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

[MrWN]

Allen Edmonds has the Brook Brother's Strands 2nds on sale, black, brown, and walnut, at $159 during Memorial Day Sale. Those are $365 regular price. I bought a pair last time. I knew they'd look great, but was surprised how exceptionally comfortable they were.

CH

Ah, thank you for the heads up!

Hopefully they'll do something similar this weekend.

I can't find the Brook Brother's Strands 2nds on AE's website though.

Or were you referring to the "Strand Cap-toe Oxfords"?

 

[Deladonis]

A man cut from the same cloth as I . I wear a 14.So it is real hard to find the AE's I want sometime. I Have a pair of Fairfaxs. I stumbled on a pair of Manhattans a couple of weeks ago and found the Greenwich's last week. I of course Have a pair of Westgate's on my list #1. I know that will be near impossible to find.As well as Austin's and Berkley's. From the mid to late 80's. I may as well add the Hastings and Weybridge that I have on my sub main list.My last few Wholecuts will be very hard to find. Takes me back to the sneaker hunting i would do in my youth. I am always open to any help people can give me to hunting down these elusive shoes. Happy hunting!

 

[AmericanGent]

Are dark brown shoes a no go with black slacks/suits?

As mentioned by almost everyone, they are a no go. Brown shoes work with everything but black.

 

[Cold Iron]

For your consideration, please see the following picture of my Brown Waxy Leather Long Branches. The were worn on holiday in Banff this past weekend. The harshest element they were exposed to was light rain. They turn this whitish, distressed-looking shade each time they're exposed to adverse weather. They did it in the snow this winter as well.



Thoughts? The other boot has been treated with Renovateur. It always does the trick, but I would like to know if there's something I can treat them with to prevent this down the road.

Thanks.

What is your regular care regimen? I know you said that the clean boot has been treated with Renovateur, so is that what you always use? The brogue holes on the treated boot appear to have quite a bit of white residue in them. If the brogue holes stay white well after the boots have been treated, dried, and buffed, then I'd say you have applied way too much product to them. Was that picture taken immediately after treatment before they had any chance to dry?

The boot with the white film all over it appears to be spewing oils and fats which may be rising to the surface of the leather when they get wet, and is being left on the leather surface when the water evaporates. You may be using way too much oil/conditioner on them.

That is my thought too. It looks like bloom on shell and think the leather on those is hot stuffed so it is the oils and fats coming out like MWS said. The oils and fats are hydrophobic so repel water however think the water may be pushing them out of the leather also, it is likely very saturated from when they tanned and stuffed the leather.

If they were mine and doing that I would start by using saddle soap. Although I like most AE shoe care products I only use Fiebing's Glycerine Saddle Soap Bar. It is 100% glycerine which is what museums and scientist use to treat leather for long term preservation. On those boots I would use a soft sponge and water just as hot as you can stand it. Get the sponge wet and using a little saddle soap work it into the boot until it is covered in lather. Then rinse in hot water. Don't soak them just rinse and use the sponge to help remove the lather. I do that a couple of times then let them dry away from direct heat but with some air flow around them. Once they are totally dry you can use Reno again it will help bring back the luster. But my preference on a boot or leather like that is to use a couple of THIN coats of Obenauf's Heavy-Duty Leather Preservative AKA: HDLP. It will darken them a little but make them totally waterproof. The finish will also change it will be hard to get a shine they will be duller looking. But I personally like the protection it gives and I pick function over form when it comes to most boots. And I think the HDLP may help prevent the bloom from coming back.

 

[LeviMay]



What is your regular care regimen?  I know you said that the clean boot has been treated with Renovateur, so is that what you always use?  The brogue holes on the treated boot appear to have quite a bit of white residue in them.  If the brogue holes stay white well after the boots have been treated, dried, and buffed, then I'd say you have applied way too much product to them.  Was that picture taken immediately after treatment before they had any chance to dry? 

The boot with the white film all over it appears to be spewing oils and fats which may be rising to the surface of the leather when they get wet, and is being left on the leather surface when the water evaporates.  You may be using way too much oil/conditioner on them.

