Allen Edmonds Shoe Sizing Question

[lemmy127]

Hey so I am looking into slowly upgrading my shoe collection on a budget. I've decided to go the used Allen Edmonds route and recraft if it's necessary, resulting in good-like new shoes for 50% off or more. I'd likely be going for Park Avenues, McAllisters, Lombards, MacNeils, 5th Avenues, and Strands (Park Avenues mostly). The only problem is, my size is different with different brands. My only pairs of dress shoes are two pairs of Dockers cap-toes, which are 13Ms, and a pair of wingtips from American Eagle that are 13 (yes, get a good chuckle or pity in, although the wingtips are unbelievably nice for a meager $45). Now, you may say, hey moron, you're a 13M... but that ignores the fact that nearly every pair of Nike, Adidas, and Puma shoes I have are size 14.

The obvious answer is to try some on at a local retailer. But since the only retailer in Madison had its going out of business sale completely wipe out their stock, the nearest place to go is more than an hour's drive away. So I was hoping if someone could shed some light on the subject so I wouldn't have to waste more than $20 in gas and my own time.

 

[gettoasty]

Order from Zappos and try. They have a great return policy.

 

[Mimosa]

You really have to try them on. I'd make the trip. Otherwise try Zappos.com.

Mim

 

[MyOtherLife]



Hey so I am looking into slowly upgrading my shoe collection on a budget. I've decided to go the used Allen Edmonds route and recraft if it's necessary, resulting in good-like new shoes for 50% off or more. I'd likely be going for Park Avenues, McAllisters, Lombards, MacNeils, 5th Avenues, and Strands (Park Avenues mostly). The only problem is, my size is different with different brands. My only pairs of dress shoes are two pairs of Dockers cap-toes, which are 13Ms, and a pair of wingtips from American Eagle that are 13 (yes, get a good chuckle or pity in, although the wingtips are unbelievably nice for a meager $45). Now, you may say, hey moron, you're a 13M... but that ignores the fact that nearly every pair of Nike, Adidas, and Puma shoes I have are size 14.

The obvious answer is to try some on at a local retailer. But since the only retailer in Madison had its going out of business sale completely wipe out their stock, the nearest place to go is more than an hour's drive away. So I was hoping if someone could shed some light on the subject so I wouldn't have to waste more than $20 in gas and my own time.

First of all, you intend on buying all of these shoes en masse?
Secondly, your Size 13-14 in sneakers means nothing in corelation to the AE's you intend on buying. Do NOT buy the same sizes in dress shoes. Get a piece of paper and pen. Place it on the floor. Wear socks, hopefully ones that you would wear with the AE's. Place your foot on the paper on the floor and draw a line around your foot. Give us the length in inches, and also the width at the ball of the foot and we may be able to help with your sizing..then again why not fax that paper to Allen Edmonds and have them size you. Best of luck on this massive purchase..and we want photos before you wear 'em.

 

[runner-guy]

With Allen Edmonds shoes, it can take some trial and error to get your sizing right since they have many different lasts. For instance, the Park Avenue is a long and narrow last. If you want more info on lasts, click on the "Understanding Lasts" tab on the AE website.

I have bought several pairs of like-new AE on ebay and on the B&S board and you can get them significantly discounted that way. Check out the Hitch-N-Post store on ebay. They always have AE, offer great customer service and you can return them if they don't fit.

 

[Fred G. Unn]

As others have said, just use Zappos or Endless.com and order a few different sizes and widths and then return them. I've returned plenty of shoes to Endless and have never had a problem with them promptly refunding my credit card. As you've experienced with your wingtips your AE size is likely a full size smaller than your Nike size. FWIW my AE size for lace-ups is usually 10E and is 10D for loafers but I wear an 11D or E in New Balance, Nike, etc.

There's a great sale going on this week at the Allen Edmonds Shoebank too. After you've confirmed your size just email them at [email protected] and they'll send you a list of everything they have in your size. Anything discontinued is often heavily discounted and I recently picked up a pair of discontinued AE Westgate wholecuts from them for $109 (originally $325).

You also might try "allaboutshoes" on SF. I haven't purchased from him but I PMed him once and he does have really good prices. Here's a thread: http://www.styleforum.net/t/229174/...-park-fifth-ave-strand-macneil-shell-cordovan

Fred

 

[usctrojans31]



. I'd likely be going for Park Avenues, McAllisters, Lombards, MacNeils, 5th Avenues, and Strands (Park Avenues mostly). The only problem is, my size is different with different brands. My only pairs of dress shoes are two pairs of Dockers cap-toes, which are 13Ms, and a pair of wingtips from American Eagle that are 13 (yes, get a good chuckle or pity in, although the wingtips are unbelievably nice for a meager $45). Now, you may say, hey moron, you're a 13M... but that ignores the fact that nearly every pair of Nike, Adidas, and Puma shoes I have are size 14.

