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

[kaws N effect]

Hi, I am looking to invest my first pair of expensive dress shoes, AE. Can anyone link me to a few selections? I prefer burgundy or black with shoe laces.

Again, budget around 300.

 

[patrick_b]



...Let's get back to AE love shall we? Do you have a favourite pair?

Well said

Couldn't agree more. Back to the shoes. Here's most of the shoes in my rotation.

Bluchers from top:
AE Kenilworth in Burnished Brown
AE Macneil in Burgundy Cordovan
AE Tresana in Cabernet Brown (from the made in Italy 'Seven' line)



Balmorals
AE Manhattan in Chili
J&M Made in Italy line in Brown



Loafers
AE Westchester in Walnut
J&M Made in Italy



Wolverine 1000 Mile Boot in Brown CXL
RM Williams yearling Craftsman in Chestnut and Black






Not pictured are the warm weather shoes, Alden Suede Chukkas in Tan and tan suede driving mocs/loafers. In the 20 min it took to snap these images I battled weather conditions that included rain, melting snow, clouds and sun. Gotta love New England!

The Kenilworth are in the process of removing all the old layers of polish due to some hairline cracking in the wax. I removed the original polish with Saphir Renomat (which is an awesome product). They looked like this not long ago:

 

[kmdsimpson]



I feel like there is something Im missing here.  I hear so much about the decline in quality of Allen Edmond shoes.  Yet I received my second pair of Allen Edmond's yesterday and I did what I considered to be a pretty thorough examination of the shoe, inside and out.  Perhaps I just dont know which flaws to look for, but I am pleased as pie with my purchase.  They look excellent to me, and fit perfectly.  Undoubtedly my very finite knowledge base of men's foot wear is causing me to overlook what should be some extremely objectionable defects, but so far Im really pleased with the quality of both pairs of my Allen Edmond firsts.

Be happy - you got a great pair. Even though it seems the incidence of defects is higher than expected, it certainly does not mean that every pair they make is subpar. Plus on this forum you're going to hear about every pair with a defect. I wouldn't worry if I were you - you bought a great a pair of shoes.

 

[harlequin782]

Thanks for the reassuring words simpson. I certainly hope my good fortune continues; and I hope those who have received malformed shoes find swift and satisfactory resolution to their issues. But what I would also like to know is this: If Allen Edmonds produces a disproportionate amount of defective shoes, do shoemakers like Edward Green or John Lobb release subpar shoes at all - and if so, what margin of error is acceptable for those shoemakers? I would think that at such a high price point, the demand for perfection would trump anything the likes of Allen Edmonds shoe buyers could impose on its company. - In other words, those shoemakers couldnt even be afforded the necessary leeway for natural human error that invariably occurs in any manufacturing process. - and at that price point, understandably so.

 

[bucksfan]

Beautiful collection, Patrick B. thanks for taking the time to photograph them. I especially Like your outstanding shine job! By the way, how do the Westchesters fit?

 

[Waymore]

Patrick B,
The RM Williams boots are very handsome and well maintained. How difficult was it to order them in the correct size?

 

[Waymore]

A few pages back, someone asked me about my "collection." I had a day off today, and thought I would take advantage of the sunshine and take a few pics.

First: entire collection (note I only used the left shoe of each pair...


Row 1: (L to R) brown scotch grain AE Macneil, Brown cordovan RL Marlow PTB, Burgundy shell AE Leeds Black shell AE leeds, black calf AE Park Avenue
Row 2: brown shell AE strand, burgundy shell AE Macneil, burgundy shell AE Bradley, burgundy shell AE Randolph, burgundy shell AE Grayson, black calf AE Grayson
Row 3: AE Dalton in walnut calf, Alden for J. Crew cap toe boot in #8 shell.

More of the Burgundy shell AE's:


More of the Black AEs:


More of the Brown shell shoes:


More of the Boots:

Each time I see the Dalton pictured in the walnut I'm more impressed. The coloring you have achieved on those is well done.

 

[Shiny]



More of the Brown shell shoes:

Just to clarify, bucksfan's image above shows a brown shell strand (next to the C&J/RL PTB) in AE's 'Brown Shell Cordovan" which has been available for some time now. It's not the new cappuccino color, correct?

Re: the C&Js. Is the shoe burgundy and black or all burgundy? is the flash shading the fore part of the shoe black?

 

[bucksfan]

They are all brown, no black. It's just the lighting.

 

[easy_golfing]

I'm looking for some suggestions for casual shoes to be worn with jeans/polos mostly. So far, I've come up with:
1) Walnut macneils
2) Chocolate Daltons

Any other suggestions?

 

[patrick_b]



Beautiful collection, Patrick B. thanks for taking the time to photograph them. I especially Like your outstanding shine job! By the way, how do the Westchesters fit?

