them on - in the night for dancing, they were killing my feet after maybe only 1 hours of wearing, particularly on the side (bunion) and at the back of the shoe (I have Haglund deformity).

After coming back from the party, I looked at the box to realize she sold me a 3.5 and never brought me a 4 to try on. I remember she muttered something after I paid, that it was a full size down, but I assumed she meant that in my European size, which wouldn’t be unheard of. I am a 37,5 in sneakers, sometimes a 38 in others, 37 in most dance shoes and 36.5 in flip flops and espadrilles. I noticed the size was a full 1.5 size down compared to European sizes - so a 36. I checked the website and saw they also had 4 as a size.

I went into the shop to explain them the situation and the manager confirmed they had no size 4 in stock. What bothers me most is that the girl helping that day - never related that information to me (the fact that she brought me a 3.5 because she didn’t have a 4 available) or else I would have asked to try a 4 in another model. Also, the manager noticed the model of the shoe was too tight for how broad the front part of my foot is (partially due to my bunion)

Please be very aware of their service - before spending a fortune on their shoes. There’s nothing ‘specialized’ in the service and it can aggravate your foot problems, simply because they do no analysis of it.

Also, please note I didn’t experience these kind of issues with the other shop I bought shoes from, Dancia International.

EDIT - reply to the reply below: The store actually reached out and refunded the purchase. Very...

I had my first pointe shoe fitting. Then we went into total lockdown. Which was organised by the lovely Kyrie. The usual deposit was reduced as I was waiting for my student finance. This was something they did not have to do, but through Kyrie I saw the superb customer care illustrated. Once lockdown was finally lifted, I could not make it to London for a while. Eighteen months later, when I returned for the final fitting, Steph remembered who I was and what kind of padding I needed for my pointe shoes. I felt like I was treated very well, and the staff were very knowledgeable about what shoes I needed, and I got the impression that it was not about the sale but more about what best suits the customer. I cannot recommend highly how much I loved the experience at Freeds. I have been wearing the leotards and tap shoes for 30 plus years, and the quality, service, and standards for customer service, professionalism, and respect are why I continue to shop here. They are the very best in dancewear. Thank you especially to Kyrie, Chelsea and Steph, from...

Visited last week, asked for salsa shoes that were wide at the bridge. Sales rep showed me 1 pair and said that’s all they offer. Convinced me to get the 1/2 size smaller advising “most dancers usually wear a 1/2 size smaller”. I took them home, tried them on indoors and knew I should’ve trusted my gut feeling. My toes were hanging out the front so much they were touching the floor. Returned back to the store yesterday to do an exchange and saw a pair of shoes that were adjustable at the bridge which means I could adjust the width for my comfort. Asked the sales rep how long they’ve had them in for and she said “a while”. I don’t know why the sales rep last week wouldn’t show me this pair. I exchanged for this pair and for my correct size.

For the price you pay the shoes are of very poor craftsmanship. They’re messy around the edges like they’ve been put together in a rush. I only purchased from here because I urgently needed a pair otherwise I would’ve...