The 2025 Allen Edmonds (AE) Appreciation Thread

[Shoenut]

I don’t know why I never picked these up in Suede when they were so inexpensive. Maybe because they don’t look like this!

 

[dpgaloot]

I have these and grey Kudu. If they come back I hope they make with proper counters. On the other pair the toe just collapsed and nothing hit it. This pair no problem.

Me too.

 

[donkeyhoatie]

I've been wearing these a lot as of late. Not surprising, given that these wrinkly old bastards are my favorite pair that I own. Here they are at the local Asian supermarket food court, while I wait for some Thai food. It was like 10 degrees out when I was picking up food, so I have on some of the thickest socks on that I own. Definitely affects the fit.

 

[Ashley_S]

Are my California friends ok? 😢

 

[madhat]

Since it's you I don't really have to hold back - the Burke is like hot garbage. Just comparing it against the courtside the difference was quite striking. People can say whatever they want about AE and the declining quality and all that jazz but in my mind, I sort of expect that any pair I get from them will achieve a certain level of premium at a minimum. .AE is not GS or Alden but they still make a product miles above the lower tier brands.

The Courtside was no exception- i think AE has the process of making the sneakers in the DR factory down pretty well. The Burke was made in India or Vietnam, forget which. It's clear AE didn't make this and I'm sorry to see them selling these styles at the same price point and putting their name on them. I got one other made in India venetian type of sneaker (forgetting the name) and had a similar reaction...although at least I got it on Amazon for around $25 so all wasn't lost.

Even if I did love that shoe, I’d be happy to have you throw the Neo-prose at it! I was going to say thankfully my foot is too wide to fit in them, but I just checked. 1) I had no idea this was a current offering! 2) $300, no thanks…even at the heavily discounted $100. 3) shockingly, they did actually make E and EEE! 4) one of these days I’ll get a pair of custom Whites work boots ordered, I swear! Just got a million things in front that take priority over another pair of shoes.

 

[Blue_Bowtie]

This one is for @donkeyhoatie : tan grain HM’s on Itshide commando soles.

 

[ProfilaBinding]

We are in no real danger of fires, but we drove south to Irvine today because the smoke was pretty bad. I know of two people (one who works where I work) who lost their entire homes in the Altadena area. People who live close to the mountains are the ones in danger. I'm sure Polo is safe where he is.

 

[polojock615]

We are in no real danger of fires, but we drove south to Irvine today because the smoke was pretty bad. I know of two people (one who works where I work) who lost their entire homes in the Altadena area. People who live close to the mountains are the ones in danger. I'm sure Polo is safe where he is.

I'll mark myself as safe @Ashley_S and @ProfilaBinding . Hope all others are safe!

 

[sho'nuff]

I know this is an appreciation thread but I recently perused an Allen edmonds boutique at the south coast plaza, the leathers for the most part feel flimsy and plasticy. Is it just me or has the quality gone down a lot? I remember buying and selling AEs almost 20 years ago and the leather were nice and beefy (for their price range) although never designed very sleek.

 

[TheLawBeard]

I know this is an appreciation thread but I recently perused an Allen edmonds boutique at the south coast plaza, the leathers for the most part feel flimsy and plasticy. Is it just me or has the quality gone down a lot? I remember buying and selling AEs almost 20 years ago and the leather were nice and beefy (for their price range) although never designed very sleek.

It depends on the shoe and the leather. I've encountered some that really didn't feel great but I've also seen some that felt like they had good quality. The MiUS stuff still seems to be pretty good. But some of the foreign-made models just seem a bit "off" to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with stuff made overseas as long as the quality is there but some of the ones I've looked at recently definitely weren't on my want list.

 

[Vincent George]

Guess what movie we’re watching tonight

 

[Radboots]

MacNeiling and Freeporting this week.

 

[Neo1]

It depends on the shoe and the leather. I've encountered some that really didn't feel great but I've also seen some that felt like they had good quality. The MiUS stuff still seems to be pretty good. But some of the foreign-made models just seem a bit "off" to me. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with stuff made overseas as long as the quality is there but some of the ones I've looked at recently definitely weren't on my want list.

This is not a straightforward subject and is often really confused / convoluted by all the, guess I'll say "ignorant" people posting to reddit on this.

If you compare something from AE made like eons ago to now, no question the older pairs are better. Plain and simple. That's quite dumb - that can be said about a lot of things and isn't specific to AE.

