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

[reidrothchild]



Burgundy goes with pretty much any color trousers, from black to cream. Given the pebble grain, the longwing, and the Macneil's split reverse welt, I think it will pair most naturally with heavier-weight trousers with texture: Corduroy, flannel, whipcord,cavalry twill, bedford cord, tweed, denim...

+1 on the Macneil with heavier trousers. I have the Macneil in Walnut pebble grain, and I rock them with flannel, khakis, and jeans. IMO, the textured leather combined with the double oak sole doesn't make it an ideal shoe for worsted wool suit pants. The burgundy version might be a bit more appropriate with worsted wool, but you'd be safest sticking with Testudo's recommendation.

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]



Is it perfectly okay to use a generic 'brown' shoe cream? Or do I need to be using a walnut color cream to polish my walnut strands?

AE's walnut is a rather light, and bright, shade of brown - it's what makes the walnut Strands "pop" (IMO). Most generic browns are going to be considerably darker and will most likely end up darkening the shoe - if that's what you want then go ahead. If you want to preserve the color as-is I'd suggest sticking with AE's walnut polish (I use their tube version with the built-in applicator) or some equivalent lighter walnut/brown polish. The AE stuff is reasonably priced and an exact match so that's what I use (Strands and Daltons).

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]



ya they are 2 for $300. I also bought some shoe polishs and edge creams then the SA was nice to throw in two sets of dust bags for me.
Question on those who already own walnut strand. My pair has a slight color difference between the toe cap and the upper, if you take a closer look you can tell. But I think that's just normal, right?

Yes, that's normal - assuming that the cap is a bit darker on yours. I've accentuated this on mine by occasionally applying some darker polishes to the cap.

 

[TauKappaEpsilon]

Yes, that's normal - assuming that the cap is a bit darker on yours. I've accentuated this on mine by occasionally applying some darker polishes to the cap.

Do you have pictures of what yours look like with the slightly darker caps? I want to do this to mine but have never seen results before.

 

[rdstour]



+1 on the Macneil with heavier trousers. I have the Macneil in Walnut pebble grain, and I rock them with flannel, khakis, and jeans. IMO, the textured leather combined with the double oak sole doesn't make it an ideal shoe for worsted wool suit pants. The burgundy version might be a bit more appropriate with worsted wool, but you'd be safest sticking with Testudo's recommendation.

Hmm,
Thanks for the advice guys.
I was really hoping these would be versatile enough to wear both with a suit and something a little less formal, but I'm not so sure if these fit the bill. Everyone keeps talking about how a nice pair of wingtips are essential to one's shoe collection, but I'm really on the fence with these.
Anyone else have any advice?

 

[bucksfan]

Advice? Sure. I think you can wear those with anything up to a suit no problem. That's what i do with my walnut version. With suits, it will depend on the fabric. That said, if you really like the idea, give them a try with a suit. We all probably had grandfathers who wore scotch grain longwings with suits without batting an eye, I know mine wore them every day (the Florsheim version).

If you really want a pair of wingtips good for use with a suit, look for a balmoral version (Mcallister/Cambridge).

 

[tv2177]



Yes, that's normal - assuming that the cap is a bit darker on yours. I've accentuated this on mine by occasionally applying some darker polishes to the cap.

thanks, yeah the cap is a bit darker. so does part of the side of the shoe

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



Hmm,
Thanks for the advice guys.
I was really hoping these would be versatile enough to wear both with a suit and something a little less formal, but I'm not so sure if these fit the bill. Everyone keeps talking about how a nice pair of wingtips are essential to one's shoe collection, but I'm really on the fence with these.
Anyone else have any advice?

For smooth worsteds, I think it would also look quite decent with a dark brown fabric or a strong glen check (e.g., B&W glen check with red overcheck). Might also work with a brownish olive. Basically, anything with a countryish flavor. What those shoes say to me is: "I am, or will soon be, or am just returning from being, out for a walk on a country estate, or the golf course, or the fields."

Worsted flannels could work well. Heavy chinos or cotton twill too.

It all depends on what we mean by "suits." Personally, I wouldn't wear those shoes with city sober Monday-Thursday suits: i.e, hard-finish worsteds in solid, semi-solid, or striped blue, gray, or black. But YMMV.

 

[dieselman89]

So should I keep them or switch em out for the J&Ms?

