Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2018 - News, Pictures, Clothing, Accessories, etc.

[Shoenut]

I apologize if my purchase ($99 on clearance) has offended your sensibilities so that you had to call me out specifically as if the forces of market capitalism are somehow my fault--as if I, and not the decision makers in a fairly large corporation, have somehow brought about this horrid state of affairs. The shoe seems fine to me--I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, as I mentioned above it seems exactly on par with the seconds I have purchased from Shoebank.

I prefer Quoddy to Rancourt on almost all fronts, that will not change--I'll take the Maine tradition of craftsmanship starting from the turn of the century over that of some 1960s upstarts any day of the week. To be lectured by someone who seems to prefer the opposite is galling haha (there is some sarcasm/irony in there before we all get up in arms, both make a fine shoe)

I would be proud to be known as the man who brought down the American shoe industry with a single purchase. Now that is power.

 

[Aenonymous]

Does anyone know if the Rancourt 114 last is basically the same as the AE 114? That would be sweet. Then I could be more confident about buying.

They're identical. Again, though, remember AE has been using "uppers" on their 114 last for many years now, where Rancourt still cuts to size/width, so you might get some variance, but hopefully for the better.

 

[Aenonymous]

I apologize if my purchase ($99 on clearance) has offended your sensibilities so that you had to call me out specifically as if the forces of market capitalism are somehow my fault--as if I, and not the decision makers in a fairly large corporation, have somehow brought about this horrid state of affairs. The shoe seems fine to me--I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, as I mentioned above it seems exactly on par with the seconds I have purchased from Shoebank.

I prefer Quoddy to Rancourt on almost all fronts, that will not change--I'll take the Maine tradition of craftsmanship starting from the turn of the century over that of some 1960s upstarts any day of the week. To be lectured by someone who seems to prefer the opposite is galling haha (there is some sarcasm/irony in there before we all get up in arms, both make a fine shoe)

No, I appreciate that calling out, and the back and forth. I really hope this is all in good fun. What I'm saying is we're taking part in an AE appreciation thread, yet we're appreciating the decline of American manufacturing (with AE specifically). Your purchase was just a good example of what could possibly be the tipping point of what we've been talking about for the last month. My apologies, as I did not intend to throw it directly on your shoulders. The decision makers of the large corporation definitely brought about this AE horror, but the consumers are the ones saying "yeah, I guess it's okay".

Quoddy is great. They make good handsewns, but don't do anything else, and they don't do handsewns as well as Rancourt IMHO. Because they haven't been at it as long as Rancourt. Your "turn of the century" family-owned company went bankrupt quite awhile ago. Someone bought the name and was fortunate enough to grab the lasts and equipment, hence the rebooted current Quoddy, but they don't have the experience and the shoemaking history that Rancourt does. Technically, they are not as cleanly produced as Rancourt. And Rancourt has so much other shoemaking experience that their production as a whole is a bit more advanced and substantial.

And also, if anyone here is pining for the AE handsewns of yesteryear, it was Rancourt that was making those. And before that Rancourt was making beautiful Cole Haan handsewns, before CH sold out.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend.

 

[2Deuce2]

I was almost positive they are on the 201, but I could be mistaken. At the risk of repeating myself, I love them.

It is the 201! Thanks @ccpl14

 

[VeritasAequitas]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-Edmo...513064?hash=item3d64678d68:g:HgkAAOSwva1a9KZw

Anyone know the approximate age of this style?

 

[VeritasAequitas]

Edit: Double post. Sorry.

 

[madhat]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-Edmo...513064?hash=item3d64678d68:g:HgkAAOSwva1a9KZw

Anyone know the approximate age of this style?

Mid 90s?

 

[beneven]

No, I appreciate that calling out, and the back and forth. I really hope this is all in good fun. What I'm saying is we're taking part in an AE appreciation thread, yet we're appreciating the decline of American manufacturing (with AE specifically). Your purchase was just a good example of what could possibly be the tipping point of what we've been talking about for the last month. My apologies, as I did not intend to throw it directly on your shoulders. The decision makers of the large corporation definitely brought about this AE horror, but the consumers are the ones saying "yeah, I guess it's okay".

Quoddy is great. They make good handsewns, but don't do anything else, and they don't do handsewns as well as Rancourt IMHO. Because they haven't been at it as long as Rancourt. Your "turn of the century" family-owned company went bankrupt quite awhile ago. Someone bought the name and was fortunate enough to grab the lasts and equipment, hence the rebooted current Quoddy. And also, if anyone here is pining for the AE handsewns of yesteryear, it was Rancourt that was making those. And before that Rancourt was making beautiful Cole Haan handsewns, before CH sold out.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend.

