Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2017- News, Pictures, Clothing, accessories, etc.

[pbrandes]

Yeah, I got a lightly used one from dabando1 in an 11.5 D that looked like it was worn maybe 2-3 times. I'm usually between 11.5 and 12. I was swimming in them at 11.5 and the laces completely closed. It is a really, really wide shoe. I think I'm going to try an 11 and see if that helps.

I thought it was a great looking shoe and it seemed to be pretty comfortable. Brown is a great color for CXL shoes.

I went for a swim in the same waters with the Academy (plain toe version of the same shoe). I am consistently a 9.5E in AE shoes but I could pull the eyelets together and then some. My SA was kind enough to bring in a 9.5D and 9E for me to try, and ended up with 9E as best fit.

 

[dfwcowboy]

I bet there are others here who know more about this than I do, but the exact same thing happened with my walnut strands except I had several scratches on the toes. I used a leather cleaner on the whole shoe to strip off the polish and conditioned the shoes to rehydrate. Then hit it with thin coats of walnut all over, dark brown on the toes, and neutral all over. Used some neutral wax when I was satisfied. Now the scratches are much harder to see.

I was going to suggest the same thing. For whatever reason sometimes scratches and scuffs don't allow polish to adhere properly, but once they are cleaned and conditioned they will accept polish more evenly and become less noticeable.

 

[ace13x]

Don't rain on my parade.

 

[dfwcowboy]

I'm liking my new AE woven inlay belt more than I thought I would. I got the burnished chili color. Other than black it seems to go with a wide range of shoe colors from cognac to walnut to pretty much any shade of burgundy. I just wish it had a silver buckle like the black one.

 

[Cold Iron]

IMO, the tricky part about the Dundee is the 3 eyelets can lead to a loose shaft. If your shell Leeds were big due to volume or width, I would have not sized down as I don't believe the shell Leeds have Poron insoles, but the Dundee 2.0 does.

In a leather Leeds 1.0 I'm quite comfortable in a 8D. A 8D suede Dundee 2.0 is quite snug, but I don't like the way the shaft fits on an 8E. The D works because its suede, I can't go D in a calf Dundee nor do I think I can wear an 8D in a Leeds 2.0.

Agree I would not size down. You should see how loose the 2 eyelet Alden chukkas are, or maybe you already know. I went with the AE Dundee in shell partly because of the much better fit of the 3 eyes, they fit my foot like a normal shoe\boot.

As I mentioned previously the Bayfield is the only poron insole that I have experience with. Most of my shoes and boots are on the 1 and 5 lasts. And I am a 10D in both with the exception of the rough collection where I size down a half size. The CXL Bayfields that I wore for a year were 10D but at the end of the day one of the few AE footwear I was ready to get out of. When I talked to Deborah at AE about it she went into depth how the poron insoles take up extra volume in the boot plus does not compress like cork insoles over time.

She said there were 2 options and it would depend on my foot, it isn't the same for everyone. Can go up half a size in length or up a size in width. She had me send my well worn Bayfields back and gave me full credit for them and sent me a pair of each, 10.5D and 10E and told me if I liked the fit of one then I could purchase them and send the others back. For me the 10.5D was a much better fit. I ended up keeping those and purchased a pair in black calf and then had a pair made in Cappuccino shell. They are all in 10.5D where as my normal 1 last is a 10D. But all have the poron insole.



So my dilemma is do I go with my normal 1 last size 10D for the Snuff suede Dundee as suede is more forgiving and stretches more than calf or shell. But because of the poron should I just go with 10.5D and hope they don't stretch out over time. Still not sure and likely will not know until I get them on my feet and wear them for awhile. Inside. On carpet. Of course.

 

[ThomGault]



The CXL Bayfields that I wore for a year were 10D but at the end of the day one of the few AE footwear I was ready to get out of. When I talked to Deborah at AE about it she went into depth how the poron insoles take up extra volume in the boot plus does not compress like cork insoles over time. 

She said there were 2 options and it would depend on my foot, it isn't the same for everyone. Can go up half a size in length or up a size in width. She had me send my well worn Bayfields back and gave me full credit for them and sent me a pair of each, 10.5D and 10E and told me if I liked the fit of one then I could purchase them and send the others back.

Can you explain how you broached the subject with the AE rep? I just got my first poron insole pair, in my normal AE size because the rep I spoke with prior to purchase claimed the insole did not alter fit. (But it drastically DID change the fit.) Now the latest rep with whom I spoke said the insole might take room, but will compress over time and will eventually be the same fit as non-poron shoes. I'm worried that they will never compress as much as the rep claimed, and I'll be stuck with poorly fitting shoes, but it sounds like you sweettalked the rep into helping you with a similar problem.