The picture of the treated boot is, indeed, from immediately after Reno-ing and brushing. There was a little product in the brogue holes, but it soaks in shortly after. My regular regiment for these is to use Renovateur and a thorough brushing. I've applied Kiwi Mid-Brown polish as well, but felt that it was cracking at the creases, and haven't been using polish since.

What would you recommend in the future? Condition less often? Use a cream polish? And if that's a residue of oils being left behind as you suspect, what should I use to remove it?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Irish]

Ah, thank you for the heads up!

Hopefully they'll do something similar this weekend.

I can't find the Brook Brother's Strands 2nds on AE's website though.

Or were you referring to the "Strand Cap-toe Oxfords"?

Email Shoe Bank ([email protected]) for the inventory of Seconds in your size(s).
I ordered a pair of Brooks Bros. Fifth Ave. last week. $159, and no noticeable defects. Perfectly aligned captoe. I was happy. They also had a number of BB Strands available.

 

[Winston S.]



Ah, thank you for the heads up!

Hopefully they'll do something similar this weekend.

I can't find the Brook Brother's Strands 2nds on AE's website though.

Seconds will not be on the AE website. You have to call or email the outlet stores to purchase them.

Black shoes are really the only thing color shoes that work with black pants.

Also, stop wearing black pants.

+1.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

The picture of the treated boot is, indeed, from immediately after Reno-ing and brushing. There was a little product in the brogue holes, but it soaks in shortly after. My regular regiment for these is to use Renovateur and a thorough brushing. I've applied Kiwi Mid-Brown polish as well, but felt that it was cracking at the creases, and haven't been using polish since.

What would you recommend in the future? Condition less often? Use a cream polish? And if that's a residue of oils being left behind as you suspect, what should I use to remove it?

Thanks for your help!

I think Cold Iron's advice above is great. Saddle soaping them to remove the build up would be a great place to start. After that, alot of it comes down to personal preference and what you hope to get from your boots. Cold Iron's advice may be right up your alley since it sounds like you are using them as true outdoor boots. I will default to his advice if that is your goal.

I am a hunter myself, but for that I wear boots that are commonly found at regular sporting/outdoor goods stores that are made with fused rubber soles and Gore-tex. I beat the crap out of them walking in ankle deep mud and water, scratch them to death walking through green briar and anything else I may romp through. I hose them off and saddle soap them at the end of the season, then forget about them until the next season. I definitely don't approach my hunting boots anywhere near the way I do my AE's. About 18 years of hunting and I'm only on my second pair of hunting boots (and that is because my second pair was a gift rather than a need), so I just don't have much motivation at this point to see if there is a better route.

Cold Iron's experience with his use of his boots will be far more valuable if you want to use them for outdoor purposes.

For my Long Branches, which I wear for rainy days to work, and weekends around town with the family in the fall/winter, I have had great experience simply following AE's recommendation of Cleaner/Conditioner followed by Dark Brown Premium Polish. They shine up beautifully and I don't experience any issues with the cracking in the creases since it is a cream polish. I initially used saddle soap on them, but they began to take on a very dull look that didn't quite fit into the appearance goal that I had for them.

 

[cbtaylor]

With all this talk of black pants, wore my black westchesters recently with some black pants

 

[sevenfoldtieguy]



Are dark brown shoes a no go with black slacks/suits?

Brown shoes - in any shade of brown - are a no-go 100% of the time with black slacks/suits.

 

[charliebrown2]

wore my burgundy mccallisters with black slacks once






I probably won't be doing that again any time soon, but I don't really care. I'm not in an SF-style environment and if anything, only a few noticed. But yea, as far as I know, the "rule" is that black slacks go with black shoes 100% of the time.

 

[LeviMay]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

That is my thought too. It looks like bloom on shell and think the leather on those is hot stuffed so it is the oils and fats coming out like MWS said. The oils and fats are hydrophobic so repel water however think the water may be pushing them out of the leather also, it is likely very saturated from when they tanned and stuffed the leather.

