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

[Cold Iron]

BTW. Just found this Reddit thread. This quote in particular makes me LOVE Grangaard a million times more.

Q: Allen Edmonds is constantly praised for their range of beautiful shoe styles. However, like most shoemakers, you have to cater to those who may not appreciate those styles. If there was one AE shoe that you could get rid of, both stop selling it, and stop the style among all shoemakers, which style/shoe would it be?

Grangaard Answer: Au contraire, Pierre, that's an easy question... The square bicycle toe slip-on in cheap corrected leather with an obviously rubber sole. We don't make it, but the guy in a nice suit across the aisle from me on the plane yesterday was wearing it. It looked bad, really bad, and totally inconsistent with the rest of his effort. It's like a great golfer with the putting yips -- you don't win tournaments with a bad case of the yips.

[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Grangaard is the man. BTW, didn't know he went to Stanford and UChicago Business School...sharp guy.[/FONT]

I work for a world class Medical Center and am retired Navy. With patients from all around the world, as is many of the staff. This afternoon I was in a meeting with a gentleman that was wearing an old pair of burgundy Park Aves. I wore my new Brown Shell Leeds with natural welt, didn't really break them in "properly" but decided after an hour last night in the house it was enough as they fit well and I am going to wear down the toes no matter what I do for beak in. After the meeting he came up to me and shook my hand and asked what branch of the service I retired from. I have been growing my hair long and laughed and asked him how did he know I was retired military. He smiled and said he was retired Air Force and it was my attitude, speech and that every member of my team had started polishing their shoes and picking up their appearance since I took over and that it was not unnoticed. We talked for a bit and the one thing that bothered us both was that "our generation" was wearing what would qualify as tennis sneakers with rubber soles and not even bothering to take care of them. They look like chit to be honest, especially with very expensive suits it just doesn't work and breaks the overall image. I hate those square toed shoes more than most people. But I hate those that should know better and wear POS shoes and should set an example due to position and function in their job. It isn't everyone and where I work a LOT less than most places in the world. However IMO it is still all too common. It is also a freedom of choice to wear what you want that can't and should not be denied....

To be honest one of the things that keeps me coming back here is that so many younger people here "get it", and I'm most likely preaching to the choir. I asked him if he didn't think the cap toe was too short on his PA and he laughed and said hell no, he had seen enough overseas that he was rather proud of them. I can't disagree, I recently ordered the PA in black shell for a reason that many may never understand.

Rant out.

 

[Cold Iron]

ordered my first AE's - the walnut shell dalton. im in love with the color. sf'er applefoodstuff's pics:

Congrats! And great choice IMO

Mine when new-



They have gotten even better with age and exposure to UV IMO:



3 AE walnut shells starting from the left. IMO Walnut shell ages beautifully. You can keep them dark if you want with wax or cream but I have come to appreciate the subtle fade of aniline dye and shell over time.

 

[sevenfoldtieguy]



I work for a world class Medical Center and am retired Navy. With patients from all around the world, as is many of the staff. This afternoon I was in a meeting with a gentleman that was wearing an old pair of burgundy Park Aves. I wore my new Brown Shell Leeds with natural welt, didn't really break them in "properly" but decided after an hour last night in the house it was enough as they fit well and I am going to wear down the toes no matter what I do for beak in. After the meeting he came up to me and shook my hand and asked what branch of the service I retired from. I have been growing my hair long and laughed and asked him how did he know I was retired military. He smiled and said he was retired Air Force and it was my attitude, speech and that every member of my team had started polishing their shoes and picking up their appearance since I took over and that it was not unnoticed. We talked for a bit and the one thing that bothered us both was that "our generation" was wearing what would qualify as tennis sneakers with rubber soles and not even bothering to take care of them. They look like chit to be honest, especially with very expensive suits it just doesn't work and breaks the overall image. I hate those square toed shoes more than most people. But I hate those that should know better and wear POS shoes and should set an example due to position and function in their job. It isn't everyone and where I work a LOT less than most places in the world. However IMO it is still all too common. It is also a freedom of choice to wear what you want that can't and should not be denied....

