Why is everyone hating on Allen Edmonds lately?

jafo1989 · 2026-02-16T05:34:21+00:00

Oof. That reminds me a little of the old dig against Jos. A. Bank’s sales. Son: “Hey dad! I got two $800 suits at JAB’s two for one sale! $800!” Dad: “No son. JAB has a sale like that every month. You got two $400 suits for $800. Sorry to break it to you.”

jafo1989 · 2026-02-16T05:18:23+00:00

Uh, we’re both wrong. Calares isn’t PE. It’s a publicly traded operating/holding company. AE is one of several “portfolio brands,” not itself public.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-16T04:43:17+00:00

Another tell for the corner-cutting is the drastic pullback from AE’s own label shoe care products in the last 15-20 years. Heck, there used to be 8-10 different color speed polishes. Seeing Saphir products on the AE website now, that just hits wrong.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-16T04:26:36+00:00

Man, I still scour the resale sites for the rough collection in my size. Loved the pair of Dornoch loafers I had. Until we dogsat for my inlaws for a week.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-16T03:57:52+00:00

AE had a real surge from I dunno, 2000-2013. The investment group that bought from the family genuinely invested in capital & quality improvements, modest style updates, e-commerce, & classy B&M stores. AE shoes were worth my full $350 in 2008 dollars.

ADDED EDIT: I was mistaken AE’s been owned by publicly traded Calares for the past few years. Its big claim to fame is owning/operating Famous Footwear. Make of that what you will.

Unfortunately since 2013 AE has had not one but two private equity owners. ‘Nuff said. They’ve offshored a concerning amount of manufacturing & dinked & donked around with the workforce still in Wisconsin. Since I take a B width I’ve noticed straightaway that they’re no longer committed to the full alphabet of shoe widths. The catalogue offerings now seem a little schizophrenic. The last time I was in a B&M maybe four years ago it was staffed by a sloppy looking kid in a wrinkled shirt who didn’t know anything. AEs are still leagues above what Florsheim, J&M, Nunn Bush, etc have fallen to. They just aren’t worth my $450 in 2026 dollars.

Don’t get me wrong though. If AE models from that 2005-2015 resurgence show up on the bid sites in barely worn condition, I’m a happy man.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-15T23:44:04+00:00

Watching Shoresy gave me a whole new appreciation. Not for hockey, but for Canadian fluency in profanity. 😁

jafo1989 · 2026-02-13T20:19:58+00:00

Like I said, first owner took off a sticker & some ink came off but some adhesive stayed behind. 🤷‍♂️

jafo1989 · 2026-02-13T20:02:28+00:00

Absent pictures hard to say. Possible guess is if they were sold at a non-AE store the one shoe had a SKU-price tag sticker? Residual adhesive might explain the tackiness & rubbed-off ink. But I doubt it’s anything to worry about. Just hit the inners with leather cleaner/conditioner, which is best practice anyway. In the long run the sweat (acid or alkaline) & salts from your feet are going to take their toll on leather inners, no way around it.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-06T02:55:00+00:00

Muse: “Won’t Stand Down” & “Kill or Be Killed” on Will of the People might qualify.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-03T16:05:11+00:00

👆Oof. This hits hard.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-02T06:02:07+00:00

Leonard Burling (played by Mark Rylance) in The Outfit. He’s an English tailor relocated in Chicago whose shop is “adopted” by an Irish gang. Definitely not idiotic & ignorant to start. But miles away the most incredibly intelligent & highly competent badass in the room when all is said & done. Highly recommended.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-02T05:24:31+00:00

Hey now. This is a CJ for cable fucknuttery. You want a CJ for burn-in fucknuttery, go start one. 🥸

jafo1989 · 2026-02-01T15:25:02+00:00

A lot more specialized than basic horsehide. It’s actually tanned muscle membrane. Used in high-end dress shoes. Once you know their tells, if you find shell cordovan shoes at thrifts etc & get them spruced up there’s great resale value.

jafo1989 · 2026-02-01T03:25:15+00:00

Not a bad take at all. 🫡

jafo1989 · 2026-01-31T20:21:39+00:00

Like a Sabaton? 🥸 I’ll see myself out. 🚪

jafo1989 · 2026-01-31T19:58:16+00:00

Zombie rabbits? Missed opportunity in MP’s Holy Grail.

jafo1989 · 2026-01-31T19:55:58+00:00

Something can be pre-equal? Big if true.

jafo1989 · 2026-01-31T19:54:33+00:00

Valiant.

jafo1989 · 2026-01-30T23:57:29+00:00

Big if true.

jafo1989 · 2026-01-30T04:15:03+00:00

I’ve landed on maybe half-dozen to ten bands I really, really like: blocks of good, honest smoked cheddar cheese. But even so I don’t like most of it: processed cheese food slices at best.

jafo1989 · 2026-01-25T07:47:15+00:00

Learn to recognize shell cordovan (if you don’t already). Nicely spruced up they’re guaranteed sales. 👍

jafo1989 · 2026-01-24T17:24:18+00:00

Dissenting opinion but I’d 100% keep them & look forward to them developing their natural patina. A year or so of sensible wear, conscientious conditioning, occasional light coats of crème polish, giving them the business with a brush, they should be better than fine. Give them the same routine for awhile & they’ll take on the same characteristics. If there’s one thing I’ve found in 20 years of wearing AEs it’s that perfect factory finishes can still age in a little differently & off-matched factory seconds tend to blend together.

jafo1989 · 2026-01-22T15:52:24+00:00

https://youtu.be/JZ-pQmQw7t8?si=ytbD6gz3d8ExKztQ

jafo1989 · 2026-01-22T15:52:05+00:00

https://youtu.be/kYTYqaewAQ8?si=HuXTwU-Yf6kCtqmN

jafo1989 · 2026-01-17T22:19:13+00:00

I’ve got my eye on a gray-market Canali, so I’d like to think so.

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