The 2023 Allen Edmonds (AE) Appreciation Thread

[Hisheirness23]

Arrived today. In plenty of time for the midnight graveyard stroll at the end of the month...

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Killer Hamiltons! Wish we saw these in this year's Shell TS!

 

[Snowmaker]

I'm not gonna lie: personally the reason I didn't buy a TS order this time around was the raised prices on cordovan make it pretty obscenely expensive.

I hate to say it, but I am sort of gun shy when it comes to buying retail from AE because it seems like there will always be a sale price on anything I want in like, two weeks time.

Yep, this was nearly true for me.

I’ll be honest, my pairs will count as all my yearly gifts/extraneous expenses and then some. I should’ve really only bought one pair, the UV, but after witnessing past trunk show offerings I came to realize I could no longer count on a particular color being a guaranteed offering nor a favorable shoe/boot pattern being guaranteed either. I sat out, reluctantly, on all the previous trunk shows and GMTOs from as far back as the Dublin Long Branches and Merlot Eagle County to shell Daltons/1st Avenues/Hamiltons and suede Liverpools for either financial reasons or not having my size dialed in at the time, so I had a fair amount of accumulated remorse that was driving me this go around. I’ve also never seen those designs pop up for resale on the secondary market in my size; maybe once or twice a Navy Dundee or Green Strand in sister sizes but that was it. I guess I don’t have the patience of Job, or @smfdoc for that matter 🙃. I willingly accepted this years high buy-in price as punishment for my past hesitation. I did want to support a local brick and mortar but they were closed by the time I made up my mind to commit, so I too ordered online; the website kept giving me error when I tried to customize soles so I ended up just going with the stock option of black Dainite. Dainite has treated me well on my high mileage Brown Grain Dundee 2.0 so it’ll be fine. If I could’ve gotten V-tread on Double Redenbach I easily would have gone that route; stumbled onto V-tread by accident and found it to be a good compromise of many things for me. It was frustrating to learn that I failed to apply the 10% offer Monday night as I hurriedly tried to complete the checkout process before midnight coupled with having my birthday reward disappear prior to midnight in my time zone on Saturday before I could use it, but such is life I suppose. I’ll enjoy my boots for sure though it’ll likely be my last purchase for a while, my earnings simply haven’t increased at the rate of shell cordovan prices from AE or any other maker. That said, I can’t wait to see everyone’s makeups 😀

Many thanks to @Rithrin, @manowar, @EZB, and @ Geoff928 for the valuable feedback on sizing as well as sole options, and to @EZB for sharing your personal approach to dressing in a very casual environment. Hope I didn’t miss anybody!

 

[Snowmaker]

These Dundees in Burgundy get worn regularly, and it is showing. Time to work these over. My wife and daughter are traveling to a mountain bike race this weekend, so I'll have pretty good window to condition shoes while watching movies they wouldn't approve of (like the John Wick movies @Shoenut, not those movies).

View attachment 2040875

I don’t know if is just the lighting or the contrast welt, but I dig the color on those!

 

[Hisheirness23]

Yep, this was nearly true for me.

I’ll be honest, my pairs will count as all my yearly gifts/extraneous expenses and then some. I should’ve really only bought one pair, the UV, but after witnessing past trunk show offerings I came to realize I could no longer count on a particular color being a guaranteed offering nor a favorable shoe/boot pattern being guaranteed either. I sat out, reluctantly, on all the previous trunk shows and GMTOs from as far back as the Dublin Long Branches and Merlot Eagle County to shell Daltons/1st Avenues/Hamiltons and suede Liverpools for either financial reasons or not having my size dialed in at the time, so I had a fair amount of accumulated remorse that was driving me this go around. I’ve also never seen those designs pop up for resale on the secondary market in my size; maybe once or twice a Navy Dundee or Green Strand in sister sizes but that was it. I guess I don’t have the patience of Job, or @smfdoc for that matter 🙃. I willingly accepted this years high buy-in price as punishment for my past hesitation. I did want to support a local brick and mortar but they were closed by the time I made up my mind to commit, so I too ordered online; the website kept giving me error when I tried to customize soles so I ended up just going with the stock option of black Dainite. Dainite has treated me well on my high mileage Brown Grain Dundee 2.0 so it’ll be fine. If I could’ve gotten V-tread on Double Redenbach I easily would have gone that route; stumbled onto V-tread by accident and found it to be a good compromise of many things for me. It was frustrating to learn that I failed to apply the 10% offer Monday night as I hurriedly tried to complete the checkout process before midnight coupled with having my birthday reward disappear prior to midnight in my time zone on Saturday before I could use it, but such is life I suppose. I’ll enjoy my boots for sure though it’ll likely be my last purchase for a while, my earnings simply haven’t increased at the rate of shell cordovan prices from AE or any other maker. That said, I can’t wait to see everyone’s makeups 😀

Many thanks to @Rithrin, @manowar, @EZB, and @ Geoff928 for the valuable feedback on sizing as well as sole options, and to @EZB for sharing your personal approach to dressing in a very casual environment. Hope I didn’t miss anybody!

