Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - reviews, pictures, sizing, etc...

[David Copeland]

Oh man, this is perfect! Gotta think about how I can swing this past my wife.

It depends how many shoes your wife has:



I do like enclosing shoes behind glass doors:

$320.00 on a variety of colors from HEMNES

 

[maxmaxmaxmax]



if i make them any tighter i feel the pressure around the top of my foot where the laces are.  the only other place i feel pressure is against my right pinky toe.  this is only my 2nd time wearing them.  give it more time?  do the laces look ok, too loose?

I'd say try a wider width. I had a pair of Fifth Avenues that felt a bit tight in the pinky and they never stretched. Had to buy a wider width.

Speaking of which, anyone want to buy a lightly used pair of brown fifth avenues size 9E in Toronto?

 

[tietherope]

As it's a pretty quiet day, does anyone own the Ralph Lauren Saunders? If so, do you have any advice on the sizing? Preferably in comparison to the 5 last.

I'm looking to grab a pair or two at the next tent sale or labor day sale or whatever happens next.

 

[AdamAdam]

I'd appreciate the opinions of the group on this one. I know much of this is personal taste so I'm conducting an informal survey. Which one should I keep?

LEFT: Ralph Lauren (by AE) Sanderson
RIGHT: McAllister



I wore the McAllister a number of times but recently had it replaced because of a sizing issue so this one is brand new. If I need to return it, I can. I then found the Sanderson on sale from dsw.com so grabbed it knowing I could return it if needed. I plan to wear these with suits and dress pants on non-suit days.

I'm leaning towards keeping the Sanderson because I already have a McAllister in merlot and have a walnut Strand on order which is very similar to the McAllister in many regards. The McAllister is striking and I received many compliments the few times I wore them. I do feel however that the broguing along the closed part of the laces may be a little much and is a distracting. That is what attracted me to the Sanderson. The Sanderson however doesn't seem as sleek looking. Maybe it's just all in my head. The burnishing on the Sanderson means the details on the toe don't stand out as much and overall is not as flashy of a shoe; but that's what I have the walnut Strand for.

As a side note... I take a 7.5E in the McAllister. When I went to order the Sanderson they only offered D(M) width on the site. So, I went with 8D(M) since I understood that the 2 last runs narrow and my McAllister are slightly snug. Well, they sent me 8E. They actually seem to fit fairly well but maybe that's why they look a little bulky to me. I'm not sure how they sent me an E since it wasn't even offered on the site. So, if someone is looking to get this shoe for a good price and you don't take a D, maybe call DSW and see what they have in stock.

Finally (I know this is long, thanks for reading), I'm surprised that these are $525 (retail but I paid $279 on clearance) shoes. Nothing seems much different from a feature and quality standpoint versus the McAllister. Maybe there's something I'm not aware of? The Sanderson is listed as calf (just like the McAllister) but when I do the nose test (not official but my nose is sensitive) the Sanderson smells more like my Elgin (cheaper leather) than any of the AE calf models that I have. Also, check out the side of the right shoe. It's not the worst thing in the world and I understand that these are hand-made and things like this happen but it's rather unsightly.



Thanks for reading and for your opinion! I attempt to return the favor whenever possible.

 

[dcinitial]

As it's a pretty quiet day, does anyone own the Ralph Lauren Saunders? If so, do you have any advice on the sizing? Preferably in comparison to the 5 last.

I'm looking to grab a pair or two at the next tent sale or labor day sale or whatever happens next.

They are really narrow compared to 5 last and do not break in easily if at all. Suggest going up a width or two but I think they're more readily available in D widths. I could be wrong.

 

[polojock615]

Burgundy shell Leeds today with crazy socks.

 

[New Shoes1]

I'd appreciate the opinions of the group on this one. I know much of this is personal taste so I'm conducting an informal survey. Which one should I keep?

LEFT: Ralph Lauren (by AE) Sanderson
RIGHT: McAllister



I wore the McAllister a number of times but recently had it replaced because of a sizing issue so this one is brand new. If I need to return it, I can. I then found the Sanderson on sale from dsw.com so grabbed it knowing I could return it if needed. I plan to wear these with suits and dress pants on non-suit days.

