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New Allen Edmonds Review: Were 1980's-2000's Better?
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- Опубліковано 19 тра 2022
- In this video we review a brand-new pair of Allen Edmonds "Park Avenue" cap toe Oxfords in walnut, purchased in April of 2022. We go over the shoes with a "fine toothed comb" for any quality control issues, defects, and flaws. I also compare them to a pair of Fifth Avenues made in 1987, a pair of Park Avenues from 2001, a pair of McAllisters from 2017, and a pair of MacNeil 2.0 from 2019 to see if from this small sample size, can we see that quality had declined?
In my opinion, Allen Edmonds may be making more mistakes or letting shoes out with errors that they shouldn't, but I think the problem is most likely exaggerated because of the microscope effect of social media.
Other related videos:
"How to Date Allen Edmonds Shoes"
• How to Date Allen Edmo...
This is the other video with Hayden that I referred to. I released it July of 2018 featuring a pair of Allen Edmonds:
"My Allen Edmonds have a spot that won't shine?!"
• My Allen Edmonds have ...
Music Credit: UA-cam Audio Library:
"Beach Disco" by Dougie Wood
They switched to the military typeface font because of Allen Edmonds involvement in the military. It basically made them what they are since the 1950s 'til now. Troops came home and continued to buy their shoes. So, it's not with little reason.
Very interesting video, thank you!
AE is great! Period! I am committed to their American style and to made in America!
I own 13 or fourteen pairs of Allen Edmonds and although I love them I find the look in style a bit clunky compared to the Ferragamo shoes I own. I do like the little bit sleeker look of the Ferragamo but I am still a big fan of the Allen Edmonds all my shoes we're bought off of eBay and restored accusing saphir products. Love them a lot was wearing some Allen Edmonds loafers today and got a couple of compliments on them they look like a million bucks I paid 50 bucks for them and then condition them with saphir
@@danieldurand5721 Allen Edmonds was always supposed to be a substantial shoe, making a statement through the combination of blue and white collar beginnings - and of course their involvement with the military. They're supposed to be functional as much as they are good looking. This brand used to make some shoes where the forefoot was actually triangular/squared instead of the regular smooth soft curves. I'd love to find shoes like that. Perhaps their function is to prevent the uppers from colliding with your car door, entering and exiting. You can find them on their official issuu page, search up their 1950s and 60s catalogs. History.
@@SPNKr16 nice thanks
@@SPNKr16 exactly..theyre supposed to be a clunky heritage style shoe not a chic fashion shoe. Its crazy how the first thing people complain about with AE is the clunkiness, yet people fawn over Alden, Trickers, Church's, Grant Stone etc, which are twice as clunky and blobby as anything Allen Edmonds has ever produced. It seems like people really just nitpick AE because theyre one of the "big kids on the block", so to speak.
@@silentsir2446 Compelled to agree with you. I can't find as much use for Italian designed shoes, and the people that are snobby for sleek, low stanced/thin soled shoes seem to be the ones talking crap about Allen Edmonds - as if they're trying to be so fashionable like their favourite lesser-known/unknown Italian dress shoe. It's not true at all. Allen Edmonds is like the Lincoln of the dress shoe world and everybody else is Ford and lower. You get what you pay for, and they're always reparable even if they arrive with flaws when paid for full price.
Actually today I handed in my June 1990 pair of MacNeils for a resole. The cobbler said since they're double soled he most likely will only need to replace the outer sole and the rubber heel can stay since it's still original. He's also fixing the peak at the wingtip which is just stitching wear, doesn't require gluing. Honestly, how many pairs of today's fancy shoes will people still be resoling in the next 32 years? Not many at all, and the ones who do will be the fans of Allen Edmonds and other equivalent brands as such. I saved a decent amount of money on not shelling for a brand-new/NOS pair because over the past 4 years of ownership I have bonded with them and with the resole job I can truly make them mine.
The fact is absolutely nobody cares what's on your feet. As long as your shoes are not knackered and tattered, people will not ever care if you're wearing AE, Churchs, C&J, Ace Marks, Loakes, etc. because it's about how you present them in your chosen outfit and how you maintain the shoes. Nobody truly cares how many chiseled features or how thick our soles are. Alot of people are over 5' 8" and when you get down to traditional, detailed dress shoes, they'll always blend in with the sea of black and brown leather shoes because nobody carries a magnifying glass to stop somebody and check how Italian one's museum patina is, or how many decades old their shell cordovan really is.
Since these shoes were made for gentlemen, we simply just have to be proud of what we decide to wear. Anybody with intrusive questions should be ignored, as that's what children do.
Beautiful shoes gentlemen! I love the color, though I find it slightly more difficult to match with my dress clothing. For me it works either perfectly or not so much… smashingly well with jeans however! Definitely a must have in a well rounded collection imho. Also, the AE, Park Avenue are a great simple yet refined cap toe. Beautiful!!
Try a pair of cream colored pants, it will really bring out the burgundy, and light brown cognac style shoes
I'm surprised the shoe where the stitching is not in the channel was passed as a first.
I have a pair of lucchese classics cowboy boots & the heels are at different angles....😁
I wanted to point that shoe out bc I think some of us want to believe AEs were perfect once and now are much worse. I do think they have more QC issues than 10 yrs ago, but I also feel that part of the problem is perception.
I really do enjoy my Allen Edmonds shoes and are thinking on my next time through sanding the soul edges to give a little bit more finished look. I do have to say Robert that your shoes are looking a little bit dry I just ordered a new bottle of saphir renovateur if you need some. Love you videos
It's interesting you say they look dry... guess what my very next video that I'm editing right now is about?
