Allen Edmonds (really... are they good shoes?)

[Lgrant]

Why didn't you just look to other brands by then? I can imagine getting the same or better quality for less than you paid for the shoes and the resole.

Because I haven’t found another pair of spectator shoes that look as good. Each manufacturer has slightly different styles of brogue-ing, and very subtle changes can make a shoe look ugly (at least in my eyes). I couldn’t find other shoes in the AE price range that looked as good to me.

 

[Fifty150]

I just placed the order. It was priced right. So I took a chance.

 

[Fifty150]

I can't find anything wrong. They looked fine. Not even the "F2" stamp on the shoe to indicate a factory second. It wasn't tried on as a display model or a retail return, as the original factory lace pattern is still on the shoe. I put them on my feet, and they felt fine. I got my $100 worth.


My personal suspicion is that this shoe was not a factory second. Probably old. Dead stock. They had to get rid of it. That's how business works. Anything that doesn't move, you are losing money on it. You already lost money by shipping it out to a store, where it sat in a stock room for who knows how long. Then it costs money for the store to send it back to the factory warehouse. Not just their own network of Allen Edmonds boutique stores. Resellers like Nordstroms will also send back stuff that didn't sell. You're losing money from it sitting on the shelf. It costs money to rent the warehouse, and pay the warehouse workers, where "dead stock" inventory is sitting around. So they probably just "labeled" a bunch of unsold shoes as "factory seconds", to get rid of it.

 

[Fifty150]

I took them out for a test drive to The Bar. They feel good. Every step is soft and bouncy. I could break into a sprint, and run, if needed. Perfect traction.


This is not the shoe that you want, if you are looking for the old style of Allen Edmonds from decades ago. The inside of the shoe is leather lined. There's a full length leather sock liner. I can feel the soft poron under it. They don't do that when there's a leather insole. From the weight, you can tell that it doesn't have a leather insole. You can see that it's a thin rubber midsole. This boot is built like a sneaker. A good cobbler could deconstruct the boot, install a leather insole and a leather midsole. But that will make the boot heavier.


It's good enough for $100. It's comfortable. It will last long enough for me to get my money's worth. This is what you get with modern shoe making technology. Yes, it's not as "nice". The parts that they use save on manufacturing costs. Outside of a few "boot nerds", what do most buyers care about? They get a comfortable shoe that they don't have to break in. There are worst shoes, that cost more money. I will have a very hard time spending $200 to rebuild the shoe in ten years time.

 

[Fifty150]

When I got them, they felt okay. A half size down from my normal Brannock size. It's built on their 65 last. I know from owning another pair built on the 65 last that there's length. A half size down still left plenty of length. I didn't really notice at first, that a half size down was tighter. Initially, I just figured that I had to break in the shoe. Now I know. A half size down, and my toes are squished. The shoe still fits okay, and I can wear them. But the smaller toes on the outside are definitely wrapped a little tighter. You can clearly see the imprint of my foot on the insert, where the last 3 toes are positioned right into the side of the boot. Maybe it's the way that the last is built to make a pointier shoe. With most shoes, a half size is only 1/16". I never thought that it would really matter. Apparently, it does.

 

[Fifty150]

From the Dominican Republic factory. Bison. Extremely comfortable. Over a decade old. Still holding up.

Vibram mini lug soles are still great. The moc toe stitching was repaired once at the factory. Leather has been oiled.

 

[Fifty150]

This model is now discontinued. They aren't making it anymore. The Dalton. One of the better ones. Now gone. Maybe if enough people ask, they will bring it back. Or make something similar.

 

[JC225]

I have owned a few pairs now and have never regretted my purchases. I wore a pair of Allen Edmonds Broadstreets at the magic shop I worked at everyday and never had an issue quality or comfort. The style, and the classic looks are hard to beat. Unfortunately I can't really comment on the quality of the build today but I do know that the pairs I purchased over twenty years ago still look and feel like the day I bought them.

