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

[SLCRich]

Starting my Saturday off with a little suede

 

[LanceM]



Where can I find that on the website?

Or does that not start until tomorrow?

Won't be up till tomorrow. This was a preview for my Style forum friends.

 

[Dd1101]

Thank you for posting! I asked the WC store and Alison and both confirmed that no shell cornys for me.... Is there a mis communication? I hate to email Paul about something so stupid.

Mission report, Dec. 16, 1991: Err May 20th, 2016: Paul G was kind enough to let me bend his ear today for about a half an hour at the SF Embarcadero store. Here's a summary of the topics we discussed and his thoughts/comments on them: 1) New "midnight blue" styles: Paul confirmed that there will be a new midnight blue calf leather debuting soon, and said that it'll be on all of his favorite shoes. IIRC that included the Cornwallis, Strand, Cheetah, Renegade, and Sea Island. Additionally, there will be another blue leather debuting this fall. It's supposed to be a bit lighter in color, though still dark. He mentioned that it'd be about the same color as the Navy shell Dundees I was wearing today. I asked if we might also see a navy chromexcel leather run, and he said there weren't any plans to. 2) MTO program: Paul said that you should be able to get any standard shoe made in shell cordovan. I specifically asked about the Cornwallis, after @Dd1101 posted that the WC store said that MTO wasn't available on the 1943 last. Paul said that you should be able to get the Cornwallis MTO'd in shell. MTO/SMU options include sole changes, leather changes, and non-standard sizes. Specifically excluded were linings, stitching, eyelets, and welts. Also, Paul mentioned that MTO is a tricky service to offer because since we're paying more for it, we expect perfection, but on the manufacturing side it kind of throws the employees off since they're so used to following a set procedure and all of a sudden they have to do things differently. 3) Retailer exclusives/variations: I asked Paul if retailer exclusives/variations were limited to what those retailers offered on their websites only. I was curious if sizes that aren't standard for that retailer could be ordered. Paul said that the retailer can order whatever sizes AE offers, so for instance if you wanted an E-width Madison Park from Nordstrom, or BB sales associate puts in the order. I also found out that many retailers don't stock much AE product and that most of it is pulled from AE stocks and drop shipped from AE. 4) Quality control: Paul expressed that he's not content with where the company is in terms of QC today and that there are initiatives in place to try and improve it. They are implementing processes to monitor and evaluate their inspectors and craftsmen. Part of this is to try and implement a shoe tracking system so that if a shoe comes back, they'll know who worked on/inspected it. This should help identify employees that require more training/mentoring. One thing he said that bothers him, is when people assume the QC problems are due to AE being owned by a PE firm and that they're just in it for the profit. It's very clear that he cares and has a passion for the brand, and that improving the quality of the shoes is important to him. I asked what the daily production rate was to get an idea of what the percentage of shoes with QC issues is, and he told me that it's upwards of 2000 shoes per day. Paul and I both agreed that a decent amount of QC complaints were really nitpicky and trivial. I also told him about two pairs of AEs I received this week, where one was pristine, and the other had some big flaws (such as untrimmed threads from the inside that were about 6-8" long and glue oozing out of places). He said that mistakes like that were unacceptable and that those kinds of things were the ones he was trying to improve on. One thing I mentioned was that some people get frustrated when they think there's something wrong with their shoe and the CAC tells them that even with the defect, it meets AE's specs. I asked Paul if he thought it'd be a good idea to release what their specs are so that people know what to expect, or if that information had to be kept internal due to competitors copying it/using that information against AE. He said it was the latter, and that if I took a look at some of their competitors, such as J&M, that a lot of what they've done in the past couple of years is a copy of AE. Overall, it was a great chat and Paul was very patient with me and my questioning. I wish him luck in achieving his goals!

 

[polojock615]

So I just spoke with Brooks Brothers customer service about the linen Carlyles in 12 EEE. After speaking with a manager, they confirmed that they can't order in non-D widths. Any suggestions?

 

[peppercorn78]



Thank you for posting! I asked the WC store and Alison and both confirmed that no shell cornys for me.... Is there a mis communication? I hate to email Paul about something so stupid.

It's not stupid! You're a loyal customer and want to be able to buy something that he said was available. I'm sure the rest of the chaps here would appreciate the clarification.

Paul's a really great guy, and does his best to make himself available to customers.

Also, no one doubts his genuine passion for his company and product, but it's also his job to maximize efficiencies, which is where some of the decisions we disagree with have stemmed from.

 

[CMT1]

$117 McGregor closeout/seconds.

This is my first pair of longwings, and in one of my favorite colors. The obvious caveat with AE bourbon seconds is that the finish can be streaky, but I was able to inspect these in person before picking them up from the Destin factory store. Everyone has their favorite SAs, and the Destin dudes are mine - Its always great to see those guys and the price was definitely right!