I feel you on this. Prices will only go up. I look back at what shell used to cost and it's crazy to think it's gone up so much, but times have changed. This is why I will never pass up a color/model that I like, as options seem to be less and less customizable. This Shell TS we couldn't even modify the edge/welt color. Enjoy it while it lasts...

 

[EZB]

Yep, this was nearly true for me.

I’ll be honest, my pairs will count as all my yearly gifts/extraneous expenses and then some. I should’ve really only bought one pair, the UV, but after witnessing past trunk show offerings I came to realize I could no longer count on a particular color being a guaranteed offering nor a favorable shoe/boot pattern being guaranteed either. I sat out, reluctantly, on all the previous trunk shows and GMTOs from as far back as the Dublin Long Branches and Merlot Eagle County to shell Daltons/1st Avenues/Hamiltons and suede Liverpools for either financial reasons or not having my size dialed in at the time, so I had a fair amount of accumulated remorse that was driving me this go around. I’ve also never seen those designs pop up for resale on the secondary market in my size; maybe once or twice a Navy Dundee or Green Strand in sister sizes but that was it. I guess I don’t have the patience of Job, or @smfdoc for that matter 🙃. I willingly accepted this years high buy-in price as punishment for my past hesitation. I did want to support a local brick and mortar but they were closed by the time I made up my mind to commit, so I too ordered online; the website kept giving me error when I tried to customize soles so I ended up just going with the stock option of black Dainite. Dainite has treated me well on my high mileage Brown Grain Dundee 2.0 so it’ll be fine. If I could’ve gotten V-tread on Double Redenbach I easily would have gone that route; stumbled onto V-tread by accident and found it to be a good compromise of many things for me. It was frustrating to learn that I failed to apply the 10% offer Monday night as I hurriedly tried to complete the checkout process before midnight coupled with having my birthday reward disappear prior to midnight in my time zone on Saturday before I could use it, but such is life I suppose. I’ll enjoy my boots for sure though it’ll likely be my last purchase for a while, my earnings simply haven’t increased at the rate of shell cordovan prices from AE or any other maker. That said, I can’t wait to see everyone’s makeups 😀

Many thanks to @Rithrin, @manowar, @EZB, and @ Geoff928 for the valuable feedback on sizing as well as sole options, and to @EZB for sharing your personal approach to dressing in a very casual environment. Hope I didn’t miss anybody!

Glad to hear you make a purchase! Put in on the Google Sheet for our tracking. I don't think they offer v-tread on JR, but I agree that v-tread is amazing. A few years back, I went full throttle into it, putting it on a couple shell pairs (fifth ave and dalton). It's on a few of my strands as well. Dainite is heftier, but preferred for winter where you walk in salkwalks with salt.

 

[M2511]

Yep, this was nearly true for me.

I’ll be honest, my pairs will count as all my yearly gifts/extraneous expenses and then some. I should’ve really only bought one pair, the UV, but after witnessing past trunk show offerings I came to realize I could no longer count on a particular color being a guaranteed offering nor a favorable shoe/boot pattern being guaranteed either. I sat out, reluctantly, on all the previous trunk shows and GMTOs from as far back as the Dublin Long Branches and Merlot Eagle County to shell Daltons/1st Avenues/Hamiltons and suede Liverpools for either financial reasons or not having my size dialed in at the time, so I had a fair amount of accumulated remorse that was driving me this go around. I’ve also never seen those designs pop up for resale on the secondary market in my size; maybe once or twice a Navy Dundee or Green Strand in sister sizes but that was it. I guess I don’t have the patience of Job, or @smfdoc for that matter 🙃. I willingly accepted this years high buy-in price as punishment for my past hesitation. I did want to support a local brick and mortar but they were closed by the time I made up my mind to commit, so I too ordered online; the website kept giving me error when I tried to customize soles so I ended up just going with the stock option of black Dainite. Dainite has treated me well on my high mileage Brown Grain Dundee 2.0 so it’ll be fine. If I could’ve gotten V-tread on Double Redenbach I easily would have gone that route; stumbled onto V-tread by accident and found it to be a good compromise of many things for me. It was frustrating to learn that I failed to apply the 10% offer Monday night as I hurriedly tried to complete the checkout process before midnight coupled with having my birthday reward disappear prior to midnight in my time zone on Saturday before I could use it, but such is life I suppose. I’ll enjoy my boots for sure though it’ll likely be my last purchase for a while, my earnings simply haven’t increased at the rate of shell cordovan prices from AE or any other maker. That said, I can’t wait to see everyone’s makeups 😀

Many thanks to @Rithrin, @manowar, @EZB, and @ Geoff928 for the valuable feedback on sizing as well as sole options, and to @EZB for sharing your personal approach to dressing in a very casual environment. Hope I didn’t miss anybody!

