Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - reviews, pictures, sizing, etc...

[Mike Lucas]

I wouldn't get the gray boot.

Care to elaborate?

 

[Mike Lucas]

Care to elaborate?

 

[GOP Shoe Guy]

I've decided to get myself some boots since the Daltons and Fifth Street are currently on sale. I prefer the Dalton, but the only color available on sale is the grey. I haven't seen the grey in person yet, so I was wondering if anyone had any real pictures of them and I was curious if maybe I should just go with the brown Fifth Street instead. Thoughts? I ask because a friend nearly got the grey Daltons when they came out, but was really put off when he saw them at the shop. I'd be interested in some opinions and justification one way or the other.

I have the walnut Dalton and the brown Fifth street. I like both boots a lot and have received lots of compliments on both. Probably more on the Dalton. The walnut color is very striking. And the walnut is a richer walnut than any of my other walnut shoes (strand, parkway & jefferson). My only complaint about the Fifth street is that it is a mid high boot. It kinda cuts into your shins at the top. Because the Dalton is higher it seems to have the ability to flex and bend more, and doesn't cut into my shins. Overall, as much as I like the Fifth Street, I really prefer the look of the Dalton. And apparently others too as that truly is a shoe that I have got a ton of compliments on. I think because it is a wingtip boot. You just don't see them everywhere. Also, I have put a high shine on the tip, and they look fabulous. I don't own the grey, so can't speak to it personally, but from reading on here, I don't think I have found one person that loves, or at least even likes, they grey. I would think it would be hard to find colors to go with them. While I don't own the grey, I would say avoid it, and my suggestion would be spend a little extra and get the Daltons or Fifth Street (my preference would be Daltons). You will be happy you did.

 

[captstatic]

I have a pair of the gray Dalton's on order and should be getting them this coming week. I plan on posting some pics of them once they arrive.

Chris

 

[Mike Lucas]

It's a difference of 100% at present and I have no interest in paying nearly $400 for a boot that doesn't do well in New England winters. As far as the overall attitude towards it here at SF, I don't think I've ever seen anyone talk ABOUT the grey. Makes sense since the brown and black and burgundy are much more traditional and easier to coordinate, but the pictures on the website make it look really nice. It's obviously a more casual shoe, which is exactly what I'm looking for and what I expect sub-$200.

 

[csc67]

Thanks everyone for posting their comments about the 333 last vs. 5 last

I read the reviews on the AE Rutledge (333 last) and most reviews say it runs slightly longer & wider than 5 last

 

[hohneokc]



Just one thing, I was hoping someone here has been sporting the goods of the great american shoe company long enough tell me what year's the Bourbon Sanford's I was lucky enough to get my hands on, were made through?

The catalogs on Issuu show the bourbon Sanford from 1997 to 2000.

By the way, I really like mine

Chris

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

Posted these not too long ago claiming they were Strands by mistake and raised some confusion as they are not Strands but the older discontinued model called Sanford's. I finally got around to instant messaging a rep on AEs site to find out what these are as I got them on eBay for ~$85 shipped. I sent him the all the model numbers excluding size and he looked them up and told me pretty much exactly this:

"They are Bourbon Burnished Sanford's made on the 7-97 last."

That was how he worded the name of the color of this particular model. If anyone would like to double check or is interested in knowing exactly what these are, the model numbers read as:
10D 26724 6
5347 4056 COMB

Unfortunately he was unable to look up what year they were produced, which is what I've really been wanting to know and I've only been able to find a very select amount of information on the discontinued Sanford's in this old Bourbon color especially, but what little information I've found suggests production dates of mid - late 90s, but I'm not sure about that. I would have never guessed they were Bourbon but it's Burnished, not the new darker Bourbon color available on newer models these days.

This Bourbon Burnished had me fooled as I would have sworn they were Chestnuts, possibly Walnut but the Walnut Sanford's are commonly seen with 4 eyelets instead of 5 like my pair have. Below I linked a few different Chestnut and Walnut models to show how incredibly similar they can appear, it's amazing how lighting plays an enormous roll in capturing the true color of these lighter shades of leather, I imagine the shine plays a large roll too. I did not scrutinize the links below to confirm that they were indefinitely, 100%, Sanford models but all the places the pictures were found claimed the pair to be Sanford's in the respective color indicated and based on what little knowledge I've gained in my search to find out exactly what pair of shoes I own, I'd say I'm 98% sure that they are all Sanford's and unless my sources were incorrect the colors above the links ought to be correct for the model links below.


(My own picture of my Bourbon Burnished Sanford's)

• Walnut Sanford's for comparison:

900x900px-LL-5a924546_sanford.jpeg (Notice 4 eyelets here vs. the 5 on my older model shown above)
900x900px-LL-e8bdf08d_2012_1103AB.jpeg (Another pair posted as Walnut, 5 eyelets on this model now though)
87a89efd_allenedmonds_shoes_sanford_walnut_l.jpeg (This photo makes them look much darker than in the 2 above)

• Chestnut Sanford's: These appear to be closer in shade to Bourbon than the Walnut IMO, I thought this was the color of my pair until today.

015f3b7f.jpg
IMG_20120310_084146.jpg

• More Sanford's in Bourbon : (The shoe I own / Embedded above)

d9_1_b.jpg

Someone was selling some Bourbon Sanford's in this thread a while back, lots of pictures here, the two below are from this thread. http://www.styleforum.net/t/124127/2-pair-ae-sanford-8-5c-belmont-10e-used/0_40

525x525px-LL-1f64ce03_vbattach24423.jpg & 525x525px-LL-846943a0_vbattach24424.jpg (The only numbers that are the same is the '5347' which indicate style #53, leather #4 and last #7, I believe.)


