Allen Edmonds Sells Overpriced, Cheaply-Made, Poorly-Crafted Dress Shoes (Comprehensive Review 2024)

The most comprehensive, meticulous, and honest Allen Edmonds Park Avenue & Fifth Avenue review is finally here in 2024. And it's long overdue.

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\\\ ⌚️ Timestamps \\\
00:00 - Intro
01:17 - Construction & Materials
19:15 - dumb idiot shills patreon after forgetting sunscreen in july
21:26 - Design
31:13 - Secret Section
37:16 - Other Brand Alternatives
40:43 - Final Notes

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Some of the links on this page are affiliate links that I get a kickback from at no cost to you, and sometimes a discount. This helps fund videos like this one. The opinions in this video are honest and strictly my own. I love you.

[ktanner]

Bruh this is probably the most underrated sartorial channel I've come across. Instead of just filming yourself doing unscripted hot takes you've invested in serious analysis of serious products, backed by ultra high production value. All of this is backed by your hilarious and unique personality. You've earned yourself a sub and praise for not half assing, you deserve WAY more than 4k subs and I can't wait until it's 40k+

[loarmistead]

Biggest thing AE offers that most brands don't is variable widths. 13D just isn't comfortable for all-day wear, whereas AE 13Es I can comfortably wear all day.

[adjust.clinic]

Leatherboard in the heel stack doesn't matter because the outsole they use wears out in about 10 miles. Cheap! When you take them to a cobbler to resole, then you can get what you want. (I'm not excusing Allen Edmonds' cheap quality.)

That's disappointing seeing the cork separate from the outsole. Do other makers not have this problem?

That plastic heel counter: I'm wearing a pair of Strands right now that are about 8 years old, and the leather lining has worn down to the plastic, and they are now uncomfortable. The toe cap on these shoes are non-existant. However, they still look fantastic.

Thanks for pointing out the upper leather flaws. I think most of my AEs have that going on.

[CanadaFree-cejn]

I have one pair but not sure when they were made. I likely will look for another company. It won't be stupid Beckett and Simonon who buys their shoes outside of USA (NOT American made) but refuse to ship to Canada. The reasons they give is BS if they would just use USPS. I hope to find maybe an out of Canada company that still makes shoes the old way. Made in Canada or USA is no longer a guarantee of quality as such companies generally market their name rather than quality. If Canadian viewers can recommend $500 and less companies, please do so.

[RootsRockRebel]

I have pairs of Allen Edmonds in my closet that are older than you, son. That's quality. Have a nice day!

[lebronzewalker]

Thank you, I have a pair OF AE Carlyles & the stitching on the soles air becoming frayed after about four wears. Cost per wear is very important to me.
S

[patientzero]

Once the founder of the corporations sell the company to private equity company, the quality of the products starts to decrease overtime for the worse.

[TH-jqgx]

I appreciate the honesty and thoroughness of your video. For me, I have wide square shaped feet. They are the only brand at their price point which makes a super wide range of sizes. They are the analogy of New Balance in the athletic shoe world. I have suffered through a range of well made, handsome and expensive brands that just induce pain.

[countalma]

They are worth it if bought at a discount. The problem I see with the company is that it’s lost its charm. Up until the late 2010s it was one of the last classic American shoe brands, specializing in relatively high quality dress shoes. When the new management came in the late 2010s, they began aggressively changing the company “DNA”. At this point, I’m not sure who the target audience is. If you flip though the catalogs they send in the mail several times a year, you’ll notice that all the models are weird, young (often “non-binary” looking) urban folks. Not a single model represents a regular, middle class American professional who goes to work conservatively dressed up (even though the vast majority of Allen Edmonds buyers are exactly that — middle aged, middle class American professionals who prefer a conservative look). The management must be completely out of touch with reality and lives in a bubble. They’ve probably hired a bunch of 30 year old hipsters from NYC and San Francisco to run the marketing and PR departments. Those people clearly don’t understand who the average AE customer is.
Btw, I am neither middle aged, nor middle class (in the traditional sense of the word), nor do I live in the suburbs. I am actually a young urban person, an artist, and a classic menswear enthusiast. But I understand who the average AE customer is. The AE management obviously does not.

