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

[mediahound]

You are technically correct. Some portion of Allen Edmonds' shoes are made in the DR, and it is not prominently disclosed on their website, although as I said above, it could be taken to be disclosed inside the shoe.
The issue I had with your initial post - and still disagree with you on - is the alarmist tone of your statements....
I think your issue is really with the "Great American Shoe Company" moniker. I think that has different interpretations for people, and you are free to take is as you choose. My point was simply that you have come in here with breaking news, gotten everyone excited, and then told us all something we have already known and processed.

Stating a fact is not 'alarmist', it's just the facts. That some here react with alarm to the facts really only proves that not everyone here knew that Allen Edmonds is not 100% Made in USA, yet likely previously believed that they were, based on what AE markets (and conveniently fails to divulge in their marketing).

My issue is only partially with their "The Great American Shoe Company" moniker, it's more with Allen Edmond's lack of transparency. If someone not 'in the know' wanted to find out exactly where AE does their manufacturing, where on the company website can they find that they do so in the Dominican Republic for "Proudly Made in the USA" shoes?

Their site says 'Custom American Shoes' in the title, 'The Great American Shoe Company' all over the place, their blog talks a lot about their USA plant and their American heritage etc., yet they completely hide any and all information their Dominican Republic manufacturing? Really?? They are clearly trying to fool people.

And the fact that the CEO states the true facts on an industry online forum such as this one is only commendable in a half-hearted way: that he does this yet hides the facts everywhere else seems completely shady.

 

[Cold Iron]

No face to face meetings today and April showers will lead to another half a foot of more snow soon so....


It is a Cascade's type of day.

 

[mediahound]

I think kmdsimpson said everything extremely well here, and I agree with all of it. The "Made of Fine Imported Leather" thing keeps frustrating me, because it keeps coming up. The label of "Made of Fine Imported Leather" is in no way a nod to the manufactering of shoes in the Dominican Republic. As kmdsimpson says, ALL of their shoes are now saying this on the insole. Using imported leather is not new, it is not a degradation of quality, and it doesn't represent a change in their methods. If you see an AE shoe without this label, it is probably old stock. It doesn't necessarily mean that it is made of USA sourced leather. I assure you, Alden shoes (since they are the other prominent American shoe maker) also purchases their hides (other than shell) from tanneries from other countries as well, just as all of the fine English shoemakers of Northampton do. Making a product from the best available materials frequently requires importing goods. Made in USA means alot to us from a quality and patriotic standpoint, but that doesn't mean that the USA produces the the highest quality natural materials all the time. If your country produces the best of a particular type of natural resource or material, it is often luck rather than human effort due to climate, geography, landscape, etc.

We're not talking about what country the hides come from. That is not the issue, but that does seem like a point where Allen Edmonds seeks to confuse the consumer. They want to have you believe the leather is imported, yet the shoe is made in the USA...Which we know is not the complete truth.

 

[cbtaylor]

We're not talking about what country the hides come from. That is not the issue, but that does seem like a point where Allen Edmonds seeks to confuse the consumer. They want to have you believe the leather is imported, yet the shoe is made in the USA...Which we know is not the complete truth.

Thank you for enlightening us, can we please move on. The thread is an appreciation thread, so let's focus on the things we do like about AE, which there are many.

 

[New Shoes1]

Stating a fact is not 'alarmist', it's just the facts. That some here react with alarm to the facts really only proves that not everyone here knew that Allen Edmonds is not 100% Made in USA, yet likely previously believed that they were, based on what AE markets (and conveniently fails to divulge in their marketing), ie "Proudly Made in the USA".

My issue is only partially with their "The Great American Shoe Company" moniker, it's more with Allen Edmond's lack of transparency. If someone not in the know wanted to find out exactly where AE does their manufacturing, where on the company website can they find that they do so also in the Dominican Republic for "Proudly Made in the USA" shoes?

Their site says 'Custom American Shoes' in the title, 'The Great American Shoe Company' all over the place, their blog talks a lot about their USA plant and their American heritage etc., yet they completely hide any and all information their Dominican Republic manufacturing? Really?? They are clearly trying to fool people.

And the fact that the CEO states the true facts on an industry online forum such as this one is only commendable in a half-hearted way: that he does this yet hides the facts everywhere else seems completely shady.

Mediahound, the reaction you are getting has nothing to do with the point you are trying to make and everything to do with how you are going about it. You know how there is usually some guy with a beef with a store that sits out on the sidewalk all day with the banner telling everyone not to shop there because Store X misleads its customers or something else nefarioius. People read the sign out of curiosity and chuckle or shrug their shoulders out of disinterest and proceed on in the store. Nobody minds that guy.

Now, give that guy a megaphone and have him shouting at every customer passing by how awful the store is (or how Joe Biden was kidnapped by the Russians and is now a Russian spy) and people get annoyed. The more you keep pounding the same points over and over again, when people are disinterested in them, the more you approach megaphone guy.

 

[mediahound]

Mediahound, the reaction you are getting has nothing to do with the point you are trying to make and everything to do with how you are going about it. You know how there is usually some guy with a beef with a store that sits out on the sidewalk all day with the banner telling everyone not to shop there because Store X misleads its customers or something else nefarioius. People read the sign out of curiosity and chuckle or shrug their shoulders out of disinterest and proceed on in the store. Nobody minds that guy.

