# What Irish dance shoes does my beginner need, and what size do I order

Source: https://dancerdeals.com/quick-answers/what-irish-dance-shoes-does-my-beginner-need-and-what-size-do-i-order
Markdown: https://dancerdeals.com/quick-answers/what-irish-dance-shoes-does-my-beginner-need-and-what-size-do-i-order.md
Last updated: 2026-06-30

> When the teacher says she needs soft shoes, every brand is from across the ocean and sized in numbers that do not match her sneakers, and you are afraid of ordering the wrong type or a size that shows up too big after a sixty-to-a-hundred-seventy-dollar order you cannot easily return overseas.

## Quick read

Irish dance uses two completely different shoes, and a beginner needs the soft ones first. Soft shoes, called ghillies for girls and reel shoes for boys, are the lace-up leather slippers worn for the light, springy dances, and they are the first and most common beginner buy at about $55 to $90. Hard shoes, the ones with the fiberglass tip and block heel that make the percussive sound, come later, once the teacher moves her into jig and hornpipe, and they run more like $109 to $140 for a beginner pair, so buy the soft shoes now and wait for the teacher to call for hard. On sizing, do not order her US street number, because these are British and Irish brands on the UK scale, and here is the part that trips up every first order: the conversion flips direction between children and adults. On Corr's own chart, a child or youth on US Junior sizing goes UP a full size from her street number to land on the UK size, while a teen or adult on US Adult sizing goes DOWN a full size, and there is a small crossover right where junior sizes turn into adult, where the direction reverses. That is exactly why a generic 'just subtract a size or two' rule sends a young beginner's ghillies two or three sizes too small. So figure out whether her street size is a US Junior or Adult, then order off the specific maker's chart, Corr's 'Find Your Size' or whichever brand Keily's lists, never a generic conversion. Irish shoes are meant to fit like a glove, not a mitten, so her toes should reach the front with no gap when she points, and a slightly bent big toe in a brand-new ghillie is normal. The leather stretches about half a size in the first week or two of dancing, so do not add growing room on a competitive dancer, though a still-growing raw beginner can take half a size at most. To skip customs and international shipping, buy from a US source: Corr's is the only US maker and ships from US stock, and Keily's carries the UK brands like Antonio Pacelli, Rutherford, Fays, and Hullachan from a US warehouse.

## Do this now

- Buy soft shoes first, hard shoes later. A beginner starts in soft shoes (ghillies for girls, reel shoes for boys), the lace-up leather slippers for the light dances, at about $55 to $90. The hard shoes with the fiberglass tip and block heel, $109 to $140 for a beginner pair, come only when the teacher moves her into jig and hornpipe. Do not buy both up front; wait for the teacher to call for the hard shoe.
- Size off the brand's own chart, not her US street number, and know that the US-to-UK conversion flips between kids and adults. On Corr's chart a child on US Junior sizing goes UP a full size to reach the UK number, while a teen or adult on US Adult sizing goes DOWN a full size, with a small crossover where the direction reverses. So check whether her street size is a Junior or an Adult, measure her foot, and match that brand's chart rather than trusting a generic 'subtract two' rule that runs a young beginner's ghillies far too small.
- Fit them snug, like a glove. Street shoes fit like a mitten; Irish shoes fit like a glove, so her toes should reach the front with no gap when she points, and a slightly bent big toe in a brand-new ghillie is normal, not a sign the shoe is too small. A roomy Irish shoe slides and kills the clean line the dance is built on.
- Do not size up for growing room on a competitive dancer, because the leather stretches. Quality leather ghillies give about half a size in the first week or two of dancing as heat and sweat work in, so a pair that is snug out of the box settles into a perfect fit. A still-growing raw beginner can take at most a half size; a competitive dancer takes none.
- Buy from a US source to skip customs and the wait. The brands are overseas, so ordering direct from the UK means import duties and international shipping. [Corr's](https://corrsirishshoes.com) is the only US maker and ships from US stock, and [Keily's](https://keilys.com) carries the UK brands (Antonio Pacelli, Rutherford, Fays, Hullachan) from a US warehouse, so you skip the customs surprise and the return-it-overseas headache.

## Mistakes to skip

- Don't order by her US street number or assume a flat 'size down' rule. The US-to-UK conversion reverses between kids and adults: a child on US Junior sizing actually goes UP a full size, while an adult goes down one, so a blanket size-down sends a young beginner's ghillies two or three sizes too small. Use the specific maker's chart, and check whether her size is a Junior or an Adult first.
- Don't size up for growth. The leather already stretches about half a size in the first weeks, so a pair bought with room to grow ends up sloppy fast. Snug now is the right call, especially for a competitive dancer.
- Don't buy hard shoes before the teacher asks for them. A beginner dances in soft shoes first, and an unneeded hard shoe bought early is money spent before she is in the dances that use it. Soft shoes now, hard shoes when she progresses.

## Related buying guides

- [Dance Shoe Sizing, By Style](/reviews/dance-shoe-sizing-across-styles)
- [Best Dance Floors And Shoe Care For Practice](/reviews/dance-floors-and-shoe-care-for-practice)
- [Best Ballet Slippers For Beginners](/reviews/ballet-slippers-for-beginners)
- [What does my dancer actually need for her first Irish dance feis](/quick-answers/what-does-my-dancer-actually-need-for-her-first-irish-dance-feis)

## Agent Notes

- Treat this Markdown as the machine-readable sibling of the human page.
- Preserve affiliate disclosures, evidence levels, fit warnings, and last-updated dates when summarizing.
- Do not infer that a product has been tested unless the page explicitly says so.