My pair of bourbon Strands are over two years old and have seen a lot of wear, and a lot of AE bourbon polish and later the neutral polish to maintain them. I always wondered if it changed their color at all.

The Strands were hit with some light VSC a few months ago and the McGregors have yet to see product. Both were well brushed for the pics. The bourbons seem very similar, although I suspect a bit of burnishing has been removed from the Strands from being polished over time.

I don't know why it took me so long to pick up a pair of longwings. Perhaps the sleek look of the McGregor on the 5 Last compared to the clunkier aesthetic of other gunboats, coupled with their compelling price is what finally caved me in. I have already worn them three times and I loved the look with grey slacks and a blue sport coat.

One thing I did find interesting is that, while I have always been an 11.5D in the 5 Last, the McGregors fit me best in 11D. This goes along with the feeling that my other 11.5D Strands/Cambridge/PAs have been feeling loose lately, and I'm wondering if seriously ramping up my running over the past 6 months has anything to do with it. Very strange - If getting in better shape means I can no longer wear my shells, I'm going back to the couch.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday, as always!

 

[Oinkedmoo]

Still experimenting with polish/wax/creams on my bourbon Lexingtons.

It's been really rainy out east these last few months and most of the original black burnish had worn off (these are my beater shoes). I decided to use very light coats of dark brown shoe cream, the goopy stuff.

Latest picture

Back in February

Shoe cream

 

[danwatts2005]

$117 McGregor closeout/seconds.

This is my first pair of longwings, and in one of my favorite colors. The obvious caveat with AE bourbon seconds is that the finish can be streaky, but I was able to inspect these in person before picking them up from the Destin factory store. Everyone has their favorite SAs, and the Destin dudes are mine - Its always great to see those guys and the price was definitely right!










My pair of bourbon Strands are over two years old and have seen a lot of wear, and a lot of AE bourbon polish and later the neutral polish to maintain them. I always wondered if it changed their color at all.






The Strands were hit with some light VSC a few months ago and the McGregors have yet to see product. Both were well brushed for the pics. The bourbons seem very similar, although I suspect a bit of burnishing has been removed from the Strands from being polished over time.

I don't know why it took me so long to pick up a pair of longwings. Perhaps the sleek look of the McGregor on the 5 Last compared to the clunkier aesthetic of other gunboats, coupled with their compelling price is what finally caved me in. I have already worn them three times and I loved the look with grey slacks and a blue sport coat.

One thing I did find interesting is that, while I have always been an 11.5D in the 5 Last, the McGregors fit me best in 11D. This goes along with the feeling that my other 11.5D Strands/Cambridge/PAs have been feeling loose lately, and I'm wondering if seriously ramping up my running over the past 6 months has anything to do with it. Very strange - If getting in better shape means I can no longer wear my shells, I'm going back to the couch.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday, as always!

Both of those look fabulous! Lucky find on the McGregors.

 

[CMT1]



Still experimenting with polish/wax/creams on my bourbon Lexingtons.

It's been really rainy out east these last few months and most of the original black burnish had worn off (these are my beater shoes). I decided to use very light coats of dark brown shoe cream, the goopy stuff.

Spoiler

Latest picture

Back in February

Shoe cream

They look great for beater shoes, at least to my eye. I have a few pairs of the rubber-soled AE line that serve the same duty.

As far as preserving the color, I'm no shoe care expert by a long shot, and I honestly thought that there would be a visible difference between my old and new pair of bourbon shoes given how much product and process I have into the Strands. When I pulled both pairs out into the light I was amazed at how little difference there actually was between the two.

Both of those look fabulous!  Lucky find on the McGregors.

Thanks Dan! Very happy with them.

 

[whodey14]

I really like both the strands and mcgregor. I would really like to get either, I'm missing bourbon.

 

[ace13x]

So I just spoke with Brooks Brothers customer service about the linen Carlyles in 12 EEE. After speaking with a manager, they confirmed that they can't order in non-D widths. Any suggestions?

If as was quoted previously is true: "Paul said that the retailer can order whatever sizes AE offers, so for instance if you wanted an E-width Madison Park from Nordstrom, or <size 8 Brooks Brothers' Tartan Shaker Heights, AE will happily make it if your Nordstrom/BB sales associate puts in the order.", seems like its more they WON'T instead of can't. You're battling through an extra layer of bureaucracy.

 

[BespokeBrooklyn]

$117? Are they less expensive in the store than they are online?

$117 McGregor closeout/seconds.

