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

[HoldenMI]

Self serving post, but I promised pictures. As a follow up to an earlier post about newer Florsheim cordovan shoes as compared with MacNeil and other shell long wings. I managed to find a pair of brown cordovan long wing Kenmoors, new in box, and I was VERY pleased with the quality and appearance of the shoe. It is certainly made with Horween cordovan leather and in a very pleasing brown color. This is a nice change from the more commonly seen black and #8 / burgundy. It is unfortunate that these newer Florsheim shoes do not seem to come up on Ebay with any regularity and they stopped making them new about 5 years ago. If they are listed there they are worth serious consideration. The WORST part about the shoe is that it does not fit me and so it is being resold to someone with 10 D feet.

How do you think the Kenmoors compare with AE MacNeil sizing?

 

[smfdoc]

Self serving post, but I promised pictures. As a follow up to an earlier post about newer Florsheim cordovan shoes as compared with MacNeil and other shell long wings. I managed to find a pair of brown cordovan long wing Kenmoors, new in box, and I was VERY pleased with the quality and appearance of the shoe. It is certainly made with Horween cordovan leather and in a very pleasing brown color. This is a nice change from the more commonly seen black and #8 / burgundy. It is unfortunate that these newer Florsheim shoes do not seem to come up on Ebay with any regularity and they stopped making them new about 5 years ago. If they are listed there they are worth serious consideration. The WORST part about the shoe is that it does not fit me and

Spoiler: Warning: Non-AE content

Spoiler: Warning: Non-AE content

How do you think the Kenmoors compare with AE MacNeil sizing?

I think they are similar. The shoe was too small for me, as I knew it would be, so I have limited comparison. The measurements of the shoe, however, are larger than expected, but that did not seem to help them feel larger. Until you find a comment with more authority, I would assume they are the same.

 

[DustinM]



Self serving post, but I promised pictures. As a follow up to an earlier post about newer Florsheim cordovan shoes as compared with MacNeil and other shell long wings. I managed to find a pair of brown cordovan long wing Kenmoors, new in box, and I was VERY pleased with the quality and appearance of the shoe. It is certainly made with Horween cordovan leather and in a very pleasing brown color. This is a nice change from the more commonly seen black and #8 / burgundy. It is unfortunate that these newer Florsheim shoes do not seem to come up on Ebay with any regularity and they stopped making them new about 5 years ago. If they are listed there they are worth serious consideration. The WORST part about the shoe is that it does not fit me and so it is being resold to someone with 10 D feet.

Those are gorgeous shoes.

Funny timing on this post--last night I found myself on eBay at 4am looking at Florsheim longwings. A complete impulse buy but I picked up these for nearly nothing. They clearly need some TLC and may be more of an opportunity to learn than anything else but I'm pretty excited.

 

[BG 7]

What is everyone's experience with AE belts? There seem to be a few reasonably priced ones on the Shoe Bank.

I've had bad luck with belts that seem to get warped, frayed and other kinds of mangled in short order.

If not, then I was thinking of trying a Mission Belt to see if their ratchet system helps belts hold up better over time.

 

[Count de Monet]

My two oldest AE belts are a Manatee with about 80-100 wears and a walnut discontinued model with at least that many and they have held up wonderfully. No experience with their more casual models.

If you need a slightly casual belt that can double as a dress belt in a pinch, consider the gentleman at http://www.narragansettleathers.com

The English bridle leather is great and my two have held up perfectly. A bit slow but every belt is made to your specs up in Maine.

 

[whodey14]

I wear their belts with no issues thus far.

Also I enjoy the 333 last. I have 3 pairs of the university.

 

[MattRiv]

Those are gorgeous shoes.

Funny timing on this post--last night I found myself on eBay at 4am looking at Florsheim longwings. A complete impulse buy but I picked up these for nearly nothing. They clearly need some TLC and may be more of an opportunity to learn than anything else but I'm pretty excited.

I think those will clean up nicely and for that price, why not? I picked up a pair of vintage kenmoor LWBs in shell for $70 or so on ebay and they are awesome. I believe they were made in 1976 based on the information that I've found online.

For whomever asked about how they fit compared to the MacNeil... I've never tried on a shoe on that last, but I would say the fit as pretty close to the 511 (I have a Bradley). It has a fuller heel and more volume in the instep than the 5, but does run a bit shorter. Mine are the same size as most of my AE shoes, 12 B.

 

[MattRiv]

What is everyone's experience with AE belts? There seem to be a few reasonably priced ones on the Shoe Bank.

I've had bad luck with belts that seem to get warped, frayed and other kinds of mangled in short order.

If not, then I was thinking of trying a Mission Belt to see if their ratchet system helps belts hold up better over time.

Their belts are awesome. You can usually find some really good deals on ebay for new or near new, mostly around $40 or so. The Manistee belts use a little bit different leather than the calfskin used on the basic dress belts. Any leather belt is going to warp or contour to your body as you wear it, but these aren't going to fray or ruin easily. I own a dark brown and bourbon Manistee, chili and walnut wide basic dress and a merlot poplar dress. The poplar is extremely supple. I also have a casual belt by AE, one with tan leather and harris tweed. Excellent quality.

 

[BespokeBrooklyn]

What is everyone's experience with AE belts? There seem to be a few reasonably priced ones on the Shoe Bank.

I've had bad luck with belts that seem to get warped, frayed and other kinds of mangled in short order.

If not, then I was thinking of trying a Mission Belt to see if their ratchet system helps belts hold up better over time.

 

[naspratt]

What's everyone's experience with shoe trees in unlined suede? I put a pair of small trees in my 10.5D Sea Islands hoping it would stretch them a little, and it did after about 36 hours. They're still snug but not clenching the top of my foot anymore. But now I'm worried about over stretching them. I've seen some people put in the toes of the trees but leave the back end on top of the heel. Thoughts?

 

[ProfilaBinding]

I've had mostly good experienes with AE belts. I even have the Wide Basic Dress belt in black and have not had any cracking like many people have complained about. I own the Sun River belt too, which is an awesome and soft casual belt that matches my Clark's. The 35 mm belt I have is only one I was a little disappointed with. Up close, it looks a bit more plastic-like that my other belts, but it looks fine from a distance. Yukon belt is great too, but order a size larger than normal as it runs small. Walters St. belt in bourbon is awesome too.

I strongly suggest ordering belts as 2nds because all of the shoebank belts I've bought did not have any noticeable flaws.

 

[supplychainman]

+1. Same experience here.

 

[middlepP]



What's everyone's experience with shoe trees in unlined suede? I put a pair of small trees in my 10.5D Sea Islands hoping it would stretch them a little, and it did after about 36 hours. They're still snug but not clenching the top of my foot anymore. But now I'm worried about over stretching them. I've seen some people put in the toes of the trees but leave the back end on top of the heel. Thoughts?

I've tried to go down 1 size for my suede/cxl/unlined shoes. If that isn't an option, or I find myself with a regular size tree, then I do exactly as you mentioned: just leave the heel sticking out.

 

[DapperDriver]

I've had good luck with AE belts, have four of them. I agree with the comments on seconds; while I can identify the flaw on the two second quality belts I have, the flaws were extremely minor.

Since the original question mentioned Mission belts, I've had one of those for years, and it's my go-to casual leather belt. Good quality stuff.

 

[losrockets]

How are AE's suede belts, specifically? I have a leather belt (the Bombay, iirc) and it's a workhorse, the leather is beautiful and has held up really well.