After looking through all those pictures of such similar shoes, I'm 100% sure I would have never been able to positively identify what the 'proper name' of my shoes were without having referenced the model numbers in the shoe. Light has been shed on this glorious day and no longer living in the dark, I now know what I've been/will be wearing on my feet for a long time to come.

Just one thing, I was hoping someone here has been sporting the goods of the great american shoe company long enough tell me what year's the Bourbon Sanford's I was lucky enough to get my hands on, were made through?

Looks like you have been doing quite a bit of research! They made the Bourbon Sanfords from Fall 1996 - Fall 2000. Great looking pair you have.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

^^^Ha... looks like hohneokc and I were doing our research at the same time!

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

Thanks everyone for the input. I did condition the entire shoe prior to polishing and wearing for the first time, including the tongue, as I always do. It seems like the squeaking sound is coming from around my heal. I think it has to do with the poron. I will try some powder in the shoe. I am hopeful that after a few wears, this will stop as the shoe is formed to my foot. It seems it is pushing air out and causing the sound. Something I do not have with any other pair of AEs on any last.

Yeah, I was strictly referring to the common squeaking that can happen on the tongue when the two types of leather rub against each other. It usually goes away after a bit if it happens at all, and is considered normal. I haven't heard of the Poron causing squeaks, but I also don't have any shoes with Poron insoles to give personal experience from. I have heard of the leather heel base squeaking against the sole before, and that may require a cobbler or AE check-up. I don't think it will hurt the shoes to sprinkle some powder in them to see if the Poron is the culprit, but if it doesn't help, I'd clean it out to prevent it from caking up from perspiration.

 

[donjuan17]

They're just khaki-colored Levi 514 jeans.

You do enjoy your Levi's I see. haha

 

[TheSizzle]

You do enjoy your Levi's I see. haha

I'm totally not surprised you noticed that.

Well, maybe the leg opening is a little wide, but 14.5" would be a little small for me (J Brand Tyler, like yours). I'd probably rock a 15.5" or 16" opening comfortably.

Edit: I measured, and it's only a 15" leg opening.

 

[Cold Iron]

I was introduced through various online sites, and got my first pair last summer, walnut McAllisters. I now have 20 pair

I am most impressed!! A few others come close but that is fantastic.

Before I retired from the service I had to go through a class on how to become a civilian again which including job interviewing, how to dress, not cussing at people etc. One of the teachers suggested grabbing at least 1 pair of AE shoes through the military exchange as they were the best shoe ever made and we could get a decent discount on them. Because I was retiring and still eligible for shopping at the MilExch I still can. I purchased the Leeds in black calf, that was my first AE shoe. I now have somewhere around what Chris does (close to 40) but I'm not going to count because not sure that I want to know. About a third of them are shell. That Leeds was purchased ~94, but don't even think about calling me grandpa....

 

[BackInTheJox]

Got my Delrays (chili) and McTavish (tan) yesterday. The Delrays are almost perfect, they just have a tiny bit of creasing in the leather on the lateral aspect of the rear of the shoe near the heel on both shoes (right at the heel counter, where I tend to get creases from wear anyway). For $135, this is by far the best value I've ever gotten. These are practically firsts quality.

The McTavishes are a slightly different story. I give a reasonable amount of leeway with the rough collection when it comes to the leather of the shoes "matching" each other, but the left shoe is noticeably darker than the right in most areas, with some dark streaking on the top of the right shoe near the toebox.



Now to be fair, 99% of people on the street seeing me surely wouldn't even notice, but for ~$200 (even for seconds), I feel like I want the color to match the right shoe (which is lighter and more what I would prefer) a little better.

 

[GOP Shoe Guy]

My Allen Edmond Rutledges from the Independence Line showed up today.They were seconds ordered during this recent sale. I think I paid $249 for them, a good deal considering the retail for them is $475. Below are a few pics of the shoes by themselves. I have one issue with them, but nothing I think is worth sending them back for. On the back where the foxing attaches to the upper, it is a couple of stitches short, or the leather was cut a bit short to be sewn in properly. I don't think this will cause an issue for me though. The shoe trees don't cause this to stretch any, and wearing them doesn't cause any stretching in that area. If need be I could have a local cobbler add a couple of stitches to secure this if it becomes an issue. These pics show the shoes after I have conditioned them and applied a nice shine. I love the burnishing on the shoe and the color variation.






Here are a couple of comparisons to show the color difference. The walnut color in the independence line is much darker than the regular burnished walnut.




Top row left to right: Rutldege walnut, Fifth Street brown, Daltons walnut
2nd row left to right: Jefferson walnut, Brooks Strand walnut, Amsterdam McAllister bourbon
3rd row left to right: Parkway walnut, William Williams blk, Strand blk
4th row left to right: McAllister merlot, Patriot merlot, vintage Florsheim merlot
floor left to right: Neumok blue, Banana Republic Blue Suede, Banana Republic blk driver



It is really interesting how the walnut in the Independence line is so much darker than the regular warm walnut color. I do like the variation in the color. The Rutledge is almost a bourbon color. All in all I am very happy with the purchase. These make a nice addition to my collection. Now I am just waiting for 2 pairs of custom Neumoks (one red/white and one all football leather). After that I am set for a while, unless of course I find some I just have to have, which I probably will... ugh. By the way, these have all been purchased in the last year. Is there a support group for those of us addicted?