 

[Fifty150]

I wore a pair of Allen Edmonds Broadstreets at the magic shop I worked at everyday and never had an issue quality or comfort.

I wore these to see Penn & Teller

 

[Fifty150]

I'm not a real cowboy. These are not going in and out of a stirrup, or stepping in cow dung.

The inside is typical modern Allen Edmonds. A leather sock liner glued to poron. The insole is most likely a synthetic lasting board. The leather soles and heelstacks are probably not real leather. They are known for using "cardboard" - or whatever you want to call leather scraps reconstituted with glue.

I will admit that while it's not as "nice" - bonded leather is strong, more pliable, and weather resistant. Rain is not penetrating hot pressed leather bonded with glue. Sort of like using MDF; which is sawdust and glue. Not as nice a real wood. But there are applications.

The truth is I've never seen bonded leather melt, disintegrate, or simply crumble away. Alden Indy Boots use bonded leather for the midsole and heelstack. Nobody has ever said that their shoes simply fell apart. I have Indy Boots. The fake leather midsole and heelstack are just fine.

The real drawback to bonded leather, is cobblers who complain about it on social media. Pay attention to those shoe repair videos. Every bonded leather heelstack and midsole was intact. Fine until the cobbler peeled it off. Then the cobbler complains that he can't reuse it. When you send your shoes into the factory for a recraft, they simply peel off the old, replace with new, and don't complain about it on a YouTube video.

I fully expect to own these boots for decades to come. They will see the most action as I'm sleeping through operas, symphony performances, plays, sermons, political fundraisers, weddings........ Very expensive shoes to take naps in; at venues which are very expensive to attend. They won't ride on my Harley. They will ride in my girl's car.


At the price, I like them. The boots came in a shoe box. Not a boot box. The shafts were folded and crammed into the box to make them fit. Shoe bags came with them. Boots don't fit in shoe bags. The selling point for me, was the Horween leather. That did not disappoint. This may be the last chance to get Allen Edmonds with Horween leather. The company has been cost cutting by sourcing unknown quality leather, from unknown tanneries.​

 

[大馬伕]

 

[photo2u]

I like AE shoes. I have several. My favorite is a single buckle (monk straps) and the brogue types. I also like Italian shoes such as Fratelli Rossetti. When I was in the work force, I found the AE shoes much more comfortable than my Florsheim Imperials (Caff skin or shell Cordovan). However, I must admit, the Imperials in shell cordovan still a very sentimental shoe for me and I try to wear them as much as I can when appropriate.
Here is an image of my casual shoes, including some AE shoes & boots.

 

[Fifty150]

View attachment 706544

 

[Doctor Damage]

They are known for using "cardboard" - or whatever you want to call leather scraps reconstituted with glue.​

The term I've seen used for that is "leatherboard" but there's probably several names.

 

[Doctor Damage]

The real drawback to bonded leather, is cobblers who complain about it on social media. Pay attention to those shoe repair videos. Every bonded leather heelstack and midsole was intact. Fine until the cobbler peeled it off. Then the cobbler complains that he can't reuse it. When you send your shoes into the factory for a recraft, they simply peel off the old, replace with new, and don't complain about it on a YouTube video.​

This is a good observation.

 

[Fifty150]

Worn with gym pants. To the gym. Sneakers used as sneakers.

 

[jchance]

It’s weird when it comes to shoe pricing and leather jacket pricing.

With shoes like Allen Edmonds, you can get a perfectly great American-made shoes, brand new for $100-250 (sales price, which is fairly common). For bespoke shoes, you’re looking at $ 3k-7k for a JP artisan-John Lobb bespoke service.

With leather jackets, the price is almost the same when trying to buy quality. Vanson/Schott’s used jackets are $300-500. Custom/bespoke leather jackets are $1.4k-2.7k for GW-Himel. Good OTR leather jackets retail the same as going for a custom/bespoke leather jackets.

 

[Fifty150]

Many people are satisfied with Allen Edmonds

I'm satisfied with this pair. They feel great.

 

[大馬伕]