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

[wurger]

Yes, then you probably never find a pair of AE that you would classify as perfectly new firsts.

I highly doubt that's true. Honestly, my biggest issue is with the stitching in the toe area. It looks sloppy.

fair enough, I noticed the loose threads on the first photo, and had to go back and look a bit harder at the third photo. My main point is that if you look hard enough, you will always find imperfections.

 

[jaywhyy]

I highly doubt that's true. Honestly, my biggest issue is with the stitching in the toe area. It looks sloppy.

Looks fine to me for a mass produced shoe. This is Allen Edmonds we're talking about here, not Edward Green. If you want a perfect shoe, you're gonna need to double or triple your budget.

 

[delmar]

When tying my shoes, the loops of the laces always seem to line up vertically along the shoe instead of a more pleasant looking horizontal bow. Does anyone else have this problem? What am I doing wrong?

The best way to fix that problem is to make the initial crossing of the laces the opposite way you're doing it now--left over right if you are accustomed to doing it right over left, or vice versa. Then make your loops and tighten in your normal way. It's the easiest fix.

 

[plainnerd]



They can't provide you a replacement due to it's been sold out during a sale, and they won't exchange with a different colour and style because it's not a like for like exchange and won't work on the stock system, so they will give you a full refund and you can buy another from anywhere including amazon again.

Why are you annoyed at amazon and what are you expecting?

That's why I'm annoyed rather than pissed off, that and its no longer on sale so will cost more anywhere I go.

 

[dapperdoctor]

I own a pair of Aberdeen longwings and a pair of Pierpont saddle shoes that both use the same smokey grey leather. They take polish just fine -- I've used neutral on both pairs -- so it's not necessary to avoid polish entirely. Applying a darker polish certainly shouldn't "destroy" them, at least in terms of compromising the leather itself.

Having a cobbler dye them would probably be your safest bet, but if you're going to try to darken them yourself you should initially focus on using cream rather than paste, due to the dye concentration. If you use multiple thin layers of cream and let it sink fully into the leather between applications, you'll probably get the most significant effect. You might end up with a deep charcoal rather than black, though, and there's no easy way to tell how much the shade might vary over the shoes.


Personally, I am quite happy with the appearance of both of my pairs. When I applied an initial coat of conditioner, the color variations already present upon arrival were amplified, resulting in a burnished appearance with a darker toe-box, etc. Applying neutral polish over top of that seems to have "locked in" their appearance fairly well, which hasn't changed too much since.

Thanks...food for thought. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll try it.

 

[AE_afficionado]



Hi Everyone, Long time lurker first time poster... I got my MTO walnut shell Daltons in the other day. Just thought I'd share some pics. I had them made with a chili split reverse welt, and without the pull tab. There are a few imperfections, such as some deep creasing on both boot shafts, which isn't a big deal since it'll be covered by my pants (and will probably crease with wear). The biggest issue in my view is that the medallions on both toes are uneven. One of them is significantly more forward than the other, while the other one is crooked. The shoe with the forward medallion also has a hump in the space above the medallion. Additionally, there are about 19-20 total of the small holes that aren't completely punched through. You can see two unpunched holes in each of the wings in the attached pic. I know that I cannot expect perfect shoe, but do you think these are acceptable? And can AE fix this? Please advise. Thanks!!

Unacceptable. This would not even be a question for me. It's more appalling to me that they passed QC, and were mailed to you at all. If that's not a 2nd or a 3rd, I don't know what is.

 

[New Shoes1]

That's why I'm annoyed rather than pissed off, that and its no longer on sale so will cost more anywhere I go.

This is why I never buy AE from Amazon if I can get the shoes for the same price somewhere else.

 

[Subutai]



I purchased my first shell shoes today - I got a bit carried away and ordered 3 pairs, all seconds!! A black PA, brown Dundees and burgundy Leeds! I wear an 8.5D in my AE Weymouth and Dryden as well as C&J, so that's the size I ordered. Hopefully they'll all fit well, but if they don't that's fine too.

Couple of questions specific to shell cordovan:

- is there a recommended procedure prior to wearing new shell shoes, like there is with calf?

