The 2023 Allen Edmonds (AE) Appreciation Thread

[JFWR]

Finished my clear enrollment finally today.
View attachment 1884750

Clear, as in, the skip the line thing?

 

[EZB]

Clear, as in, the skip the line thing?

Yeah. I avoided it for years

 

[JFWR]

Yeah. I avoided it for years

Seems useful if you go to a lot of events. I got TSA Pre-Approval for airline travel for the same thing.

How big of a process is it?

 

[EZB]

Seems useful if you go to a lot of events. I got TSA Pre-Approval for airline travel for the same thing.

How big of a process is it?

I’ve had tsa precheck and global entry for years, but I avoided clear because I didn’t want to enroll my iris in a private program. Before, most times the precheck line at the airport would be short so that clear wasn’t a large time savings. These days, I’ve seen some longer precheck lines, and clear means skipping those once travel resumes for me. It continues for my wife anyway. Enrollment was nothing—just scan eyes and fingers.

 

[shahtirthak]

Higgins Mill, Brown cxl, F2s with a bronze pilot watch and cords.

These HMs are 13EEE. After a couple of years and some wear I feel there is a lot of room in the toebox and I have a some.lateral movement of the foot (from side to side)...hence I am thinking whether a 13E in future HM is the way to go. Length is fine, heel could use some tightening and a little reduced volume in the toebox could be fine...
Thinking of HM in football Grain and both, 13E & 13EEE are available as of now....

Any thoughts or advice from the learned Members? Does the football Grain leather have any give to it or is ot pretty stiff and remains like that for a long time ?

 

[g e]

I will be listing two pairs of AE shoes for sale in the coming days. Waiting for the sun to come out for better pics.

Eastport boat and Cascade boots

they are marked size 12B but the Cascades are a bit tight across the toes. More like an 11 if one prefers heavy socks. Or possibly 11-1/2

the Eastport is far too snug for my comfort. I think it’s mislabeled. Likely an 11 possibly a 10-1/2.

both in excellent condition. I’ll list in the sales thread and post a notice here too

 

[Shoenut]

Featherwelt today. Should AE use this platform more? I think this would have been a better platform for the Randolph bit loafer. They have already sneakered it and they could keep it on the original 79 last. Same fit, better look, sneaker like feel, less customer confusion. With all that said here is my Neumok for today.

 

[VeritasAequitas]

I just found this eBay listing. It's not really my thing, but I thought someone here might be interested.

Wolverine 1000 Mile Loomis Wingtip Shoe Allen Edmonds Beige 9 D Superb and Rare! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Wolverine 1000 Mile Loomis Wingtip Shoe Allen Edmonds Beige 9 D Superb and Rare! at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[donkeyhoatie]

Been a few days. Still clearing the fog from my brain after a bout with the 'VID. Lots of discussion on here lately, which is nice to see. Sure, it's a lot more of the bitching and moaning rather than the weaseling I've come to love over the years.

Anyhooooo, I've been thinking a lot about the 2 items that have generated the majority of the discussion: Cordovan price increase and no more AE-sponsored presence on this site and how both are indicative of a death knell for the company.

As usual, I'm a skeptic.

There's no way around it, the shell price increase sucks. And, if it were occurring in a vacuum, I'd probably be more concerned. But, it's not in a vacuum. EVERYTHING costs more right now and, according to emails from The Shoe Mart, Alden prices are set to increase in the pretty immediate future. I'd imagine the same will happen for many shoe companies imminently. So, the mindset of, "Well, I'll just have to buy shell from [Company X/Y/Z] instead of AE since the price difference now is negligible" will probably only be true for the next few weeks until those other companies follow suit.

Thinking about work for me, and we do annual price increases at the same time every year, and the majority of the industry is on the same time line. Historically, we'd increase our prices around 3% or so, but the past few years have seen unprecedented price changes as material costs skyrocket and supply chains crumble. In order to maintain some sort of semblance of respectable profit margins, we increased prices to the tune of about 25% in the past 3 years, including one year where we raised prices over 12%. Our material costs have gone up about 50% in that time same time frame, even though we're the clear market leader and can [theoretically] leverage our purchasing power. Shipping costs have gone through the roof. The world is nuts and prices reflect that. So, when I see an increase of about 13% for shell boots and another 8% for shell shoes, I just kind of shrug. Shell is expensive to begin with. It takes time to make. Production has been declining for years. This has been a storm brewing for quite some time and everyone is going to get wet.