For quite some time they would make the GYW styles by doing the upper in their DR factory and finishing them in PW. Other styles like boat shoes, etc. were made entirely in the DR factory. Comparing the DR stuff against the PW stuff, at least imo the PW stuff, you basically couldn't lose whereas the all-DR stuff was sort of hit or miss. The quality was miles and miles above something like CH or J&M but the flaws were more....egregious I guess? You could get pairs with like one shoe being longer than the other, stuff like that. Plus in terms of the builds, we're talking about boat shoes and drivers and things...no matter how you slice that, i'm never going to rave about the super high quality of a driver with a cemented on dot sole if that makes sense.

Little bit later AE started making GYW styles completely in the DR. I bought enough of those to sort of make my observations - 1) The leather choices were usually inferior to the standard lineup of calfskin PAs, 5th Aves, etc, 2) The builds could get pretty sloppy - the welts could be sloppy, there were discolorations all over, loose threads everywhere, just looked like "amateurish" I guess, like if you had a contest on TV and a team's goal was to rush a product to the marketplace. Don't get me wrong - these DR GYW styles could be really good if you set expectations correctly.

Kind of some time after the Caleres takeover (not right away, things sort of bounced around then stabilized) they started making stuff in Vietnam & India and stamping AE on them. If you ever go to Nordstrom Rack or Saks Off 5th now, you'll see a lot of AE styles ("dress" shoes) that fall into this category. This is a radical change from the past - it's very deceptive and these styles are very mixed together with the others that are made in PW or the DR. I'm not happy about this aspect at all.

Sort of circling back to the quality comment in general, I'll comment on two kind of recent pairs from the MiUSA (or whatever, you know what i mean) I got - namely the Austin engineer boot and the Denali chelsea in tan suede. The Austin leather does feel kind of thin, it's full of scratches and truth be told it's definitely inferior to what I see on things like the Park, but it's not bad by any means. The build is also kind of so-so, but not bad. The Denali has these elastic tags in the inside that were ripped and broken up (straight out of the box), and there were flaws in the suede upper. But like I said, I would kind of categorize all of these things as acceptable.

Next I'll comment on two pairs of sneakers - the Courtside (DR) & the Burke (Vietnam i think). The Courtside just has a very premium feel to the material, or as premium as you can get with sneakers. They're very comfortable and I've worn them for long periods of time. On the Burke the leather upper feels good, but not quite like the Courtside. The outsole isn't great. There's more flaws, they're definitely not as comfortable as the Courtside and with the little amount of use I've worn them they're definitely showing more wear and tear faster than the Courtside.

Hope this doesn't confuse the matter more than before.

 

[Neo1]

I realize the following totally doesn't belong here... but kind of like Maverick demonstrating the course could be done super quickly, I'm doing it anyway. Wanted to do a little review of the White's Springdale in case anyone was interested in something like that.

To those that aren't familar, Whites has 3 tiers of products - the GYW styles (kind of like how AE makes the uppers in the DR and then finishes them, similar deal), the stitchdown styles, and the totally handwelted styles (the ones that people complain about taking like 6 months to make). If you were to hop over to the Whites thread you'd see people turn their noses up to anything other than the handwelted stuff...and it's hard to disagree, the crazy customizations and the builds can be pretty spectacular. But Whites' GYW stuff is actually pretty damn good too.

I got a Normandy right when it came out. Liked the last a lot better than the HM's 1757. I'm a 7.5C brannock, 8.5B HTB, low volume high instep and to me the Normandy's B34 or APL or whatever they call it now just hugged my foot better in my normal 7D. 7D in the HM works absolutely fine but it just feels "boxy" - like I have excess width and not enough instep, where as the Normandy has none of that.

I was always kind of sore for not getting an Eagle County on the best last of all, but I could never get into the Vibram Christy white outsole thing. I wanted to join the bandwagon but just couldn't. Fast forward a little to the Park City. Ok, so on paper I liked what I saw - the Normandy last, poron to eat up some of the excess volume, and ok, the Vibram gloxi, for me to give a try. Plus burgundy cxl. In actuality....hmmm....The Park City is more like a glorified platform sneaker. I'm sure people who can't wait to switch into like Brooks or something and hate dress shoes would love this thing, but this is not what I was looking for at all. It's not a bad boot, it was just wrong for me in every regard. Again, I'm sure sneaker people would love this.