- how does the PA look in black shell cordovan compared to a black PA in calf? Is it going to look less dressy because it's made of shell?

BTW, the J'ville store was offering shell for 20% off their regular price of $449.00 ie $359.00. This is something they offered themselves, without me asking for it, so I'm guessing it's not related to the Tanger coupon mentioned earlier.

Hey deburns, I thought you got them from Shoe Mart! Congrats, that's a lot of shell! I'll pass along what experts told me: follow the Mac method for both break in and maintenance.

 

[mavrik13]

Here are a few pictures of what I consider to be defects in my new AE's. I could see them going as seconds.. but not as perfectly new firsts.

They look pretty good to me... I can kind of see what you mean by the stitching in the 3rd pic, but can you honestly see that from eye level? I don't think anyone would fault you for returning them if you're not happy... but I would imagine that these 'defects' would be hard to notice from 3 feet away, let alone 6 feet. To each their own.

 

[GOP Shoe Guy]

Unacceptable. This would not even be a question for me. It's more appalling to me that they passed QC, and were mailed to you at all. If that's not a 2nd or a 3rd, I don't know what is.

Agreed. I would call the rep you worked with on your MTO and send them the pics. This is totally unacceptable. I hear they are out of Walnut Shell, so I would ask for a discount on these to pricing for a second quality. It would bug me every time I looked down at them seeing the medallion is not symmetrical. It would bug me even more knowing these are probably $700 boots.

 

[Rmeister]

My new (used) The Jeffersons that I picked up from ebay for $180 including shipping! The auction said they were preowned but I highly doubt they were used, the soles have absolutely no scratches on them, not even any dirt! Either that or they did an amazing job at cleaning them. The leather feels way better than the leather on my black McAllisters or my walnut Strands. Sooooooooo happy right now!!

6 Allen Edmonds pairs and counting!

 

[shartmann]

I highly doubt that's true. Honestly, my biggest issue is with the stitching in the toe area. It looks sloppy.

My Strands came with something similar to this, where the stitching was just a bit too close to the edge. It didn't look very good and was right on the toe, and a few of the little triangle pieces of leather appeared to be cut off. Turned out that they were tucked under the stitching, but not actually in the stitching, and I was able to carefully pull them out and set them free. This looked a lot better and now the entire row of leather triangles were nice and straight. I couldn't tell from your pics if you are able to do the same, but it may be worth a try.

I won't offer any advise on what you should do, as I can see both keeping and returning as reasonable actions. I will say that I had forgotten all about my Strand "issue" until I read your post. I actually went and looked at them and sure enough, the stitching on the cap is off. But I have worn these many, many times and really didn't notice, nor has anyone else ever noticed. And the little triangle pieces of leather that I wanted to lay nice and flat when I first got them are now all over the place. Some are sticking up, some are frayed, and some of them are still laying flat.

 

[tampatravel]

Quick question fellas...

I have a pair of Townley's in Shell. They are quite rough in the area where my foot bends. Do you guys have any ideas on how to get these looking better. I'd post a pic but it doesn't show up well via pics.

 

[JermynStreet]

Quick question fellas...

I have a pair of Townley's in Shell. They are quite rough in the area where my foot bends. Do you guys have any ideas on how to get these looking better. I'd post a pic but it doesn't show up well via pics.

My shell Patriots fit really (too) snug when I first got them, and subsequently thereafter. What has worked for me is using some Nordstrom Rack shoe trees a size too big (I wear a size 9D and use a "L" shoe tree). This has worked really well for me and I can much more comfortably wear my Patriots.

 

[njruss]

My walnut PA's arrived today. I actually bought them to get the 2/250 deal along with the Elgins that I really wanted and then planned to sell these. Of course, my wife actually likes the PAs and thinks that I should keep them. Who woulda thought? ANyway, the 2 defects that I see are a black spot on the back seam of one shoe and the abrasion on the sole of the other (In the pic, it looks like a reflection but is actually more of a scrape - could edge dressing fix that? The light on the leather is actually just a reflection from the camera)


. What do you think?