As for the upcoming loss of @AE_Lauren, I'm sad about it. But, I get it. Companies are tightening belts and taking a hard look at where their dollars are going. I'm guessing someone in Caleres Finance is looking at the ROI of sponsorship here on Styleforum and not seeing what they'd hoped for when the idea was first floated. Like a good number of you, I'm not part of the Facebook group. While I don't share the exact same feelings about the Metaverse that a good number of you do, I do enjoy my anonymity, as it allow me to be the jackass you all occasionally tolerate here. The idea that @Shiner could find out my real name if I were to cross-post, terrifies me. I don't want that dude living in my head. I've seen what he's done to @Shoenut and I want no part of that. But, I get why AE would rather focus on a presence there than here. What does their money get them here that they can't get for free from the FB group? Sure, FB is a cesspool for the most part, and from the week or two I spent as a lurker in the FB group a couple of years ago, I believe that the overall discussion here is generally of a higher quality (my presence, excluded, obviously). But, is it a quality worth paying for? Without knowing the cost of sponsorship, or knowing the non-visible benefits they received from their sponsorship, I can't answer that. But, Caleres Finance did, for now. So it goes.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to shift back to putting emphasis on the "Appreciation" portion of this little group. Broke out the #8 shell Higgins Mill boots from the first AE trunk show. Still one of my favorites.

Love,

Donkey

 

[dpgaloot]

Looks like we are all upgraded here.

Beautiful day here in Utah. Bitter cold, but beautiful. Like $900 shell boots from the next Trunk Show.

Natty Freeports today.

 

[MajorDash]

I ordered a pair of Chili Daltons during RDA that were mislasted when I got them in December, and I took them back to my store for a remake. I received my new order today, and it turns out they just shipped the original pair back to me.

I was pretty annoyed by it, but Ryan said that even though the staff in Indy marked them as damaged, the staff at the warehouse examined them and just said "they're not actually damaged" without seeing what was really wrong with them. Once they were cleared at the warehouse to be resold, they were immediately sent out to the pending order (me).

Hopefully in a few months, I'll get a brand new pair, haha. With any luck, they will still have the remake in the production queue.

 

[Shoenut]

Been a few days. Still clearing the fog from my brain after a bout with the 'VID. Lots of discussion on here lately, which is nice to see. Sure, it's a lot more of the bitching and moaning rather than the weaseling I've come to love over the years.

Anyhooooo, I've been thinking a lot about the 2 items that have generated the majority of the discussion: Cordovan price increase and no more AE-sponsored presence on this site and how both are indicative of a death knell for the company.

As usual, I'm a skeptic.

There's no way around it, the shell price increase sucks. And, if it were occurring in a vacuum, I'd probably be more concerned. But, it's not in a vacuum. EVERYTHING costs more right now and, according to emails from The Shoe Mart, Alden prices are set to increase in the pretty immediate future. I'd imagine the same will happen for many shoe companies imminently. So, the mindset of, "Well, I'll just have to buy shell from [Company X/Y/Z] instead of AE since the price difference now is negligible" will probably only be true for the next few weeks until those other companies follow suit.

Thinking about work for me, and we do annual price increases at the same time every year, and the majority of the industry is on the same time line. Historically, we'd increase our prices around 3% or so, but the past few years have seen unprecedented price changes as material costs skyrocket and supply chains crumble. In order to maintain some sort of semblance of respectable profit margins, we increased prices to the tune of about 25% in the past 3 years, including one year where we raised prices over 12%. Our material costs have gone up about 50% in that time same time frame, even though we're the clear market leader and can [theoretically] leverage our purchasing power. Shipping costs have gone through the roof. The world is nuts and prices reflect that. So, when I see an increase of about 13% for shell boots and another 8% for shell shoes, I just kind of shrug. Shell is expensive to begin with. It takes time to make. Production has been declining for years. This has been a storm brewing for quite some time and everyone is going to get wet.

As for the upcoming loss of @AE_Lauren, I'm sad about it. But, I get it. Companies are tightening belts and taking a hard look at where their dollars are going. I'm guessing someone in Caleres Finance is looking at the ROI of sponsorship here on Styleforum and not seeing what they'd hoped for when the idea was first floated. Like a good number of you, I'm not part of the Facebook group. While I don't share the exact same feelings about the Metaverse that a good number of you do, I do enjoy my anonymity, as it allow me to be the jackass you all occasionally tolerate here. The idea that @Shiner could find out my real name if I were to cross-post, terrifies me. I don't want that dude living in my head. I've seen what he's done to @Shoenut and I want no part of that. But, I get why AE would rather focus on a presence there than here. What does their money get them here that they can't get for free from the FB group? Sure, FB is a cesspool for the most part, and from the week or two I spent as a lurker in the FB group a couple of years ago, I believe that the overall discussion here is generally of a higher quality (my presence, excluded, obviously). But, is it a quality worth paying for? Without knowing the cost of sponsorship, or knowing the non-visible benefits they received from their sponsorship, I can't answer that. But, Caleres Finance did, for now. So it goes.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to shift back to putting emphasis on the "Appreciation" portion of this little group. Broke out the #8 shell Higgins Mill boots from the first AE trunk show. Still one of my favorites.