Thanks bucksfan. I was very impressed with your shoe rotation. I'm using your pictures as justification to my wife that I'm not quite "there" yet. You've breathed new life into my search for a shell PTB and if the C&J/RL Marlow/Darlton (wow, that's a mouthful) fit right, they'll get the job. I know the Barrie fits me pretty well but I really like the profile and especially the color of the RL. However, once acquired my brown Kenilworth will likely see much less wear.

Sadly, the Westchesters just don't fit well. I've subsequently only worn then a handful of times. I want them to fit so badly but they are too snug in the small toe area (on just my larger right foot). I haven't decided if I should have them stretched or sell them. They shine up pretty nicely as well:

Patrick B,
The RM Williams boots are very handsome and well maintained.  How difficult was it to order them in the correct size?

I love the boots and found lots of great info at the RMW thread here. I'm not proud of the fact that I tried them on twice at the RMW store in Manhattan and then ordered online from Australia (Barry at bootsonline.com). However, they were almost 50% less even shipped from AUS. The chestnut pair gets a lot of use in Fall-Spring. The black pair not so much anymore.

thanks for the comments guys...now back to the AE discussion.

 

[kmdsimpson]



Thanks bucksfan. I was very impressed with your shoe rotation. I'm using your pictures as justification to my wife that I'm not quite "there" yet. You've breathed new life into my search for a shell PTB and if the C&J/RL Marlow/Darlton (wow, that's a mouthful) fit right, they'll get the job. I know the Barrie fits me pretty well but I really like the profile and especially the color of the RL. However, once acquired my brown Kenilworth will likely see much less wear.
Sadly, the Westchesters just don't fit well. I've subsequently only worn then a handful of times. I want them to fit so badly but they are too snug in the small toe area (on just my larger right foot). I haven't decided if I should have them stretched or sell them. They shine up pretty nicely as well:

I love the boots and found lots of great info at the RMW thread here. I'm not proud of the fact that I tried them on twice at the RMW store in Manhattan and then ordered online from Australia (Barry at bootsonline.com). However, they were almost 50% less shipped. The chestnut pair gets a lot of use in Fall-Spring. The black pair not so much anymore.
thanks for the comments guys...now back to the AE discussion.

Patrick, get yourself over to the Ralph Lauren Crocket & Jones Shell Cordovan thread. Lots of great info there that will make your mouth water even more. Just hold on to your wallet!: http://www.styleforum.net/t/268417/...ran-lindrick-mccallum-rhett/1020#post_5227046

The RL/C&J PTB is fantastic. I got suckered in just by trying it on in store. These will set you back much more than AE, unless you can catch a 40/50% off sale. (I also own the Lindrick boot). But as you say, getting back to AE, the brown cordovan Strand in bucksfan's picture has me thinking hard about blowing some more cash.

 

[Pluripotent]

I'm looking for some suggestions for casual shoes to be worn with jeans/polos mostly. So far, I've come up with:
1) Walnut macneils
2) Chocolate Daltons
Any other suggestions?

I recently got the black hills in walnut. The other day I tried them out with jeans, a button down, and a dark navy sport coat. Thought it was a pretty good look. I'm liking the black hills so far. Before getting them, I really didn't have a "casual" shoe in my rotation. I had my beaters (sneakers) or my dress shoes and nothing in between. The black hills were a good fit for that gap.

 

[patrick_b]



Patrick, get yourself over to the Ralph Lauren Crocket & Jones Shell Cordovan thread. Lots of great info there that will make your mouth water even more. Just hold on to your wallet!: http://www.styleforum.net/t/268417/...ran-lindrick-mccallum-rhett/1020#post_5227046
The RL/C&J PTB is fantastic. I got suckered in just by trying it on in store. These will set you back much more than AE, unless you can catch a 40/50% off sale. (I also own the Lindrick boot). But as you say, getting back to AE, the brown cordovan Strand in bucksfan's picture has me thinking hard about blowing some more cash.

thanks kmdsimpson. I haven't spent much time reading that thread but for some reason, the PTB is really calling to me these days. I'll have to spend some time drooling. Love the Lindrick boot, BTW!

I developed a relationship with an SA at my local RL store so I hope to get word early about the next private sale. I tried on the Marlow wingtip a while back, I'll have to try the PTB as well. The PTB is certainly worth its MSRP but on sale, it's an absolute steal.

 

[454Casull]



Well said
Couldn't agree more. Back to the shoes. Here's most of the shoes in my rotation.
Bluchers from top:
AE Kenilworth in Burnished Brown
AE Macneil in Burgundy Cordovan
AE Tresana in Cabernet Brown (from the made in Italy 'Seven' line)[/URL]

The Tresana in that color is seriously hot.