Is this pair of AE fake?

[LaymanX]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I don't know.. something feels 'off' here. The fact that it's marked as Hampstead, but look nothing like AE Hampsteads, the fact that I can't seem to match this model to anything on Nordstrom or AE's website..

Am I crazy here?

 

[musicguy]

All the details look like AEs. It would be really hard to replicate all those details and not worth the money for someone to make a knockoff that accurately. But yeah, that's not a Hampstead. Maybe they reused that name for the current model? Perhaps they put the wrong name on the sole and someone bought them for cheap because of this. You can contact AE and ask what model it really is. The numbers on the inside should help.

 

[TheWGP]

It's certainly real AE... If you have concerns about the model name just call AE. It may have been a mistake, model name reused, etc, etc. - they'll be MORE than happy to help you out on this, I can tell you from personal experience.

The current Hampstead is the "strawfut remake" I believe, and is a very recent incarnation - so my money is on its being a discontinued model with the same name.

I really wish AE didn't reuse names like that - it's confused me on more than one occasion.

 

[LaymanX]

Thanks for both your responses! I decided not to bid (big shopping trip in Chicago coming up), so if anyone wants a decent deal on NIB AE's, go nuts..

 

[zach_a]

99% sure that auction is actually for the Redding.

That pair looks just like the ones in my closet. There are definitely pairs of AEs out there with the wrong name on the footbed - not all of them seconds. Not sure what was going on at the factory but I've seen it happen on multiple occasions in the past few years.

 

[Jay Gatsby]

E is AE -- not worth faking.

 

[thebac]

Yep, no reason to believe it's fake. Maybe a factory defect (wrong name) or old model with same name.

Originally Posted by TheWGP

[...]

I really wish AE didn't reuse names like that - it's confused me on more than one occasion.

I recently looked through an old AE catalog and saw that they used to call a pair of plain-toe bluchers Park Avenues. Confusing indeed.

Originally Posted by Jay Gatsby

AE is AE -- not worth faking.

Agreed. I consider AE quality, but it's not a designer good. It's usually designer goods (where people pay as much or more for the label as for the actual quality) that faking is actually a feasible proposition for scammers.

 

[MyOtherLife]

The shoe advertised in your link is in fact, the AE 'Halsted', a captoed blucher, though the ad and shoe insole reads 'Hampstead'. the shoes appear to be perfect but had the wrong labeled insole, which made it a factory second. Nothing wrong with these shoes at all and a great price. AE Halstead looks like this...

An actual AE 'Hampstead' is a balmoral weave wingtip that looks like this...