Whites' GYW styles include a bunch with Vibram Christy or similar, among them the Perry lines and the Springdale. From my experience bouncing around betwen brands, I have come to realize something I like about AE is that there is no way around it, they just run smaller than other brands and I can usually consistently blind order a 7D. Other brands I have to worry more - sometimes I'll need as low as 6.5D or sometimes I'll need the 7 but can't handle the volume.

The Springdale is advertised as the lowest volume of anything they have in the GYW selections, on the C461 sprung toe last. Whites is known for their arch-ease lasts which provide variable built-in arch support but all the GYW styles are completely flat, with the exception of the Springdale which is considered "moderate". All styles also start at 7D, meaning if 7D was too big, I'd be SOL. The Springdale is also available in the "special" leathers like the Perry select - the Seidel doubleshots in various colors. It has all eyelets and no hooks (not great, but so did the Park City), and it used the Vibram Christy. So I thought wth, this thing again checks all the boxes on paper, I'll go ahead.

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the Springdale. I went with my usual 7D (same as the HM and Park City) - it fits snug, in a good way. It hugs my foot well and the sprung toe is interesting - it provides sort of a standard amount of toe box while allowing for ample vertical space. This was my first outing with the double shot (went with natural) and I like it - it's like a stiffer, matte finished cxl. Despite the vibram christy, I think the built-in arch serves to provide enough support for me and I've worn these for many many hours at a time. The Springdale, in a nutshell - gave me a chance with the christy, demonstrated the doubleshot, and showed me what the C461 was like in terms of fit & arch support.

I like to be super honest with any reviews I make and will never sell you guys or sugar coat something. This is a very different product than the Park City - if you like squishy sneakers, you will NOT like this, and vice-versa, if your idea of a casual weekend boot is the GS diesel you WILL like this. I read quite a few comments about people complaining about getting their heels rubbed off - putting the boots on for the first time, I did feel that rub/burning sensation on the right one for about 20 min but it went away fast - my guess is if the last doesn't work for you, you may encounter this. It's going to be ymmv - for me it went away quickly and the break-in time was very very minimal, shorter than most AEs or GSs.

If you don't go with an in-stock color these must be built to order - mine took a full 7 weeks to arrive. These aren't stocked by Bakers boots so you have to go through Whites directly. Whites customer support answers the phone and is very "available" but the competency varies tremendously - some people literally are totally unhelpful.

These definitely run on the small side - they include removable ortholite inserts to sort of accomodate more variation in sizing but these are not what I would recommend to E width people.

Like I said before, these are the same Park City style yellow lace all eyelet design, which I consider a PITA over hooks.

People on reddit have complained about these not holding up with super extended use on construction sites. Um....duh, I wouldn't use them for that.

Finally, people have posted numerous things about construction flaws - sloppy welt jobs, etc. Luckily I had none of that, but they do happen.

The inflation has made everything skyrocket in price and a lot of times I feel like the MSRPs totally aren't justified. The Springdale is priced last time I checked at 370 (it started a little lower). Whites does 20% off usually at father's day, again in the summer and on BF for the GYW so that takes it down a drop. At those levels I would totally recommend picking up a pair if you're interested.

 

[Neo1]

I realize the following totally doesn't belong here... but kind of like Maverick demonstrating the course could be done super quickly, I'm doing it anyway. Wanted to do a little review of the White's Springdale in case anyone was interested in something like that.

To those that aren't familar, Whites has 3 tiers of products - the GYW styles (kind of like how AE makes the uppers in the DR and then finishes them, similar deal), the stitchdown styles, and the totally handwelted styles (the ones that people complain about taking like 6 months to make). If you were to hop over to the Whites thread you'd see people turn their noses up to anything other than the handwelted stuff...and it's hard to disagree, the crazy customizations and the builds can be pretty spectacular. But Whites' GYW stuff is actually pretty damn good too.

I got a Normandy right when it came out. Liked the last a lot better than the HM's 1757. I'm a 7.5C brannock, 8.5B HTB, low volume high instep and to me the Normandy's B34 or APL or whatever they call it now just hugged my foot better in my normal 7D. 7D in the HM works absolutely fine but it just feels "boxy" - like I have excess width and not enough instep, where as the Normandy has none of that.

I was always kind of sore for not getting an Eagle County on the best last of all, but I could never get into the Vibram Christy white outsole thing. I wanted to join the bandwagon but just couldn't. Fast forward a little to the Park City. Ok, so on paper I liked what I saw - the Normandy last, poron to eat up some of the excess volume, and ok, the Vibram gloxi, for me to give a try. Plus burgundy cxl. In actuality....hmmm....The Park City is more like a glorified platform sneaker. I'm sure people who can't wait to switch into like Brooks or something and hate dress shoes would love this thing, but this is not what I was looking for at all. It's not a bad boot, it was just wrong for me in every regard. Again, I'm sure sneaker people would love this.

