Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2016 - News, Pictures, Sizing, Accessories, Clothing, etc

[Canadianguy]



So... let's talk about recrafting. I bought a pair of OLD shell Leeds on the 8 last. Probably at least 25 years old. This is what they looked like on the eBay listing: I got them and decided to clean them up a bit. I used renovateur, and the polish just kept coming off. They were CAKED. I broke out the Renomat. After almost a whole bottle, they looked like this: About this time I admitted defeat and dropped them off with a cobbler for a full strip. When I got them back, I sent them to recrafting for a sole and welt change to natural, along with refinishing. They came back pretty cloudy, but a little bit of renvoateur and a lot of brushing got them to this: I am SO thrilled with how these turned out. As an added bonus, the 8 last fits me better than the 1 last ever did. I also have a pair on the one last, pretty standard. Old pic, on the right. The 1-last Leeds are much lighter than the 8-last Leeds, almost ruby vs. black cherry. All this makes me want to repeat the experiment. Too but 12 EEE shells are few and far between.

Those look amazing. Does AE offer the option to recraft with the natural welt/sole edges or did you have it done elsewhere? I would love to know for when it comes time to have my Dundees recrafted.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Lasalle's are my new favorite split toe. The interesting thing about these shoes is that the poron insole does not make a huge difference in feel. In other words, these feel closer to my Leeds than my Ashton.

 

[St Hubbins]

The floor probably doubles as a gymnasium. I remember playing indoor soccer in many a church back in the day.

Now I'm wishing Allen Edmonds went with a design a bit closer to some of the classic indoor soccer shoes models for the Cheetah and Brisbane.

My original shoe addiction: Adidas and Puma. I would wear both of those happily even today. Now I've "graduated" though.

 

[coolarrow]

Merlot Monday today. Seems like outdoor photos with natural sunlight is becoming the new trend around here so I took a shot at it. Much harder to get a good angle and also not look like a weirdo taking a picture of his shoes!

Looks good.

If a weirdo takes an outdoor picture of his shoes and no one sees him, is he really a weirdo?

 

[St Hubbins]

To anyone who has purchased factory seconds from the CAC: how has your experience been? Has the quality of shoe been better, worse or similar to when purchased from an outlet? My understanding is that you cannot have them evaluate the shoes first and you must take a leap of faith if you want to purchase a pair of seconds from the CAC. Is this true?

 

[M2511]

To anyone who has purchased factory seconds from the CAC: how has your experience been? Has the quality of shoe been better, worse or similar to when purchased from an outlet? My understanding is that you cannot have them evaluate the shoes first and you must take a leap of faith if you want to purchase a pair of seconds from the CAC. Is this true?

The experience I've had is when its coming from CAC they have it in a warehouse and cannot inspect its just luck of the draw. When it is from a store they have been willing to tell me what flaws might exist on the shoe and one has gone as far as sending me photos of the shoes. Hope that helps.

 

[St Hubbins]

The experience I've had is when its coming from CAC they have it in a warehouse and cannot inspect its just luck of the draw. When it is from a store they have been willing to tell me what flaws might exist on the shoe and one has gone as far as sending me photos of the shoes. Hope that helps.

Whoa, you've been able to get SAs from the outlets to send you pictures? So far my attempts at that have resulted in the same response: "We're not allowed." Is there a particular outlet or outlets where you've had more success with this request than others? It seems to me only fair that I should be able to do some kind of visual inspection prior to purchase, especially in light of the restocking fee. That puts the remote buyer at a decided disadvantage. I have to drive two hours to get to the closest outlet.

 

[M2511]

Whoa, you've been able to get SAs from the outlets to send you pictures? So far my attempts at that have resulted in the same response: "We're not allowed." Is there a particular outlet or outlets where you've had more success with this request than others? It seems to me only fair that I should be able to do some kind of visual inspection prior to purchase, especially in light of the restocking fee. That puts the remote buyer at a decided disadvantage. I have to drive two hours to get to the closest outlet.

It was the Paramus store in jersey. That was the only time I received pictures. Otherwise the SA just verbally described the condition. Hope that helps!

