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

[RLeslieS]

Oh wise SF forum, I love my AE shoes, but I need your suggestions for the maker of a good leather, rubber sole, casual shoe that is available in 4E width. Something similar to the Wilbert or Mapleton in looks but I am open. Really prefer something welted and made in the USA, which makes the picking pretty slim. So, do any of my wide foot, high instep SF friends have any suggestions? My best fitting last is the 678, Benton, because they make it deeper for the orthotic and I have the option to remove it for the better fit. Feel free to PM me on this if you choose not to post non AE recommendations on this thread. My feet thank you.

There's a company called Hitchcock that specializes in wide shoes. Several years ago I bought a boat shoe from them with a Vibram sole that wore and wore and wore. Can't comment on their current quality, though, but here's a link (for what it's worth). Happy hunting!

http://www.wideshoes.com/

 

[peppercorn78]



Oh wise SF forum, I love my AE shoes, but I need your suggestions for the maker of a good leather, rubber sole, casual shoe that is available in 4E width. Something similar to the Wilbert or Mapleton in looks but I am open. Really prefer something welted and made in the USA, which makes the picking pretty slim. So, do any of my wide foot, high instep SF friends have any suggestions? My best fitting last is the 678, Benton, because they make it deeper for the orthotic and I have the option to remove it for the better fit. Feel free to PM me on this if you choose not to post non AE recommendations on this thread. My feet thank you.

Although deep, the 511-G last runs narrow. I would recommend trying Alden. A 3E in the TruBalance or Barrie last might be equivalent to a 4E in the 511-G last.

 

[alexdell]

I would just like to share my two new "bargain" 2nd's from the previous shoebank clearance sale. One is the Bleeker Street in Bob's Chili for $127 and the other is the EC in tan grain for $97. The GMTO EC was listed as Eagle River and I thought I would get it for the winter since it should come with the Vibram sole. To my surprise, it was a rejected GMTO EC. The main flaw is the smooth texture on the vamp. It looks like a buffing wheel went through it and smoothed out the grain. I figure it will crease anyway just like my other GMTO brown grain EC so I decided to keep it, especially because of the price. I'm up to 30 pairs on AE now, can't resist buying AE's. I really need to be more picky though & start focusing on the shells ;-)

Alex

 

[BespokeBrooklyn]

If the Allen Edmonds website is to be believed, I purchased both the last pair of brown MacNeil 1.0s and the last bitter chocolate suede belt in a size 36. I guess I logged onto their clearance site at the right time!

 

[Moose22]

@Moose22 , Ben's there alone on Fri. If it goes to the machine, call back. He'll be happy to talk to you.

Of course, with Ben it was no problem.

I would have liked to talk to the folks who could look at the shoe and tell me why it was a second, but at $177 for an independence line shoe, I'll take the gamble. I can't get into a 5 last bal without all kinds of stupid tricks, and from the pics I've seen here I like the patina on these better than plain walnut, too.


I've gotten strangely focused on patinas since I got my first Bob's Chilli pair, and I even use black polish on the toe of my LAX to accentuate the dark there. I keep 'em pretty damned shiny for what they are. Never thought I'd care that much.

Interested now to learn how to take care of these without losing some of the contrast with the patina. Maybe some neutral wax to keep the cap toes shiny and nothing more.

 

[P12OFIT]

Any idea when the current Shoebank sale will end?

 

[smfdoc]

Any idea when the current Shoebank sale will end?

The flyers posted on this thread said it goes through September 7th. See post #62850

 

[22busy]

Swung by JAB this evening to pick up some shoe trees. Instead of them being $10 each the SA said they were buy 1 get 2 free. Picked up 3 for $25. Now I'm ready for more shoes.

 

[smoothmoose]

Ok, I received my first pair of AE - Park Ave Merlot I bought from the Shoebank. The only defect is the right cap toe is slightly off alignment, which is fine by me. Beautiful shoe, but a bit disappointed how lacking a polish job come out of the factory.

Now let's talk about fit, as that's ALWAYS the issue for me with pretty much every shoe I've tried. So I'm between 7.5-8E on bannock, so I ordered 7.5E for the Park Ave in the 5 last. I think fit is acceptable and I will keep the shoes, but there it does feel "off" for me in the following areas:

Toe box - just slight smidge tight. Could use maybe an additional millimeter or two.
Ball/forefoot - just about right
Instep - this is weird, as I have a low instep, but the fit feel a bit tight. Probably because my instep is low but wide? Flat feet?
Heels - slightly loose - my heels/ankle are slim narrow, length is ok.

