ALLEN EDMONDS APPRECIATION THREAD EDITION 2O22

[DawgPound]

Happy New Year’s Eve-Eve! Out this evening with the fam and rocking some chili shell Landons. Stay safe and have fun this weekend friends!

 

[Neo1]

CXL is a super rugged leather. It is meant to be kind of messed up and have that aesthetic.

Not at all trying to knock your comment (big fan of all your stuff) but i own a ton of styles in cxl and this is definitely not what I consider normal. Someone even posted something on reddit once saying it looked like the finishing was flaking off - in all the pairs I own I've never seen cxl wear like this.

 

[JFWR]

Not at all trying to knock your comment (big fan of all your stuff) but i own a ton of styles in cxl and this is definitely not what I consider normal. Someone even posted something on reddit once saying it looked like the finishing was flaking off - in all the pairs I own I've never seen cxl wear like this.

No problem. Maybe it is much more extreme than I imagined.

Can you show some pics?

 

[Shoenut]

Those look very nice; where are they manufactured?

They are imported and not from the DR. It is really a cement construction. At a discount it would be a good winter boot for those blizzard days.

 

[Shoenut]

Not at all trying to knock your comment (big fan of all your stuff) but i own a ton of styles in cxl and this is definitely not what I consider normal. Someone even posted something on reddit once saying it looked like the finishing was flaking off - in all the pairs I own I've never seen cxl wear like this.

I hate to say this but newer calf and CXL are quite different these days. My Landon in calf just cracked at a crease point and it went right through the finish. I had to Acetone, sand, and spot dye to make them presentable. Seems like the new calf is just surface dyed.

 

[smfdoc]

there isn’t anything good about anything being vegan

Not true. They are level 12 assassins and have the ability to kill any conversation.

 

[Vincent George]

Wasn’t in love with the white / cream stitching on these Natural Shell Higgins Mills, so I used a little walnut polish and a Q Tip to add some tone.

 

[CommanderMcBragg]

Gentlemen:

Please counsel me on fine belting.

Are AE belts--the Manistee, the Strand Ave, the Wide Basic--too formal and too dressy for a business-casual work environment? I man the front desk as a civilian at the local police department, where I wear an embroidered long-sleeve polo, a variety of cotton twill non-pleated pants or even duck canvas carpenter pants, and an AE model shoe such as the Strand.

With the assistance of the erstwhile AE_Ashley a few years back, I procured a Strand Ave belt in Walnut, a Manistee in Bourbon, and a Wide Basic in Chili. (The Wide Basic wasn't actually ordered by me, but it arrived in the box along with a McAllister and a fuddy-duddy MacNeil I purchased; it was either a gift or a packing mistake, but in the event of the latter, shhhh...don't tell.) The idea was that the Strand Ave would go strictly with my Strand/Strand weaves in the matching Walnut color, the Wide Basic with my various AE shoes in Chili, and the versatile Manistee is a close enough match to Walnut/Bourbon/Copper that it could wear many hats and go with all of these.

The problem is that I've yet to wear any of the three of the belts.

I have two generic 38mm/1.5" leather belts--one in dark brown and one in light brown--that are my go-to belts. Somehow the aforementioned AE belts feel too thin and too dressy for my application. I'm in the process of selling off clothes from the closet that still have the tags on them or I simply never wear, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with these AE belts.

Are these AE belts I've mentioned strictly to be worn in conjunction with a suit and tie?

Thanks...

 

[MajorDash]

Gentlemen:

Please counsel me on fine belting.

Are AE belts--the Manistee, the Strand Ave, the Wide Basic--too formal and too dressy for a business-casual work environment? I man the front desk as a civilian at the local police department, where I wear an embroidered long-sleeve polo, a variety of cotton twill non-pleated pants or even duck canvas carpenter pants, and an AE model shoe such as the Strand.

With the assistance of the erstwhile AE_Ashley a few years back, I procured a Strand Ave belt in Walnut, a Manistee in Bourbon, and a Wide Basic in Chili. (The Wide Basic wasn't actually ordered by me, but it arrived in the box along with a McAllister and a fuddy-duddy MacNeil I purchased; it was either a gift or a packing mistake, but in the event of the latter, shhhh...don't tell.) The idea was that the Strand Ave would go strictly with my Strand/Strand weaves in the matching Walnut color, the Wide Basic with my various AE shoes in Chili, and the versatile Manistee is a close enough match to Walnut/Bourbon/Copper that it could wear many hats and go with all of these.

The problem is that I've yet to wear any of the three of the belts.

