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Cole-Haans

daneero

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Hi all,

I've learned a lot during the last couple of months reading this forum. It has certainly given me more insight into what qualifies as quality wear.

Back to the topic. Are Cole-Haans really that bad? Obviously they don't compare to the Ed Greens, Lobbs, Vass, etc.. I'm almost embarassed to say CHs are the nicest shoes I've owned. However, I just can't see myself spending over $200 for a pair of shoes, no matter how beautiful and well-made they are.

As a complete shoe novice, I have no idea how what goes into crafting CHs but they've served me well in the past and continue to do so. In addition, when I can get a $200 CH for $75 on ebay, I feel like they present a great value. What are your opinions?
 

robin

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A couple of things:

* No, they're not that bad, especially those in their high end line.
* Objectively, they're not a good value.
* Subjectively they might be.

If you're already shopping on ebay for shoes, you can easily find many new pairs of Allen Edmonds at a slightly higher price point between $100-150, and sometimes even less.
 

acidboy

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Welcome to the forum.

I also was a big CH fan, pre-Nike. Used to save my allowance back in the day to buy a pair. This forum, and AAAC, has also showed me what to look for in quality shoes, and so I understood the reason why a pair of CH doesn't look good after owning it for a couple of years. I since moved on to shoes that are above your price range, and yes they are expensive, but if you count the years of ownership you'd find it is worth the price.

I also once in a while go in CH stores, I don't know about the models being offered there but here it's mostly those Indian made air-soled, squarish toed line. Ugh.
 

mbc

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The problem with asking about Cole Haan is that the materials and workmanship vary greatly among the various models. There are cheap models constructed with glue of corrected grain leather, and there are expensive models with goodyear welted construction and at least halfway decent calf leather.

I have a pair of the cheap air soled loafers and they're remarkably comfortable, but they aren't holding up terribly well. The leather creases up despite the use of shoe trees and the soles are made of this strange leather/rubber hybrid that just doesn't make any sense and looks like crap now that I've been wearing them for about a year.

I also have a pair of dark brown goodyear welted bluchers which are holding up just fine after many wearings (and are also very comfortable). Leather holds a shine nicely, doesn't show much creasing, and the soles are relatively sturdy despite being worn in the rain and so on.
 

daneero

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Thanks for the reply. I will definitely look into AE on ebay. Do AEs run similar in size to CH? 10.5 D in CHs fit me well.
 

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