Why are Allen Edmonds shoes so uncomfortable

[Reevolving]

But now @Blake Stitched Blues has brought Reevolving back as a "truth-teller."

I came here with some questions, quickly saw what a farce this forum was, I was a very early enlightened truth teller. You were just too slow to recognize the reality because you drank the SF KoolAid by the fistful. Accepted brand only, of course. What a sad bunch of tools.

 

[Reevolving]

I then realized that having kids is the biggest flex ever.

Some of the lowest income populations have the most children.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

I agree with this. I studied history and at one point had PhD aspirations. But besides the fact that the areas of study I was interested in were not and are not much in vogue, the degree itself is basically considered worthless unless you become a Professor, which was never my aspiration.

I am a bit of an uneducated swine in my family - an uncouth businessman at this point, but growing up around people w/ science and humanities PhD's, both make for fascinating and interesting points of view.

Right, and I think that's one of the main reasons we should be investing in both. We need there to be some experts in more than just one set of skills. Plus, many high-paying careers are available for those with advanced degrees, it's just a matter of selling yourself and getting your foot in the door.

On a sidenote, this is one of the reasons I'm more willing to delve into 'serious discussions' on the forum. I actually find it enjoyable compared to the dearth of conversational topics these days.

Reading points 1 and 2 seemed awfully familiar, and then you mentioned South Asian, which all adds up.

It's definitely culturally traditional and smart, I've grown to appreciate it after much western rebelliousness, especially during this pandemic. It's a huge social support net.

On the culture note, it's not without its flaws. I will never be a fan of codependent behaviours which are too prevalent in many Asian parent cultures.

Personally, I see the value in having a family house where parents and their children live together, as it's not dissimilar to my own upbringing. It's the multi-generational stuff in addition to this that I find a bit much. At that point you're making a new family, so they need elbow room.

 

[ValidusLA]

Reading points 1 and 2 seemed awfully familiar, and then you mentioned South Asian, which all adds up.

It's definitely culturally traditional and smart, I've grown to appreciate it after much western rebelliousness, especially during this pandemic. It's a huge social support net.

On the culture note, it's not without its flaws. I will never be a fan of codependent behaviours which are too prevalent in many Asian parent cultures.

I myself am like....the palest cracker in the box, but grew up with a good number of friends whose parents had come to the US from Japan, Taiwan, HK, or India.

I obviously don't have a perfect window, but my wife's family is Taiwanese and can definitely see the pro-con. My FIL's family is amazing in almost every way. Really tight knit, spend time intergenerationally even though they live on three continents. What I see from them is almost wholly positive. My MIL's on the other hand it massively codependently abusive in every way imaginable. Almost every part of the family is fighting with another and they all attempt to wield money as a cudgel or a knife or a lure against the others, which ever way benefits.

 

[FlyingHorker]

Personally, I see the value in having a family house where parents and their children live together, as it's not dissimilar to my own upbringing. It's the multi-generational stuff in addition to this that I find a bit much. At that point you're making a new family, so they need elbow room.

Amen on the bolded. Most people I know who grew up in these houses did eventually move out for these reasons.

I myself am like....the palest cracker in the box, but grew up with a good number of friends whose parents had come to the US from Japan, Taiwan, HK, or India.

I obviously don't have a perfect window, but my wife's family is Taiwanese and can definitely see the pro-con. My FIL's family is amazing in almost every way. Really tight knit, spend time intergenerationally even though they live on three continents. What I see from them is almost wholly positive. My MIL's on the other hand it massively codependently abusive in every way imaginable. Almost every part of the family is fighting with another and they all attempt to wield money as a cudgel or a knife or a lure against the others, which ever way benefits.

FIL's family sounds like the ideal. Never seen it!

MIL's family sounds basically exactly what I was talking about. Hearing the words "the money doesn't matter" now fill me with instant suspicion. I'm guilty of those behaviours myself, as is the nature of codependency. I should mention that my definition of family also includes extended family, aunts, uncles, etc.

Still, the pandemic has made me grateful for the massive support net I do have, even if there are strings attached. I'd likely be homeless otherwise.

 

[ValidusLA]

FIL's family sounds like the ideal. Never seen it!

MIL's family sounds basically exactly what I was talking about. Hearing the words "the money doesn't matter" now fill me with instant suspicion. I'm guilty of those behaviours myself, as is the nature of codependency. I should mention that my definition of family also includes extended family, aunts, uncles, etc.

Ya its super weird to compare the two.

