Is THIS dry rot???? Found deep disc. AE's Should I buy em?

[J_Quinn]

Hi, at Nordstrom Rack I just found a pair of AE Park Avenues in my size, 8.5D. They appear virtually UN-worn, the leather sole looks brand new! They have them at only $150!!! I asked them for the left shoe so I could try them both on together (plus the right shoe had that annoying alarm dongle on it so I couldn't tie it up all the way) I noticed a somewhat alarming situation in the toe area of the left shoe which. The un worn condition leads me to think these are factory seconds and the aforemention "situation" in the left shoe is oprobably the reason they were sent to the rack. Is this dry rot I see? Where the leather takes on a lighter, rougher appearance close to the tip of the shoe inside? The left shoe is significantly worse and appears to have been treated with some sort of... sealant? Can someone tell me what I'm seeing? And for such a great price, should I but these shoes? Like I said, aside from the inside of the left shoe, they look BRAND new. Here are pics of the inside of each shoe (sorry the pics are upside down): Left shoe:

Right Shoe:

 

[HORNS]

No, it's not dry rot - it's where they ground/skived down the leather, from what it appears. Why? I don't know.

 

[Harold falcon]

Whoa, that perspective shot is pretty cool. Reminds me of Fantastic Voyage.

I don't think that's dry rot.

 

[J_Quinn]

Hmm, thanks for the observation. I should also point out that in the left shoe, the texture of that ugly area is very rough. Towards the right of the area, you'll notice a big patchy yellow spot, that spot feels VERY worn, like REALLY roughed up, almost shredded I would say.

Also, I currently own a pair of Park Avenue's. I take VERY good care of them, polish/cream once a weak, and I immediately wipe out the excess moisture in the very tip of the inside every time I take them off. The deep inside of this pair bears a resemblance to the pic of the right shoe above, slightly lighter in color. I don't think it could be rot cuz i dry them and use shoe trees.

 

[entrero]

I hope there's still some leather left on the roughed up toe area. Because, the yellow area might imply a thermoplastic material that's used to shape the toe. Try them on and see if it's still comfy on your toes.

If you're really looking for a deal, then use this startling evidence and haggle to $100.

 

[J_Quinn]

Haha, my brother also told me to haggle it, which I probly will, I just wanted to post here first for input on the situation.

ENTERO: when you say thermoplastic material, are you referring to a layer that's under the leather? If so it's possible that's what it is, but it's only on that one spot, which doesn't bother my toes when I put them on. The remainder seems to be still leather cuz I can see what look like pores?

Basically I don't care that they look like this inside... as long as it's not rot which I've read gets worse and cannot be stopped...

 

[J_Quinn]

Hmm, after thinking about it more, it would make no sense for this to be rot on such a new shoe. But then what heck is all that ugliness?

 

[GoldenTribe]

It is very difficult to make sense of your photos. How about one of the whole shoe?

 

[blahman]

I haven't the faintest clue what I'm looking at here, and because I can't make out what it is it is making me feel sick.

 

[Larson McCord]

how were you able to get a microscope into Nordstrom Rack for these photos?

 

[BarrelMaker]

Originally Posted by Larson McCord

how were you able to get a microscope into Nordstrom Rack for these photos?

most point and shoot cameras have a decent macro setting.

 

[Larson McCord]

Originally Posted by BarrelMaker

most point and shoot cameras have a decent macro setting.

Thanks for clearing that up \t

 

[Johdus Fanfoozal]

Have no idea what I'm looking at.

But if you're getting a $325 shoe for less than half price at a high end retailer's outlet store, there's a good chance they're seconds.

 

[Patek14]

Originally Posted by J_Quinn

Is this dry rot I see? Where the leather takes on a lighter, rougher appearance close to the tip of the shoe inside? The left shoe is significantly worse and appears to have been treated with some sort of... sealant? Can someone tell me what I'm seeing? And for such a great price, should I but these shoes? Like I said, aside from the inside of the left shoe, they look BRAND new.


I can only answer the first question about the "lighter, rougher appearance close to the tip". All of my AEs look like this.

Not sure about the sealant comment tho

 

[pebblegrain]

One uses black glue, the other one white/clear/*****/manjuice colored glue. One has perforated lining while the other doesn't. This indicates the 2 shoes were made at different times and are not really matching, although I'm guessing you can't tell from the outside.

do you even know what dry rot is? its not dry rotting...