Does Allen Edmonds suck? (Seriously--not a Re-evolving troll thread)

[Kenneth Cole Haan]

Ok calm down but let me put some heat out there on AE. I'm new to SF-quality dress shoes and bought my first real batch. Here is what i think: > I've been to the local store where the SA is not very friendly and just runs off the stats on the shoes, not giving any care to anything other than will you buy now. Not impressed. > The leather on my Van Ness's, compared to my C&J Monktons, is plasticky and stiff, whereas my C&J it is soft and buttery and wonderful, I love them, the Van Ness's uppers just don't have it. (I admit monktons were 550$ or so, and the Van Ness about $300 or so). The C&J are my little babies, I love them, and the AE are functional 'work shoes'. > The sizing is weird for such a "great american shoe" company, the Van Nesses are very narrow and the SA did not at all explain it to me, it fit in the store but after 5 minutes of walking it pinched too much to bear. Stretching hasn't worked much although it helped, and they wont accept returns, just saying 'stretch it some more'. The Lucca's are sized different, I had to get .5 size down. > The double soles they often seem to have make the shoes seem clunky. I can't stand it. > The 360 welt is ridiculous, I don't understand why they need it since no other company I've seen has it. I makes the sole stick out funny in the back. Weird. [One of the reasons I bought the Van Ness, was that it isn't 360 welted) > It has this sort of mediocrity downmarket feel to their marketing, "The Great American Shoe Company" sounds ridiculous. They are like tent preachers. Alden on the other hand, is like the established Episcopalian with a charming 100 year old church. See the websites and compare. > At least 1/4 the selection is now rubber soles. I actually like my rubber soled Van Ness, it serves a purpose (if it fit). So this is a mixed bag. I wanted a leather sole to it but it only comes in rubber, and I wanted the 'Chili' color this model offers. > The Lucca fits nice and I love it, but, oops, it's contracted out to one of the generic Italian companies. Not made by AE. > Their marketing is lame. Their description of lasts on their website basically lists them all as "great fitting last", "classic fitting last", gee thanks! Like that is so impressive and helpful. > They trash Alden. I asked about Alden and the AE SA claims that AE uses cork and Alden uses "STEEL SHANKS!", like AE has soft wonderful cork, and Alden shoes have almost entirely steel soles! Clunk clunk dudes! And who wants to walk on steel? Of course it's totally misrepresented. The store staff also claimed Alden's shoes were no better yet cost more because their factory was 'overworked' and 'understaffed', and you are paying for a smaller company's lesser total volume (they can't reduce prices as much since they sell less). Like Alden's shoes suck because their workers are overworked? So lame. > Overall, I just personally like English and then Italian shoes, and not the AE clunkers. I want sleek and refined, not double sole madness. Ok, let the rage flow against poor n00by me . . . but I think I am going to get over this AE thing.

 

[dk123]

You definitely don't have too much free time.

 

[DocHolliday]

You're perfectly entitled not to like AEs. There are plenty of shoes popular here I don't like. And you don't need to justify that opinion to anyone.

That said, I'm always a little baffled when guys realize how much they dislike a brand's leather/aesthetics/welting/etc. only after they've plunked down their money. Surely you could have seen all these things beforehand? And why would you have walked out of a store with shoes that don't fit?

If you're looking for brands that have only great salespeople, make only styles you like, and have snappy slogans you approve of, I suspect you'll be very frustrated in short order. I'd suggest you'd be better off deciding if you like a pair of shoes based on their style, quality and fit, rather than on the company slogan, the presence of rubber soles on some offerings, or what people on the Internet like.

 

[ALFAMALE]

There is nothing wrong with Allen Edmonds. We need a thread dedicated to hating on kenneth cole...

 

[Storm33]

I'm sorry to hear that the OP had an unsatisfactory experience with an AE salesperson, as well as with the overall purchase experience. Frankly, I very recently had the opposite experience with AE vs. Alden build quality. To be fair, I have several pairs of Allen Edmonds and knew how to purchase; this was my first pair of Aldens. However, the AEs looked great, fit great, and had no flaws. In fact, after a "first wear" break-in period of a couple of hours the day I got them, I wore them Friday for a 16-hour day and they were extremely comfortable the entire time.

However, after purchasing a new pair of "first quality" Aldens I quickly discovered that the upper on the right shoe of was not stitched to the welt properly, causing a buckle in the leather near the waist. Also, I thought the stitching where the lace panels attach to the vamp was poorly done...not a good first impression. I sent them back and am awaiting delivery of a replacement pair.

