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

[shoelover]

These are seconds from shoebank, and so I know that there will be flaws, but these seem kinda bad. Keep or send back?

 

[tkebh979]

These are seconds from shoebank, and so I know that there will be flaws, but these seem kinda bad. Keep or send back?

I think they go back, unless you feel they were a big enough steal to overcome the flaw. Impossible to obfuscate, short of wearing some mid-90s era JNCOs...

 

[7_rocket]

if it's bothering you send it back.

 

[BagleyBrown]

Pardon the off topic PSA but Bills Khakis has a 50% sitewide sale...from Friday until Sunday.

(sale pricing shows in cart)

 

[xxxRacer]

I know this is becoming sort of my "thing" on this post BUT:

Firsts are supposed to be as near flawless as possible. There should be NO bad stitching, NO scuffs, NO discolored or mismatched color, etc.
Seconds are supposed to be first quality but with some flaws. Some stitching may not be perfect. Some of the brogueing may not be exactly right, the color of some of the panels may not be as perfect, before polishing as you would like. In other words ALMOST as good as a first but not quite.
3rds are factory rejects. Thees are shoes that have a major defect and should either be donated or sold at an extreme discount with the understanding that these should not represent the line.

I recently got a shoe from Shoebank that was obviously a 3rd. I returned it and did not pay the restocking fee. I just got a black wide basic dress belt yesterday that is, to be fair, a very low 2nd and on the cusp of being a 3rd because the leather is already cracking and the leather is rippling around the hole areas.

The only way to make sure that Allen Edmonds continues to survive is to force them to maintain their standards. I am sending this belt back. You should send those factory rejects back OR they should GIVE them to you for trying to rip you off.

What I do now, when I buy seconds, is call the store, have an associate get the shoe, look at the shoe and have them tell me what is wrong. If they say, "I can't see it" I buy the shoe but tell them that if the shoe isn't a good 2nd quality I will return it. Having sold shoes I know it is a commission job. I make it clear that if they send me crappy merch they won't make any money off of me.

1sts need to be very good. 2nds need to be good. 3rds need to be cheap enough to feel good about wearing your wingtips to muck the stables.

End of story.
Chris

 

[xxxRacer]

Oh...the belt was supposed to be 1st quality.

 

[shoelover]

I know this is becoming sort of my "thing" on this post BUT:

Firsts are supposed to be as near flawless as possible. There should be NO bad stitching, NO scuffs, NO discolored or mismatched color, etc.
Seconds are supposed to be first quality but with some flaws. Some stitching may not be perfect. Some of the brogueing may not be exactly right, the color of some of the panels may not be as perfect, before polishing as you would like. In other words ALMOST as good as a first but not quite.
3rds are factory rejects. Thees are shoes that have a major defect and should either be donated or sold at an extreme discount with the understanding that these should not represent the line.

I recently got a shoe from Shoebank that was obviously a 3rd. I returned it and did not pay the restocking fee. I just got a black wide basic dress belt yesterday that is, to be fair, a very low 2nd and on the cusp of being a 3rd because the leather is already cracking and the leather is rippling around the hole areas.

The only way to make sure that Allen Edmonds continues to survive is to force them to maintain their standards. I am sending this belt back. You should send those factory rejects back OR they should GIVE them to you for trying to rip you off.

What I do now, when I buy seconds, is call the store, have an associate get the shoe, look at the shoe and have them tell me what is wrong. If they say, "I can't see it" I buy the shoe but tell them that if the shoe isn't a good 2nd quality I will return it. Having sold shoes I know it is a commission job. I make it clear that if they send me crappy merch they won't make any money off of me.

1sts need to be very good. 2nds need to be good. 3rds need to be cheap enough to feel good about wearing your wingtips to muck the stables.

End of story.
Chris

I actually did this. The girl said that one toe seemed a little darker than the other, and since I don't mind color variations in Shell, I took them. This is much worse than she described it.

 

[xxxRacer]

Try putting them on and then taking a photo from normal distance and see how they look. Up close every ding looks bad. But I probably wouldn't accept these unless they were super cheap. Hell email Allison the customer service goddess, send her the pictures and either ask for a bigger discount or ask to have a decent pair of seconds sent out.