Again, not overly bad fit, but not a great fit. As I said most likely keeping the shoes. I don't think sizing up/down or wider/narrow would help. As you can see depending on the point of my foot, it's bit loose or a bit tight. So I'm just wondering what other lasts/shoe suggestions people would have here...be it AE or other?

 

[Neo1]

@smoothmoose - hmm... So I personally never tried the 201, but from what I heard about it I'd probably give that a try first(closed lace styles).

A few other ideas - the 511 has a more "classic" fit shape-wise. Instead of being longer and narrower, they are shorter and more full in the toe box. I was also going to mention the 73 - I feel like that last would work for the majority if people. Unfortunately (excluding boots), I think the Walton is the only thing left.

Being new to AE, I think you are wise to look into these other lasts earlier rather than later. They make a lot if the "timeless" styles in the 65 so most people immediately pick up like 3-4 pairs of those before admitting the 65 fit isn't great. Bottom line is there are many other options - definitely don't get hung up on the 65.

 

[theh00d]

Can someone recommend an nice inexpensive dress belt versatile enough to wear w/ chili/walnut/merlot shoes

 

[watchidiot]



Can someone recommend an nice inexpensive dress belt versatile enough to wear w/ chili/walnut/merlot shoes

I think the poplar belts are great!

 

[Neo1]

Oh wise SF forum, I love my AE shoes, but I need your suggestions for the maker of a good leather, rubber sole, casual shoe that is available in 4E width. Something similar to the Wilbert or Mapleton in looks but I am open. Really prefer something welted and made in the USA, which makes the picking pretty slim. So, do any of my wide foot, high instep SF friends have any suggestions? My best fitting last is the 678, Benton, because they make it deeper for the orthotic and I have the option to remove it for the better fit. Feel free to PM me on this if you choose not to post non AE recommendations on this thread. My feet thank you.

I think your 678 vs 511G typo kind of threw people a little bit

- surprised billy bob didn't jump all over you for it. Anyway, definitely agree with pepper - the 511G is pretty narrow. Was going to suggest getting the 511G in half a size up in case you haven't tried that already.

 

[P12OFIT]

Ok, I received my first pair of AE - Park Ave Merlot I bought from the Shoebank. The only defect is the right cap toe is slightly off alignment, which is fine by me. Beautiful shoe, but a bit disappointed how lacking a polish job come out of the factory.

Now let's talk about fit, as that's ALWAYS the issue for me with pretty much every shoe I've tried. So I'm between 7.5-8E on bannock, so I ordered 7.5E for the Park Ave in the 5 last. I think fit is acceptable and I will keep the shoes, but there it does feel "off" for me in the following areas:

Toe box - just slight smidge tight. Could use maybe an additional millimeter or two.
Ball/forefoot - just about right
Instep - this is weird, as I have a low instep, but the fit feel a bit tight. Probably because my instep is low but wide? Flat feet?
Heels - slightly loose - my heels/ankle are slim narrow, length is ok.

Again, not overly bad fit, but not a great fit. As I said most likely keeping the shoes. I don't think sizing up/down or wider/narrow would help. As you can see depending on the point of my foot, it's bit loose or a bit tight. So I'm just wondering what other lasts/shoe suggestions people would have here...be it AE or other?

The shoes look good, especially for the price you paid. Fit is tricky for your first pair and I learned the hard way that you cannot rely on a brannock or the printable chart to size yourself properly. The first pair of Allen Edmonds I bought were black Park Avenues. I measured myself on a brannock and tried on a few sizes in a local store that stocked AE as I did not have an AE store near me. I measured between 8.5D and 8.5E on the brannock (or so I thought). I ordered the 8.5E and wore them a few times. They felt a little tight but I read that they should "break in". After wearing the shoes a few times and eventually starting a new job in NYC, I thought something was off and my feet began to hurt so I went to an AE store. I asked to be sized and found out that a combination of my wide arches and short toes meant that I should be wearing a 10D. The SA really helped me out (I sent an email to corporate and will forever order through her) and the 10D PAs I have now are the most comfortable dress shoe I have ever owned. If you have the opportunity, I'd recommend going to an AE store to be sized. As for the heels feeling slightly loose, I thought the same but once broken in a lot of that goes away. My SA tells me to fit the ball, not the heel.

 

[colco]