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

[St Hubbins]

My shipments of Labor Day sale stuff is arriving at the Hubbins Labs on Saturday. Mostly shirts with a pair of nantucketish red pants. Going to be living it up in summer duds for the last remaining weeks of warmth.

Also finalizing my decision on a Leatherman Ltd surcingle belt for 20% off (thanks to @Roycru for the tip). Additionally, I’m considering a sock purchase from Mes Chaussettes Rouges. Boy, my tastes are escalating at an alarming rate.

Going to go test all of this with the navy Patriots to make a determination of their fate.

Then I’ll probably need to regroup for a month or two and do a gap analysis on my autumn/winter wardrobe.

 

[M635Guy]

Even lead weasel enabler Ashley told me today I have a problem lol.

Damn...

 

[2Deuce2]

Damn...

She’s the Manchurian Candidate and “Problem” is the code word!

 

[jet-stream]

Yeah, after spending the first 21 years of my career in Marketing, I'm really puzzled by the way this is all unfolding. If you're going to re-brand, and Lord knows companies love to tinker with their new toys once they acquire a new brand, you wait until everything (or at least the good majority of things) are done so you can make a big splash and then move on. Little trickles have minimal impact on brand awareness and development.

If I were a gambling man, I'd say there are a couple of big egos in the upper-third of the Marketing org chart who just got their grubby little mitts on the brand (that's not the gamble, as Marketing is rife with people who think more of themselves than they do of their brands). Sooner than you think, one of these wonks is going to say something along the lines of, "You know, we could leverage a lot more of our brand synergy by transforming Caleres from a 'House of Brands' to a 'Branded House.'" And then, the muckity mucks will get some interns to line up all their logos for all their current brands and pull together a fancy PowerPoint that details how they can start changing their "visual identity" to more closely align with their "core competencies." Then, they'll try to come up with some all-encompassing brand-identity that ensures that "Caleres" comes through loud and clear with all their logos, because corporate folks love thinking the corporate success stems from their awesome ideas. All the fonts will be in the same family. The font will be clunky and awkward because all the different functional groups within the marketing group will want what's best for their medium, and in the end they'll pick something that's equally awful across print, web, e-mail, display, and the product itself. All the designers will complain about the turdpile that gets created because nobody else saw the genius of their Design-101 layout that included Helvetica with a ton of white space that made everything look so "clean" and "sleek" and "cool" and it's not their fault that the Marketing Managers cluttered up everything with pictures of the product and giant logos everywhere and 36 feature-dump bullet points (none of which articulate a clear benefit to the customer, but everyone loves metrics and facts, never mind the fact that for roughly 90% of customers, purchasing is an emotional decision). Corporate will push the turdpile out because, by now they've spent mid-6-figures on this rebrand and the CFO will start talking about ROI and the CMO will get nervous because he's already had that role for a whopping 3 months, and needs some sort of buzz if he wants to hold onto it for a full calendar year. Plus, he came up through the creative trenches and has no idea how to measure the ROI for this. So, he'll suggest doing some "strawman message testing" so that he can better articulate his brand strategy. He'll present his bland, final messaging recommendations as "forward-thinking" and "authentic" and "aspirational" even though it had all the life sucked out of it during the 872 different rounds of review through different levels of the organization, including the dreaded red pen from legal who told them they absolutely couldn't use any word that was even remotely an anagram of anything sexual since that opens the doors of liability. Better yet, don't use any words that start with "f" or "s" or "d" because those are too close to swear words. Everybody at the top will clap each other on the back for a job well-done and start counting down the days until the next opportunity to do the exact same thing pops up. Usually that's about 2 months later, when the current CMO is let go and his predecessor comes in and decides to implement the strategy his team used when he was a Marketing Director back at a medical supply company 8 years ago, and they were very successful at selling .04% more bags of saline between Q2 and Q3.

And so it goes.



Yeah, this statement is false. Good marketing can generate excitement. It's rare, but it can be done, especially when the messaging and the product itself are in sync. But, you're absolutely correct in that the first and best marketing tool you have at your disposal is your product - after all, there's a reason that old school folks still talk about the 4 "P's" of Marketing being: Product, Place, Price, Promotion and went and listed the Product as #1 in that mix.

Sorry for the Marketing Nerd rant, but there's a reason I pivoted over to Product Management and Development in our company.

And, to keep this AE-related, the dark brown Sullivan Streets showed up yesterday. I have a lot of brown shoes and boots, but this is my first pair of brown calf. Everything else is CXL, kudu, nubuck, and shell. Figured I might as well get some before that color is gone for good. First quality for $208 is a steal on a boot that's pure sex. Fit is good with dress socks, but might be a little tight with wool socks. Still, now I know the Massdrop chukkas will fit for me in a D-width, especially given the amount of stretch in that suede. Since they never shipped the Nomad chukkas (or they still haven't 8 days after I ordered them, and I have to assume the order is canceled since AE no longer tells you when something you order off their site isn't available), I'm going to give some serious thought to landing a pair of Sand Massdrops. Sure, it'll be twice the price I was paying for the Nomads, but at least I can be reasonably confident that I'll get what I order.

Would have worn the Sullivan Streets today, but it was raining hard this morning, so I opted for the greatest AE of them all, the Higgins Mill.

