The leather for the uppers seem the same to me, and better than the $500 retail made in italy RL shoes
+1
I have two of each and my AE's are superior in every way
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The leather for the uppers seem the same to me, and better than the $500 retail made in italy RL shoes
Given a choice between Edward Greens at $1,200 a pair (last time I looked) and the A-Es I bought on closeout for $129, yeah, I'd prefer the Eddie Greens. However, I would much, much rather have the pair of A-Es and the $1,071.
To the OP, a little less than seven years ago, I got the A-E "bug"--bad! Shortly thereafter, A-E opened an outlet store about 100 miles from where I live. In 2004 alone, I bought 17 pairs of A-Es. The most I ever paid during that year was slightly more than $200. I got a couple of pairs for $79. Factory seconds and closeouts, of course, but most of the time I could never find the flaw. I now have 42 pairs of A-Es. For quite a while I was the foremost advocate of A-Es in the forum culture. I have never really felt a longing for any higher-priced shoes. In my part of the country, wearing A-Es I am as well or better shod than 99.9% of the male population. You are going to have to get up in the $1,000+ price bracket before you get a really noticeably finer shoe. Even then, the difference may not be very noticeable. I took my wife into the John Lobb Paris store soon after it opened in South Coast Plaza. She said they looked just like the shoes I had (i.e., A-Es). Another time I was in the Beverly Hills Polo Shop. One of the salesmen asked me if my shoes were Edward Greens. They were in fact A-Es I had bought at the outlet for $161. Given a choice between Edward Greens at $1,200 a pair (last time I looked) and the A-Es I bought on closeout for $129, yeah, I'd prefer the Eddie Greens. However, I would much, much rather have the pair of A-Es and the $1,071 (which I could use to buy a jacket from Chan or something else nice, sartorial or otherwise.) Bottom line is that hardly anybody except a shoe geek is going to bother noticing the difference between a well-polished well maintained pair of A-Es and a pair of EGs in any event.
Not saying you're right or wrong in your tastes, but I think a lot of people would choose 5-6 EGs over 42 AEs, which is the real comparison, and not the 1 to 1+$1000 you're describing.
Not saying you're right or wrong in your tastes, but I think a lot of people would choose 5-6 EGs over 42 AEs, which is the real comparison, and not the 1 to 1+$1000 you're describing.
I am a value and cheap shoe supporter, and I agree with this statement.
99% of it has to do with the aesthetics. the visual appeal of the shoes and EG and JL has alot of sexy visual appeal over AE.
I'm saying that this is the part that only shoe geeks appreciate. the ultra fine finishing, detailing, welting, and even the general asthetic...normal people don't notice these things. perhaps (?) they could if you showed them pictures and you asked them to compare, but that's not the real world use case. the real world use case is looking down 6 feet or across the room, and from that distance, the shoes are usually quite identical.
AE makes so many ugly shoes that people forget they offer nice ones too. I like all the models you've picked.
I picked these up at half price.