If you are referring to Johnston & Murphy. I took a quick look at their shoe trees and unless you are getting the ones with the knob on top, I don't see a reason to swap them.

yes Johnston and Murphy; my concern with the Woodlore is when I tried putting them in my shoes they seems very rough. BTW Johnson and Murphy are made by Rochester Shoe Tree

 

[Winston S.]



yes Johnston and Murphy; my concern with the Woodlore is when I tried putting them in my shoes they seems very rough. BTW Johnson and Murphy are made by Rochester Shoe Tree

That's interesting. The ones that I got from Nordstrom Rack are pretty smooth. The tension is the only problem I have with when inserting them, and that's not really any issue.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



Yep. I have a 9.5D 5th Street and a 9.5C Park Ave in front of me. From the back edge of the cap (i.e., where the cap joins the vamp) to the tip of the toe, the 5th Street measures 6 centimeters. The PA measures 5.5 cm.
This is the main problem with the PA and the 5A, IMO. The 5 last is not blobby, as Sator has decisively proved. It's actually quite sleek. What's wrong with AE's 5 last shoes is the positioning of the cap on the PA and the 5A. It's too far forward. As arkirshner pointed out in a superb post at AAAC, for an elegant stitch cap or punch-cap oxford, the toe-tip to cap distance is about 2/3 the distance from the toe-tip to the bottom of the quarters.. In the EG Chelsea that Sator put beside the PA, that ratio holds. In the PA in Sator's post, the ratio is almost 1.5 to 3. On my 9.5 C PA, the tip to cap distance is 5.5 cm, and the tip to quarters distance is 10 cm. On my 9.5 Fifth Street, the tip to cap is 6 cm, and the tip to quarters 10 cm. If AE had set the cap back another centimeter, the boot would look stunning. As it is, it looks quite nice.
I think the Strand's toe cap distance ratio is much greater than 2 to 3. At least, the overhead pic on the Zappo's page leads me to think so. This explains why the same people who slam the PA and 5A for being blobby have happily bought the Strand, even though it's on the same 5 last. The Strand's ratios are more elegant, even though the broguing makes the Strand much heavier-looking than the PA or 5A.
I'd be interested to hear these measurements for Alden's stitch-cap and punch-cap oxfords. Can anybody take 'em? On the Shoemart pics, it looks like the caps are farther back than on their AE rivals, but not quite the 2/3 ratio. On the J&M Crown Aristocraft Georgetown, OTOH, the ratio is clearly 2/3 or greater. That explains why the Georgetown looks so much better than the PA, even though the 5 last is sleeker than the Georgetown's Stockton last.

Found some confirmation for this theory. I've just been checking out the Amazon page for the discontinued AE Byron, a punch-cap oxford. A lot of AE experts on SF in this thread said it was their favorite AE. Judging from the Amazon pics, the Byron's toe cap is noticeably farther back proportionately than its replacement the Fifth Avenue. Off their Amazon pages, I get a Byron toe cap distance ratio of about 62/100. The Fifth Ave about 59/100. Meanwhile, the Byron is on the wider discontinued 4 last, the Fifth Ave on the sleek 5 last. The Byron's toe is rounder and fatter. But you hardly ever hear people here or on AAAC praising the 5A's styling.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]



It turns out that the advertising copy on the AE web site should be taken with a grain of salt. It's more than a bit misleading.
The AE web site says: "All of our shoes can be ordered in mis-matched and special sizes for a nominal charge through our Consumer Assistance Center at 1-800-235-2348."
But when you contact AE customer service and ask for a "C" width in a 10.5 shoe, here's what they say:
"We can mis-match shoes and order shoes in special sizes provided we have the last to make the shoe in that particular size. A last is the form that the shoes are shaped on.
We do not have the “C” width last for the Kenwood model. We would be unable to manufacture this shoe in the 10.5 C width size."
How much does it cost AE to make a "C" last? What's the big deal?

That is annoying. I don't see why it would cost them very much.

 

[Rambo]

For you guys looking for shoe trees, Nordstrom will be running their 1/2 yearly sale after Xmas and they'll be down to $15. Split toes and smooth as a baby's ass.

 

[New Shoes1]

For those of you with a Kenilworth, Delray, Malvern, Fifth Avenue or other AE shoe in their regular brown color (not the really dark brown on the Park Avenue), what color polish are you using? I've tried AE's dark brown polish on my Delray's, but I think it is darker than the shoe. I'm thinking of going a shade lighter (mocha or saddle brown) and was curious if anyone has any experience with either.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

Ok, guys. I hate to dump on AE, but I have some bad news. The new PA and Fifth Street that I have in front of me just came straight from the factory. The sole edges have the stitch running through the top. That's it. No decoration on the top of the edge.

Now look at the AE Byron, discontinued around 2007-8. One at at the top of this thread and another in this photo. Wheeled edges, a la the city shoes of Alden, J&M's Crown Aristocrafts, and the good British makers!

Just took a look at the Fifth Ave's Amazon page. No wheeled edges. Just stitching. Same for Strand, same for McAllister. Same for Cambridge, going from the Zappo's page. But the MacNeil does have them!

So four questions:
1. Other than MacNeil, do any of AE's current regular line (the non-Independence) have wheeled edges?
2. Anybody have a pre-2005 non-Byron non-MacNeil AE with wheeled edges?
3. Did the Byron have wheeled edges right up until the last one made?
4. Paul Grangaard mentioned in the video introducing Independence that most AE used to have wheeled edges. Anybody know when they started phasing them out from the majority of their regular line shoes?