Love,

Donkey

View attachment 1884912

I think if you ever met @Shiner, at least in the 2023 thread, you might find her adorable.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Been a few days. Still clearing the fog from my brain after a bout with the 'VID. Lots of discussion on here lately, which is nice to see. Sure, it's a lot more of the bitching and moaning rather than the weaseling I've come to love over the years.

Anyhooooo, I've been thinking a lot about the 2 items that have generated the majority of the discussion: Cordovan price increase and no more AE-sponsored presence on this site and how both are indicative of a death knell for the company.

As usual, I'm a skeptic.

There's no way around it, the shell price increase sucks. And, if it were occurring in a vacuum, I'd probably be more concerned. But, it's not in a vacuum. EVERYTHING costs more right now and, according to emails from The Shoe Mart, Alden prices are set to increase in the pretty immediate future. I'd imagine the same will happen for many shoe companies imminently. So, the mindset of, "Well, I'll just have to buy shell from [Company X/Y/Z] instead of AE since the price difference now is negligible" will probably only be true for the next few weeks until those other companies follow suit.

Thinking about work for me, and we do annual price increases at the same time every year, and the majority of the industry is on the same time line. Historically, we'd increase our prices around 3% or so, but the past few years have seen unprecedented price changes as material costs skyrocket and supply chains crumble. In order to maintain some sort of semblance of respectable profit margins, we increased prices to the tune of about 25% in the past 3 years, including one year where we raised prices over 12%. Our material costs have gone up about 50% in that time same time frame, even though we're the clear market leader and can [theoretically] leverage our purchasing power. Shipping costs have gone through the roof. The world is nuts and prices reflect that. So, when I see an increase of about 13% for shell boots and another 8% for shell shoes, I just kind of shrug. Shell is expensive to begin with. It takes time to make. Production has been declining for years. This has been a storm brewing for quite some time and everyone is going to get wet.

As for the upcoming loss of @AE_Lauren, I'm sad about it. But, I get it. Companies are tightening belts and taking a hard look at where their dollars are going. I'm guessing someone in Caleres Finance is looking at the ROI of sponsorship here on Styleforum and not seeing what they'd hoped for when the idea was first floated. Like a good number of you, I'm not part of the Facebook group. While I don't share the exact same feelings about the Metaverse that a good number of you do, I do enjoy my anonymity, as it allow me to be the jackass you all occasionally tolerate here. The idea that @Shiner could find out my real name if I were to cross-post, terrifies me. I don't want that dude living in my head. I've seen what he's done to @Shoenut and I want no part of that. But, I get why AE would rather focus on a presence there than here. What does their money get them here that they can't get for free from the FB group? Sure, FB is a cesspool for the most part, and from the week or two I spent as a lurker in the FB group a couple of years ago, I believe that the overall discussion here is generally of a higher quality (my presence, excluded, obviously). But, is it a quality worth paying for? Without knowing the cost of sponsorship, or knowing the non-visible benefits they received from their sponsorship, I can't answer that. But, Caleres Finance did, for now. So it goes.

In the meanwhile, I'm going to shift back to putting emphasis on the "Appreciation" portion of this little group. Broke out the #8 shell Higgins Mill boots from the first AE trunk show. Still one of my favorites.

Love,

Donkey

I know the feeling. I felt like I was dumber for a week or so after I got the bug, even though I was otherwise fine. It will go away in time, at least for me it did.

The price increase is, just inevitable. It appears the days of me getting insane deals are pretty much dead. No more $76 McTavishes, $90 Hopkinsons or $250 shell seconds. It was fun while it lasted.

 

[TNshoefan]

Looks like today is Day 1 of AE no longer being a forum sponsor. It just feels weird not seeing the affiliate link on the right side of the SF homepage anymore.

 

[Shoenut]

Looks like today is Day 1 of AE no longer being a forum sponsor. It just feels weird not seeing the affiliate link on the right side of the SF homepage anymore.

Isn’t one of the ways a company finds out how successful they are on SF is to see how much traffic is sent through the affiliate link? I have made all my purchases through my SA. Although I have purchased about 11K in shoes and most likely more. There is no proof that SF has weaseled me to buy. I wonder if this metric had anything to do with AE’s decision to vacate.