Allen Edmonds are made in the USA with Goodyear Welt construction, premium calfskin leather and a cork mid-sole that actually molds to your foot. I wear these things fairly hard and although I do take care of them, I don’t baby them and I don’t polish or condition them nearly as much as I should. They still look fantastic and they’re still extremely comfortable. The upper still looks terrific and although the sole is worn, I think it still has a lot of life left in it. You can tell how amazing the leather quality is because of the lack of deep creasing. Again, I’ve had these shoes for over five years and there really isn’t any significant creasing to speak of. There is some, but for as long as I’ve had these shoes and as much as I’ve worn them, it’s actually pretty amazing how good they still look.
Now, I’ve always known they could be re-crafted and re-soled, but I never actually thought I would own them long enough to actually have a brand new sole put on them. But I got to tell you, the longer I have them the more I’m considering sending them in and having them re-crafted. If nothing else, it might make a cool video and blog post to show you guys the before and after and what the entire process is like. Let me know down in the comments if that’s something you’d be interested in seeing. I think I paid roughly $400 for these, but at the present time I’m filming this, they’re on their website for $340 and I feel worth every penny.
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John, you are so right on these Allen Edmonds shoes. I’ve had mine for well over five years and they still look amazing. Thanks for letting me know that you can send them in to Allen Edmonds to be resoled. But come on you need to give those shoe of yours a good shoe shine. Haha. Go see Chris in Del Mar and he will make them look brand new. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Mike! I know, I need to do a much better job on polishing and conditioning. 🙂
Finally I did something right, I have those same shoes, I got them at the Allen Edmonds outlet. I love the way they look, they kill me feet but they look good. *Every shoe I have ever owned kills my feet.
Great advice! I couldn’t agree more. I wear dress shoes every day, so I need shoes that not only look good, but hold up. I’ve tried them all, some unfortunately even more expensive than AE. Nothing else compares. The restoration process is so good, it is hard to believe they send back the same shoes. They really do look virtually new.
Because they last SO long (I have, and still wear, the first pair I bought, over 30 years ago!) the timelessness of the styling is critical. There is nothing worse than looking at a pair of shoes you bought a few years back, for a lot of money, and wonder, “What was I thinking?” As I have been taught, there is a difference between price and cost. AE may have a somewhat hefty upfront PRICE, but given how long you will actually wear them, the overall cost of ownership is pretty low.
I have just stumbled across your site. Keep up the good work. (Work on your watch collection though. 🙂
Thanks Mark! Hahahaha! I’m working on it! 🙂