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

[AnGeLiCbOrIs]

Wore my $159 dark brown Parkways for the first time tonight. The leather is really soft and I can't believe how nicely the 3 last fits.

 

[acousticfoodie]



I have a question for people with Brooks Brothers versions of AE. I ordered a pair of BB Walnut Strands seconds, and it seems to fit way tighter than the regular AE Strands (I have a pair in the exact same size purchased from nordstrom in the summer). I have a pair of Fifth Ave (non BB) in the same size and they fit well and not as tight as the BB Strands. Can anyone comment?

The poron insole of the BB is almost like having a really really thin insole imo. It really shouldn't be that much of a difference in tightness tho. Trying wearing them indoors for several days to see if it adjusts.

 

[archangle13]

I'm sure everyone has their shoe care routine.

Question: Will Dr Martens wonder balsam work fine as a leather conditioner for AEs?

 

[bucksfan]

For anyone looking for shoe trees, 70% off right now at Joseph bank. That makes them 7.50.

 

[anakin]

The Park Avenues in black are $264 on Amazon in my size but the duties they charge at checkout are beyond insane.

I'm considering getting seconds for $200 but for only $64 less, I'm not so sure.

I may just have Amazon ship it near the border and then pick it up but I won't be in Buffalo for a few months. Tough tough decisions, what to do what to do..

 

[New Shoes1]

Which other captoes do you own? Speaking of the Delray, I have it in Chili and Black, but may have to pick it up (or the Lasalle) in Dark Brown as well
J

I like a sleek balmoral captoe, so my dark brown captoes are from forum member Andrew Lock's (AngelicBoris) benchgrade collection. http://andrewlockshoes.com/products/389994-the-brown-oxford

 

[bucksfan]

Myself, I love the old brownish AE shell color. It's pretty unique. Everybody makes shoes in regular color 8. Matters of taste, I guess.
Bucksfan, your suit looks great.

Speaking of... here's a pair of Leeds in the "old" burgundy shell: These have been worn about 5 times, and I did a renovateur treatment over the weekend.

 

[sevenfoldtieguy]



I put my shoe trees in right away unless my shoes are wet. I'll stuff them with paper towels then put shoe trees in them the next day

This is good advice for wet shoes.

For shoes not wet, one should wait a handle of minutes after taking shell shoes off befoe inserting trees. For calf they may go in right away.

 

[sevenfoldtieguy]



Myself, I love the old brownish AE shell color. It's pretty unique. Everybody makes shoes in regular color 8. Matters of taste, I guess.
Bucksfan, your suit looks great.

Best to have both if possible - old AE burgundy and new AE burgundy. Or, old AE burgundy and old/new Alden Color 8.

 

[mikeman]

Probably mentioned already, but the Allen Edmonds site has some deals on their polish. Some colors are only a dollar.

 

[ryewo[i dmfsOZI490w]

I put my trees in right away.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

Does anybody know how much the long branches are at the outlet?
And also, I've never really tried on allen edmonds... If I'm a 9.5D in Wolverine 1ks, what should I get in the Long Branches? A 9.5D or 10D?

I think the going rate right now is $279.00 for Long Branch Seconds.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

Question: How many people here put their cedar wood trees in right after taking the shoe off?

I'm seeing some comments saying they wait for the inside to dry before putting the trees in. That makes me unsure if I'm doing it properly.

I have seen people talk about letting their shoes dry before putting their trees in as well. This is missing the point of cedar trees. Cedar is a highly absorbent wood that is meant to draw the moisture out of the leather while retaining the shoe's original shape. Leather will curl up and deform as it dries if it doesn't have something to keep it properly shaped. That is the reason you see pictures of people's shoes curling up after not having trees to keep them in shape while drying. The other benefit of trees being that they help minimize creasing in the toe is really more of an incidental effect of the shoe drying with a tree inside it. In other words, the trees themselves are not decreasing the creases themselves. The creases are not setting in because the shoe is not taking on a permanently bent (curled) shape. Shoe trees are actually less important in a shoe that is dry. Hence the reason shoes are not stored by companies with trees in them prior to being sold. You can find dead stock shoes that are over 10 years old and have never had a tree in them, but they are shaped just fine.