Now, give that guy a megaphone and have him shouting at every customer passing by how awful the store is (or how Joe Biden was kidnapped by the Russians and is now a Russian spy) and people get annoyed. The more you keep pounding the same points over and over again, when people are disinterested in them, the more you approach megaphone guy.

1. People are clearly interested, they keep posting on the topic.

2. I only stated the facts, it's people's reactions to these facts that are like the megaphone, which should tell you something.

 

[mediahound]

Good thing shell is water resistant; these will upgrade my Rockports as my go-to rain shoes.

I'd be careful about wearing shell as rain shoes. It has a tendency to develop water welts which at times never fully go away. I'd use some Alden Leather Defender on them before wearing them out in the rain, which is like a water repellant.

While shell cordovan is definitely a lot more durable than calf leather, that's only if you don't care about the finish. If that's the case, thrash them all you want, they can take the beating for sure.

 

[itsmejson]

For those of you with Suede Players. what was your experience with
sizing?

I'm thinking about ordering a pair but never tried the 2 last before.
- I am a 9.5E in the 5 last & 10D in 1 last

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

We're not talking about what country the hides come from. That is not the issue, but that does seem like a point where Allen Edmonds seeks to confuse the consumer. They want to have you believe the leather is imported, yet the shoe is made in the USA...Which we know is not the complete truth.

Well, I'm not trying to put words in anyone's mouth, but the quotes I highlighted above seemed to indicate to me that some are believing that AE shoes were once made of all USA sourced leather, and now they have gone down market in quality by using imported materials. Even your post regarding the Amok above seemed to indicate a belief that the stamp means that the leather is assembled in the DR (which it may or many not have been). Perhaps I am misreading some people's posts, and I am just trying to clarify that nothing ususual is going on there.

 

[kmdsimpson]



Stating a fact is not 'alarmist', it's just the facts.  That some here react with alarm to the facts really only proves that not everyone here knew that Allen Edmonds is not 100% Made in USA, yet likely previously believed that they were, based on what AE markets (and conveniently fails to divulge in their marketing).

My issue is only partially with their "The Great American Shoe Company" moniker, it's more with Allen Edmond's lack of transparency. If someone not 'in the know' wanted to find out exactly where AE does their manufacturing, where on the company website can they find that they do so in the Dominican Republic for "Proudly Made in the USA" shoes?

Their site says 'Custom American Shoes' in the title, 'The Great American Shoe Company' all over the place, their blog talks a lot about their USA plant and their American heritage etc.,  yet they completely hide any and all information their Dominican Republic manufacturing? Really?? They are clearly trying to fool people. 

And the fact that the CEO states the true facts on an industry online forum such as this one is only commendable in a half-hearted way: that he does this yet hides the facts everywhere else seems completely shady.  

I mean this sincerely: Why not send Mr. Grangaard an email with your concerns? It would be interesting to hear what he has to say about it; and if he agrees with some of your points, maybe he'll change things. He reads this forum once in a while and has posted his email before.

 

[jch1]

For those of you with Suede Players. what was your experience with
sizing?

I'm thinking about ordering a pair but never tried the 2 last before.
- I am a 9.5E in the 5 last & 10D in 1 last

I kept the same size (11.5D) as my strands & daltons, and i find the players to be more snug in every dimension. Definitely still wearable, just less room.

 

[kmdsimpson]



You're probably right about it looking better when you don't look straight down at them. I do admire the "black jelly bean" color as someone here had described it.  Good thing shell is water resistant; these will upgrade my Rockports as my go-to rain shoes.

I'd be careful about wearing shell as rain shoes. It has a tendency to develop water welts which at times never fully go away. I'd use some Alden Leather Defender on them before wearing them out in the rain, which is like a water repellant. 

While shell cordovan is definitely a lot more durable than calf leather, that's only if you don't care about the finish. If that's the case, thrash them all you want, they can take the beating for sure. 

This.

I do not wear my shell shoes in the rain.

 

[cbtaylor]

I kept the same size (11.5D) as my strands & daltons, and i find the players to be more snug in every dimension. Definitely still wearable, just less room.

I agree on all accounts, do not think I would change size however

 

[kmdsimpson]

Got my Townleys yesterday. I was wearing a suit, so threw these on and took a quick picture. Other than being a blucher, they look great with a suit.

And boy, these are really shiny. They also smelled strongly of polish initially, overwhelming the "shell" smell. But leaving them out overnight has helped. I don't think I'll put any product on them to start.

Also seem a little duplicative of my brown Cliftons - but much nicer.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[itsmejson]

I kept the same size (11.5D) as my strands & daltons, and i find the players to be more snug in every dimension. Definitely still wearable, just less room.

I agree on all accounts, do not think I would change size however

thx, so since they do not have 9.5E in stock my best bet would be the 10D?


@simpson - love those townleys.
- i recently picked up the last 9.5D brown cliftons and have been breaking them in. Ideally I would have wanted and E width but they were not available. The only flaw I've found was on the stitching on the left cap toe that won't be an issue in the future.