The obvious answer is to try some on at a local retailer. But since the only retailer in Madison had its going out of business sale completely wipe out their stock, the nearest place to go is more than an hour's drive away. So I was hoping if someone could shed some light on the subject so I wouldn't have to waste more than $20 in gas and my own time.

Recognize that the Park Ave, Strand, 5th Ave and McAllister are on AE's 5 last, which is long and narrow. I am a 13 length, but go down to a 12 on the 5 last but maintain width. You very well might have to go down to a 12.5 or possibly even a 12. It depends on the width of your foot on whether you truly are a 13 D.

Since you seem to be a shoe neophyte, a last is the model upon which the shoe is built. Some lasts will work for your foot, some will not. Oftentimes consumers who are newer to shoes will assume that any shoe will fit their foot, which is simply not the case. Apologies is this is redundant and you know this, but better to be safe than sorry.

My suggestion, do as Man of Lint said. You can also go to almost any store that sells shoes and get yourself measured on a bannock. Many people are actually shocked at the results. You could wind up being a 12 EEE and need the bigger length to accommodate width.

 

[Quadcammer]

If you are not willing to use $20 in gas and a few hours of your time to get the right size shoe, you don't really deserve the help you are getting in this thread.

We are all throwing guesses out there.

 

[Master Squirrel]



Recognize that the Park Ave, Strand, 5th Ave and McAllister are on AE's 5 last, which is long and narrow. I am a 13 length, but go down to a 12 on the 5 last but maintain width. You very well might have to go down to a 12.5 or possibly even a 12. It depends on the width of your foot on whether you truly are a 13 D.

^This

My suggestion, do as Man of Lint said. You can also go to almost any store that sells shoes and get yourself measured on a bannock. Many people are actually shocked at the results. You could wind up being a 12 EEE and need the bigger length to accommodate width.

But even then, depending on the last, you might still need to try the shoe on.

 

[thebac]

You definitely should try them on, but everything you've posted seems to indicate that you're probably a 13D/13M.

Sneakers generally run one size too small (though there is some variation there as well), while the dress shoes you own are probably true-to-size.

Hey so I am looking into slowly upgrading my shoe collection on a budget. I've decided to go the used Allen Edmonds route and recraft if it's necessary, resulting in good-like new shoes for 50% off or more. I'd likely be going for Park Avenues, McAllisters, Lombards, MacNeils, 5th Avenues, and Strands (Park Avenues mostly). The only problem is, my size is different with different brands. My only pairs of dress shoes are two pairs of Dockers cap-toes, which are 13Ms, and a pair of wingtips from American Eagle that are 13 (yes, get a good chuckle or pity in, although the wingtips are unbelievably nice for a meager $45). Now, you may say, hey moron, you're a 13M... but that ignores the fact that nearly every pair of Nike, Adidas, and Puma shoes I have are size 14.

The obvious answer is to try some on at a local retailer. But since the only retailer in Madison had its going out of business sale completely wipe out their stock, the nearest place to go is more than an hour's drive away. So I was hoping if someone could shed some light on the subject so I wouldn't have to waste more than $20 in gas and my own time.

 

[bobbers]



But since the only retailer in Madison had its going out of business sale completely wipe out their stock, the nearest place to go is more than an hour's drive away.

Are you in Madison, Wisconsin? It would definitely be worth the effort to go the Allen Edmonds Shoe Bank in either Port Washington, WI or Brookfield, WI.

You really have to try them on to find your size and last that best fits; otherwise you'll end up wasting your time and money.

While upgrading my shoe collection, I often sacrificed fit for good deal. I'd regret it later and end up selling the shoes afterwards, getting maybe 25% of what I originally paid.

 

[MyOtherLife]



If you are not willing to use $20 in gas and a few hours of your time to get the right size shoe, you don't really deserve the help you are getting in this thread.

We are all throwing guesses out there.

+1 this sums it up perfectly.

 

[usctrojans31]

One other thing has troubled me. Are you driving a first generation Hummer? How the heck does $20 in gas equate to two hours round trip.

 

[Texastyle]



One other thing has troubled me. Are you driving a first generation Hummer? How the heck does $20 in gas equate to two hours round trip.

I drive a jeep and it would probably cost me 25-30 bucks for a 2 hour trip.

 

[lemmy127]

Wow, rough crowd to say the least. I never said I wasn't willing to go check things out in person, I just figured I'd save myself the time and money of driving to Milwaukee or Port Washington on the off-chance that someone had an answer here due to having similar sized feet. I wouldn't have even bothered if I didn't have the Dockers size to compare with.

1. No MoL, I just graduated from college and am underemployed, so buying one pair at full retail is a major expenditure for me. I'll be collecting pre-owned slowly but surely via the ebay and B&S Forum route to save money.

2. Which leads to me not wanting to drive if I don't have to. USC, I estimate my car gets roughly 20 miles to the gallon, give or take. So more than 120 miles is going to be at least 6 gallons and the price for gas around here is about $3.67. That equates to $20.22 or more.