If they were mine and doing that I would start by using saddle soap. Although I like most AE shoe care products I only use Fiebing's Glycerine Saddle Soap Bar. It is 100% glycerine which is what museums and scientist use to treat leather for long term preservation. On those boots I would use a soft sponge and water just as hot as you can stand it. Get the sponge wet and using a little saddle soap work it into the boot until it is covered in lather. Then rinse in hot water. Don't soak them just rinse and use the sponge to help remove the lather. I do that a couple of times then let them dry away from direct heat but with some air flow around them. Once they are totally dry you can use Reno again it will help bring back the luster. But my preference on a boot or leather like that is to use a couple of THIN coats of Obenauf's Heavy-Duty Leather Preservative AKA: HDLP. It will darken them a little but make them totally waterproof. The finish will also change it will be hard to get a shine they will be duller looking. But I personally like the protection it gives and I pick function over form when it comes to most boots. And I think the HDLP may help prevent the bloom from coming back.
[

Thanks a lot. Sounds like I need some Saddle Soap and some HDLP.

 

[LeviMay]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I think Cold Iron's advice above is great. Saddle soaping them to remove the build up would be a great place to start. After that, alot of it comes down to personal preference and what you hope to get from your boots. Cold Iron's advice may be right up your alley since it sounds like you are using them as true outdoor boots. I will default to his advice if that is your goal.

I am a hunter myself, but for that I wear boots that are commonly found at regular sporting/outdoor goods stores that are made with fused rubber soles and Gore-tex. I beat the crap out of them walking in ankle deep mud and water, scratch them to death walking through green briar and anything else I may romp through. I hose them off and saddle soap them at the end of the season, then forget about them until the next season. I definitely don't approach my hunting boots anywhere near the way I do my AE's. About 18 years of hunting and I'm only on my second pair of hunting boots (and that is because my second pair was a gift rather than a need), so I just don't have much motivation at this point to see if there is a better route.

Cold Iron's experience with his use of his boots will be far more valuable if you want to use them for outdoor purposes.

For my Long Branches, which I wear for rainy days to work, and weekends around town with the family in the fall/winter, I have had great experience simply following AE's recommendation of Cleaner/Conditioner followed by Dark Brown Premium Polish. They shine up beautifully and I don't experience any issues with the cracking in the creases since it is a cream polish. I initially used saddle soap on them, but they began to take on a very dull look that didn't quite fit into the appearance goal that I had for them.
[

Thanks again! I wear these boots with tweed and flannel and the like, but when I'm going to be outdoors and in less-than-favourable weather. Definitely not in the same sort of rugged conditions you're describing, though.

Thanks for your advice, gentlemen.

 

[Shiny]



wore my burgundy mccallisters with black slacks once I probably won't be doing that again any time soon, but I don't really care. I'm not in an SF-style environment and if anything, only a few noticed. But yea, as far as I know, the "rule" is that black slacks go with black shoes 100% of the time.

lol. I think I remember seeing Tom Browne break this "rule", too. Can't really adhere to fashion rules as they will sometimes get broken. Used to be that you shouldn't wear hunting jackets unless you were going hunting. Now, that's probably the exception.

 

[Deladonis]



Looks like you're on the same hunt as I am! I picked up a pair of Greenwich's myself a few weeks ago. Now I'm looking for the Manhattan in chili or brown, Westgate in black and Fairfax in merlot. 

A email I need to save.(A man cut from the same cloth as I . I wear a 14.So it is real hard to find the AE's I want sometime. I Have a pair of Fairfaxs. I stumbled on a pair of Manhattans a couple of weeks ago and found the Greenwich's last week. I of course Have a pair of Westgate's on my list #1. I know that will be near impossible to find.As well as Austin's and Berkley's. From the mid to late 80's. I may as well add the Hastings and Weybridge that I have on my sub main list.My last few Wholecuts will be very hard to find. Takes me back to the sneaker hunting i would do in my youth. I am always open to any help people can give me to hunting down these elusive shoes. Happy hunting!)