This is my first pair of longwings, and in one of my favorite colors. The obvious caveat with AE bourbon seconds is that the finish can be streaky, but I was able to inspect these in person before picking them up from the Destin factory store. Everyone has their favorite SAs, and the Destin dudes are mine - Its always great to see those guys and the price was definitely right!

My pair of bourbon Strands are over two years old and have seen a lot of wear, and a lot of AE bourbon polish and later the neutral polish to maintain them. I always wondered if it changed their color at all.

The Strands were hit with some light VSC a few months ago and the McGregors have yet to see product. Both were well brushed for the pics. The bourbons seem very similar, although I suspect a bit of burnishing has been removed from the Strands from being polished over time.

I don't know why it took me so long to pick up a pair of longwings. Perhaps the sleek look of the McGregor on the 5 Last compared to the clunkier aesthetic of other gunboats, coupled with their compelling price is what finally caved me in. I have already worn them three times and I loved the look with grey slacks and a blue sport coat.

One thing I did find interesting is that, while I have always been an 11.5D in the 5 Last, the McGregors fit me best in 11D. This goes along with the feeling that my other 11.5D Strands/Cambridge/PAs have been feeling loose lately, and I'm wondering if seriously ramping up my running over the past 6 months has anything to do with it. Very strange - If getting in better shape means I can no longer wear my shells, I'm going back to the couch.

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday, as always!

 

[FaRKle]

Does this mean that the MTO program is back, or does this only apply to shell cordovan?

MTO is back! When Paul said "leather change" I interpreted that to mean you could do something like go from calf to chromexcel too. I always specifically mentioned "calf to shell" but Paul always said "leather change."

Quote:

Interesting. Emailing Paul (goes to his assistant I believe) may be the avenue you have to take. I also visited my usual SA in SF yesterday and when I told him what the WC store was telling people about not being able to do shell in the 1943 last he said that he wasn't aware of that and was sure that they could.

So I just spoke with Brooks Brothers customer service about the linen Carlyles in 12 EEE. After speaking with a manager, they confirmed that they can't order in non-D widths. Any suggestions?

If as was quoted previously is true: "Paul said that the retailer can order whatever sizes AE offers, so for instance if you wanted an E-width Madison Park from Nordstrom, or <size 8 Brooks Brothers' Tartan Shaker Heights, AE will happily make it if your Nordstrom/BB sales associate puts in the order.", seems like its more they WON'T instead of can't. You're battling through an extra layer of bureaucracy.

I'm with @ace13x . The limitation is probably coming from BB, not AE. They probably don't want to do a custom order for you rather than AE won't do it for BB.

 

[ace13x]

Despite the hand-made nature of AE shoes, industrial shoemaking is a far cry from actual hand-crafting. All this notwithstanding, I would think they assign their best (most seasoned?)employees to MTO orders. If $125 isn't enough to ensure perfection,* while still meeting production quotas, they should up the fee.

*Not because I think perfection is reasonable to expect at $125 over retail, but because MTO customers likely represent the power users who are more likely to complain vocally in public.

But if shell really is available for all stock models... Damn. Might need to get in on 15% off. Guys, do your wives believe that Father's Day is for shell? Because I'm pretty sure mine needs to.

In conjunction with the accountability aspect of quality control, the way I see it is this:

If AE wants to BOTH crank out upwards of 2000 shoes/day AND have an MTO program, they need two types of workers. Ones who crank out Walnut Strands all day, every day and is happy doing it; and ones that can handle working on products that require extra attention to detail and extra craftsmanship. If there is accountability for the former, then they have a way to potentially staff the latter. Those who excel could, if they choose, receive extra training to try and move up to the MTO dept with appropriate bump in pay.

But thats me, I know nothing about running a corporation.

What I would like to know is why AE doesn't do more GMTO's or partner with smaller retailers on custom runs? Making a run of a couple dozen custom, but identical, shoes for a GTMO should be easier than a couple dozen random custom shoes. It would be sort of like the Webgems they do, but with the design aspects outsourced.

Edit: Also while the MTO power users are more likely to complain, they are also more likely to be zealots and evangelist for AE.

 

[ace13x]

Interesting. Emailing Paul (goes to his assistant I believe) may be the avenue you have to take. I also visited my usual SA in SF yesterday and when I told him what the WC store was telling people about not being able to do shell in the 1943 last he said that he wasn't aware of that and was sure that they could.


I'm with @ace13x . The limitation is probably coming from BB, not AE. They probably don't want to do a custom order for you rather than AE won't do it for BB.

Yes. though it could also be that while he may be speaking to the right person at BB, they are not speaking to the right person at AE. This is the problem with the "shoeaucracy." Its literally like the telephone game. Or like that episode of M*A*S*H were Hawkeye was tired of the lousy food, and wanted ribs from Adams Rib's.