I'm leaning towards keeping the Sanderson because I already have a McAllister in merlot and have a walnut Strand on order which is very similar to the McAllister in many regards. The McAllister is striking and I received many compliments the few times I wore them. I do feel however that the broguing along the closed part of the laces may be a little much and is a distracting. That is what attracted me to the Sanderson. The Sanderson however doesn't seem as sleek looking. Maybe it's just all in my head. The burnishing on the Sanderson means the details on the toe don't stand out as much and overall is not as flashy of a shoe; but that's what I have the walnut Strand for.

As a side note... I take a 7.5E in the McAllister. When I went to order the Sanderson they only offered D(M) width on the site. So, I went with 8D(M) since I understood that the 2 last runs narrow and my McAllister are slightly snug. Well, they sent me 8E. They actually seem to fit fairly well but maybe that's why they look a little bulky to me. I'm not sure how they sent me an E since it wasn't even offered on the site. So, if someone is looking to get this shoe for a good price and you don't take a D, maybe call DSW and see what they have in stock.

Finally (I know this is long, thanks for reading), I'm surprised that these are $525 (retail but I paid $279 on clearance) shoes. Nothing seems much different from a feature and quality standpoint versus the McAllister. Maybe there's something I'm not aware of? The Sanderson is listed as calf (just like the McAllister) but when I do the nose test (not official but my nose is sensitive) the Sanderson smells more like my Elgin (cheaper leather) than any of the AE calf models that I have. Also, check out the side of the right shoe. It's not the worst thing in the world and I understand that these are hand-made and things like this happen but it's rather unsightly.



Thanks for reading and for your opinion! I attempt to return the favor whenever possible.

I would go with which ever one fits better. If it's the Sanderson, I would then return this one (due to the side wrinkles) and buy a pair of seconds on sale. The Sanderson seconds are pretty frequently on sale for $129, which is less than half what you paid at DSW.

 

[MacktasticGDogg]



I'd appreciate the opinions of the group on this one. I know much of this is personal taste so I'm conducting an informal survey. Which one should I keep?

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

LEFT: Ralph Lauren (by AE) Sanderson RIGHT: McAllister I wore the McAllister a number of times but recently had it replaced because of a sizing issue so this one is brand new. If I need to return it, I can. I then found the Sanderson on sale from dsw.com so grabbed it knowing I could return it if needed. I plan to wear these with suits and dress pants on non-suit days. I'm leaning towards keeping the Sanderson because I already have a McAllister in merlot and have a walnut Strand on order which is very similar to the McAllister in many regards. The McAllister is striking and I received many compliments the few times I wore them. I do feel however that the broguing along the closed part of the laces may be a little much and is a distracting. That is what attracted me to the Sanderson. The Sanderson however doesn't seem as sleek looking. Maybe it's just all in my head. The burnishing on the Sanderson means the details on the toe don't stand out as much and overall is not as flashy of a shoe; but that's what I have the walnut Strand for. As a side note... I take a 7.5E in the McAllister. When I went to order the Sanderson they only offered D(M) width on the site. So, I went with 8D(M) since I understood that the 2 last runs narrow and my McAllister are slightly snug. Well, they sent me 8E. They actually seem to fit fairly well but maybe that's why they look a little bulky to me. I'm not sure how they sent me an E since it wasn't even offered on the site. So, if someone is looking to get this shoe for a good price and you don't take a D, maybe call DSW and see what they have in stock. Finally (I know this is long, thanks for reading), I'm surprised that these are $525 (retail but I paid $279 on clearance) shoes. Nothing seems much different from a feature and quality standpoint versus the McAllister. Maybe there's something I'm not aware of? The Sanderson is listed as calf (just like the McAllister) but when I do the nose test (not official but my nose is sensitive) the Sanderson smells more like my Elgin (cheaper leather) than any of the AE calf models that I have. Also, check out the side of the right shoe. It's not the worst thing in the world and I understand that these are hand-made and things like this happen but it's rather unsightly. Thanks for reading and for your opinion! I attempt to return the favor whenever possible.

