ALLEN EDMONDS APPRECIATION THREAD EDITION 2O22

[CommanderMcBragg]

Your posts are fantastic btw - I always love reading them.

Going to give you my honest thoughts here -

People usually can finagle with the size of the 65-last enough that going up/down in length/width can definitely work, it's more a matter of what is optimal for you. I can wear the 65-last in 6.5E, 7D, 8B....I've tried 6EEE and that could "work" too. The fact that you went up 1 width instead of 2 is concern #1.

I've bought pairs of AE that are sort of tight in terms of volume but that have stretched out. I've never used any kind of stretcher or liquid like you showed. Stretching usually meant wearing thicker/heavier socks than normal and sort of toughing it out for a full day's wear, putting them away, then repeating like 2 more times. Sometimes this was miserable but it usually worked out. Mind you this was in my normal size. I have a pair of Jermyns that I know now, given all my experience with AE, were lasted partially wrong and the toebox on 1 shoe was cut too narrow. I took this pair to the AE store to have them "professionally stretched." This did virtually nothing in the end. They weren't noticably larger nor did they have to "return" to a previous shape. Was just a complete waste of time.

When you say they're barely wearable - in what way? The length is too short that it's hurting your heels? Instep? Other? Why the attachment to the Hickory? To me they look pretty similar to the Strandmok, no?

Hi, and thanks for your reply.

The 65 last is an oddball. My Brannock size is 13D, and that seems to be in fact the "least uncomfortable" size for me in the 65 last. AE_Ashley had me try a 12EEE a few years back, and the fit was nearly identical to the 13D--that's why I'm hoping to make the 12E work here with a little bit of stretching. (As an aside, it's too bad AE_Ashley is no longer with the company. I haven't found any CS reps with nearly her enthusiasm, her knowledge, nor her seeming ability to pull out of thin air a particular pair of discontinued shoes I'm hunting down.) Anyway, the Strand is far & away my favorite shoe design, and I suffer through the less-than-optimum fit because I like the look.

This particular pair of 12E in Hickory has now passed through my rigorous stretching bootcamp, and they feel ok when I'm walking in circles around the coffee table on the 6' x 9' area rug in the living room. Though my toes are no longer cramped or touching the fronts, there's just a weird sensation that my feet are sitting too far forward in the respective toe boxes. With the stretching, these don't feel all that different now from the aforementioned 12EEE I tried on a while ago. At some point I will bite the bullet and wear them to work. I only paid $150 and they are a first-quality, so it won't be the end of the world if they turn out to be too uncomfortable and I have to peddle them on the popular auction site.

I don't know why I'm so drawn to the Hickory. As soon as I happened upon what turned out to be a Hickory Strand photo on Reddit some 2-3 months ago, I immediately emailed the picture to Ashley saying, "Whatever this is, I must have it!" My wife agrees with you, though, in that the finish is nothing special; she also doesn't get why I have so many pairs of Strands in faintly different shades of brown. In fact, she's so bemused by my interest in the Hickory Strand that she pointed to my Walnut pair and told me to give one shoe to her and the other to our 7-yr-old daughter, and with a tin of black shoe polish, they could have a competition to see which of them could closer-approximate the Hickory finish I'm so enamored with.

I am aware of the similar Strandmok as you mentioned, but the shoe just isn't quite as streamlined as the Strand. Our friend Dabondo1 has a used pair in my size for sale, but the Dainite soles are just too worn-looking.

 

[audog]

Anyone know what AE Ashley is doing now? Is she still in the footwear industry?

 

[MajorDash]

Anyone know what AE Ashley is doing now? Is she still in the footwear industry?

She works for an architectural firm in Georgia, iirc.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Speaking of people disappearing, I miss @BFT9000

 

[EZB]

It makes me happy to see my favorite boot being discussed. One reason I love AE is that I don't have a lot of other options given my 14EEE size. Lack of options will probably explain owning 1 pair of Daltons. Only love can explain the 8 I currently own, by far the highest quantity of any AE model in my collection.

My favorite boots are:

1. Dalton
2. First Ave.
3. Eagle County
4. Freeport
5. Patton
6. Landon
7. HM

I think the size I wear helps the Dalton, and makes the Landon and HM look like oil tankers. I still wear them, but that's a mighty big boot. No booths in restaurants wearing those, I'll bruise everyone else's shins.

Caper Freeports today.

