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

[clarksdb]

What are you wearing those Larchmonts with? Suit? Slacks?

 

[ryewo[i dmfsOZI490w]

I didn't even know the Bay carried AE, interesting.

Also, am I the only one that abhors people that buy new shoes, walk around with them on carpet for a long time then decide it's not for them and put it back/return it? As if that's some sort of legitimate way of trying new shoes on?

I don't know what those people prefer, but I prefer my "new" shoes not already playing home to someone else's feet for more than a couple minutes, if at all. I can't imagine retailers like it either.

 

[Cold Iron]

Wow, thank you so much for this reply - and I couldn't agree more. I'm so grateful to have discovered SF. It's exactly this kind of generous information-sharing that feeds air to the fire that is my shoe addiction.

I'm going to write a longer follow-up post for the benefit of posterity, but in the meantime I did have one quick question for you if you're still feeling generous: Do you use an insole with your Beckmans? Judging by the posts I've read, people seem to go both ways about that. I definitely get a better fit without one.

I have a couple of shoe boxes filled with inserts that I have tried and collected over the years, some custom molded. But have settled on just the $20 superfeet black 3/4 length hard plastic ones for everything. I do wear them in my Beckmans and most of my boots and shoes. Fit and how your feet feel at the end of the day matter most to me, it is more individual fit and what works best for you is what is correct IMO. And the 3/4 black superfeet even though they are hard work best for me. If I get a better fit without inserts I do not wear them.

 

[jkater1]



Those look like minor issues to me. They will become much less noticeable with wear and proper shoe care.

That was my original thought, but the people getting them probably don't really know about proper shoe care.

What field do you work in? I never heard of management ordering high-quality shoes their employees.

I'm thinking it's a very lean team that produces high margin profits. My first guess....law firm.

I'm an accountant, in a private company but you are correct, they are for a very high profit department.

Mostly importantly, it sounds as though you have a generous (and stylish) boss. Additionally, I agree with the earlier poster that these issues appear to be minor. 

Not really what most people are thinking. This is for a very casual department that has been making decisions on extending credit to customers, which is a no no and creating collection issues. So he wanted to get them bankers shoes, which will be WAY out of place in their work enviroment, and if they extend credit they have to be wearing their wingtips or no commission.

Finally, I'm not sure what you mean by Aldens being harder to come by. Where are you located? If you are ordering the shoes anyway, it shouldn't be difficult. I don't find Alden calf to be worth the premium over AE's but if your boss is willing to foot the bill....why not go Alden? I mean, I love AE's (and know this is an AE thread), I just wanted to better understand the reasoning

I probably would've since I do like my Alden's a little more, but:

1) The sizes were all over the board and I couldn't find them in all in Alden, might have been able to if I called multiple places. Even AE website didn't have everything, lots were on back order. Zappos did have all sizes so it was a quick one stop.

2) It would make zero difference to the people getting them as to if they are Alden or AE. If he said add a pair for yourself I would've tracked down the Aldens from various stores.

 

[Septimus]

I agree with the consensus expressed above that all three of those defects look pretty minor and don't require a return. BUT I will add that if you are unsatisfied (especially if they are worse in real life) you can go ahead and return them. I'm confident AE will gladly exchange them (especially since you seem to be in the habit of buying shoes in bulk...).

Edit: wait, so these free shoes are done kind of quasi-punishment? Some boss!

 

[jkater1]



I agree with the consensus expressed above that all three of those defects look pretty minor and don't require a return. BUT I will add that if you are unsatisfied (especially if they are worse in real life) you can go ahead and return them. I'm confident AE will gladly exchange them (especially since you seem to be in the habit of buying shoes in bulk...).

I'll end up keeping them, I just remember when I was looking at some posts at the time of my cordovan purchase some were returning stuff for what I sawy as a smaller issues. I didn't know how quick people send stuff back around here. This was the first bulk shoe buy for me and probably last. What's funny is I chose the free standard shipping from Zappos which was 3-5 days ground. They showed up today, next day air, I guess they decided to upgrade the $4500 order to a better shipping method. LOL.