Awesome! Also, smart to have sat out those other ones. Nothing is worth the feeling of unsound financial choices and stress. Hope you enjoy your pairs!

 

[donkeyhoatie]

Bought these earlier in the year and have yet to wear them. Not really cool enough yet but lots of rain made me justify it. Such a good looking boot and price (2nds, with a sale).

Knew I had to post a pic and give ole @donkeyhoatie a shout out for the weaseling! View attachment 2041199
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That's a really nice-looking pair you've got there, brother! Looks like they fit you really well. Hope you snagged those seconds when AE had them for around $150. Just a killer deal at that price point.

Spent some quality time in the basement last night watching the Bears actually resemble a real NFL team and re-waxing some new-to-me Waxed Higgins Mill boots. I'd never waxed anything before, so I'm sure my technique and efforts will improve over time. Very easy to do, and I'm 100% on-board for doing this again on a regular basis.

Before.

Tools of the trade. I know you can use a hair dryer, but I felt a whole lot more comfortable with this well-loved heat gun that's seen a lot in its long and useful life in my garage. One setting, which is basically the surface-of-the-sun hot, slightly melted cord in sections, and a lot of crud all over it. Had to find the right distance to make sure I wasn't slagging anything on the boots themselves.

One down. One to go.

Both done.

New laces are too short, but they'll have to do until I can get some new ones on there. I think they're some Guarded Goods ones I picked up a while back and had high hopes for.

Giving them some foot time today. I'll need to go back over them in a couple of spots with the heat gun because there are still some wax pieces lingering from my heavy handedness. I'll get better over time at gauging the right amount.

Think these are going to see a lot of action. Big fan of the waxed suede look. Hopefully, the functionality is there, too.

 

[Hisheirness23]

That's a really nice-looking pair you've got there, brother! Looks like they fit you really well. Hope you snagged those seconds when AE had them for around $150. Just a killer deal at that price point.

Spent some quality time in the basement last night watching the Bears actually resemble a real NFL team and re-waxing some new-to-me Waxed Higgins Mill boots. I'd never waxed anything before, so I'm sure my technique and efforts will improve over time. Very easy to do, and I'm 100% on-board for doing this again on a regular basis.

Before.
View attachment 2041643
View attachment 2041655 View attachment 2041657

Tools of the trade. I know you can use a hair dryer, but I felt a whole lot more comfortable with this well-loved heat gun that's seen a lot in its long and useful life in my garage. One setting, which is basically the surface-of-the-sun hot, slightly melted cord in sections, and a lot of crud all over it. Had to find the right distance to make sure I wasn't slagging anything on the boots themselves.

View attachment 2041659

One down. One to go.

View attachment 2041679

Both done.
View attachment 2041681

New laces are too short, but they'll have to do until I can get some new ones on there. I think they're some Guarded Goods ones I picked up a while back and had high hopes for.
View attachment 2041683

Giving them some foot time today. I'll need to go back over them in a couple of spots with the heat gun because there are still some wax pieces lingering from my heavy handedness. I'll get better over time at gauging the right amount.

Think these are going to see a lot of action. Big fan of the waxed suede look. Hopefully, the functionality is there, too.
View attachment 2041689

Great job! Love the contrasting laces!

 

[southamericadude]

Here's mine one and only. At the time, I wanted to buy the Tan or Grey, but they didn't have my size in the store so I ended up choosing this one. I might buy a Tan soon.

I really like it and it is, by a huge margin, the best quality shoes I have. I especially like the color that they have after being worn (kind of rust, as you can see especially on the back).

What do you think it's the best color of pants to pair these?

 

[Duke Santos]

First time putting a sweater on this Fall. Paired up with some football grain HM's.

 

[EZB]

Here's mine one and only. At the time, I wanted to buy the Tan or Grey, but they didn't have my size in the store so I ended up choosing this one. I might buy a Tan soon.

I really like it and it is, by a huge margin, the best quality shoes I have. I especially like the color that they have after being worn (kind of rust, as you can see especially on the back).

What do you think it's the best color of pants to pair these?

View attachment 2041703

View attachment 2041705

jeans

 

[Vincent George]

Navy Shell MacNeil

 

[Roycru]

Wearing black CXL McTavishes today.

For fans of "A-E In The Wild" pictures, The King And I.

For fans of food pictures in shoe threads.

For fans of random Santa Monica pictures in shoe threads, of course it isn't safe there.

There are dinosaurs there.

 

[dpgaloot]

I'm dog-sitting today, and going to be in the shop as well. Eagle Counties.

 

[blewnote1]

Do we have any San Franciscans here that can recommend a place near where I'm staying to get my Strands shined before I attend a wedding tonight? I'm staying at Beck's Motor Lodge (kinda between Lower Haight and the Castro). I can just go to wherever is close on Google maps but I thought I'd ask here first.