FIL's family is well off, loving, supporting. His brother is seperated from his wife and lives back in Taiwan, but they are amiable and they come together to spend time w/ their kids and grandkids. FIL's dad even split off 1/3 of his money and gave it to his only daughter when she got married as early inheritance so that she would not be dependent on her husband or his family.

MIL's family has 25 years of lawsuits in Taiwan and the US aimed at each other constantly. One of the most dysfunctional **** shows I've ever seen.

 

[FlyingHorker]

Ya its super weird to compare the two.

FIL's family is well off, loving, supporting. His brother is seperated from his wife and lives back in Taiwan, but they are amiable and they come together to spend time w/ their kids and grandkids. FIL's dad even split off 1/3 of his money and gave it to his only daughter when she got married as early inheritance so that she would not be dependent on her husband or his family.

MIL's family has 25 years of lawsuits in Taiwan and the US aimed at each other constantly. One of the most dysfunctional **** shows I've ever seen.

The bolded has me so shocked I ended up laughing. Yeah that definitely sounds like a family with a healthy sense of relationships.

MIL family sounds like the type where I'd gather a sense of independence and then likely cut ties.

 

[ValidusLA]

FIL's dad is a great dude. Wanted his 3 kids to have everything equal, but sensitive to realities of many families in Taiwan. He turns 97 in May, I'm hoping we can go see him soon again once Covid dies down.

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

I really hate this trend towards STEM fields over all else these days. Not that they're useless as subjects, but just that there is a major devaluation of other degrees, and most people who decry higher education are more often than not pointing at Liberal Arts as their object of disdain. Not a good trajectory for a society.

Well, if we're to be technical, science and math fall under the liberal arts, and where I went to school, engineering was its separate college but a biochemistry or physics major had to take courses in humanities and social science departments, and vice versa. I think the real problem is that back in the day, not that many people went to college at all, and those that did were more interested in socializing with other sons of senators than in actually acquiring a useful body of knowledge. Today, a lot more folks do so because that's what employers demand, and simultaneously, college curriculums have become more difficult than simply showing up in your J.Press jacket and having the right last name; as a result, a lot of these unenthusiastic students focus on the humanities because they're perceived as a less demanding course of study towards a bachelor's degree. So the field itself is unfairly vilified simply because it's popular amongst people who shouldn't be there in the first place.

Also, sometimes humanities people do weird things like this, which the STEM gang generally can't get away with:

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[Blake Stitched Blues]

Traditional shoes are never going to be as comfortable as sneakers, but this forum also isn't called ComfortForum. Presumably, people here are also interested in how they look.

SF seems to have evolved quite a bit in terms of attitudes towards comfy shoes. Birkinstocks, Blundstones and Wallabees are cool now. The guy who runs 18 East has managed to make the three-eye Timberland boat shoes fashionable again. I don't think this would have flown five or ten years ago. Old theads on things like Birkinstocks are pretty disparaging at best.

Reevolving was something of a running joke here about ten years ago, as he posted really dumb threads about taping shirts with CVS cloth tape and buying fake watches. Every thread he posted devolved into a Dumb Thread (DT). It was entertaining for a while because the cohort who used to be here was very good with banter. Vox used to interject funny things between each post. But now @Blake Stitched Blues has brought Reevolving back as a "truth-teller."

Rev threads were kind of a filler for a while between Foo threads. They were both very entertaining. But now we're having a serious discussion about whether people are stupid for not posting about bespoke clothes and whether GYW shoes are comfy.

I'm not familiar with the man beyond his opinions on leather-soled shoes. The thread I linked to a few pages back always stuck in my mind as he seemed to be saying everything I was thinking when I got back into wearing welted shoes. I think he's on to something re the comparison to high heels. Women buy heels based on how the shoes make them feel, brand cachet and aesthetics, not value, comfort or resolability. Men seem to have a hard time admitting to ourselves that we like buying pretty shoes so we tend to couch our discussions on the subject in terms of craft, heritage, comfort, value etc.

 

[Commisar]

Reading points 1 and 2 seemed awfully familiar, and then you mentioned South Asian, which all adds up.

It's definitely culturally traditional and smart, I've grown to appreciate it after much western rebelliousness, especially during this pandemic. It's a huge social support net.

On the culture note, it's not without its flaws. I will never be a fan of codependent behaviours which are too prevalent in many Asian parent cultures.

Right until the parents try and control your life until they die..... Then it's a living hell you can't escape from. It goes both ways.