Edit: wait, so these free shoes are done kind of quasi-punishment? Some boss!

Yes, kind of odd but that pretty much sums it up.

 

[Subutai]

2) It would make zero difference to the people getting them as to if they are Alden or AE. If he said add a pair for yourself I would've tracked down the Aldens from various stores.

The situation certainly makes more sense, and I like the way you think!

 

[Scottyb06]

Hello,

Need some opinions. My boss asked me to order a dozen or so pairs of high quality wingtip shoes that he wants to hand out to some employee's. I traditionally have always worn Aldens, but they are getting harder to come by and I got a pair of AE Shell's last spring that I was pretty impressed with, haven't worn them yet though, so I decided to go with the McAllister's. Anyway they came today and 3 of the pairs had some issues.

This brown pair has a some uneven die marks/dark lines


This black pair has some strings/fuzz that was finished over it, picture doesn't show it well.


This black pair has a scratch going through the finish starts out big and the bottom and slowly goes away asi it goes up.


Not sure why the picturse are sideways. Anyway, these were all purchased at MSRP, no discounts or seconds pricing. What do you guys think, send them back or keep them? I'm not really fimiliar enough with AE to know what gets sent back and what you just deal with.

My larger question would be around the sizing for the employees - how do you know all of these pairs are the appropriate size, especially considering how exact sizing can be with AE's?

 

[VinnyMac]

Can anyone comment on the average wait time for a response from Allison on MTO projects? I sent her an email on Tuesday about a pair of MTO eagle county, and haven't heard back yet. I'm not in a rush by any means, I just want to know if she got the email. I want to be able to get a pair before the price increases.

How does Leather Honey fair over AE's leather conditioner?

It's a much better product IMO. I have at least half of a bottle of AE conditioner/cleaner left over because I stopped using it. Compared to LH, I think that calling it a "conditioner" is very generous. Not to mention, it stripped a little of the color off of some of my shoes. LH didn't.

It's very different. Leather Honey has something in it that darkens leather, and without knowing I personally wouldn't use it on my shoes unless I specifically wanted to darken them. I've used it on belts though and it makes them very supple. I plan on doing my 10 year old leather couches, too, but that's a bigger job.

Again, in my experience, it doesn't darken leather at all. You have to let it sit through the night. It's quite a bit thicker than other conditioners, so it's no surprise that it takes a little longer to dry. I've tried it on practically every color or leather, and I've never noticed any darkening.

 

[DerangedGoose]

Every year I lament how short the SoCal winter is and how little I get to wear my coats, and now Im looking at acquiring more boots.

I love the ocean and San Francisco is really expensive to live in. First world problems.

 

[ScottyBoy920]

My Black Friday Merlot Strands came in and they are looking pretty good. Nothing noticeably wrong with them, just some lifted perfing (I think that's what it's called, see last pic). Gotta try them on then give them a good rub down. Interesting sole colors.

 

[ScottyBoy920]

Hey guys, I present you the picture to use when your significant others tell you that all your shoes look the same. Haha

Merlot BB McAllister and Merlot Strands. Significant difference in how they fit and weigh.

 

[halfnhalfnhalf]

My Black Friday Merlot Strands came in and they are looking pretty good. Nothing noticeably wrong with them, just some lifted perfing (I think that's what it's called, see last pic). Gotta try them on then give them a good rub down. Interesting sole colors.

Very nice. I'm beginning to think it's impossible to make an ugly Strand - they just look great in every color and leather.

 

[peppercorn78]

Just got the good news from Allison today! My burgundy shell Kenilworths are ready to ship!

Too bad I won't have much time to enjoy them next week.

 

[Septimus]



Just got the good news from Allison today! My burgundy shell Kenilworths are ready to ship!

Too bad I won't have much time to enjoy them next week.

Well, please make time to post pics! Sounds like a great makeup.