For all of the comments I've seen about how AE shoes look "blobby", I thought the Aldens (Barrie last) looked somewhat goofy for the brief moment they were on my feet. We'll see how this turns out after I get my replacement pair of Aldens (maybe I'll warm up to them with time provided the second pair is of acceptable quality), but at the moment I'm inclined to stick with AE, John Lobb, and Ferragamo Tramezza. I own multiple pairs of those brands, and they have not let me down.

 

[WildeMan]

If I understand you correctly, you're not enthusiastic about Allen-Edmonds shoes.

You offer several subjective opinions, and I would no more challenge them than I would your right to prefer red to blue, beer to wine, or soup to salad.

I would say, however, that in my own, single experience of discussing Alden with an A-E store manager, she spoke highly of the competitor and assured me no hard feelings if I purchased from both manufacturers.

 

[Liquidus]

Originally Posted by Storm33

For all of the comments I've seen about how AE shoes look "blobby", I thought the Aldens (Barrie last) looked somewhat goofy for the brief moment they were on my feet. We'll see how this turns out after I get my replacement pair of Aldens, but at the moment I'm inclined to stick with AE, John Lobb, and Ferragamo Tramezza. I own multiple pairs of those brands, and they have not let me down.

Try Aldens on the Plaza, Hampton, or Aberdeen last. Does anyone have that picture comparing Alden lasts handy?

 

[MyOtherLife]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Cole Haan

Ok calm down but let me put some heat out there on AE. I'm new to SF-quality dress shoes and bought my first real batch. Here is what i think: blahblahblahblah
Buy yourself a nice pair of Stacey Adams and report back to us.

 

[g.michael]

No, they don't "suck". Great customer service (at least at the corporate level), not afraid to innovate with new styles, ample supply of perfectly good "seconds" at great prices, etc. Don't let one experience at a "company store" form your opinion for you.

 

[sportin_life]

Was the irony of the original poster having Kenneth Cole and Cole Haan as his name and picture, while bashing AE leather, quality, and fit noted by others?

 

[pebblegrain]

80% of the **** you complained about you can see in the store. so why did you buy it?

 

[tricky]

For the price you can get them at I think AEs are fantastic. Maybe not the best shoe in the world but I don't think anyone here claims that. For an affordable well made shoe that can be had for cheap I'd say they're pretty great. Plus the fact that you can get them recrafted is nice.

Of course I'd never pay the Canadian shelf prices of $400+ but that's another story.

 

[Stylego]

There are many, many, many shoe options available. Why simply hate on a brand for being what they are? By all means, present objective information, but to simply rag on a company does not strike me as productive. What I hear is sour grapes.

For example, how is their sizing weird? I find that with MANY shoe brands the fit varies from shoe to shoe. Prior to finding SF I was confused by this, but now I understand this to be a function of the last upon which a shoe is built. A sales associate cannot tell you whether a shoe will feel good on your foot. Only you can. When I'm buying, I'm fairly cautious and spend quite a while in the store with the shoe on my feet walking around.

When looking to buy some Aldens I tried on a number of sizes, even had the store call in a specific width from Alden that they did not have on hand. After spending quite a lot of time I came to the conclusion that that particular shoe was probably never going to fit me properly. So, I moved on to other shoes by other brands. I wouldn't say that their sizing is weird.

I like AE. Not all their shoes, but a few. They're doing their best to occupy the middle, which, I must say, is tough business. People tend to gravitate to the margins. So, if you're unhappy with their products, then maybe it's bad luck. Or maybe they're failing to meet some expectation that you have in mind. Or maybe they not a brand that suits you. None of these would mean that they suck.

Cole Haan, on the other hand...well, they suck. (<--sarcasim parading as humor)

 

[Larson McCord]

The strangest thing about this post is the complaint about rubber soles...and he bought a model with rubber soles. And yes, the username does make the post incredibly ironic.

 

[vaulter1]

It is unfortunate that you had such a poor experience in the store. I, on the otherhand, had quite an exceptional experience at an AE shop in Manhattan which I recounted here: http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=238434 . Maybe dropping a line to Allen Edmonds customer service to highlight this would be beneficial. Regarding the shoe fit/quality, I am definitely a noob when it comes to quality shoes so I will not begin to comment on lasts, welts, or leather quality other than to say that so far I am very pleased with the fit/construction/quality of the park avenues which I recently purchased.