 

[M2511]

Can you explain how you broached the subject with the AE rep? I just got my first poron insole pair, in my normal AE size because the rep I spoke with prior to purchase claimed the insole did not alter fit. (But it drastically DID change the fit.) Now the latest rep with whom I spoke said the insole might take room, but will compress over time and will eventually be the same fit as non-poron shoes. I'm worried that they will never compress as much as the rep claimed, and I'll be stuck with poorly fitting shoes, but it sounds like you sweettalked the rep into helping you with a similar problem.

It will depress but definitely will not like non-poron. It does alter the fit though for me I was able to maintain the same size. I had 5th Aves for BB that had poron and 5th Aves regular in 9E and both worked for me but the fit is a little different. I personally like the poron but I certainly suggest buying them based on how they feel at purchase.

 

[ace13x]

Agree I would not size down. You should see how loose the 2 eyelet Alden chukkas are, or maybe you already know. I went with the AE Dundee in shell partly because of the much better fit of the 3 eyes, they fit my foot like a normal shoe\boot.

As I mentioned previously the Bayfield is the only poron insole that I have experience with. Most of my shoes and boots are on the 1 and 5 lasts. And I am a 10D in both with the exception of the rough collection where I size down a half size. The CXL Bayfields that I wore for a year were 10D but at the end of the day one of the few AE footwear I was ready to get out of. When I talked to Deborah at AE about it she went into depth how the poron insoles take up extra volume in the boot plus does not compress like cork insoles over time.

She said there were 2 options and it would depend on my foot, it isn't the same for everyone. Can go up half a size in length or up a size in width. She had me send my well worn Bayfields back and gave me full credit for them and sent me a pair of each, 10.5D and 10E and told me if I liked the fit of one then I could purchase them and send the others back. For me the 10.5D was a much better fit. I ended up keeping those and purchased a pair in black calf and then had a pair made in Cappuccino shell. They are all in 10.5D where as my normal 1 last is a 10D. But all have the poron insole.



So my dilemma is do I go with my normal 1 last size 10D for the Snuff suede Dundee as suede is more forgiving and stretches more than calf or shell. But because of the poron should I just go with 10.5D and hope they don't stretch out over time. Still not sure and likely will not know until I get them on my feet and wear them for awhile. Inside. On carpet. Of course.

Did you try wearing thin socks with you original 10D Bayfields? As I mentioned, my normal, i.e. non-poron 511 last fit is an 8D, I have a pair of CXL Bayfields in 8E that with thick socks are fine (perhaps even a touch extra volume but not enough to matter to me). I'm wondering if an 8D would have been better (and relegated to thin socks) than that 8E.

 

[Cold Iron]

Can you explain how you broached the subject with the AE rep? I just got my first poron insole pair, in my normal AE size because the rep I spoke with prior to purchase claimed the insole did not alter fit. (But it drastically DID change the fit.) Now the latest rep with whom I spoke said the insole might take room, but will compress over time and will eventually be the same fit as non-poron shoes. I'm worried that they will never compress as much as the rep claimed, and I'll be stuck with poorly fitting shoes, but it sounds like you sweettalked the rep into helping you with a similar problem.

At the time that Paul first took over AE he was very approachable and I emailed him about something else, and owned a fair number of AE shoes and boots. He assigned me to his personal assistant Deborah who was the most senior person at AE and had the most experience working there. Smart man for doing that with her. So I had an "in" but to me Deborah embodies the spirit of AE at least the old school. She wanted me to be happy with their products no matter what. It is because of her that I was able to have 5 pairs of shell Dundees made in all colors available to AE from Horween, this was before the SF MTO program.

I think many of the CS reps are still the same way and want the customer to be pleased. But with the growth they have had over the last few years it might take a few tries to get a CS rep that understands from what I have read. I would call CS and talk to them or better yet go to a store in person. The stores can do much the same and it is always better in person. I would not be confrontational about it and just explain the facts and history of what transpired. I am pretty sure Deborah has retired by now and if it were me today would call the general CS line and try until I got a CS rep that was willing to help.

After 3-4 wearings I figure the shoe will not get much better over time. Sure there is some break in especially on boots and collars, etc. But would not bank on a shoe getting a much better fit over time. There are some leathers, suede comes to mind, but I never count on it. Did I mention I am not a fan of poron insoles and the 2.0 anything? If my foot was in between sizes then I would likely be. But it is not, at least on the 1 and 5 last.

 

[middlepP]

Boy, how times change... especially when you have a decent rotation and want odder offerings that are slightly different than what's in your closet.

