Ralph Lauren Shoes

The ones you linked are on par with Ferragamo. I thought, last time I checked, they were manuf. by Allen Edmonds, but I could be wrong an outdated with info.

I would say the Made in Italy and Made in England shoes the RL offers are considerably higher quality than Ferragamo.

I have 5 pairs of rl shoes. 4 of them made by ae. But leather is much better and finish is flawless on RL than ae. All rl that are made in us are made by ae. Just keep in mind they are super narrow like width B even when they are marked D. I rate them above Ferragamo on any day.

I'm going to disagree with multiple points here.

1. The quality of the leather is the same between AE and AE for Ralph Lauren.

2. Not all USA made Ralph Lauren shoes are made by AE.

3. D width on the the AE for RL shoe is the same as the D width in AE, which is pretty standard.

True, Alden also makes at least two shoes for RL.

The vast majority of RL shoes are far superior to Ferragamo. I have two pairs left of my pre-SF Ferragamo shoes--one pair which I paid $1k for. I now use them as rainy day shoes. I have three pairs of Crocket & Jones cordovan shoes for RL which the Ferragamo's can't touch.

I would advise you read up on some of the shoe threads around here to learn what to look for in a good pair of shoes.

For a little more than Ferragamo money you can get a real pair of shoes from G&G, EG, JL etc.
For Ferragamo money you can get a fine pair of shoes from C&J, Alden, Carmina etc.

Much better bang for your buck.

No Alden doesn't make any RL shoes although I agree with the rest of what you wrote.

The US made RL shoes are from AE and Rancourt.
There may be some RRL US made boots from some smaller makers like Julian or some other mystery boot makers.

Wait, really? You think they're narrow?


One thing I've noticed about RL shoes, other than the higher end purple label shoes (very nice) and black label shoes (that I don't like), is that they're a bit clunky.

 

I suspect he is talking about the AE made for RL shoes on AE's 2 last, which is a very narrow last.  The Sanderson comes to mind and there may be others as well.

Alden has made RL shoes although their current collection does not contain any Alden's.

There were shoes made by a company that Alden owns that made some RL shoes, but not any true Aldens made for RL.
http://www.styleforum.net/t/187929/are-these-ralph-laurens-made-by-alden-cape-cod#post_3375710

^

Got ya!

The factory that makes the Made in USA or Maine RL shoes is Rancourt. I believe they also produce the Cape Cod collection.

None of RL shoes are made by Alden.
RL shoes that are made by AE - Leather quality is much much noticeably better than AE shoes. Yes 2 shoes could be made in same factory yet they can use different grades of leather. A have few pairs of AEs , but don't have any AE independence line. I think RL uses AE independence line leather quality . AE finish is a joke. RL finish is flawless. RL may be using AE 2 last ; or they may have a special last which is narrower than last 2. And RL shoes have much better leather lining and full leather insole which is softer and smoother looking.
Saunders Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Slaton Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Sanderson Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) Singleton Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
and all 4 of them this is how the sole looks like- Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Edited by md2010 - 11/1/12 at 3:20pm

All shoes from Ferragamo aren't equal in quality. The Tramezza line is better than AE and just as good (if not better) than C&J, Alden, Carmina etc.

To the OP, those RL shoes are nice. They are made by AE for sure (I own the brown burnished). The leather is similar but the finish is higher grade than the AE's. Also, those aren't standard AE's but from their higher independence line that AE sells for close to $500 retail. In my opinion, that line is underrated on these forums. In my opinion, the AE Independence line is superior to Alden and on par with C&J handgrade, but a fraction below the higher English lines.

They are almost identical to the Williams and at that price are a bargain:

http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF7602_1_40000000001_-1

The RL has a better finish on the upper than the AE, although the AE has arguably a better sole. Very tempting for me to grab a Walnut at that price, but I have way too many shoes (already resisted the urge to get Lindricks last week!).