Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - Page 1082

Looking to start my first full-time job soon, and was interested in buying a pair of AE Park Avenues (or any other suggestions for first couple pairs of AE's?). Where would be my best bet for a discounted pair? 

 Quote:

Originally Posted by sevenfoldtieguy 


I don't have the Manistee belt, but I do have 3 wide basic dress belts (which, IMO, are more business casual to even straight-up casual). FWIW, 2 of them fit the exact same, and one has holes that start a bit further from the tip. AE makes its wide basic belts "tight" - that is, where I usually wear a belt on the 4th hole (2nd from the tightest), on AE's belts (in the same size as my others) I have to go to the middle hole or even one looser.

That would make sense, since the basic belt fits more or less the way I think it should, and the manistee is a little too loose (at the innermost hole). I guess the lesson here (for me, at least) is that I should have ordered the Manistee in a 36. It's a shame, I really like the belt and it goes great with a pair of burgundy Cliftons.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leather 

Looking to start my first full-time job soon, and was interested in buying a pair of AE Park Avenues (or any other suggestions for first couple pairs of AE's?). Where would be my best bet for a discounted pair? 

You can check the SF Buy & Sell forums, as there are SF members who sell discounted AE stuff there (some firsts, some seconds, some used). If you are willing to go with seconds, you can save a little more money.

Also, depending on what you will be wearing at your job, the Park Avenue may or may not be a good shoe to buy right away. I typically only wear mine with a dark, conservative suit, which means that I rarely wear them more than a couple times a month (I work in an environment that is more or less business casual). That being said, you will likely get good use out of them at formal events like weddings, funerals, etc. I think it's a great shoe to have as part of your collection, but if you are only going to have one or two pairs, there are probably more versatile options.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Firefox 

You can check the SF Buy & Sell forums, as there are SF members who sell discounted AE stuff there (some firsts, some seconds, some used). If you are willing to go with seconds, you can save a little more money.

 

Also, depending on what you will be wearing at your job, the Park Avenue may or may not be a good shoe to buy right away. I typically only wear mine with a dark, conservative suit, which means that I rarely wear them more than a couple times a month (I work in an environment that is more or less business casual). That being said, you will likely get good use out of them at formal events like weddings, funerals, etc. I think it's a great shoe to have as part of your collection, but if you are only going to have one or two pairs, there are probably more versatile options.

Thanks for the response. Which models would you say are more versatile? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leather 

Thanks for the response. Which models would you say are more versatile? 

I'm in a similar situation and I went with black Strand (firsts) and the burnished walnut Rutledge (seconds) from the Independence Collection. I wanted one black and one brown but I wanted the black to be casual enough to wear to work (business casual) with chinos/wool slacks but could still pair with a suit if necessary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leather 

Thanks for the response. Which models would you say are more versatile? 

I currently own three pairs of AE (in order of dressiness): Park Avenues in black calf, Cliftons in burgundy calf, and Delrays in chili burnished calf. The Cliftons are the newest of the three, but I suspect that I'll get a lot of use out of them. If you want something that's going to be very versatile and can be dressed up or down, I'd suggest a blucher in a relatively dark shade of brown or burgundy. The Clifton is a blucher but, IMO, it's still a very dressy-looking shoe and could be worn with a suit in all but the most rigid of work environments. A lot of it will depend on the kind of industry/workplace you are in, not to mention where you live.

If all else fails, take a look at what some of your colleagues wear, and use that as a guide.

Gentlemen!
Apologies that my first post is a question.  
I would like to buy a pair of AE's Cronmok.
I have read a lot of reviews on the subject, but I still have my question unanswered.  
Some people write that Cronmoks are true to size, whereas others that it is 1/2 size large and 1 size narrow.
So there are two opinions:
1. "Cronmok is TTS"
2. "Consider sizing down 1/2 a size and going one width up"
Therefore, my question to the owners of Cronmoks is as follows:
I'm size 6.5, but closer to 6, really, E width.  
AE has the Cronmok model in sizes 6 and 6.5 with E and EEE widths.  
What size and width would you recommend?  
I do understand that the return policy of the brand is excellent, but the shoes will be shipped to a country from where returns are difficult.  
Thank you in advance for your advice.

Strands today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alef 

Gentlemen!
Apologies that my first post is a question.  
I would like to buy a pair of AE's Cronmok.
I have read a lot of reviews on the subject, but I still have my question unanswered.  
Some people write that Cronmoks are true to size, whereas others that it is 1/2 size large and 1 size narrow.
So there are two opinions:
1. "Cronmok is TTS"
2. "Consider sizing down 1/2 a size and going one width up"
Therefore, my question to the owners of Cronmoks is as follows:
I'm size 6.5, but closer to 6, really, E width.  
AE has the Cronmok model in sizes 6 and 6.5 with E and EEE widths.  
What size and width would you recommend?  
I do understand that the return policy of the brand is excellent, but the shoes will be shipped to a country from where returns are difficult.  
Thank you in advance for your advice.

Personally, I found that they run true to size.  I realize others have said to size down.  Perhaps because the leather is unstructured there are variations sometimes in the "give" of the leather which may alter the size?

Unrelated, however I'm not very good at navigating this site lol.  Remember a couple months ago, there was a link on the styleforum home page about mixing/combining textures with suits/shirts/ties? 

Where the hell can I find that post?  Off to the advanced search tool....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al in Philly 

Strands today.

 

Is it my computer screen or is something wonky going on with the leather here?