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

[madhat]

y’all are heading down a political rant road... let’s keep it shoe focused.

 

[woofmang]

How about boot-focused?

 

[madhat]

How about boot-focused?

View attachment 1483547

Works for me!

 

[OldTown]

Well great news... My Shoebank order was actually delivered but between no email confirmation and the desk in my building not notifying me, I had no clue.

Anyway, if anyone remembers I was begging for a dark brown Park Avenue to return. Last weekend Shoebank had a dark brown PA in my size for $99. When you put the recent sale on top of it I got a new pair of PA for like $70. Waiting paid off!

These must have been buried in a warehouse somewhere because they are very dusty and dry. Which gives me a good reason to bust out the shoe shine kit. They even have the AE logo on the side on the inside.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Well great news... My Shoebank order was actually delivered but between no email confirmation and the desk in my building not notifying me, I had no clue.

Anyway, if anyone remembers I was begging for a dark brown Park Avenue to return. Last weekend Shoebank had a dark brown PA in my size for $99. When you put the recent sale on top of it I got a new pair of PA for like $70. Waiting paid off!

These must have been buried in a warehouse somewhere because they are very dusty and dry. Which gives me a good reason to bust out the shoe shine kit. They even have the AE logo on the side on the inside.

The no email confirmation has happened to me at least once as well. It was a nice surprise when they arrived because I had no idea they shipped.

I saw a pair of dark brown Parks in my size (8 D) on the bank. I watched them for about a week until finally, they were gone. What relief that they weren't there to tempt me at $99.

Also, I noticed today that Nordstrom are selling Alden shoes on their site. I was unaware of that.

 

[Ashley_S]

Just a heads up...I'm going to be out of the country from Oct. 31-Nov 8. I won't be checking email while I'm away, but feel free to email or message as you normally would, and I'll respond when I return. Thanks!

 

[Lionel Hutz]

To be fair, it's not a simple calculus. There should have been (and could have been... in fact, there still should be) national standards dictating requirements for opening public places including stores. In the absence of that guidance, every municipality and state had to figure it out independently with highly divergent outcomes.

I don’t want to go OT but that isn’t how our constitutional system is structured. As the ABA has correctly explained:

Under the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court decisions over nearly 200 years, state governments have the primary authority to control the spread of dangerous diseases within their jurisdictions. The 10th Amendment, which gives states all powers not specifically given to the federal government, allows them the authority to take public health emergency actions, such as setting quarantines and business restrictions.

Two centuries of law guide legal approach to modern pandemic

As COVID-19 continues its assault on the country, residents in more than 10 states have been ordered to stay home and businesses, including restaurants, health clubs and entire malls, have been closed as governors nationwide take extraordinary steps in an effort to protect public health. Under...

www.americanbar.org

This is why Biden quickly reversed his national mask proposal (also stating that the proposal was unconstitutional), there is no legal authority for such actions at the federal level

 

[Hisheirness23]

To bad restaurants and bars are closed for Covid again in Suburban Chicago. So I went anyway.
View attachment 1483290
View attachment 1483291

Which laces are these? Very interesting rope laces that appear to be thick-ish?

 

[Hisheirness23]

Had reason to head into the office today on a nice, casual Friday - Whatever that means in the Bay Area. Really loving the TS 20.1 suede Leeds for pretty much any occasion. Included is the AE Fulton briefcase which was picked up during the Buy More Save More sale, which I was undoubtedly psychologically manipulated into by my SA (No regrets, though)!

View attachment 1483288


Nice Ridgefields! They look well taken care of. Are you the original owner?


Milhouse is just the cutest. I actually made this whole post just for an opportunity to say this, no joke. You are doing the Good Work!


"Why are you buying more brown shoes? All your shoes are brown!" is pretty commonly heard around here. One day we will collectively make people understand the incredible difference in personality between Tobacco and Cognac colored shoes!



It's good that we're talking about this subject. There are several people I know personally who complain about mom & pop stores going under while simultaneously frequenting Walmart for every product possible and utilizing their Amazon Prime membership for everything else, and then blame Walmart and Amazon for those small businesses going under. Unfortunately a lot of these mom & pop type places were running plain vanilla versions of these stores - a small local grocer or convenience store - and there was very little to distinguish them from the big chains besides a lower product selection at a higher price point.

My tailor and I were having a discussion the other day about running a storefront business in the current climate, and we touched on exactly the phenomenon you're describing. Why is a place like Brooks Brothers unable to profit from their huge storefronts packed with product and massive sales volume, whereas Kiton can run a very comfortable profit off two salespeople and a handful of sales per month? Well, Brooks is selling average product to your average middle to upper class family. Brooks has a razor thin profit margin and need huge sales volume to barely stay afloat. Trying to maintain that volume of sales puts pressure on the company to cut corners where possible, and the level of quality doesn't allow for some intimate relationship between Brooks and their customers to customize their experience. Whereas Kiton caters to an ultra niche crowd who are either extreme hobbyists looking to wear a Kiton specifically or the fabulously wealthy who just need a suit and buy Kiton because clearly a $10,000 price tag must mean quality. Kiton's profit margin is also significant compared to the materials and labor going into their product, and just one sale likely pays for all their operating expenses with any additional sales going to pure profit.

