THE 2024 ALLEN EDMONDS (AE) APPRECIATION THREAD

[wasmisterfu]

late 90s pair of grayson tassels in black calf. AE's custom calf so full grain. notice the finer welt stitching and how the welt goes under the heel on a 360 welt to look more like a 270. better last shape I think as well. This is the main reason why I think the old pairs are better.

please share if they don't fit. someone should own a vintage pair!
View attachment 2188173 View attachment 2188175 View attachment 2188177 View attachment 2188179 View attachment 2188181

IMHO, those things are pretty well worn: date code indicates 1997, linings have been patched, those soles are worn and are from a 2008-2013 era recraft (in 97 they were transitioning to channeling, and were using a white outsole stitch).

I wouldn’t pay 80 bucks for those.

 

[drewzter]

IMHO, those things are pretty well worn: date code indicates 1997, linings have been patched, those soles are worn and are from a 2008-2013 era recraft (in 97 they were transitioning to channeling, and were using a white outsole stitch).

I wouldn’t pay 80 bucks for those.

I wrote late 90s pair.. soles are worn , um yes, that's why i took a photo of the soles. are implying the wear on the soles is too much or a deal breaker for you? well thats you lol. last time I checked, ppl still buy and these soles have not been worn much at all. I also wish they were deadstock 90s but i am realistic and know thats not as common.

 

[Hisheirness23]

Been kinda quiet here and was thinking there would be more posts about the annual Part at the Port. The FB group has a few active members providing updates, but wondering if people on SF could add their experiences and any news/announcements?

 

[wasmisterfu]

I wrote late 90s pair.. soles are worn , um yes, that's why i took a photo of the soles. are implying the wear on the soles is too much or a deal breaker for you? well thats you lol. last time I checked, ppl still buy and these soles have not been worn much at all.

also i am accepting offers

My point on the soles is they’re fairly worn, and they’re recraft soles. That means the shoe’s been through a full recraft, which limits future factory recrafts, depending on the internal state of the rib / gemming, insole, etc.. Additionally the linings are clearly patched.

In contrast, these were ~80 dollars about 6 months back:

1995, Allen Edmonds Clifton’s (my second “beater pair” of 90’s Clifton’s):

Other than a few scuffs, uppers are in good shape.

Original factory soles and heels, with wear left (some of that is fresh wear from me).

Original linings (and insoles) in good shape:

To be clear, I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t lower your asking price. I’m providing an opinion to others on this thread based on my observations of the condition of that pair.

 

[drewzter]

those are not grayson's b

edit - not going to argue why these two shouldn't really be compared... if you don't know you don't

 

[wasmisterfu]

those are not grayson's b

 

[KarlHungus]

My point on the soles is they’re fairly worn, and they’re recraft soles. That means the shoe’s been through a full recraft, which limits future factory recrafts, depending on the internal state of the rib / gemming, insole, etc.. Additionally the linings are clearly patched.

In contrast, these were ~80 dollars about 6 months back:

1995, Allen Edmonds Clifton’s (my second “beater pair” of 90’s Clifton’s):

View attachment 2188449
Other than a few scuffs, uppers are in good shape.

View attachment 2188451

Original factory soles and heels, with wear left (some of that is fresh wear from me).

View attachment 2188453

Original linings (and insoles) in good shape:

View attachment 2188455

To be clear, I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t lower your asking price. I’m providing an opinion to others on this thread based on my observations of the condition of that pair.

We've discussed this before but I love the old Cliftons

 

[wasmisterfu]

We've discussed this before but I love the old Cliftons
View attachment 2188721

Those are absolutely outstanding. Someday, maybe, I’ll find that color in my size (that hasn’t been worn to death).

The 90’s Clifton’s were interesting because they had their own pattern - they weren’t just a Strand sans medallion. I also like the pointiness of the 7 last.

I have two pair now: my slightly more worn pair from 95 that I paid 80 bucks for (posted yesterday), and this really nice pair from 96:

In black, the lack of medallion also makes them just that slightest bit more formal - enough brogue action to have personality, but not so much as to make them discordant with a dark (or light grey) 3 piece suit. A nice alternative to the 5th avenue. They’re one of my go-to “no brown around town” black shoes.

 

[donkeyhoatie]

A little shell-on-shell action for today. Trying to keep the driveway mostly clear of the cicada detritus, but a few always manage to hang on.

 

[wasmisterfu]

A little shell-on-shell action for today. Trying to keep the driveway mostly clear of the cicada detritus, but a few always manage to hang on.

View attachment 2188765

The shell is beautiful…

But the bugs are eww…

 

[Shoenut]

Shell PA today.

 

[KarlHungus]

Those are absolutely outstanding. Someday, maybe, I’ll find that color in my size (that hasn’t been worn to death).

The 90’s Clifton’s were interesting because they had their own pattern - they weren’t just a Strand sans medallion. I also like the pointiness of the 7 last.

