Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread 2020 - News, Pictures, Clothing, Accessories, etc.

[Blue_Bowtie]

Another day, another pair of boots. Hamilton’s on dirty office floor!

 

[wasmisterfu]

Since we were talking about Polished Cobbler and other such things, earlier today / last night, here’s a really neat pair of AE Polo’s. From 1982, the 8264 Chestnut Polished Cobbler Polo. An absolutely bizarre, early 1980’s color that’s, well, orange brown weirdness. It even has a subtle orangish contrast welt top-stitch.

 

[audog]

Just got done hydrating and putting a touch of neutral wax on this recently acquired pair. I had planned on some high-concept photography in the backyard, but now it looks like it’s going to rain, so crappy photos inbound.

Muh new (to me) Stawfut’s:

Worn twice (they’re basically near-NOS), with shoe-trees and shipping, 115 bucks BIN on the ‘bay. I waited a long time (after stupidly not buying a pair when these were available) to find a really nice pair in my size. Usually the ones I see on the bay are way to expensive, seconds, and look like they were worn in a mud wrestling match.

And I have a pair I've been trying to sell for months, worn 3 times. I won't do Ebay so they are just languishing on the AE B/S/T thread.

 

[Lionel Hutz]

Not an issue, IMHO. They’re just trimming the welt/sole edge more aggressive, probably because people (on this thread) were complaining how much tighter they used to trim the edge.

1987 AE Dover whole cut: super-tight sole/welt edge trimming with channeled outsole/welt top-stitch (almost looks blake’ish):

And for reference, these some what more recent AE’s (think I got ‘em about 18 mothgs also have pretty tight edge trimming also:

In short, for some it’s considered desirable, and as long as a cobbler isn’t a dope and knows how to operate his outsole stitcher with a bit of skill, shouldn’t be an issue (and for an AE recraft, the welt gets replaced anyway).

where did you nab those suede Cornwallis? Don’t think I’ve ever seen those sold or available in TS

 

[BFT9000]

Another day, another pair of boots. Hamilton’s on dirty office floor!
View attachment 1400590

Damn I really need to get on the Hamilton train.

TBH the grain Strandmoks series is perhaps my favorite set of Strandmoks. Extremely wearable, goes great with every outfit. I should really grab a Hamilton in that leather...

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Since we're showing off old shoes today, I might as well play the game.

 

[EZB]

You’re welcome. I post a variation of this about ever 60 days or so. There’s a lot of misinformation, weird shared labeling and other problems regarding shoe leather.

Also, I don’t, as a rule, recommend even high-end PU coated leather (such as polished cobbler) because of the long-term maintainability of the stuff. Once it starts looking bad, drastic action will be needed, action that will alter the nature of the shoe. If there is a full grain calf, or shell, version of the shoe you’re looking for, you should pursue that version.

That being said, if you see a pair that you really like or for which the model was only (or the majority of) was produced in something like PC, you shouldn’t worry that they’re going to crack and fall apart (as a number of articles on the interwebs proclaim). In my experience, PU coated leathers don’t crack or split anymore often than regular full-grain calf. The high quality stuff, especially for 80’s vintage premium brands, was made of very good stuff. However, you should always push for a steep discount, even for NOS or light-wear examples

I also recommend having a least a small subset of PU coated pairs for bad-weather days. AE polished cobbler is especially excellent for monsoon days and for post-blizzard salt-slushy resistance. However, it should only be a subset, IMHO; out of 50+ pair (!?! at @smfdoc and @suitforcourt - what have you done to me) only 5 are of this type of leather.

One of my most confortable shoes-- the Whitney--is PU/CG. It's a great shoe that I don't wear often because it is black. However, I do enjoy it, and I think black may hold up better, but I could be wrong.

 

[audog]

Since we're showing off old shoes today, I might as well play the game.

View attachment 1400622

Those are AWESOME!

 

[audog]

One of my most confortable shoes-- the Whitney--is PU/CG. It's a great shoe that I don't wear often because it is black. However, I do enjoy it, and I think black may hold up better, but I could be wrong.

What is wrong with black shoes????

 

[audog]

And for fans of dog photos in shoe threads, dog hurt his leg, nothing abnormal shows up on X-rays, but
vet got $300 for the "diagnosis" of "try to keep him off of it"

 

[Shoenut]

And for fans of dog photos in shoe threads, dog hurt his leg, nothing abnormal shows up on X-rays, but
vet got $300 for the "diagnosis" of "try to keep him off of it" View attachment 1400630 View attachment 1400631

He seems to be right pawed.

 

[wasmisterfu]

One of my most confortable shoes-- the Whitney--is PU/CG. It's a great shoe that I don't wear often because it is black. However, I do enjoy it, and I think black may hold up better, but I could be wrong.

So to put it perspective, it takes a lot of miles, a lot of wear and not using trees, before your AE polished cobbler will look like this:

These were on their 3rd, possibly 4th, set of soles when I got ‘em for the 2018 Shoe Restoration Competition (they’d been fully resoled at least once and then half resoled, but the welt is so chewed up, I think it may be more than that).

Bunch of chemicals and elbow grease (to strip the PC finish), and I refinished them to this:

Since 2018, I’ve done more finishing and antiquing, so they look like this today (getting towards two years later, in my regular rotation, they’ll probably go for a recraft so I can get some new welts and soles):

So once your AE Polished Cobbler shoes hit EOL with the factory PU finish, if your feel brave and enjoy shoe science experiments, you can strip ‘em, reshape them, and refinish them into something different, because there’s nothing wrong with the calf sitting under that finish.

 

[wasmisterfu]

And for fans of dog photos in shoe threads, dog hurt his leg, nothing abnormal shows up on X-rays, but
vet got $300 for the "diagnosis" of "try to keep him off of it" View attachment 1400630 View attachment 1400631

Hopefully dog feels better soon.

 

[wasmisterfu]

Since we're showing off old shoes today, I might as well play the game.

View attachment 1400622

Whoa.

 

[wasmisterfu]

And I have a pair I've been trying to sell for months, worn 3 times. I won't do Ebay so they are just languishing on the AE B/S/T thread.

Size?