Whites' GYW styles include a bunch with Vibram Christy or similar, among them the Perry lines and the Springdale. From my experience bouncing around betwen brands, I have come to realize something I like about AE is that there is no way around it, they just run smaller than other brands and I can usually consistently blind order a 7D. Other brands I have to worry more - sometimes I'll need as low as 6.5D or sometimes I'll need the 7 but can't handle the volume.

The Springdale is advertised as the lowest volume of anything they have in the GYW selections, on the C461 sprung toe last. Whites is known for their arch-ease lasts which provide variable built-in arch support but all the GYW styles are completely flat, with the exception of the Springdale which is considered "moderate". All styles also start at 7D, meaning if 7D was too big, I'd be SOL. The Springdale is also available in the "special" leathers like the Perry select - the Seidel doubleshots in various colors. It has all eyelets and no hooks (not great, but so did the Park City), and it used the Vibram Christy. So I thought wth, this thing again checks all the boxes on paper, I'll go ahead.

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the Springdale. I went with my usual 7D (same as the HM and Park City) - it fits snug, in a good way. It hugs my foot well and the sprung toe is interesting - it provides sort of a standard amount of toe box while allowing for ample vertical space. This was my first outing with the double shot (went with natural) and I like it - it's like a stiffer, matte finished cxl. Despite the vibram christy, I think the built-in arch serves to provide enough support for me and I've worn these for many many hours at a time. The Springdale, in a nutshell - gave me a chance with the christy, demonstrated the doubleshot, and showed me what the C461 was like in terms of fit & arch support.

I like to be super honest with any reviews I make and will never sell you guys or sugar coat something. This is a very different product than the Park City - if you like squishy sneakers, you will NOT like this, and vice-versa, if your idea of a casual weekend boot is the GS diesel you WILL like this. I read quite a few comments about people complaining about getting their heels rubbed off - putting the boots on for the first time, I did feel that rub/burning sensation on the right one for about 20 min but it went away fast - my guess is if the last doesn't work for you, you may encounter this. It's going to be ymmv - for me it went away quickly and the break-in time was very very minimal, shorter than most AEs or GSs.

If you don't go with an in-stock color these must be built to order - mine took a full 7 weeks to arrive. These aren't stocked by Bakers boots so you have to go through Whites directly. Whites customer support answers the phone and is very "available" but the competency varies tremendously - some people literally are totally unhelpful.

These definitely run on the small side - they include removable ortholite inserts to sort of accomodate more variation in sizing but these are not what I would recommend to E width people.

Like I said before, these are the same Park City style yellow lace all eyelet design, which I consider a PITA over hooks.

People on reddit have complained about these not holding up with super extended use on construction sites. Um....duh, I wouldn't use them for that.

Finally, people have posted numerous things about construction flaws - sloppy welt jobs, etc. Luckily I had none of that, but they do happen.

The inflation has made everything skyrocket in price and a lot of times I feel like the MSRPs totally aren't justified. The Springdale is priced last time I checked at 370 (it started a little lower). Whites does 20% off usually at father's day, again in the summer and on BF for the GYW so that takes it down a drop. At those levels I would totally recommend picking up a pair if you're interested.

Knew I would forget something - wanted to comment on the whole "arch-ease" thing because i've read a lot of nonsense comments about it.

The arch support is going to be VERY dependent on your own situation. The complaints and comments people make about feeling like standing on a rung of a ladder or a roll of quarters and being in excruciating pain will apply to really flat-footed people, if you fall into that category. That won't happen to everyone equally. I have super high arches for the most part - for me, the arch in the Springdale is barely barely noticeable - when I put on something from AE or GS, they do feel noticeably more flat than the Whites, but the Whites doesn't feel like anything to me, if that makes sense. When I was a kid I remember buying new pairs of like Nike basketball sneakers and feeling a sort of hump in the footbed that settled over time - I guess I'd compare it to that a little?

Among the other pairs of Whites I own, I have tried the C461, the 1970 (moderate), the 55 (moderate) and the 695 (packer pointed toe). The 695 last I truly feel the arch - I love the thing but I realize that may not be for everyone. The others I feel are barely there. But ymmv on this as well.