I feel like their bad quality control somehow got worse. Even at full price I cant get a decent pair of strands. I feel like its kinda bad you have to settle for defects these days...
You’re not the first person to tell me this unfortunately.
If that’s an EEE width I can’t imagine how tight a D width would look! Ever since I got my first office job years ago I had my eyes on some AE shoes but I don’t think they’re worth it unless they’re on sale.
What do you think of Grant Stone shoes?
One note, AE has VERY frequent sales. The way I look at it, even though they’re $395 full retail, to me AEs are a $225 to $350 shoe. I was encouraged to look at Grant Stone more than once, and they look appealing, and appear to be made with good materials. I’d know they’re made in China, but if they really are using good materials I think where it’s made is secondary to material quality and construction methods. They’re available in wide widths too. I’d love to try them.
I wish you would have made the PATP weekend, Bob. You would have loved the factory and hope if they have another chance at a full tour, you get in line first.! I would say that you had some of AE's more knowledgeable and seasoned patrons, critics and consumers there and a lot of the questions about QC you would have seen firsthand and have had answers. First, the sheer volume of shoes produced (just like your math about the number of complaints) doesn't excuse anything, but does give an indication of what they are working with and by comparison, they don't make any more QC issues than any of the other makers in the $400.00 - $700.00 range. And in fact ALL makers have QC stories, it's just that they all don't have a very public facing forum like AEE to air them. In walking the actual line from hide to shoes in boxes, no one either deliberately or by neglect allows a "bad" shoe down the line. They have layers of QC and any visible bad shoe is either tossed or sent back to be remade. What DOES happen is that the shoes are made within a level of tolerances and perhaps tolerances and acceptance can be made closer together. One man's missed brogue punch is another man's failed shoe. One man's burnish is another's discoloration. Thus, we know in a process that involves humans into the mix, we know NOT to expect a cookie cutter shoe, and if that is to be desired, then you have to move UP by hundreds if not thousands to a bespoke or down to a CG, assenbly line cemented shoe, possibly not even made of leather to get 100% uniformity. We even explored stitch density since that is an area a lot of us measure things by and learned that it isn't a QC issue but more of a wear and tear issue on the equipment and the decision was made to not stress the machines more than any other consideration to have a slightly less stitch count, as that is more cosmetic than functional. Some of the machines are decades old and the only difference in the process is that they are now tooled to use electricity instead of belts and steam to match the increased output. Another point we asked about was materials used in construction. There was more weight given to making a better made shoe than to just cheap out on materials and there has to be a balance (not sacrifice, mind you) to keep the price point viable. In certain areas of build even though a material may be different it does not reduce the lifespan of a given shoe and in some cases makes it easier to work with and replace when the time comes. The shank being one. After 9/11, steel shanks were not used and replaced by materials that would not set off the metal detectors being one example. Can improvements be made...absolutely. Are they aware and looking at and for them...absolutely. In the AEE world and on online forums, there will never be unanimous opinion, and will always be those who feel they got less than advertised and I am the first to say you should never be satisfied with less than you feel you should get for your investment. But some of those nay sayers would do well to understand the processes, the market, have more knowledge about what to expect and receive at the price point AE offers and then if you feel it isn't worth it, vote with your dollar and shop elsewhere. Ask any of the folks who were there from our esteemed cobblers and professionals in many areas of production and manufacturing on down to those at the consumer level and a lot of the questions were asked and answered. When we were able to Q and A with management and staff, it was somewhere between a free for all and spotlight on everything AE you could imagine. And there was nothing hidden or behind closed doors, they opened the entire facility to us to scrutinize. You would have loved it.
Yes Mark, I really wished I could have made it!!! I loved Steve from Bedos's video on the weekend.
Bob, I would love you to snag some or try your hand at engineering some Macallister Spectators while the #parkave100 promotion is still going
Hello Robert, if you are concerned about your older Allen Edmonds shoes cracking, remove the shoelaces, strip them with a paper towel wet with turpentine ( strong yet more gentle than acetone ). Follow up with a saddle soap wash, scrubbing with a horsehair dauber and plenty of warm water. The goal is to remove the turpentine from the leather. Let dry overnight. Apply Saphir Médaille d'Or Mink Oil ( the finest available ) with your fingers completely over the entire uppers, including the tongues. Heat both shoes with a hairdryer and rub the mink oil thoroughly into the leather. Let absorb overnight and then polish as desired. The shoes will not crack ! Best regards and I thank you for pinning my comment on another video.
Hmm.. interesting! That's a strong claim!
@@CobblerBob Strong and true ! Where have you been ?
@@CobblerBob What I meant by "where have you been" is I posted this two weeks ago.
I’ve seen new ones just last week that the stitching had missed the groove too, good deal still for around $300? They have a sale starting tomorrow.
$300 for Park Aves is a decent deal. I have seen first qality PArk Aves go as low as $245 though. Ther Rediscover America sale is going on right now (October 2022).
@@CobblerBob I snagged a nice Dark Chili pair and some shoe trees for $349 sales tax of 10.1 % included unfortunately.
You’re supposed to polish them as soon as you get them anyway
Yes, I agree, I'm a believer in polishing new shoes because we don't know how long they've been sitting on a shelf, etc.
If you want perfect shoes without flaws and difects don't buy Allen Edmonds shoes thats all I can say
True
@@CobblerBobmost men ain’t looking for flaws in another guys shoes. Trust me.
Allen Edmonds QC sucks now. I started buying from Herrings in England instead. Way better shoe for the price. I hate their new laces too. They are almost like tennis shoe laces.
I will say, there are a LOT of choices in shoes these days. I don’t blame you.
I would never accept a brand new pair of Allen Edmonds with that blemish on the inside heel.
For $400. You should not have to correct a factory mistake.