Wow. Just ... wow. I always enjoy your posts, but you have outdone yourself. My only concern is that you have set the donkeybar too high even for your future posts ...

 

[jet-stream]

Agreed; great pair. What's your current on hand/ order loafer count? I'm at 7 or 8. ;p

This feels like a question I should duck, but pretty sure the answer is 9. All but the Sea Island were this year. And all but 3 are AE. This doesn’t count Maritimes, naturally.

I was going to ask whether y’all thought I had a problem, but he answer seems evident.

 

[jet-stream]

If I count the drivers, then I'm at 30.

Edit - if I count everything I've ever tried....I'd lose count

Ok, that makes me feel a bit better.

 

[Mathfish]

@Mathfish heres some pictures for you direct from Port a Washington.
View attachment 1031522 View attachment 1031523
Ok here’s the thing...in the catalog they appear tan, however, they have red tint to them. That’s why I took the picture in brighter lighting with my light brown Florsheim. Also zoom in on the leather. The finish AE applies seems odd on Normandy. The very light tan Caen I bought and returned due to sizing. Yet the finish was the same as this model, if you pressed down on the leather it looked as if it was wrinkling. Now the natural brown Normandy OG does not react this way. Better to see it first hand, or others may have insights for you.

thank you for the details

 

[ProfilaBinding]

I know you couldn't get them for the 40% off because I tried. LOL. I bought a pair of Walnut. Will see what they are when they arrive. My black ones are Jefferson 1.0 and I love them.

Others already beat me to it. They should have offered them at 40% off. My understanding was that the 40% was on everything except for a few items that were already on sale (like the Exchange Place was for some reason).

I'm starting to wonder if I've gone crazy. I swear I remember the Jefferson 2.0 was on clearance at some point this summer. I cannot find any proof on the archive.org website. Does anyone else remember it being on clearance? Tell me I'm not insane.

 

[Tango Roo]

I know you couldn't get them for the 40% off because I tried. LOL. I bought a pair of Walnut. Will see what they are when they arrive. My black ones are Jefferson 1.0 and I love them.

I had a pair of seconds 2.0 Jefferson's in my cart for less than my cancelled (?) Indygate order but didn't pull the trigger due to sizing issues/questions. The Indygate order was "cancelled" via an email several weeks after the order was placed, something vague saying that it was not available, so they HAD TO cancel the order. It still shows up as "being processed" in my account, so I guess they have some weird option to deliver if they ever decide it is in stock. I don't think confusing customer service is good customer service, but what do I know?

<edit> The Jefferson 2.0 was definitely on clearance (presumably firsts), but it was quickly no longer available in my size just last week. It is available in my size now, but not on clearance and at more than 3X the clearance price. I'm not exactly sure what game I'm playing.

 

[St Hubbins]

The 2nds game can be complicated. I sometimes hope to open the box and have such an immediate reaction to the issue or defect that it makes my decision to send them back super easy. Other times, like tonight, I crack open the box, check for my immediate deal breakers (uneven wings, caps, medallions), inspect the rest of the shoes briefly, let out a heavy sigh and think “damn, welcome to the team”.

View attachment 1031585

I have practically no use for those shoes that couldn’t be handled by something I already own, but I still want a pair because of pictures like this. Looks like you scored big. Congrats!

 

[orange fury]

Yes, as some have said, the Nomads are very thin and very light weight.

On the other hand, when it's over 100F very thin and very light weight are wonderful qualities in a shoe.

Wearing white suede Nomads and Lands' End seersucker trousers in the Urologist's waiting room (don't even ask) earlier today.

View attachment 1031569

For fans of food in shoe threads, read all about some of the local cuisine, pulled pork parfaits at the Horny Toad.

https://www.12news.com/article/news...ast-features-pulled-pork-parfait/75-590508722

I was just thinking earlier that we hadn’t seen you around in a bit, glad to see you posting!

 

[orange fury]

Out of data in Wisconsin Northwoods,I park outside Boulder Junction library for their wifi whenever I come into town for beer n stuff-so here’s some pics of my shootin iron,for arming ferrets and such-1942 vintage Mosin Nagant from commonist Russher View attachment 1031567 View attachment 1031568 View attachment 1031570 And to stay on topic,though I mostly rely on my Vasque Sundowners up here-I do use my AE Maritimes for water activities View attachment 1031572 View attachment 1031571

I used to want an M44 or an SKS so bad several years back but never got around to purchasing one. My buddy and I used to go shoot his, that damn thing kicked like a mule lol.

Also, on the topic of Russian Cold War era rifles- Cosmoline is a B*TCH

 

[Brogue One]

I had to return mine. There felt like there was a rod in the middle of my foot when I walked in them.

Were your Sea Islands in 14, by chance? Waited too long 1sts and then when they sold waited too long on 2nds. Wasn’t convinced I “needed” them, but I noticed both are back in stock, so I’m just curious.

 

[armedferret]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! That was awesome, but why does it have such a long throw on the shifter, needs a short-shift kit. We have no such roads (or hills) in Central Illinois, such a luxery (AE word) to have actual curves and hills...

.....because it was built from 1962 to 1964 and there was no such thing?

It doesn't NEED anything other than fuel and a driver. Heathen.

 

[M635Guy]

I was going to ask whether y’all thought I had a problem, but he answer seems evident.

The answer is "You're among friends"