I'm guessing we probably got a bad pair. My daughter takes ballet once a week for a 45 minute class, and by week 3 the elastic band that goes across the top of her foot already came un-sewn on one side. She never wears them outside the studio, only on the dance floor, but alas they still broke. Sad because the shoes are super cute and the price was right, but I guess you get what you pay for.