View attachment 1863175

This is a good list. My favorite AE boots are

1. First Ave
2. Dalton
3. Park City
4. Hamilton
5. Fifth Street
6. Landon
7. Nomad Chelsea
8. MD Chukka
9. HM


I haven't yet taken my Freeport home yet from the AE store (monday, wife is out of town, so it works out) to know where it ranks there.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

I have not tried the 65 or 201 for boots, so the only real last that works so far is the 1757.

There's a Youtube guy going by the handle Bootlosphy that was reviewing a Whites cap toe boot in natural chormexcel today. I enjoy his channel a lot because he knows quite a bit about the leathers and structures. Anyway, I also found this on google yesterday that I had never seen before. It was a MTO called the Promonotory Point in golden brown cxl. Pretty interesting.

 

[audog]

She works for an architectural firm in Georgia, iirc.

Interesting change of career path, I wish her well

 

[Vincent George]

New eBay score arrived this morning.

MacNeil 9247 “Walnut Grain Calf” made between 2010-2013 as an MTO style…

 

[audog]

This is a good list. My favorite AE boots are

1. First Ave
2. Dalton
3. Park City
4. Hamilton
5. Fifth Street
6. Landon
7. Nomad Chelsea
8. MD Chukka
9. HM


I haven't yet taken my Freeport home yet from the AE store (monday, wife is out of town, so it works out) to know where it ranks there.

Freeport is a good boot, leaning more towards the "work boot" side of the boot equation, but a good boot. I actually like my Freeports a bit more than my Alden Indy's....which for a moc toe boot guy is sayin' a lot

 

[audog]

I have not tried the 65 or 201 for boots, so the only real last that works so far is the 1757.

There's a Youtube guy going by the handle Bootlosphy that was reviewing a Whites cap toe boot in natural chormexcel today. I enjoy his channel a lot because he knows quite a bit about the leathers and structures. Anyway, I also found this on google yesterday that I had never seen before. It was a MTO called the Promonotory Point in golden brown cxl. Pretty interesting.

Had a pair of Promontory Points, sold them...didn't like the fit that well...

 

[darkclassic]

Speaking of people disappearing, I miss @BFT9000

I'll pop out of hiding and share a little AE goodness...

NOS Dundees in Brown shell from back in the day

I have not seen this style box and label from AE for some time now

black flannel bags...

Welcome back home...

I do love me some brown shell.

Double JR with details

Several years ago, during the dark days when trunk shows seemed to be a thing of the past, some kind soul posted on the AE thread about a pair just like these being available at Moulded Shoe NY. I called and scooped them up immediately. A few Dundees and other acquisitions later, trying to keep my collection in check, I made a bad decision and listed them on ebay only to find they had sold by the time I came to my senses. I've regretted that decision for a few years now. Thank goodness I was able to find another pair.

 

[EZB]

Freeport is a good boot, leaning more towards the "work boot" side of the boot equation, but a good boot. I actually like my Freeports a bit more than my Alden Indy's....which for a moc toe boot guy is sayin' a lot

I rate the HM low because I hate plain-toe bluchers/derbies. It just looks a bit clownish to me, but it fits great. I’m hoping the moc toe Freeport really solves that feeling for me

 

[jet-stream]

Excluded. You can always call the Shoe Bank to see if they're willing to discount them further, though.

As far as I know, we stopped making them. Just offering the regular full toe now.

Are you able to search the system and see if any are left in stores? I would love to snag a few up before they're completely gone.

If you can’t find any, modifying to add knobs isn’t too bad: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...read-tutorials-photos-etc.228153/post-8381748

 

[Hisheirness23]

If you can’t find any, modifying to add knobs isn’t too bad: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/...read-tutorials-photos-etc.228153/post-8381748

Interesting find! But as @Duke Santos mentioned, the fuller heel on the version with the nob was nice as it didn't have a flat bottom that would leave a weird indentation in my Hamiltons.

 

[madhat]

I have not tried the 65 or 201 for boots, so the only real last that works so far is the 1757.

There's a Youtube guy going by the handle Bootlosphy that was reviewing a Whites cap toe boot in natural chormexcel today. I enjoy his channel a lot because he knows quite a bit about the leathers and structures. Anyway, I also found this on google yesterday that I had never seen before. It was a MTO called the Promonotory Point in golden brown cxl. Pretty interesting.

Yup. That’s in the MTO thread