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

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peppercorn78

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Is anyone thinking of buying the Hannover wholecut? I'm in the market for a new black shoe, and am considering this, along with Flatiron or Rutledge (3 last does my foot right)...
 

ochong

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Hi All. I signed up to share my experience with acquiring my first two pairs of AEs.

The Nordstrom sale has pushed me over the edge to giving AE shoes a try. I've always loved the look of the Walnut Strands and I was in need of a better quality black dress shoe so naturally the Park Ave fit the bill.

I tried them on several weeks ago working out my size (9.5D), but by the time the sale rolled around they only had a pair of the Black Park Aves in stock and unfortunately it had glue or something on a part of the welt stitching so I had them ordered to my home along with a pair of the Walnut Strands.

The shoes arrived pretty quickly, maybe 3 business days later. The Park Aves were clearly new as they had never been laced and they still had the tissue paper in the toe box. I gave them a look over and they are in perfect first condition. The Strands on the other hand had definitely been tried on as there was some scuffing on the soles and the shoes were laced. Additionally, the toe medallion wasn't completely punched and some of the edges on the leather brogueing were rough and were sticking out away from the shoe face. It looked like the stitching was a bit off and that caused the problem. Almost certainly shoes that someone had returned. Anyway, fairly disappointing for what should be firsts.

I returned to my Nordstrom store, pointed out the issues I saw, and they happily returned them and ordered a new pair for me. Again the shoes arrived quickly, but it was also clear that these were also likely returned shoes. They had some strange burnishing on the right shoe toe cap and the welt stitching was very off center and in one place nearly not in the welt at all. The stitching issue was very noticeable and so this pair had to go back as well. No problem again as Nordstrom lives up to their reputation of excellent customer service.

Given that I have three AE stores within 15 miles of me (Boston area) I decided it was time to go direct. I called up one of the stores and verified that they would price match Nordstrom. Yesterday I went over and was sized again as a 9.5D by a very helpful employee. They had just received a single pair of the Walnut Strands in my size that day. Sadly they had a strong dark burnishing line set back half an inch from the toe cap. I figured it would probably fade with some wear and polishing, but decided to roll the dice and a pair is being sent to me direct from the factory.

Despite the hassle in acquiring a pair of the Walnut Strands I'm still excited to hopefully have some to call my own in a few days time. The look is just awesome.

I plan to wear them with the Walnut Manistee belt and a grey linen suit to a summer wedding in just a few weeks.

TLDR - Nordstrom's got me a perfect condition pair of Black Park Aves, but through two separate orders I ended up with what I strongly suspect are returned Walnut Strands with various issues. Decided to go directly to an Allen Edmonds store and now have a pair coming directly from the factory.
 
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Burzan

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Hi, my first post and I just wanted to say how much I love my walnut McAllisters since picking them up a few months ago. I already have bourbon Strand, a dark brown Fifth Avenue and black Park Avenue on my wish list, maybe even the Dalton or Fifth Street haha. Here is a few pics of my first pair of AE


 

jonesle7

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First Post....former lurker. New poster.

Love following this shoe appreciation thread!
 
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rc121

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Is anyone thinking of buying the Hannover wholecut? I'm in the market for a new black shoe, and am considering this, along with Flatiron or Rutledge (3 last does my foot right)...


It has crossed my mind, I will likely try and hold out until the outlets get some seconds
 

ScottyBoy920

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Picked up my tan Cronmoks today and took some before and after pics.

Fresh out of the box... confirmed that they are lighter than expected and almost as light as a new leather sole as someone else pointed out.



Used some Reno and a light coat of Kiwi neutral and they started to darken.



I expect these guys to darken a little more over time given the feel of the leather and how they changed just after one application.
Have been wearing them around the house and confirm they are TTS (8E Strand - 8E Cronmok) and a very comfortable wearing boot.
The footbed feels almost padded and the upper leather is like a broken in glove.
I missed out on the natural colored McTavish, so this will fill the gap at the light, top end nicely.

Has anyone else purchased the Cronmok in tan? if so, how are they looking?

I love the look of the finished product in the second image, nice dark and rich color. I would love to get these and have the ability to darken them.
 

YoungSweet

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I purchased the shoes from AE, but they came with a return label to Nordstrom. That is why I think they were made specifically for the anniversary sale at Nordstrom.
This is not correct. I've ordered a pair of Strands before the Anniversary sale at Nordstrom and it was shipped directly from AE with a return label to Nordstrom.
 

YoungSweet

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David Copeland

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I did it through live chat. It was an easy process.
Maybe that's a better way to get a Nordstrom Price match using an Amazon link. Did you just give them the link to the 20% page or to you shopping cart? Some managers do not price match eBay or Amazon, so you scored!

David
 

Upward

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If you are professionally fitted in a Nordstrom store and they sell you shoes, they will honor a 6 month refund or exchange guarantee after you have worn them if the size causes issues with your feet. I don't know of any other AE retailer who does that.

David
No offense but it's time to stop saying that. Nordstrom did nothing to help me, they didn't even ask me to bring the shoes in to look at them. The great customer service of the past is gone.
 

David Copeland

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Hi All. I signed up to share my experience with acquiring my first two pairs of AEs.

The Nordstrom sale has pushed me over the edge to giving AE shoes a try. I've always loved the look of the Walnut Strands and I was in need of a better quality black dress shoe so naturally the Park Ave fit the bill.

