Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - reviews, pictures, sizing, etc...

[mdubs]



Thanks.. this chili burnished color, I hope it matches with Navy.. am just not sure. Will polishing helps the look, the shoe doesn't look 'new' or stand out to wear at a wedding with Navy suit.

Your Chili Shoes look fine to me. They are heavily burnished to give them their Chili color and so that is probably extra polish from being burnished. It *should* come off with time and brushing.

-Mike

 

[peppercorn78]



Anyone?

You bought a pair of seconds, whose "flaw" was likely a little uneven burnishing. Also possibly a slanted cap toe. I can't really tell from your pics.

Anyway, they seem fine to me, for seconds. I don't think you'll find much better without stepping up to first quality.

I think the chili color looks fantastic with navy blue trousers. The extra burnished colors like bourbon, "dark chili" or "bobs chili," and oxblood, will have more of a matte than shiny finish.

 

[danwatts2005]

Dark Brown Maritimes just arrived. Happy Father's Day. Already have the golden brown Kirkwoods, and these are just different enough. Probably should have gotten the navy, but I went with the conservative.

 

[BackInTheJox]

Dark Brown Maritimes just arrived. Happy Father's Day. Already have the golden brown Kirkwoods, and these are just different enough. Probably should have gotten the navy, but I went with the conservative.

Can you post pics of both together for comparison?

Thanks!

 

[danwatts2005]



Can you post pics of both together for comparison?

Thanks!

Here you go. Dark Brown Maritime and Golden Brown Kirkwood.

 

[22busy]



Thanks.. this chili burnished color, I hope it matches with Navy.. am just not sure. Will polishing helps the look, the shoe doesn't look 'new' or stand out to wear at a wedding with Navy suit.

Based on these pictures I would keep them. I think they look great. It seems that AE shoes arrive with more of a matte finish, which some people like. I use dark chili polish on my Bleeker Streets to give it a little bit of gloss. I also use black wax on the toe to give a higher shine and a darker toe. Maybe not the look you are going for.

 

[Roycru]

So I got my future father in law a pair of Maritimes from the sale (along with a pair of Kirkwoods for me to take advantage of the AmEx promo) for Father's Day which we celebrated last night. He's a pretty successful business man of over 30 years, but never really paid much attention to his shoes, so I got him the Maritimes since he's on his way to a fishing trip.

He said thank you and he would definitely use them and then decided to "give them some love" (his words) by folding them in half in his hands. I'm assuming to "help" break them in. I know they're not the most expensive shoes that AE makes, but I couldn't help but want to cry when I saw him do that lol.

As someone who has been wearing shoes since Harry S. Truman was President I can remember when bending shoes in half (and breaking down the rear of the shoe) was part of the standard shoe buying process and the shoe salesman always did that before you tried on the shoe. Somehow, over the years, professional shoe salesmen have been replaced by amateur shoe salesmen (the same phenomenon has occurred in almost every retail setting) and almost all of the things that used to be part of shoe buying have disappeared.

I still do that when I get a new pair of shoes. Often, I do it several times, as well as spending some time softening up the leather with my hands. For some bizarre reason, some people are now totally traumatized by their shoes getting "creases" (possibly by not fully understanding that shoes go on feet and that feet bend and flex when used for most normal uses of feet).

 

[BackInTheJox]

I think one of the odd things is that, with athletic/running shoes, flexing/bending in the midfoot area is generally considered a bad thing. They should flex/bend comfortably in the forefoot area. I tend to extend that thinking to dress shoes as well.

 

[Brown Dynamite]

Some people do that with leather sole shoes to help the sole flex and minimize heel slip. I don't imagine it necessary with rubber soled shoes...

I've seen AE SAs do it numerous times. An SA at CitiShoes even did it with a pair of Alden Shell Indy boots! Gave me a fright.

As someone who has been wearing shoes since Harry S. Truman was President I can remember when bending shoes in half (and breaking down the rear of the shoe) was part of the standard shoe buying process and the shoe salesman always did that before you tried on the shoe. Somehow, over the years, professional shoe salesmen have been replaced by amateur shoe salesmen (the same phenomenon has occurred in almost every retail setting) and almost all of the things that used to be part of shoe buying have disappeared.