To be honest one of the things that keeps me coming back here is that so many younger people here "get it", and I'm most likely preaching to the choir. I asked him if he didn't think the cap toe was too short on his PA and he laughed and said hell no, he had seen enough overseas that he was rather proud of them. I can't disagree, I recently ordered the PA in black shell for a reason that many may never understand.

Rant out.

Nothing whatsoever wrong with the black shell PA. Good call.

 

[easy_golfing]

where are you all finding the shell daltons? I thought it was a one time thing?

 

[JermynStreet]

Well...I'm 27 years old...so I'm not quite "young" anymore. But I implore all who I know to pick up a pair of Allen Edmonds. I find it ridiculous that someone would spend $1200 on a suit and then cap it off with some Kenneth Cole bicycle-toed monstrosities.

I ride the metro daily to work. Perhaps I should carry business cards instructing people to wear nicer shoes?

 

[suited]

New Larchmonts in bourbon. These were a "first quality" replacement for a pair of Neumoras that had some issues. Pulled these out of the box yesterday and tried them on, noticed that one is wider than the other, they are also not consistent with the Larchmonts I had previously tried on, in terms of width. I enjoy the styling, but honestly, this will be the last pair of AE I purchase, and at this point I'm not going through the hassle of sending them back again. If they would have offered a refund instead of replacing the Neumoras I would have gone that route in the first place. Looking back, I have had issues with every pair I've owned except for one. I've come to the conclusion that I'd rather enjoy the far superior product you can get for the additional $250 or so.

 

[New Shoes1]

I work for a world class Medical Center and am retired Navy. With patients from all around the world, as is many of the staff. This afternoon I was in a meeting with a gentleman that was wearing an old pair of burgundy Park Aves. I wore my new Brown Shell Leeds with natural welt, didn't really break them in "properly" but decided after an hour last night in the house it was enough as they fit well and I am going to wear down the toes no matter what I do for beak in. After the meeting he came up to me and shook my hand and asked what branch of the service I retired from. I have been growing my hair long and laughed and asked him how did he know I was retired military. He smiled and said he was retired Air Force and it was my attitude, speech and that every member of my team had started polishing their shoes and picking up their appearance since I took over and that it was not unnoticed. We talked for a bit and the one thing that bothered us both was that "our generation" was wearing what would qualify as tennis sneakers with rubber soles and not even bothering to take care of them. They look like chit to be honest, especially with very expensive suits it just doesn't work and breaks the overall image. I hate those square toed shoes more than most people. But I hate those that should know better and wear POS shoes and should set an example due to position and function in their job. It isn't everyone and where I work a LOT less than most places in the world. However IMO it is still all too common. It is also a freedom of choice to wear what you want that can't and should not be denied....

To be honest one of the things that keeps me coming back here is that so many younger people here "get it", and I'm most likely preaching to the choir. I asked him if he didn't think the cap toe was too short on his PA and he laughed and said hell no, he had seen enough overseas that he was rather proud of them. I can't disagree, I recently ordered the PA in black shell for a reason that many may never understand.

Rant out.

As much as I dislike the toecap on my Park Avenues, I intend to hold on to them. I have a sneaking suspicion that I might like them significantly more in 5 or 10 years as style and tastes evolve.

 

[jjr4884]

I do not recall seeing this already so here goes. A pic from that same Reddit thread that was mentioned earlier:




The OP said it from a friend that was taken at a "MRket expo in NYC"

Ya that pic was from a while ago. Honestly, I know they are "Cole Haan" like but there are a few I would wear all day long. The blue/purple suede strands are a great casual shoe. I don't understand what everyone has an issue with, last year someone posted a pic of (almost) the same shoe, a blue Alden suede wingtip with a very light natural sole. Perfect casual shoe for spring/summer and I think they could be dressed up a little more than you would expect as well.

