The 2023 Allen Edmonds (AE) Appreciation Thread

[Harwid]

Was lucky to get this last pair of chili/brown Landons in my size. Thanks to excellent help from my SA I got a perfect fit in a size I don’t normally wear.

Jeff

I gave up on uploading the photos. Now photos uploaded.

 

[JFWR]

They can only call this Nostrand Ave

That's a next level Brooklyn joke right here.

Only Brooklynites would get this.

 

[JFWR]

I feel like you're playing a very dangerous game here, @Shoenut . A game I want no part of. You may have made your peace with @Shiner , but I still want no part of that guy's mind games. I'm a big guy and I've been in enough scrapes to know how to handle myself. But, I'll tell you what, it's the crazy ones you need to stay away from. And @Shiner ? That mofo is one of the craziest. I need you to keep my name outta yo mouth for fear of that guy, and all his Cape Fear vibes, finding my weaknesses and exploiting them. I've got my lawyer ready on speed dial so I can file for a restraining order at a moment's notice.


I happen to not like the look of either the 7th Street or these 22-off designer Strands. I'm not arguing for everyone to like them. I am arguing that it's OK that they exist. I disagree that denim should not be used in footwear. I think it's an interesting choice that plays in the same sandbox as canvas and linen both do. Combining denim and shoes isn't a silly notion in the slightest. Not to me, at least.

After going a bit down the rabbit hole on this project, I came across this page on AE's site that has some more details. I can actually see this version of the Strand in black selvedge getting some interest when it comes out. Gives off a bit of a waxed suede vibe, similar to that McTavish version released a few years ago. I can't see myself wearing it in particular, in the same way that I can't see myself wearing spectators, but I do think they're both pretty cool. What I like about this Dahlia version is that it strips away the pretension of the "Designer™" version and puts the focus back on the materials and the Strand itself.

View attachment 1891255
And, it's not like AE hasn't done other denim-y footwear projects. How about the Baton Rouge? Denim and leather playing together on a derby with some pops of orange? I like them. Again, I can't see myself wearing them with my current aesthetic, but I can see some alternate version of Donkey wearing them.

View attachment 1891269 View attachment 1891271
I'll admit, I've got a weak spot for denim footwear based on events from the Fall of 1987. I was a junior in high school from Chicago starting a new school year as a scholarship boarding student at a small school outside Philly. The school didn't have uniforms then, but it did have a dress code. Collared shirts. No blue jeans. No gym shoes, unless they were all black, etc. There was a list of about 20 or so specifics that you had to abide by. Pretty much every guy there wore either boat shoes, penny loafers, or black Reeboks that were all the rage back then. Well, one day I was at the mall and came across a pair of black denim hightop shoes from Levi's. They had a black sneaker sole and were kind of like an all-black pair of Chuck Taylors. I thought they were cool as hell, and as a guy who prefers living between the rules rather than by them, I figured I'd wear the heck out of them at school. So, I did. And I'd wear them with a pair of black Levi's 501s, which weren't against the rules because they weren't blue. Of course a number of the school authorities didn't like the jeans, or the shoes, even though they weren't technically against the dress codes. But yeah, I liked sticking it to the man and making his eyeballs itch a little bit. When you're 16, you take the victories against tradition wherever you can, even if they're just little ones. When you're 51, and remember that feeling of liberation and want to recapture a little bit of it, you still do.

I was trying to find a picture of them on the interwebs, but I can't find anything right now. I did find a number of different Levi's denim shoes. And, while I can't see myself particularly wearing any of them, I can see AE leaning into a couple of these designs at some point, should they decide to continue using denim as part of their materials collection for footwear. View attachment 1891285 AE loves mixing media with the Landon as of late. Tell me you couldn't see something like this in a Landon makeup with a leather toe, but denim elsewhere? Oh, and bonus points for triggering people with overt tongue branding AND exterior tag branding.

View attachment 1891287

Or, what about these as a Higgins Mill? Denim uppers and a leather vamp? Heck, what about an all leather version and just a denim tongue in place of the OG suede tongue?

View attachment 1891289

Or, given AE's lean-in to sneakers, why not a hightop Courtside in denim?

I can see any of these rolling out in AE's catalog at some point. I can't say I'd buy any of them, but I can see them appealing to some people. Mostly, I can see them appealing to that 16-year-old Donkey who was surrounded by snobbery and pretension, and couldn't swallow any of it.

Anyhooooooo, 51-year-old Donkey is still happy with his footwear choices to this day. Even when they include these oxblood SMU Daltons that I still can't get broken in nicely, even after years of wear.

View attachment 1891297

You know, fair points.