 

[peppercorn78]



Those are great. They were a web gem a few years back, right? Blue, purple, and green suede? Wish they'd bring those options back. And use green and blue leather on something made in the US other than golf shoes every once in awhile.

Thanks! Actually they are an MTO McAllister from the SF MTO heyday. There was a summer shoe almost exactly like this one called the Spiaggia which I missed out on before it was cancelled, soI used the MTO program to recreate it.

I think you're thinking of the suede Strand webgem. There were strands in odd colors like green purple and orange. @polojock615 has one of those.

 

[basura ka]

Monkstrap Mondays

 

[St Hubbins]

Amoks and blue chinos today. Such a weird fit with these - tightest waist of any shoe I've ever worn, yet I have to get them tied tight to reduce heel slip. Same size as my 5-last. I only have one other shoe on the 234 last (Addison seems to fit quite differently), so not much to compare it with.

Question to the group:
What other colors might I pair with these chukkas?
It's funny, I seem to gravitate towards these same chinos (or vice versa) every time I reach for the Amoks. I'd like to branch out from the blues/greys, but haven't found a khaki color that works.

This is just one man's opinion, but it seems like those could work with a wide variety of spring/summer chino colors. Just about any shade of green or blue. Reds to pinks or even yellow or purple if you're bold. White if you have it. Probably obvious, but the only thing I would shy away from is standard to lighter khaki colors. Medium-ish brown would also be nice. I don't know your feeling on the brand and I'm not sure I love the fit, but there are several of the Tommy Hilfiger custom fit chinos that I'd pair with them. J&M also sells chinos in some enticing colors, but I haven't inspected them or tried them on. Those are very good looking shoes and quite versatile.

 

[St Hubbins]

It was the Paramus store in jersey. That was the only time I received pictures. Otherwise the SA just verbally described the condition. Hope that helps!

Thanks! Too bad you can't search the Shoe Bank by location rather than just by size.

So far my experience with communicating with the outlets via phone or e-mail is that there's quite some variability in the level of scrutiny they will apply when inspecting the shoes and providing you with a description. A lot of times it's just something like "they look great."

There's a pair of BB Dundees in Oxblood listed on the Shoe Bank at the CAC. I love that color, but not sure I want to take the chance. Perhaps I'll hang on until the Memorial Day sale and see if there's any kind of deal on the PAs or Strands. It's terrible, but there are about four closeout styles I am eyeing right now on the Shoe Bank, and I probably shouldn't even be buying one of them. However, I've set a ridiculous goal of not repeating the same pair of shoes twice in a week. Being on this forum now is not helping me one bit.

I wonder how long I'll be able to resist making the two hour drive up to Wisconsin to visit one of the two outlets that are within striking distance.

 

[FaRKle]

Thanks! Too bad you can't search the Shoe Bank by location rather than just by size.

So far my experience with communicating with the outlets via phone or e-mail is that there's quite some variability in the level of scrutiny they will apply when inspecting the shoes and providing you with a description. A lot of times it's just something like "they look great."

There's a pair of BB Dundees in Oxblood listed on the Shoe Bank at the CAC. I love that color, but not sure I want to take the chance. Perhaps I'll hang on until the Memorial Day sale and see if there's any kind of deal on the PAs or Strands. It's terrible, but there are about four closeout styles I am eyeing right now on the Shoe Bank, and I probably shouldn't even be buying one of them. However, I've set a ridiculous goal of not repeating the same pair of shoes twice in a week. Being on this forum now is not helping me one bit.

I wonder how long I'll be able to resist making the two hour drive up to Wisconsin to visit one of the two outlets that are within striking distance.

You can also build up a relationship with a shoebank SA at one site and go through them to order stuff at other sites. That's what I've done, and he usually has it shipped to his location first so he can take a look at it before sending it to me.

 

[naspratt]

Jeffersons today

 

[Neo1]

Thanks! Actually they are an MTO McAllister from the SF MTO heyday. There was a summer shoe almost exactly like this one called the Spiaggia which I missed out on before it was cancelled, soI used the MTO program to recreate it.

I think you're thinking of the suede Strand webgem. There were strands in odd colors like green purple and orange. @polojock615 has one of those.

I was certain that was the Spiaggia - nice job on the recreation!