In the back, I see what it looks like (from left to right) a cappucinno chukka, a few to the right is a rust colored one, and then the off white ones that I will definitely get for summer. Are those the Amoks or the Dundees? Whichever they are, I've tried them both on, super light, super comfortable.

 

[elbastardocalvo]

Brown Delray today.

 

[Shiny]



I do not recall seeing this already so here goes. A pic from that same Reddit thread that was mentioned earlier: The OP said it from a friend that was taken at a "MRket expo in NYC"

Bottom right saddles look very Florsheim-by-Duckie-Brownish.

 

[Michael Haines]

I posted on AE Facebook about new shell offerings and the response was we put a Burgandy shell dalton. Now that
Might be all they are allowed to say though.

 

[MacktasticGDogg]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I do not recall seeing this already so here goes. A pic from that same Reddit thread that was mentioned earlier: The OP said it from a friend that was taken at a "MRket expo in NYC"

Ya that pic was from a while ago. Honestly, I know they are "Cole Haan" like but there are a few I would wear all day long. The blue/purple suede strands are a great casual shoe. I don't understand what everyone has an issue with, last year someone posted a pic of (almost) the same shoe, a blue Alden suede wingtip with a very light natural sole. Perfect casual shoe for spring/summer and I think they could be dressed up a little more than you would expect as well.

I thought the navy suede Strands looked pretty normal. The other three Web Gems are kind of out there, mainly due to the pink stitching on the brown and purple ones, and the shade of green used on the green one. Since I love the color purple, I am kind of intrigued by the purple suede Strand, but I have no idea how I'd wear purple shoes.

 

[suited]

Also just noticed that the leather is a different color around the stitching near the laces. Am I being picky here, or is this really unacceptable for a pair of shoes that are supposed to be 1st quality replacements for a pair that was defective?

 

[wilbromarshall]

I read over the Reddit page and thought it was really interesting. Thanks to JermynStreet for posting the link since I missed it originally.


I am not a big fan of any of the shoe in the pic expect for maybe the Brown Leather Chukka with Orange laces, but with that said I do not get all the uproar either. These shoes are not for me, but there are still another 6-8 pairs still on my wish list so what do I care if this collection is aimed at a different market.

I thought this part would be of interest to some:

Quote:
In the discussion Paul mentioned the latest trend towards color. I see this collection is a direct reflection of that and with his comments it does not concern me about the direction of AE. It would appear this is target marketing to supplement the existing classic line.

Paul described his overall displeasure with the Amok saying it needed more support in the sole and that was coming. Based on that I would expect the versions in the picture to be an evolution of the old lines.

It was also mentioned that in the Fall there will be more "dress and jeans casual boots" which is a trend that does speak to me. For all the complaining about what AE doesn't offer (sleeker cap toe and others) there was a time not too many years ago where they had no boots.

 

[TheSizzle]

Ya that pic was from a while ago. Honestly, I know they are "Cole Haan" like but there are a few I would wear all day long. The blue/purple suede strands are a great casual shoe. I don't understand what everyone has an issue with, last year someone posted a pic of (almost) the same shoe, a blue Alden suede wingtip with a very light natural sole. Perfect casual shoe for spring/summer and I think they could be dressed up a little more than you would expect as well.

In the back, I see what it looks like (from left to right) a cappucinno chukka, a few to the right is a rust colored one, and then the off white ones that I will definitely get for summer. Are those the Amoks or the Dundees? Whichever they are, I've tried them both on, super light, super comfortable.

I was just looking at that picture a few days ago and realizing how much of that has actually come to market.

If you look at the suede strands they have there, I would totally consider the snuff ones (if they actually are snuff).

Actually, I'd probably take them even if that color turned out to be pretty much orange.

That doesn't matter, though, because that's one of the only colors they decided to leave out in this release.