Allen Edmonds - A New Shoe Buying Experience

When it comes to shopping for dress shoes for work, I’m pretty basic. I have a shoe size, preferably wider than usual, a desired look, and a suitable color preference. If I know a shoe brand makes narrow shoes, I just stay away from them altogether, and once I find a pair that I like, I just go with them and re-purchase them as needed. Lately, I’d been having some issues with some premature wear on the current style that i was used to buying. The heels would wear down so much that they were rounded, and even as far as wearing down the rubber soles that would create a hole (this was an extreme case, but not uncommon apparently)… I was going through shoes anywhere from 9-12 months, and it was time to find a better quality shoe with two requirements:

1. The leather had to be hard as the soft leather shoes wore out too quickly.

2. The sole had to be replaceable should the time come.

I was willing to pay a hefty price for the future dress shoe that would last me a couple of years, and willing to pay to have them repaired once it was time. At first, I started looking at some higher-end designer shoes such as Salvatore Ferragamo (I believe he started as a shoe designer). They were very handsome shoes, however, most of them had rubber soles and soft leather - I’m sure they were extremely comfortable, but they didn’t look like “everyday” shoes. Not to mention these shoes were easily north of $700. *eek* Also, it’s kind of a crap-chute if you don’t know what you’re looking for - in order to easily and cleanly replace the soles, the shoes need to be Goodyear welted. Basically, a Goodyear welt stitches the lower sole to the upper sole all around (look for 360 degree Goodyear welt), whereas cheaper shoes will be glued together, making the replacement of the soles quite difficult.

Deciding What to Buy

After looking around some, I decided to consult my stylish coworker about some dress shoes - we recently had a conversation with another coworker about dress shoes and they had purchased a pair of Allen Edmonds in the oxford style. They looked nice, so I had asked some questions about the durability and the ability to replace the heels, and they educated me on hard vs soft leather, and the difference between rubber soles and cork soles, along with the type of welting that is used. Eventually, I decided to take a look at my local store which was only a couple of miles from me.

I decided to take a look at Allen Edmonds’ website to see what kinds of styles they had, but noticed that the sizes were quite different from my regular shoe buying experience. I was pretty sure of the size of the length, but saw this size chart for with width:

A daunting task to find the width of your foot.

I knew I had somewhat of a wide foot, but had no clue as to how wide, from D, E, EE, EEE (???), so we decided to head to the store to try and get measurements.

The Experience

Once I got to the store, I was greeted by the manager - I stated that I wasn’t very savvy with shoe sizes and needed to understand what size my feet were. The manager already had a set of sizes for me to try on - now that I think of it, I’m actually pretty sure that I didn’t even tell him what my regular shoe size was outside of telling him that I had wide feet. He did not tell me what sizes we were trying on, but rather tried on each shoe and giving him feedback, whether it was too loose on the heel, tight on my toes, tight on side of the feet, etc… he definitely knew what he was doing. He had stated that knowing the shoe size in between each shoe may affect my feedback - pretty genius.

After about 4-5 pairs, it turned out that I tried shoes from a size 9 up to a size 10.5, with various combinations of widths, and eventually coming to a 10 length, E width size shoe. Normally I would have just gone with a 10.5 with a “wide” width size when available, but it turns out that when a shoe is made wider, the width affects the toe area and shoe may become loose, hence why I went down 1/2 a shoe size length. It definitely made sense and I was pretty happy about the fitment.

The Shoe: Allen Edmonds - Carlyle Oxford in Dark Chili

After some internal deliberation on the style and color, I decided to go with the Carlyle Plain-Toe oxford shoe in Dark Chili. Initially I was set on a pair of black shoes but with 100% of my slacks being black as well, I wanted something different. The Dark Chili provided a nice deep color without being too brown and a hint of burgundy, making it a nice choice for me. Hard leather and cork soles make it a very durable shoe as well, with the rubber heel being easily replaceable. The laces are a nice leather and hold the tie well - with the limited time I’ve had to review the shoe (since I just got them). Speaking of the replaceable heels, Allen Edmonds offers a variety of repair services as well!

Repair & Restoration Services

The biggest draw for me is that these shoes are re-craftable by the manufacturer itself and not by the 3rd party artisan. I’m a sucker for OEM work and parts when it comes to automobiles and the same applies for nice footwear. Allen Edmonds offer a series of packages:

1. Prestige Package - New Outsoles, Welting, Heels, Laces, Cork Inlay, and Refinished with Hand Polishing, with Flannel Shoe Bags, 1x Shoe Polish and a pair Cedar Shoe Trees ($155) - honestly, this a great deal because the Cedar Shoe Trees are $30 alone!

2. Standard Package - New Outsoles, Welting, Heels, Laces, Cork Inlay, and Refinished with Hand Polishing ($125)

3. New Heels + Refinishing Package - New Leather Heel and Rubber Toplifts, and Refinished & Hand Polished ($90) - if you want the $20 sole upgrade option, you have to go with the Prestige or Standard Package

4. New Heels ($50)

5. Refinishing (50)

To me, having the option to re-craft your shoes is a great advantage and a money-saver when it comes to long-term ownership. Most of their popular shoes are around $395 (USD) so being able to restore your shoe each year or every other year is a definite plus for ownership.

Final Thoughts

Whenever I write “final thoughts” at the end of each article, it reminds me of the end of each Jerry Springer episode when he does the "final thoughts” and explains the moral of the episode… or did I just out myself being old? :) Anyways, from the customer service (which was excellent by the way) to the final product, I feel like every guy should have the chance to experience owning a nice pair of dress shoes for a very long time. Let me know if you’ve tried Allen Edmonds or looking to try them in the comments below.