I still do that when I get a new pair of shoes. Often, I do it several times, as well as spending some time softening up the leather with my hands. For some bizarre reason, some people are now totally traumatized by their shoes getting "creases" (possibly by not fully understanding that shoes go on feet and that feet bend and flex when used for most normal uses of feet).

I think one of the odd things is that, with athletic/running shoes, flexing/bending in the midfoot area is generally considered a bad thing. They should flex/bend comfortably in the forefoot area. I tend to extend that thinking to dress shoes as well.

Thinking back to it after reading these posts, it does make sense to do in an attempt to expedite the break-in process.

For the record, I love creases and shoes that have actually been worn, just as much as a shoes that look brand new. I guess the type 6/masochist in me didn't realize that there is more than one way to break in a shoe other than solely (see what I did there?) on one's foot.

 

[JSO1]

Seems like a lot of love for Navy and Brown Maritimes.

I'm anxiously awaiting the pickup of my Green Maritimes. Love me some Green CXL...

 

[Kahuna75]



Seems like a lot of love for Navy and Brown Maritimes.

I'm anxiously awaiting the pickup of my Green Maritimes. Love me some Green CXL...

Love the green also.

I have Sebago handsewn in USA brown cxl
with mini lug sole that I absolutely love so I would be sitting the browns out but the green or red would probably look killer after they get nice and beat in and sun faded.

 

[Burzan]

These brown Dundees may have the richest color of all my cordovan shoes/boots across all brands. The have some amazing variation on the side panels too. Hard not to look down when they hit some direct sunlight.

 

[rostov]



So I got my future father in law a pair of Maritimes from the sale (along with a pair of Kirkwoods for me to take advantage of the AmEx promo) for Father's Day which we celebrated last night. He's a pretty successful business man of over 30 years, but never really paid much attention to his shoes, so I got him the Maritimes since he's on his way to a fishing trip.

He said thank you and he would definitely use them and then decided to "give them some love" (his words) by folding them in half in his hands. I'm assuming to "help" break them in. I know they're not the most expensive shoes that AE makes, but I couldn't help but want to cry when I saw him do that lol.

As someone who has been wearing shoes since Harry S. Truman was President I can remember when bending shoes in half (and breaking down the rear of the shoe) was part of the standard shoe buying process and the shoe salesman always did that before you tried on the shoe. Somehow, over the years, professional shoe salesmen have been replaced by amateur shoe salesmen (the same phenomenon has occurred in almost every retail setting) and almost all of the things that used to be part of shoe buying have disappeared.

I still do that when I get a new pair of shoes. Often, I do it several times, as well as spending some time softening up the leather with my hands. For some bizarre reason, some people are now totally traumatized by their shoes getting "creases" (possibly by not fully understanding that shoes go on feet and that feet bend and flex when used for most normal uses of feet).

My SA at AE does this when I try on shoes, although it does make me cringe slightly. He's a young guy, too.

 

[garland]

I guess I'll chime in on the "bending" of shoes lol.

Now to clarify, in my opinion there's little to no point to bend a shoe in half in the literal sense. The flex point on the sole is totally dependent on where the ball of the foot lands in the shoe, and regardless of how "correct" a shoe may fit, walking is really the only way to establish where the sole actually bends. Keep in mind this applies for dress shoes. Boat shoes, who knows. I think the best way to break them in is soak them in water the first time you wear them.

What we do, and how I was taught is to massage the counter of the shoe with palm of my hand. This does two things. 1.) As the shoes lie sideways in the box, over time the throat of the shoe will slowly collapse. This helps to restore/encourage the heel and throat opening back to its intended shape. 2.) There's a certain amount of time that it takes for the counter to conform to ones heel. Bending(not breaking) the counter helps in that process.

 

[harlequin782]

Is no one else put off by the fact that the Maritime and Kirkwood are the lesser AE brand, manufactured in the Dominican Republic?....Im particularly fond of the Maritime...but I just couldnt bring myself to purchase the budget brand, of an already budget brand shoe.