If you start talking about other types of shoe trees, however, some of this breaks down. Many companies make shoe trees that are made of less absorbent types of wood. Worse yet, some use trees that are actually lacquered. When you insert this type of tree into a moist shoe it will not be as effective at drawing the moisture out of the leather, which creates a breeding ground for mold and mildew. The shoes will still dry (they aren't air tight), and they are still effective at keeping the shoe shaped while drying, but drying will take longer and trapped moisture is not healthy for the leather lining. Hence the strong case for using cedar shoe trees.

 

[kmdsimpson]



I have seen people talk about letting their shoes dry before putting their trees in as well.  This is missing the point of cedar trees.  Cedar is a highly absorbent wood that is meant to draw the moisture out of the leather while retaining the shoe's original shape.  Leather will curl up and deform as it dries if it doesn't have something to keep it properly shaped.  That is the reason you see pictures of people's shoes curling up after not having trees to keep them in shape while drying.  The other benefit of trees being that they help minimize creasing in the toe is really more of an incidental effect of the shoe drying with a tree inside it.  In other words, the trees themselves are not decreasing the creases themselves.  The creases are not setting in because the shoe is not taking on a permanently bent (curled) shape.  Shoe trees are actually less important in a shoe that is dry.  Hence the reason shoes are not stored by companies with trees in them prior to being sold.  You can find dead stock shoes that are over 10 years old and have never had a tree in them, but they are shaped just fine.   

If you start talking about other types of shoe trees, however, some of this breaks down.  Many companies make shoe trees that are made of less absorbent types of wood.  Worse yet, some use trees that are actually lacquered.  When you insert this type of tree into a moist shoe it will not be as effective at drawing the moisture out of the leather, which creates a breeding ground for mold and mildew.  The shoes will still dry (they aren't air tight), and they are still effective at keeping the shoe shaped while drying, but drying will take longer and trapped moisture is not healthy for the leather lining.  Hence the strong case for using cedar shoe trees. 

+1 on this. i put my trees in immediately after wearing.

If they got totally soaked through, I would try the newspaper route for a while, but insert trees before the shoes are totally are dry; but in that case you need to give them special attention -it's not a "set it and forget it" fix.

 

[BootSpell]



I have seen people talk about letting their shoes dry before putting their trees in as well.  This is missing the point of cedar trees.  Cedar is a highly absorbent wood that is meant to draw the moisture out of the leather while retaining the shoe's original shape.  Leather will curl up and deform as it dries if it doesn't have something to keep it properly shaped.  That is the reason you see pictures of people's shoes curling up after not having trees to keep them in shape while drying.  The other benefit of trees being that they help minimize creasing in the toe is really more of an incidental effect of the shoe drying with a tree inside it.  In other words, the trees themselves are not decreasing the creases themselves.  The creases are not setting in because the shoe is not taking on a permanently bent (curled) shape.  Shoe trees are actually less important in a shoe that is dry.  Hence the reason shoes are not stored by companies with trees in them prior to being sold.  You can find dead stock shoes that are over 10 years old and have never had a tree in them, but they are shaped just fine.   

If you start talking about other types of shoe trees, however, some of this breaks down.  Many companies make shoe trees that are made of less absorbent types of wood.  Worse yet, some use trees that are actually lacquered.  When you insert this type of tree into a moist shoe it will not be as effective at drawing the moisture out of the leather, which creates a breeding ground for mold and mildew.  The shoes will still dry (they aren't air tight), and they are still effective at keeping the shoe shaped while drying, but drying will take longer and trapped moisture is not healthy for the leather lining.  Hence the strong case for using cedar shoe trees. 

The above makes perfect sense and is the regimen I always used. But take note of what sevenfold said above, about waiting a "...handful of minutes.." before inserting trees into shell. I received an Alden insert when I recently got my #8 pct boots and in it Alden recommends a "...cool down period..." before inserting trees into shell shoes.