I have found myself debating between 2 shoes that I am certain I turned my nose up at one time - a brown Cronmok (just picked up Navy on clearance and love them!) and a cognac Ridgeway (have an older tan McT which I think is somewhat close to this). I worry the brown Cronmok won't have the same look sans the light welt. Conversely, I worry about the welt of the ridgeway being too drastic, even after replacing the laces to something more subdued. I blame @TexasTexter for the former and @ace13x for the latter.

Any thoughts from the FBWs, other than "and some shell"?

 

[Roycru]

Thanks to everyone who liked the pictures wearing brown grain Kiowas with a brown tweed suit and even more thanks to everyone who posts pictures of their shoes. pictures that are always better than the pictures on the A-E website or in the A-E catalogs.

Just realized I forgot to post a close-up of the brown grain Kiowas, so here it is.



The flat laces are the same laces A-E uses in the Carlyles. Got the laces by called A-E Customer Service and asking how to get them, since they aren't in the shoelace section on the A-E website.

Kiowas are Strands with split reverse welts and Vibram Lug soles. Wore my Kiowas when I climbed down the cliffs to the sea at Founder's Park in Rancho Palos Verdes CA.



When I got to the bottom of the cliffs, there was an old man with a long white beard who was climbing up and down the rocks like a mountain goat. He took this picture and told me if I walked a over these rocks for a while I would come to another way to get back up the cliffs, which I did.

He forgot to tell me I would have to ford a stream going back up the other way. Fortunately the stream was only a few inches deep (although several feet wide) and my feet didn't get wet, proving A-E split reverse welts do keep water out.

 

[Cold Iron]

Did you try wearing thin socks with you original 10D Bayfields? As I mentioned, my normal, i.e. non-poron 511 last fit is an 8D, I have a pair of CXL Bayfields in 8E that with thick socks are fine (perhaps even a touch extra volume but not enough to matter to me). I'm wondering if an 8D would have been better (and relegated to thin socks) than that 8E.

Even tried wearing just a pair of wicking socks no joy. They were fine for office work and in town for light walking but if I wore them for anything more than that at the end of the day they were just too snug. I didn't baby them though. But Deborah said that I shouldn't have to jump through hoops to make them comfortable. LOL I tried to make excuses for the boots I really liked them and didn't want to give them up and she told me in no uncertain terms that the boots didn't fit me and I needed to send them back. Period. She was right.

Looking at the pictures that I posted of the 3 Bayfields I realize one thing I didn't like going to the 10.5D was that had more creasing than before and my other shoes and boots. I might be talking myself out of those Suede Dundee's yet and going with the Higgins Mill boot in brown CXL.

Not sure about the brown CXL but I do know that I can wear natural CXL hard (these are size 10D with proper creasing)



And they clean up well with more character each time.

 

[Cold Iron]

It will depress but definitely will not like non-poron. It does alter the fit though for me I was able to maintain the same size. I had 5th Aves for BB that had poron and 5th Aves regular in 9E and both worked for me but the fit is a little different. I personally like the poron but I certainly suggest buying them based on how they feel at purchase.

I forgot about the BB poron insoles I tried a pair of those also and ended up sending them back. And the 5 last is made for my foot, or usually feel that way. Totally agree with going with what fits at time of purchase, great advice and better said than me.

I did eventually get a pair of AE black calf PA but am one of the few that like black shell, including my PA's which I wear much more than the calf. My black shell does receive a bit more wax than my other shell, which almost never get any wax.

 

[peppercorn78]



Started off the day with the Alden Indy boots in Natty CXL. Finishing the evening with the AE Shaker Heights. The Tweed blends in with the carpet.

+ 1 for Indies, +2 for Shakers! My two fave boots there, brother. Looking good!

I forgot about the BB poron insoles I tried a pair of those also and ended up sending them back. And the 5 last is made for my foot, or usually feel that way. Totally agree with going with what fits at time of purchase, great advice and better said than me. I did eventually get a pair of AE black calf PA but am one of the few that like black shell, including my PA's which I wear much more than the calf. My black shell does receive a bit more wax than my other shell, which almost never get any wax.

I just want to say that I'm so glad to see you back, my friend. Seeing your name pop up again is what dragged me back into this thread after moving on to other brands of footwear. I've thought of you and your family from time to time, and I hope you have been well. Cold Iron is SF royalty!

 

[narcosis219]

I see some pictures of candy cane laces on mcallisters and jingle bell moks... Where do you buy those? I've looked everywhere online and I can't find anything similar. Do they come only come with the jingle bell mok?