 

[Flytrout]

I have been lucky enough that all of my shoebank purchases have been great. Generally, the defects are hard to find. I must admit though that I would be ticked if some of my purchases showed up with the defects that have been posted lately. Pretty bad if you ask me.

I also need some advice. My current rotation includes Merlot McAllisters, Walnut Strands, Bourbon Randolphs, Dark Chili McGregors, Stafford Deacons (I know, nothing close to the Dalton but for $50 I couldn't really go wrong), black PA's. The oxblood Stands have been calling my name but when I look at my line-up I don't know if another Brogue is the way to go.

I am one of those guys however that wears my Strands and McAllisters with nice chinos and a button down. Partly because I don't really care that they might be considered too formal for such an outfit-I think it looks great and I feel like a million bucks wearing them. Also, the environment where I work 99% of my colleagues don't know the difference between a blucher or balmoral so I can get away with pretty much anything.

That being said, would another brogue leave to many holes in my rotation (yes, pun intended)? I've never been a monkstrap guy but everytime I see someone wearing some I find myself stealing a second glance. So, maybe some Brown Mora 2.0's might be better?

What do you guys think? Any other suggestions on style and color?

 

[shoelover]

Try putting them on and then taking a photo from normal distance and see how they look. Up close every ding looks bad. But I probably wouldn't accept these unless they were super cheap. Hell email Allison the customer service goddess, send her the pictures and either ask for a bigger discount or ask to have a decent pair of seconds sent out.

Do you have an email address for her?

 

[keepsake89]



I have been lucky enough that all of my shoebank purchases have been great. Generally, the defects are hard to find.  I must admit though that I would be ticked if some of my purchases showed up with the defects that have been posted lately.  Pretty bad if you ask me.  

I also need some advice.  My current rotation includes Merlot McAllisters, Walnut Strands, Bourbon Randolphs, Dark Chili McGregors, Stafford Deacons (I know, nothing close to the Dalton but for $50 I couldn't really go wrong), black PA's. The oxblood Stands have been calling my name but when I look at my line-up I don't know if another Brogue is the way to go. 

I am one of those guys however that wears my Strands and McAllisters with nice chinos and a button down.  Partly because I don't really care that they might be considered too formal for such an outfit-I think it looks great and I feel like a million bucks wearing them.  Also, the environment where I work 99% of my colleagues don't know the difference between a blucher or balmoral so I can get away with pretty much anything.

That being said, would another brogue leave to many holes in my rotation (yes, pun intended)?  I've never been a monkstrap guy but everytime I see someone wearing some I find myself stealing a second glance.  So, maybe some Brown Mora 2.0's might be better?

What do you guys think?  Any other suggestions on style and color?

Having both the Strands and Mcallisters, I'd say you've got your brogues covered well. I would suggest the dark brown Cornwallis. They're not plain like the PA's but are not overly decorated with broguing. I consider them one of the best suit shoes out there.

 

[redmusic1]

Well let me give some props instead of lamentations. I got my 2nd quality belt and PA's in this morning, both in Merlot. Absolutely nothing wrong with the belt that I can find and the shoes fit better than any others I own. The only "flaw" is that one shoe appears to have a much darker mid quarter than any other part of either shoe (It also looks like someone put a little wax on the toe and vamp of that same shoe) . Someone got over zealous burnishing I guess. This doesn't bother me at all, especially for the price, however I actually like this "odd" quarter's color much more than the rest of the shoe. lol. This means that I will for sure be darkening them over time. I'll post pics after shining them over the next couple of days.

 

[keepsake89]

I just ordered walnut Mcallisters from the bank. I'll update by next Friday.

 

[xxxRacer]

I wear ALL my shoes with jeans and t-shirts and dress up when I have to. I do sometimes cringe a bit at wearing an oxford with jeans but a bluicher/derby with jeans? No problem! Wear your shoes. Wear what you love. If other people don't like it then offer to let them buy you a pair of what they think are better/more appropriate shoes. I'm wearing an Alden #8 cordovan wingtips and blue jeans with a grey t-shirt right now. And I think it looks great.

 

[James60]

I do agree with others, the QC of Allen Edmonds seems to be slipping.

While the customer service is great and the ladies you deal with on the phone are nothing but superb, it is a hassle to repackage and send back a purchase made online.

I'm sure many others have noticed the same thing in the past few years: prices are going up but quality, or better yet quality control, is slipping.