This is part of the reason why I said: Listen, I could maybe imagine this working with some other shoes. The type of shoes I had in mind were:

Bucks
Boat shoes
Chukkas
Sneaker (like the courtside)

A work boot in this style would look way too hipsterish in my opinion, but at the same time, I could see how a really rugged looking boot - maybe even more rugged than Higgins Mill are, as they still don't really feel like properly speaking, real use work boots, but like a work boot for men with no calluses on their hands (myself included) - kind of working here. Those Levi boots you showed, for instance, look like a for real work boot that could possibly pull off the denim. Gimmicky, but okay...I mean, I've seen worse. The Landon would probably work, or the Caen which is very work booty. Basically, not the boots that masquerade as dress shoes, but the boots that kind of look more traditionally work bootish.

As @Rithrin pointed out, this is like a street wear style. But as a street wear style, I'm going to say let's not mix the half-brogued oxford with this look.

The oxford is the most formal laced enclosure style. It is a dress shoe style. It is not a casual style. The most casual you can get out of it is an oxford in suede. Denim is a step too far, but so would also be canvas, which is more formal than denim.

A half brogue is more casual than a cap toe or quarter brogue, but it is also still a dress style. You are taking a feature of dress shoes and applying them, poorly, to a non-dress shoe. Stop. I think what you want here would be something like a plain toe. Yes, plain toes can be formal, but they can also be informal. Or if you go for a cap toe, I don't mean a dressy cap toe, but a cap toe in the sense that workboots sometimes have cap toes. A cap toe that is meant to protect the foot, basically, not meant to be stylistically formal. Or a cap toe in the sense that some sneakers have cap toes.

Take this shoe, make it out of denim, and I think you got something kind of funky casual that would go good as streetwear.

Make this out of denim and I think it could be okay.

I could see this working possibly in denim.

 

[Shoenut]

Keeping up with the mixed media theme tonight.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Oh come on, we all know the real reason those 22 denim Strands were created. It was simply because Strand King had not purchased for a while.

 

[JFWR]

Oh come on, we all know the real reason those 22 denim Strands were created. It was simply because Strand King had not purchased for a while.

Strand King has forsaken the Strand, last I heard.

Just to note: This means the Strand Throne is ready to be won.

 

[EZB]

You know, fair points.

This is part of the reason why I said: Listen, I could maybe imagine this working with some other shoes. The type of shoes I had in mind were:

Bucks
Boat shoes
Chukkas
Sneaker (like the courtside)

A work boot in this style would look way too hipsterish in my opinion, but at the same time, I could see how a really rugged looking boot - maybe even more rugged than Higgins Mill are, as they still don't really feel like properly speaking, real use work boots, but like a work boot for men with no calluses on their hands (myself included) - kind of working here. Those Levi boots you showed, for instance, look like a for real work boot that could possibly pull off the denim. Gimmicky, but okay...I mean, I've seen worse. The Landon would probably work, or the Caen which is very work booty. Basically, not the boots that masquerade as dress shoes, but the boots that kind of look more traditionally work bootish.

As @Rithrin pointed out, this is like a street wear style. But as a street wear style, I'm going to say let's not mix the half-brogued oxford with this look.

The oxford is the most formal laced enclosure style. It is a dress shoe style. It is not a casual style. The most casual you can get out of it is an oxford in suede. Denim is a step too far, but so would also be canvas, which is more formal than denim.

A half brogue is more casual than a cap toe or quarter brogue, but it is also still a dress style. You are taking a feature of dress shoes and applying them, poorly, to a non-dress shoe. Stop. I think what you want here would be something like a plain toe. Yes, plain toes can be formal, but they can also be informal. Or if you go for a cap toe, I don't mean a dressy cap toe, but a cap toe in the sense that workboots sometimes have cap toes. A cap toe that is meant to protect the foot, basically, not meant to be stylistically formal. Or a cap toe in the sense that some sneakers have cap toes.

Take this shoe, make it out of denim, and I think you got something kind of funky casual that would go good as streetwear.

Make this out of denim and I think it could be okay.

I could see this working possibly in denim.

A denim chukka would be great!

 

[JFWR]

A denim chukka would be great!

Like a crepe or other rubber soled, casual chukka in denim could find a weird, street wear niche.

 

[madhat]

Like a crepe or other rubber soled, casual chukka in denim could find a weird, street wear niche.

Would visually be very similar to my navy Sonoran chukkas.

 

[LeeWilly]

Long time lurking, first time posting. My black double soled HM's from this year's TS

 

[JFWR]

Would visually be very similar to my navy Sonoran chukkas.

Let me see.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

Alex (former manager at the LA store) once told me, "you live in the past too much". I just have hard time seeing things like Strand King become Freeport Prince.

On an unrelated note, I noticed Parkhurst now has the spruce kudu boot again (light green kudu). As of yesterday, 7.5 D was available. It's sold out now. . I have no experience yet with Parkhurst, but it appears God doesn't want me to own one right now.

 

[Shoenut]

View attachment 1891547

Long time lurking, first time posting. My black double soled HM's from this year's TS

Feel free to post more. Welcome to the AE black hole.

 

[Shoenut]

More mixed media today.

 

[Peitron]

I'm hearing LE weaves through the grapevine?