I have two pair now: my slightly more worn pair from 95 that I paid 80 bucks for (posted yesterday), and this really nice pair from 96:

View attachment 2188743

In black, the lack of medallion also makes them just that slightest bit more formal - enough brogue action to have personality, but not so much as to make them discordant with a dark (or light grey) 3 piece suit. A nice alternative to the 5th avenue. They’re one of my go-to “no brown around town” black shoes.

Totally agree the lack of medallion makes these much more wearable than black strands. Great looking pair

 

[Hisheirness23]

Leaving the office in my Burgundy Suede Hamiltons.

 

[MajorDash]

Been kinda quiet here and was thinking there would be more posts about the annual Part at the Port. The FB group has a few active members providing updates, but wondering if people on SF could add their experiences and any news/announcements?

I think myself and @polojock615 were the only ones that went.

As for the news/announcements... There really wasn't anything of note to share. We got to see some of the Randolph 2.0 (Randolph on 2016 last) in both colors of museum calf. We also got to see the two exclusive shell colors and a new boot model for the cordovan trunk show that is expected to come sooner than the Fall this year. I don't know the date though.

AE put together a golf event and a shoe shining expo, but as I neither golf nor actually shine my shoes, I did not attend either of those activities.

There was the Horween tannery tour on Friday that was really neat. We got to see pretty much the whole factory, but there was little activity going on at that time of the day. They demonstrated the shell cordovan tanning and finishing process for us, which was pretty cool. They demonstrated their embossing process for all of the grain and stamped leathers as well.

The AE factory tour on Monday was just a walkthrough of the factory, during regular hours. We got to start at the beginning of the process where they cut the leather all the way to finishing. Unlike when I went back in 2022, they didn't have any hands on demonstrations or anything, and they didn't let us 'wander' around the factory floor. Obviously this is because we went on a weekend non-production day in 2022. We had lunch at the factory and had a gentleman from CF Stead come and give us a history of CF Stead as well as some info on their different leather offerings.

Also on Monday was the Woodlore factory tour which is like 2 minutes down the road from AE. It was a pretty short tour because the shoe tree making process is pretty concise. A lot of saws and sanders. Surprisingly, most of the sawing is done by hand (with jigs and other light automation), but all of the sanding/shaping is fully automated. All of the assembly of the toes, springs, and heels is all done by hand too. They make about 1200 pairs of shoe trees daily.





I hate to say it "wasn't eventful", but it was definitely less of an event than when I went in 2022. It was definitely more low-key, but there were fewer attendants and this was a lot of people's 2nd or 3rd time going. That being said, it was still a wonderful time, and I brought along an old internet friend with me for the weekend. It was his first time really interacting with any of the AE product, and we managed to get him a handful of really cheap shell cordovan finds to take home with him for his first AE purchase (being mostly a Carmina guy).


If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer, but this was my quick weekend overview.

 

[SpallaPerfetta]

I think myself and @polojock615 were the only ones that went.

As for the news/announcements... There really wasn't anything of note to share. We got to see some of the Randolph 2.0 (Randolph on 2016 last) in both colors of museum calf. We also got to see the two exclusive shell colors and a new boot model for the cordovan trunk show that is expected to come sooner than the Fall this year. I don't know the date though.

AE put together a golf event and a shoe shining expo, but as I neither golf nor actually shine my shoes, I did not attend either of those activities.

There was the Horween tannery tour on Friday that was really neat. We got to see pretty much the whole factory, but there was little activity going on at that time of the day. They demonstrated the shell cordovan tanning and finishing process for us, which was pretty cool. They demonstrated their embossing process for all of the grain and stamped leathers as well.

The AE factory tour on Monday was just a walkthrough of the factory, during regular hours. We got to start at the beginning of the process where they cut the leather all the way to finishing. Unlike when I went back in 2022, they didn't have any hands on demonstrations or anything, and they didn't let us 'wander' around the factory floor. Obviously this is because we went on a weekend non-production day in 2022. We had lunch at the factory and had a gentleman from CF Stead come and give us a history of CF Stead as well as some info on their different leather offerings.

Also on Monday was the Woodlore factory tour which is like 2 minutes down the road from AE. It was a pretty short tour because the shoe tree making process is pretty concise. A lot of saws and sanders. Surprisingly, most of the sawing is done by hand (with jigs and other light automation), but all of the sanding/shaping is fully automated. All of the assembly of the toes, springs, and heels is all done by hand too. They make about 1200 pairs of shoe trees daily.





I hate to say it "wasn't eventful", but it was definitely less of an event than when I went in 2022. It was definitely more low-key, but there were fewer attendants and this was a lot of people's 2nd or 3rd time going. That being said, it was still a wonderful time, and I brought along an old internet friend with me for the weekend. It was his first time really interacting with any of the AE product, and we managed to get him a handful of really cheap shell cordovan finds to take home with him for his first AE purchase (being mostly a Carmina guy).


If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer, but this was my quick weekend overview.

What were the two exclusive shell colors?