It is all in good fun. It seems Quoddy is owned by a husband/wife team, who bought the company in the mid 90s--which I just learned from a little internet research, my curiosity peaked--apparently the version of the company preceding the current one was founded in 1947 by a family with roots in the industry dating back to the turn of the century and hit the skids in 1980s. Apparently the new owners had roots in the industry as well, and they brought on people that worked for the original company and so on. Either way, as I said earlier in this thread I have owned both and though I generally prefer Quoddy and would respectfully disagree about their relative quality in relation to Rancourt handsewns, I have a great affinity for both. Its also true that Rancourt has a much more diverse range of shoes.

As for the origin of the 6th Aves, I really don't know. @Shoenut proposed a scenario that seemed possible to me, or as you suggested there could be some sort of discrepancy between the box and the shoe--the label on the box struck me as odd, but the sole is definitely stamped "hand crafted in the USA", for whatever that's worth. As for the price--it was a clearance price, the original was $325 I believe--which seems like a Nordstrom mainline price, so perhaps this model was not originally a NR model but a Nordy specific model that wound up at NR. As far as I know, companies don't make things specifically for NR as has been suggested but they do make models specifically for Nordstrom...at least I think that's how it generally goes but I could be wrong...
I'm not an expert in these sorts of things, but it does seem to me that the phrase "American manufacturing" seems to be subject to a fair degree of semantic drift in practice (something that I do know something about)...I do however take your point in that it seems to be getting harder, for various reasons both within our control and way beyond, to determine what exactly is being appreciated. I must admit that had I seen these shoes without the AE name, I probably would have passed on them--the brand name is always a factor, for a number of reasons (not just because I am a hopeless sheep that swallows whatever sh!t AE and Nordstrom in their evil alliance shovel into my mouth haha)

 

[ProfilaBinding]

I wish I liked more of Rancourt's offerings. Also, I'm curious as to how well their blake stitching is and how well they are with their recrafting process. One of the biggest reasons I was attracted to AE was because of their recrafting ability. If anyone has some insight on how their construction compares to AE (for shoes, not boat shoes), please educate me. I do think I may pick up one of their belts though. Other than Alden, there's no one else in America that I'm looking into for the future. Cheaney has my attention, but no experience yet. C&J -- great quality, but very expensive. Also looking at J Fitz Patrick a bit, but some of his stuff is way too out there for me.

 

[smfdoc]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-Edmo...513064?hash=item3d64678d68:g:HgkAAOSwva1a9KZw

Anyone know the approximate age of this style?

Came out in the 1991 catalog.

 

[evilWagon]

Jeffersonville is closed. The the regular advice is to work with Kristen at the Paramus store, Ashley (and Jason!) at the Charleston store, and Jay at the new Raleigh store. All of them are top notch, and I can personally attest to Ashley, Jason, and Jay

Appreciate the tips and confirmation that Jeffersonville is closed. I’m stopping by Columbus OH on the way to the Indy 500 in two weeks and was hoping to try a lot on in person and do some returns. I’ll have to see if a normal retail location will play ball.

 

[freshstyle]

These boots are killer. Goes with everything.

AE needs to bring in more suede models.

 

[aero25]

Appreciate the tips and confirmation that Jeffersonville is closed. I’m stopping by Columbus OH on the way to the Indy 500 in two weeks and was hoping to try a lot on in person and do some returns. I’ll have to see if a normal retail location will play ball.

Yeah, that's best for a try on session. If you are not a D width and looking for styles beyond the Park Ave, Strand, and the other long-standing styles, it may be worth calling ahead to see if the store carries what you need in stock.
The retail outlet will be fine for returns, if you have first quality shoes. I'm not sure what the present policy is if you return seconds to a normal retail location. It may just be the $25 restocking fee listed in shoebank.com, but probably worth checking on that, too.

 

[madhat]

Appreciate the tips and confirmation that Jeffersonville is closed. I’m stopping by Columbus OH on the way to the Indy 500 in two weeks and was hoping to try a lot on in person and do some returns. I’ll have to see if a normal retail location will play ball.

Hope you're D width in a common size if you're planning on trying a bunch at a retail location

 

[madhat]

I wish I liked more of Rancourt's offerings. Also, I'm curious as to how well their blake stitching is and how well they are with their recrafting process. One of the biggest reasons I was attracted to AE was because of their recrafting ability. If anyone has some insight on how their construction compares to AE (for shoes, not boat shoes), please educate me. I do think I may pick up one of their belts though. Other than Alden, there's no one else in America that I'm looking into for the future. Cheaney has my attention, but no experience yet. C&J -- great quality, but very expensive. Also looking at J Fitz Patrick a bit, but some of his stuff is way too out there for me.

I'm in the same boat. I'm not a huge beefroll guy and most of their shoes just aren't as sleek. My new caramel shell derbies are great, but the toe is a bit bulbous. Finishing on my pair seems better (more even stitching etc), but they're not without faults. I don't really worry too much about recrafting anymore, but I'd imagine if the factory is doing it it'd be as good as their sale stuff.

Spoiler: Rancourt