I think we are in the process, and have been for a while now, of a "specialization" revolution of the retail marketplace. Online-only and big chains can handle the needs for 99% of the people out there who are just looking for something because they need to check a box (i.e., I need some undershirts because it's getting cold, I need new underwear because mine are fraying, etc). But most people have some sort of hobby or passion where they care more about a certain product or service than your average consumer. Usually when you're an enthusiast, you need specialized products which a general supplier won't stock as they couldn't hope to sell it under normal circumstances. These enthusiasts are going to seek out those specialist shops and keep them in business, and the non-enthusiasts are going to continue to give their business to Amazon and keep them in business. Anyone in between these two extremes will be pushed out of the market. This is something I think we're going to see continue to unfold and businesses definitely need to adapt to it.

More pics of the Fulton briefcase! Lol!

 

[stook1]

I don’t want to go OT but that isn’t how our constitutional system is structured. As the ABA has correctly explained:

Under the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court decisions over nearly 200 years, state governments have the primary authority to control the spread of dangerous diseases within their jurisdictions. The 10th Amendment, which gives states all powers not specifically given to the federal government, allows them the authority to take public health emergency actions, such as setting quarantines and business restrictions.

Two centuries of law guide legal approach to modern pandemic

As COVID-19 continues its assault on the country, residents in more than 10 states have been ordered to stay home and businesses, including restaurants, health clubs and entire malls, have been closed as governors nationwide take extraordinary steps in an effort to protect public health. Under...

www.americanbar.org

This is why Biden quickly reversed his national mask proposal (stating that the proposal was unconstitutional), there is no legal authority for such actions at the federal level

Don't think it's ever been tested. In fact, I was just reading an article about the 3rd amendment as it might relate to more modern public health considerations.

 

[matwa]

Heh..... heh, heh...

he said "viscous"

 

[pbrandes]

My point, cultivate a relationship with a SA and a store, be loyal, even if you may pay a bit more initially, it will pay off in the long run (and keep smaller businesses open).

+1 on this, it has paid off time and time again with my AE SA.

 

[Shoenut]

Which laces are these? Very interesting rope laces that appear to be thick-ish?

They are Raspberry laces. 33 inch. As 48 inches are just to long for me. AE used to sell fun laces. Hopefully they will sell such laces again.

 

[JFWR]

To be fair, it's not a simple calculus. There should have been (and could have been... in fact, there still should be) national standards dictating requirements for opening public places including stores. In the absence of that guidance, every municipality and state had to figure it out independently with highly divergent outcomes. In the case of walmart vs. local apparel store, it's not too difficult to see how they are distinguished and I do understand why there was differentiation in this regard. I tend to doubt that there was a political motivation behind it but rather that stores like walmart offer such diverse products with deep supply chains that it wasn't difficult to see that they offered an important channel for the general public. It's hard to make a case, objectively, for a local specialty apparel store offering an important public need in a crisis. I realize that isn't a popular sentiment or, frankly, a desirable outcome in the long term... but I do get it and I don't hold that against my state's decision makers considering the circumstances.

Well argued points; however, as a point of law, the federal government has no authority to dictate business policy that doesn't apply to interstate commerce. States have always had quarantine and other health powers. In fact, such quarantine would be illegal if done by a federal actor.

Wal-Mart's essential status likely only piggy backed off them being a grocery store. That they were able to sell the rest was ridiculous given no other stores were allowed to sell the same merchandise.

 

[JFWR]

I don’t want to go OT but that isn’t how our constitutional system is structured. As the ABA has correctly explained:

Under the U.S. Constitution’s 10th Amendment and U.S. Supreme Court decisions over nearly 200 years, state governments have the primary authority to control the spread of dangerous diseases within their jurisdictions. The 10th Amendment, which gives states all powers not specifically given to the federal government, allows them the authority to take public health emergency actions, such as setting quarantines and business restrictions.

Two centuries of law guide legal approach to modern pandemic

As COVID-19 continues its assault on the country, residents in more than 10 states have been ordered to stay home and businesses, including restaurants, health clubs and entire malls, have been closed as governors nationwide take extraordinary steps in an effort to protect public health. Under...

www.americanbar.org

This is why Biden quickly reversed his national mask proposal (stating that the proposal was unconstitutional), there is no legal authority for such actions at the federal level

Exactly correct. Great post.

It's unfortunate how chaotic this has been, though.