I have two generic 38mm/1.5" leather belts--one in dark brown and one in light brown--that are my go-to belts. Somehow the aforementioned AE belts feel too thin and too dressy for my application. I'm in the process of selling off clothes from the closet that still have the tags on them or I simply never wear, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with these AE belts.

Are these AE belts I've mentioned strictly to be worn in conjunction with a suit and tie?

Thanks...

Its a belt. I think if you're already wearing Strands, you are good to wear any of those belts.

 

[Waxed]

I used to goof on the Park City with Karina - we talked about how they resembled women's boots, but I actually kind of liked the burgundy cxl option. I made a promise to myself that if they ever showed up on amazon stupidly stupidly low priced and only the burgundy, i'd do it. Of course that happened (~$115 or so).

On the positive side, they basically "fix" what I didn't like about the Normandy & Caen I already own - they have much more padding and fit tighter with more footbed support. The gloxi is much better than it looks in terms of performance. The no speedhooks is annoying but the lacing is pretty quick with the yellow normandy laces.

On the negative side the cxl is kind of strange - as it flexes it exhibits odd mircrocreases that almost looks like cracking / crazing. The soles on are bright white contrasting with the upper and as a whole these just don't "feel" like a $475 msrp product. Not sure how to best explain it - you know how I felt about the Lombard and you sort of got what I was saying - these are kind of like that - good, but not great.

I agree with you about the gloxi. Was walking through snow/ice today and didn’t feel like slipping once. It performs well.

 

[CommanderMcBragg]

Thank you, MajorDash. I guess part of the issue is that I've always been accustomed to wearing 1 1/2" wide belts, and anything less just categorically screams a 1980s skinny belt to me. Part of the appeal of the Strand balmoral is that it can be worn casually with jeans or even sock-less (not by me), and I was curious if the matching 1.38mm belt/shoes would be a contrived look that's something of a faux-pas in a non-formal work environment.

 

[Blue_Bowtie]

Tan grain HM’s inside a glass bottom cable car. Had a good hike after arriving to the destination! I hope you all have a fantastic 2023!

 

[Waxed]

Thank you, MajorDash. I guess part of the issue is that I've always been accustomed to wearing 1 1/2" wide belts, and anything less just categorically screams a 1980s skinny belt to me. Part of the appeal of the Strand balmoral is that it can be worn casually with jeans or even sock-less (not by me), and I was curious if the matching 1.38mm belt/shoes would be a contrived look that's something of a faux-pas in a non-formal work environment.

You might like the Ace Avenue. The website does say 1.38” but they’re actually the same width as some handmade belts I had done from NC, which were all 1 1/2”. The belt is a more casual look though.

I’m not sure if this is the case with all AE belts because I’m still fairly new to the brand but I do also own a Bourbon Street suede belt and it is a smaller width (not skinny belt in my eyes but I can see how someone might say that. I prefer 1.5” belts also)

 

[JFWR]

Gentlemen:

Please counsel me on fine belting.

Are AE belts--the Manistee, the Strand Ave, the Wide Basic--too formal and too dressy for a business-casual work environment? I man the front desk as a civilian at the local police department, where I wear an embroidered long-sleeve polo, a variety of cotton twill non-pleated pants or even duck canvas carpenter pants, and an AE model shoe such as the Strand.

With the assistance of the erstwhile AE_Ashley a few years back, I procured a Strand Ave belt in Walnut, a Manistee in Bourbon, and a Wide Basic in Chili. (The Wide Basic wasn't actually ordered by me, but it arrived in the box along with a McAllister and a fuddy-duddy MacNeil I purchased; it was either a gift or a packing mistake, but in the event of the latter, shhhh...don't tell.) The idea was that the Strand Ave would go strictly with my Strand/Strand weaves in the matching Walnut color, the Wide Basic with my various AE shoes in Chili, and the versatile Manistee is a close enough match to Walnut/Bourbon/Copper that it could wear many hats and go with all of these.

The problem is that I've yet to wear any of the three of the belts.

I have two generic 38mm/1.5" leather belts--one in dark brown and one in light brown--that are my go-to belts. Somehow the aforementioned AE belts feel too thin and too dressy for my application. I'm in the process of selling off clothes from the closet that still have the tags on them or I simply never wear, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with these AE belts.

Are these AE belts I've mentioned strictly to be worn in conjunction with a suit and tie?

Thanks...

The belts are fine, but put on a sport coat and you'd look a lot better.

 

[bluejazzmonkey]

Wasn’t in love with the white / cream stitching on these Natural Shell Higgins Mills, so I used a little walnut polish and a Q Tip to add some tone.
View attachment 1873231 View attachment 1873232

The walnut worked great!! Bravo

My brown shell HM received the same treatment and my natural HM will also get the stitching darkened (I’ll need to order some walnut cream).