 

[Reevolving]

I'm not familiar with the man beyond his opinions on leather-soled shoes. The thread I linked to a few pages back always stuck in my mind as he seemed to be saying everything I was thinking when I got back into wearing welted shoes. I think he's on to something re the comparison to high heels. Women buy heels based on how the shoes make them feel, brand cachet and aesthetics, not value, comfort or resolability. Men seem to have a hard time admitting to ourselves that we like buying pretty shoes so we tend to couch our discussions on the subject in terms of craft, heritage, comfort, value etc.

Good job on not drinking the Kool Aid like the rest of these lemmings. The Emperor has no clothes, and its hilarious to see people cling to their cringey lies that hard leather soles are as comfy as fluffy double ply toilet paper. Like walking on clouds, as some of these high heeled boys say.

Go look at what your doctor is wearing while being on his feet all day. It isn't the nonsense high heels that the SF shoe polishers wear while sitting at their intern desk all day. And a doctor can afford any shoe on the planet, unlike these $60k thrift store millionaires.

If these idiots were hiking Everest, they'd show up in Alden Shell boots with slick leather soles and insist to the Sherpas that they're doing it all wrong. "But, but, Goodyear Welt is so superiorr!!! You can replace the sole at Camp 4 at the cobbler, while you need to buy new Walmart boots! I'm so superior!" They would last be seen taking photographs of carefully positioned snow dollops on their toe cap with their DSLR macro lens.

It is literally a cult with legitimate brainwashing. Good job you resisted it and clung to reality. People discount the rubber soles b/c they want the "clip/clop" feeling of being special, and pretending they are from the halcyon days of gaslight in the 19th century, as in Midnight in Paris. Pliable rubber is softer than hard leather. I only wear rubber soles and never looked back.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

I mean yeah, except leather-soled shoes actually are able to be repaired, so they're better quality in that way.

I have no problem admitting I'd rather wear dress shoes because they're prettier. Are they as comfortable on the feet? Maybe not, but Blundstones and Birkenstocks are ugly as hell. That's part of their 'appeal.'

 

[rikod]

I'm not familiar with the man beyond his opinions on leather-soled shoes. The thread I linked to a few pages back always stuck in my mind as he seemed to be saying everything I was thinking when I got back into wearing welted shoes. I think he's on to something re the comparison to high heels. Women buy heels based on how the shoes make them feel, brand cachet and aesthetics, not value, comfort or resolability. Men seem to have a hard time admitting to ourselves that we like buying pretty shoes so we tend to couch our discussions on the subject in terms of craft, heritage, comfort, value etc.

That's a very reasonable analogy, that's exactly what it is. Again, since I live un FL and don't have to walk 40 blocks to work, comfort (of course reasonable comfort and well fitting is a must) is secondary to style and looks. BTW, I recently wear for the first time a nice pair of Alden suedes in Barry last and found it very comfortable. If the OP is still reading I highly recommend he tries something like that. Only problem is they are overpriced IMO

 

[ValidusLA]

Good job on not drinking the Kool Aid like the rest of these lemmings. The Emperor has no clothes, and its hilarious to see people cling to their cringey lies that hard leather soles are as comfy as fluffy double ply toilet paper. Like walking on clouds, as some of these high heeled boys say.

Go look at what your doctor is wearing while being on his feet all day. It isn't the nonsense high heels that the SF shoe polishers wear while sitting at their intern desk all day. And a doctor can afford any shoe on the planet, unlike these $60k thrift store millionaires.

If these idiots were hiking Everest, they'd show up in Alden Shell boots with slick leather soles and insist to the Sherpas that they're doing it all wrong. "But, but, Goodyear Welt is so superiorr!!! You can replace the sole at Camp 4 at the cobbler, while you need to buy new Walmart boots! I'm so superior!" They would last be seen taking photographs of carefully positioned snow dollops on their toe cap with their DSLR macro lens.

It is literally a cult with legitimate brainwashing. Good job you resisted it and clung to reality. People discount the rubber soles b/c they want the "clip/clop" feeling of being special, and pretending they are from the halcyon days of gaslight in the 19th century, as in Midnight in Paris. Pliable rubber is softer than hard leather. I only wear rubber soles and never looked back.

Need to take a breath, seriously. Multiple people in this thread have acknowledged comfort is not a reason to wear leather shoes.

However, they aren't as bad comfort wise as you make them out to be; certainly not akin to high heels; to discount the craft and repair issue is just willfully obtuse.

I think Blakes point about men not wanting to admit they like pretty things might have some merit. I however am in no way ashamed to admit I like to wear pretty things. People can have diverse and multiple incentives.

Lastly, are SF members poor, or are they taking 50k everest vacations with Aldens and nice cameras?