Since you already own a pair of walnut Strands, I think the Sanderson would give you more variety. The Sanderson is a longwing blucher, so it should be bulkier than a wingtip balmoral such as the McAllister. That's why LWB's are often referred to as "gunboats". I think the Sanderson is actually one of the sleeker LWB's out there. I own a pair of Sanderson factory seconds and I think they are pretty nice. However, I don't really know why they retail at $525 either. They supposedly use a higher grade of leather than the typical AE calfskin shoes, but I can't really tell. The workmanship seem to be about the same as well. I agree that the wrinkles on your shoe are rather unsightly though. Mine have a little bit of stretch marks on the vamp but they are seconds and not as prominent as the wrinkles on your shoe.

 

[ayoungs]



Has anyone ever inquired about requesting a different last for Custom shoe orders?

For ex. Strand or Park Ave. on an 8 last?

I did talk to Allison about this, she said no to a 1-511G last type of request (to have something put on an orthotic last) for a shoe normally on the 7 last, due to leather length. That was a pretty unique request so who knows if something else might work? I'm interested in what anyone finds out.

 

[itsmejson]

My suede players are starting to look weird the nap is looking as if t is piling is this normal for suede?

 

[gtvisa2002]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I'd appreciate the opinions of the group on this one. I know much of this is personal taste so I'm conducting an informal survey. Which one should I keep? LEFT: Ralph Lauren (by AE) Sanderson RIGHT: McAllister I wore the McAllister a number of times but recently had it replaced because of a sizing issue so this one is brand new. If I need to return it, I can. I then found the Sanderson on sale from dsw.com so grabbed it knowing I could return it if needed. I plan to wear these with suits and dress pants on non-suit days. I'm leaning towards keeping the Sanderson because I already have a McAllister in merlot and have a walnut Strand on order which is very similar to the McAllister in many regards. The McAllister is striking and I received many compliments the few times I wore them. I do feel however that the broguing along the closed part of the laces may be a little much and is a distracting. That is what attracted me to the Sanderson. The Sanderson however doesn't seem as sleek looking. Maybe it's just all in my head. The burnishing on the Sanderson means the details on the toe don't stand out as much and overall is not as flashy of a shoe; but that's what I have the walnut Strand for. As a side note... I take a 7.5E in the McAllister. When I went to order the Sanderson they only offered D(M) width on the site. So, I went with 8D(M) since I understood that the 2 last runs narrow and my McAllister are slightly snug. Well, they sent me 8E. They actually seem to fit fairly well but maybe that's why they look a little bulky to me. I'm not sure how they sent me an E since it wasn't even offered on the site. So, if someone is looking to get this shoe for a good price and you don't take a D, maybe call DSW and see what they have in stock. Finally (I know this is long, thanks for reading), I'm surprised that these are $525 (retail but I paid $279 on clearance) shoes. Nothing seems much different from a feature and quality standpoint versus the McAllister. Maybe there's something I'm not aware of? The Sanderson is listed as calf (just like the McAllister) but when I do the nose test (not official but my nose is sensitive) the Sanderson smells more like my Elgin (cheaper leather) than any of the AE calf models that I have. Also, check out the side of the right shoe. It's not the worst thing in the world and I understand that these are hand-made and things like this happen but it's rather unsightly. Thanks for reading and for your opinion! I attempt to return the favor whenever possible.

I would go with McAllisters. But I like bals compared to bluchers. Most of my shoes are bals. IMHO, considering you already have Merlot McAllisters, Sanderson will give you variety. And if it fits better than McAllisters (without the hissy noise ), go for Sanderson. Also, as suggested try to get an exchange (for the right shoe issue) if you can get away with it. HTH. Thanks.

 

[MarioImpemba]

I would go with McAllisters. But I like bals compared to bluchers. Most of my shoes are bals.

If given the choice, I'm with this guy; balmorals, and it ain't even close.

 

[plainnerd]

Quick question for everyone. I bought a pair of Strands from Amazon the other day and just received them and realized that the soles are different. The left sole is significantly darker and the edges are very rough, plus the heel is different. I also noticed one shoe doesn't have the little black Allen Edmonds logo on the inside of the ankle. Any idea what's going on?

 

[njruss]

Hooray!

 

[tietherope]



Hooray!

You're making me jealous! Those look great. I ordered mine on Thursday and haven't received a shipment notification yet. But I'm checking my email often.