The 2023 Allen Edmonds (AE) Appreciation Thread

[Vincent George]

Wishing you all a safe, happy, prosperous, and healthy 2023 (and, of course, a year filled with beautiful shoes and boots).

 

[MajorDash]

It will be interesting to see what Allen Edmonds has in store for 2023, coming off of their incredibly busy 100th anniversary year.

Hope to see some suede this year in something that isn’t loafers or casual shoes/boots!

 

[Shoenut]

First pair in 2023.

 

[EZB]

It will be interesting to see what Allen Edmonds has in store for 2023, coming off of their incredibly busy 100th anniversary year.

Hope to see some suede this year in something that isn’t loafers or casual shoes/boots!

Id like to see some open lacing

 

[Roycru]

For fans of "A-E In The Wild" pictures, a seasonal picture of black and white Broadstreets.

 

[PANJ]

Id like to see some open lacing

This. 💯

 

[CommanderMcBragg]

Here are my new-to-me pair of Augusta in 1-wear condition with shoe trees, courtesy of the popular auction site. The Augies look great, though sadly, the shoe trees are both right-foot. Story of my life.

 

[matwa]

Shell PA for the New Year. Wishing all of you all the best.

 

[SlowOldRunner]

Happy New Year!

Here's my combo to start the year.
Weatherproof HM and a GS.

 

[JFWR]

Sullivan streets for NY day parties.

 

[Shoenut]

Getting an oil change now.

 

[jet-stream]

BG1A on New Year’s Day:

 

[manowar]

ALLEN EDMONDS APPRECIATION THREAD EDITION 2O22

Happy New Year’s Eve-Eve! Out this evening with the fam and rocking some chili shell Landons. Stay safe and have fun this weekend friends!

www.styleforum.net

@CommanderMcBragg Was catching up on the 2022 thread and just wanted to weigh in on the belt discussion. Keep in mind this is coming from my own limited experience, not necessarily from a study of proper menswear.

I find 1 1/4" belts to be strictly formal (as in, suit or sport coat), and I have always disliked skinny belts. 1 1/2" belts are great for casual wear, especially jeans, but have no room alongside dressier attire. 1 3/8" belts are, in my opinion, the perfect width for both formal and casual wear, and my preferred width in a typical scenario. I wear them with jeans, suits, and everything in between.

Of course, there's more to consider when it comes to pairing belts. The leather, pattern, stitching, color, and finish type all contribute to formality level. I think common sense, and using your artistic eye, go a long way. It really does come down to personal preference after all.

While I would err on the side of dressier pants while wearing some of the AE belts you pictured and would not venture to put them with a pair of jeans, it could potentially work well with a pair of chinos, khakis, etc. A belt should fill up most of the vertical height in your belt loops. Most jeans have belt loops that will accommodate 1 1/2" or even 1 3/4" belts, which is one reason why thinner belts look out of place.

Also, your height and waist width also make a difference. Optically, I think larger men can get away with thicker belts and thin guys should tread more carefully going wide.

By the way, the walnut Strand Ave. belt you pictured is the most casual of the three to my eye.

 

[CommanderMcBragg]

ALLEN EDMONDS APPRECIATION THREAD EDITION 2O22

Happy New Year’s Eve-Eve! Out this evening with the fam and rocking some chili shell Landons. Stay safe and have fun this weekend friends!

www.styleforum.net

@CommanderMcBragg Was catching up on the 2022 thread and just wanted to weigh in on the belt discussion. Keep in mind this is coming from my own limited experience, not necessarily from a study of proper menswear.

I find 1 1/4" belts to be strictly formal (as in, suit or sport coat), and I have always disliked skinny belts...Optically, I think larger men can get away with thicker belts and thin guys should tread more carefully going wide.

By the way, the walnut Strand Ave. belt you pictured is the most casual of the three to my eye.

Thank you, MOW--

This was precisely the information I was hoping for; 1,000 thank yous. I probably spent more $$ than I should have on clothes that I don't really need during this holiday sale season, so I'm trying to be semi-prudent by flipping via the popular auction site anything from my closet that I haven't worn in the past year or so that still has tags on it.

From your most informative post, it looks like these 1 3/8" AE belts are good for all-purpose use. I'm leaning toward holding onto the Manistee in bourbon, as the color lends itself to a variety of lighter brown shades and it has the Strand-type broguing.

I'm just not accustomed to wearing anything less than a 1 1/2" belt, mainly from use in conjunction with cowboy boots in my earlier years (note: before anyone gets the idea I'm one of those guys who wears Wrangler jeans and goes to the mud-monster pickup truck shows every Sunday, I'm talking about the black, vintage-type pee-wee boots with the Acme toe). I do have a stash of old 646 Levi's flare jeans in the closet, but that's not an issue as I never wear them anymore. It seems I just need to get used to the 1 3/8" size with my chinos/khakis.

 

[manowar]

Just my 2¢, but glad to help! Your 1 3/8" belts should look absolutely fine with casual pants.


On the topic of belts, I recently had some custom ones made by RLMakers (better known as Ron Rider). He uses premium Italian calfskin and has several options for lined, unlined, and embroidered belts. While I tried to convince him to make me a 1 3/8" size, I had to settle for the more casual 1 1/2". He allowed me to pick my own buckle though, and custom dyed the belt to color-match my marbled chili HM's based off of a photo I sent! Now, over the course of extensive wear, the AE's have darkened since I sent him the photo, so upon receiving the belt I added a bit of my own finish to get the color closer to the boots. Mr. Rider was extremely kind and accommodating throughout the whole process. An outstanding deal for the prices he asks!

I'm quite pleased with the finished product.

Spoiler: Also another custom belt .

I added a distressed finish to this one which ended up compliment these old, very worn Wolverine 1000 Mile's.