I feel like you keep talking about the intrinsic quality of a shoe whereas I'm talking about the extrinsic quality. Yes, Allen Edmonds still produces some tasteful, well-made shoes. I wish men wouldn't wear them in incoherent ways.
I feel like this disconnect happens often on the shoe threads. People keep talking about the intrinsic quality of a shoe. How well it's made, whether the design is tasteful, whether it's produced in the US or UK, etc. But you can also have a tasteful shoe that's worn poorly. I'm talking about how many people here only focus on the intrinsic quality of a shoe.
To give examples. I'm into fountain pens and sometimes participate in fountain pen communities. There are some people who are super into fountain pens and get really excited about different filling systems, nibs, barrel materials, methods of manufacturer, etc. But they don't write very well because ... they're not actually into penmanship. They are just into fountain pens -- the buying and collecting thereof.
IMO, if you're into fountain pens, you should practice writing because the point of having fountain pens is presumably the experience of writing and the improvement of penmanship. The fountain pen should relate to something larger than itself. This is not always the case for people who are into fountain pens -- they think just about the object and the object then creates an online collecting community. IMO, the same has happened with watches, fragrances, and shoes.
Okay. I understand your intrinsinic/extrinsic thing. Why I brought up quality was distinguishing AE from its lower-tier competitors. Lower-tier brands are becoming, effectively, sneaker companies. At this point, I don't recognize them being "dress shoe" companies at all: there isn't a "dress shoe" on that list. They're adding in like, actual Adidas soles on "dress shoes", now. It looks ******* absurd. It looks, frankly, space alien - it looks like something you'd see in b-scifi movies from the 50s.
I understand the charge of "incoherence" with outfits and the like, though again, they are moving after a demographic that will be the people who are going to be buying "Dress shoes" for the rest of their lives.
Also, Instagram is basically for people 20-30 years old. Maybe I shouldn't point out that I was hitting on an 18 year old last night, but when I was flirting with this girl she was shocked to see I had an instagram notification on my phone because I am in my 30s.