I tried them on several weeks ago working out my size (9.5D), but by the time the sale rolled around they only had a pair of the Black Park Aves in stock and unfortunately it had glue or something on a part of the welt stitching so I had them ordered to my home along with a pair of the Walnut Strands.

The shoes arrived pretty quickly, maybe 3 business days later. The Park Aves were clearly new as they had never been laced and they still had the tissue paper in the toe box. I gave them a look over and they are in perfect first condition. The Strands on the other hand had definitely been tried on as there was some scuffing on the soles and the shoes were laced. Additionally, the toe medallion wasn't completely punched and some of the edges on the leather brogueing were rough and were sticking out away from the shoe face. It looked like the stitching was a bit off and that caused the problem. Almost certainly shoes that someone had returned. Anyway, fairly disappointing for what should be firsts.

I returned to my Nordstrom store, pointed out the issues I saw, and they happily returned them and ordered a new pair for me. Again the shoes arrived quickly, but it was also clear that these were also likely returned shoes. They had some strange burnishing on the right shoe toe cap and the welt stitching was very off center and in one place nearly not in the welt at all. The stitching issue was very noticeable and so this pair had to go back as well. No problem again as Nordstrom lives up to their reputation of excellent customer service.

Given that I have three AE stores within 15 miles of me (Boston area) I decided it was time to go direct. I called up one of the stores and verified that they would price match Nordstrom. Yesterday I went over and was sized again as a 9.5D by a very helpful employee. They had just received a single pair of the Walnut Strands in my size that day. Sadly they had a strong dark burnishing line set back half an inch from the toe cap. I figured it would probably fade with some wear and polishing, but decided to roll the dice and a pair is being sent to me direct from the factory.

Despite the hassle in acquiring a pair of the Walnut Strands I'm still excited to hopefully have some to call my own in a few days time. The look is just awesome.

I plan to wear them with the Walnut Manistee belt and a grey linen suit to a summer wedding in just a few weeks.

TLDR - Nordstrom's got me a perfect condition pair of Black Park Aves, but through two separate orders I ended up with what I strongly suspect are returned Walnut Strands with various issues. Decided to go directly to an Allen Edmonds store and now have a pair coming directly from the factory.

Regardless of going directly to a store or buying over the phone - my advice is to ALWAYS work exclusively with the manager, and insist they personally inspect the shoes before wasting your time to pick them up or have them shipped. This also goes for managers who order firsts to be shipped from AE to you. They should have them shipped to the manager first for his personal inspection before sending them on to you. Yes, it is an extra step and extra shipping on their part, but given you (and others) have had bad experiences, the manager will certainly agree to his/her pre-inspection.
 

David Copeland

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No offense but it's time to stop saying that. Nordstrom did nothing to help me, they didn't even ask me to bring the shoes in to look at them. The great customer service of the past is gone.
I think you have me mixed up with someone else's post. I never posted such.

Enjoy your weekend,

David
 

David Copeland

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Hi, my first post and I just wanted to say how much I love my walnut McAllisters since picking them up a few months ago. I already have bourbon Strand, a dark brown Fifth Avenue and black Park Avenue on my wish list, maybe even the Dalton or Fifth Street haha. Here is a few pics of my first pair of AE




Nice selection. Where did you purchase them from?

David

AE Hardback Book - Free, while supplies last.
 

basiameda

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Using the 20% off Tanger discount I ordered a pair of Walnut Shell Dalton seconds. They came in this morning and after some renovateur and brushing, they began to look brilliant.




I thought the seconds defect was sloppy brogue-ing but unfortunately, its much worse than that... there is a cut where the vamp meets the toe box... As seen below, I am using my finger to expose the vamp and the cut is not significantly noticeably when the shoes are firmly laced (not pictured)...




But when I remove the lacing its revealed that the cut is fairly large...




I really want to keep this pair seeing as how there are no other seconds in my size, but given the circumstances, will the cut compromise the integrity of the shoe over time? I live near a highly skilled cobbler as well, are there any potential ways of patching the cut?

UPDATE: Asked my cobbler to work some magic on the same day (Tuesday) and he had them ready for me today! For the most part, I think the pair will be okay and am thoroughly impressed with the work done.

My cobbler used a similarly colored piece of calf leather beneath the cut and hand sewed it in place. Cosmetically, theres some extra threading on the outside of the vamp and the cut looks to be gone, neither of which can be seen when being worn unless someone comes down to my feet and finely exams my shoes. Structurally, I hope they stand the test of time but I have my cobblers guarantee to come back if anything happens and he'll do whatever he can to help.









In addition to this job, he also completely redyed and refinished a pair of strands I had... thinking i had adequate practice changing a pair of tan shoes to chestnut brown, earlier this month I had stripped the finish and tried to remove the dye from a black pair of strands and redye them dark brown... it was an utter failure. At the time I brought the Daltons in I also asked him to work some magic and bring them back to what they used to be. The results are stunning and truly make me re-appreciate the beauty of black shoes... Unfortunately I don't have a before picture




If you are in the San Diego, La Jolla area or don't mind visiting... this cobbler is very talented and I would highly recommend him! He does basic things like topy half soles and even worked on a leather rucksack in the past. Because this post sounds like a review/advertisement, I won't post a yelp link, name,or location for fear of being punished but let me know and I'll gladly do so!
 

David Copeland

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Allen-Edmonds Amok - Regular $250.00 - On Sale for $99.99


Anyone have a pair of Allen-Edmonds Amok? If so, how do you like them?

I noticed them on sale in selected sizes for only $99.99 at www.6pm.com
 
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