[talavb]

Saying some things that I guess are obvious:

There's a very large part of the consumer base for mens dress shoes which are you white collar workers working car-to-carpet. These people are busy and need the shoes to fulfill uniform standards, not because they care about wearing dress shoes. Also, their use case doesn't really require durability - these people are wearing their shoes for large parts of the day, but not necessarily doing a lot of walking, and certainly not on abrasive surfaces.
Parallel point is that the cost of any product is not just the direct purchase price but also the cost of time and mental energy invested. If you're a white-collar worker optimizing over a very limited volume of uncommitted time each week, and you don't derive pleasure from investing time and energy into researching shoes, then doing so is very expensive. And, you have the disposable income to buy that time and energy back from the market by purchasing from a low-effort brand.
AE is built for that market. They're a well-known brand and they have physical locations and quick shipping, which makes it easy and convenient to buy shoes and minimizes the time/energy costs. They are expensive because white collar workers typically have the disposable income and are used to the idea that they need to spend a good deal of money to present themselves as 'serious' people in the workplace. They can also guarantee most people a size that fits reasonably OK. People who are allocating low levels of mental energy to buying shoes will usually buy them last minute and don't have the patience for breaking in stiffer leather uppers, and AE provides that quick turnaround and softer leather.


There's currently a compositional evolution taking place within the market for dress shoes - more people buying them as a hobby because of exposure to YT content etc., fewer people buying them for work as the WFH revolution has relaxed dress codes. So there's likely to be some deterioration of AE's customer base over time.

[cokecamilo]

Two things keep me coming back to Allen Edmonds: my hobbit feet that need extra wide fits and their constant sales.

[rw]

This video is, sadly, incredibly accurate. I used to buy AE, and I could see the decline in the quality over the years. That slide seems to have been hastened with the arrival of the new ownership. I also hate the modern marketing. Who are they targeting? It looks like they are shooting for a kid who is looking for his first pair of dress shoes but really only wears sneakers. Cheap sneakers. I look for quality above all else. The days of buying flashy fashion items that deteriorate quickly was over in my teens. I want something that lasts and has the appeal of a timeless beauty. I switched to TLB Mallorca about two years ago. It was one of the best decisions that I have made. The quality is evident in every aspect of the shoe from the materials used to the design to the craftsmanship. And right out of the box, the shoes are comfortable. The company also works very hard to please you and address any concerns or issues that you may have. The price is slightly higher than AE, but they are well worth the investment. And that is exactly what they are, an investment. If the shoes were sold at twice the price, few would question the decision.

[billyrterrio]

Awesome video, , , , Made a lot of peoples butts hurt😂🤣but very good video and I don’t believe you hate the company or anything like that, just gathering helpful information for us👍

Do you know anything about Grant Stone boots ?

[itslife]

I’ve been making and resoling mostly boots. Specifically work and historical reenactment boots. However I’ve resoled 2 pairs and rebuilt a pair of Allen Edmonds for my wife. The soles have an acrylic coat to hide imperfections this is what causes the burnt affect. The top is coated with acrylic fairly thick.
For the rebuild, here’s what I did.
New heel counter, I however used leather, Trimmed it down and extended it. Leather heel, converted it to a 270 degree hand welt. Fiberglass shank to wood and added ribbon laces. They came out amazing and many of the flaw’s removed. The last I used was a Munson last. I prefer closed channel soles. They extend the period between resoles.

[markrollins]

appreciate the honest reviews. I am obsessed with shoe videos but its quite rare for any of my shoe video guys to say anything negative about a shoe company especially Allen Edmonds, the cornerstone of American Goodyear welted shoes. Appreciate your videos just make more.

[canadamike]

Great video and review as always! I'd love to see you review Hartt Shoes and get your thoughts.

[GuyFierisShirt]

People buy Allen Edmonds because they have sizes that fit everyone, not everybody fits into the standard "narrow D width shoe" like you do. That's what makes brands like Allen Edmonds and Alden my shoe of choice. None of these "alternatives" fit people with wide feet.

[hiteshahir]

Did he say “ tradition and craftsmanship”? Kerby Allison should response

[antipathous]

For a year or two now I have been planning to buy some good dress shoes to replace some garbage I bought for my first office job. After a bit of research, Allen Edmonds came up as a trusted name that I could likely buy and be happy with for a long time. But after *more* research and videos like this one I'm likely to buy Yearn or TLB Mallorca Artista. Since I'm the type of person to buy once cry once and appreciate long lasting quality, I think either of those choices will make me happy for a long time and be a better choice than Allen Edmonds. Thank you.

[stylishoversixty]

Interesting how the standard of quality has gone down but the cost of the product has gone up...oh well simply par for the course of capitalism!