Allen Edmonds

I’ve bought shoes everywhere from the North Shore mall to boutiques in Picadilly, London.
By and large, Allen Edmonds is my favorite American shoe brand. Timeless design that is distinctively American and, odd as it may sound, a bargain. For $ 350 you get a quality of shoe that would cost $ 500 in London.
For everyone who still thinks you can get good shoes at Macy’s, remember the old saying: «A $ 200 pair of shoes will last twice as long as a $ 100 pair of shoes. A $ 300 will last a lifetime.»
Some of AE’s more modern interpretations miss the mark, while others become unique pieces that you just can’t find anywhere else. My black McTavishes have served me well for almost four years now as a dress-​casual shoe, and show no signs of quitting.
Every man should have a pair of walnut Strands in his wardrobe. Trust me on this. If you work downtown, check out the Park Ave in black. If you prefer square-​toe shoes, just stop reading. You are beyond help.
The service at this location has always been friendly and helpful, though most of the clerks could use a lesson in sizing.
But if you buy a shoe that doesn’t fit, it’s your own fault. Anyone giving Allen Edmonds below four stars is, quite simply, wrong.

I have several pairs of Allen Edmond shoes which I love and have purchased in several cities, but this store is special. The SERVICE I received from Melanie was outstanding. I would highly recommend her and this store to anyone who wants great shoes and great service. Thank you – I will be back!

I graduated recently and needed to figure out whether, and if yes, how to start investing in shoes that I can wear for work. John M. took the time to walk me through all the underlying considerations that go into making, fitting, selecting and caring for a pair of good work shoes. I learned more in the half hour I spent with him on a Saturday morning than I learned from searching the internet for an entire year before. He was very knowledgeable and picked some great shoes for me to start building my shoe rack.
Thank you!

I’ve been to this store several times and have found their customer service to be exceptional. The main person who I’ve interacted with is John. I ordered a pair of wing tips that unfortunately had a slight defect and he was able to assist me in taking care of it. In high end stores sometime sales people can be cold and uncaring – this was not the case at this store. I highly recommend going to this store. Allen Edmond shoes are top notch and so are their associates.

Love shoes though I may, the fact that I’m going to shell out 300 bucks dilutes my enthusiasm when the need arises. Sure, the shoes are better quality. Upon a recent visit, I was treated courteously, measured and given some recommendations for my Froto-​like size EEE feet. They weren’t in stock and so they were to be shipped to me. When they didn’t arrive a week later, I called to see what the trouble was. At the time of this writing, they’re supposed to arrive this week. I guess for the price I would have expected them a little faster. Will I buy them again, probably. But perhaps wait until I see them at Marshalls in the Back Bay — and save 100.00 when the chance arises.

I’ve shopped at AE twice while in Boston on business, both times were exceptional service, high quality product, value shopping, best bang for the buck! I’ll be back again… and again.

My boyfriend was measured incorrectly on two separate occasions. As a result, he was led to buy the incorrect size and invested a lot of money in two pairs of shoes. Fortunately, Allen Edmonds will rectify the situation and exchange the shoes; however, it was just an inconvenience to have to go back and forth. Additionally, the incorrect shoes caused him foot problems.
This store is also way too cramped.
My boyfriend ultimately went to an Allen Edmonds store near Government Center where he received better and more attentive service.

I already came in here knowing I was going to purchase a pair (or two) of shoes yesterday. I will say that what I experiences yesterday is exactly the way buying shoes (or anything for that matter) should be.
Walked in with jeans and sandals, to be greeted by Glenn, one of the salesmen there. I can’t tell how you genuine and nice he was throughout the entire charade of shoes I have tried on. There was a pair I already knew I was getting, the Neumoks, in blue with red laces. One of the funkiest but sharpest looking pair of casual wingtips I have ever seen. Before even trying them on, he got me a pair of actual socks to use, and also properly fitted me since my other two pairs are a «tad» loose on me now.
Grabbed 2 sizes per shoe, and luckily because of that, I now know I am a 9.5D rather than the 10’s that I have in my closet. After the Nuemoks, there were probably another half dozen pairs that I tried on, some that I wanted to try on, and a couple suggestions from Glenn as well.
Ended up walking out with the blue Neumoks and burnished brown Strands, both amazing pairs of shoes. I will admit. When I got home, the brown strands look almost identical in color to my merlot McAllisters, so guess what, they are going back and I’m spoiling myself on the Cordovan Strands. I will say, I appreciate the honesty from my salesmen because even he said that the difference with the brown calfskin and the brown cordovan is not particularly worth the difference in money. Typically you would expect a normal salesperson to upsell to the best of the best of the best, however that was not the case in this scenario.
Awesome store, awesome people, and will wear these shoes until the day I die. Hell knows they will last that long…

Good classic shoes at reasonable prices.
Shoe sizing is a little weird, but the employees are good at helping you figure this out pretty quickly.
The service was very good. They didn’t have the shoe/​size I wanted in stock, but got it shipped to my house very quickly at no extra charge.

I saw HP’s post and was compelled to give AE a good rating. I have never been to this store, but I own a pair of AE’s and they are by far the best shoes I have ever owned. I bought them on ebay for 15 bucks and they look liked they’d been worn maybe twice. So no, I did not pay full retail price, but I never pay retail for anything anymore. If you’re the type who does, these shoes are definitely worth the asking price. And if you’re in the market for used, they are a much better deal than Alden shoes (which seem to cost more used than new. Seriously, check ebay).
Anyway, why recraft them for 80 bucks? Because you’ll probably wear them 3 – 4 years before need recrafting, and that’s if you’re hard on them. If you take care of them, they’ll last a long time. So go ahead, spend 80 dollars on your glued together chinese shoes, you’ll be buying a new pair in a year or less. In the long run, AE’s are much cheaper and you aren’t needlessly wasting resources by buying poorly made products that go in the trash in 6 months (hear that? AE“s are greener!).

The review just before mine (by «Sid V on Jan.24^th, 2012) looks and smells awfully like a stealth marketer hired by Allen Edmonds. I noticed that was his first and only review so beware!
Anyways, I bought a pair of Delrays, and another shoe from the Uptown series called Bucktown. The shoes are quite good, but not worth the money that you pay. Allen Edmonds is a triumph of marketing. However, I will say, they’re excellent shoes employing a costly welt-​stitching technique that most shoes that you buy do not employ. Some shoes even put fake stitchings there to give the impression.
Anyways, my biggest reservation is that AE’s cost too much. You can get second hand ones on E-​bay like one rater has mentioned. However, you cannot return them into Allen Edmonds for refurbishing or resoling. They can tell if you bought them second hand because they will be marked.
They brag that AE shoes are recraftable, but this is ~$ 80. I can buy a brand new shoe for this much. Moreover, AE shoes are ~$ 325, and this is a little too indulgent for most folks. Finally, the CEO on one of their marketing pieces was bragging that their shoes has no metal in it and won’t set off metal detectors in airports. Ummm… excuse me? But we don’t wear shoes during security checkpoints at airports anymore — we take them off! Duh?!
Finally, there is NO shoes more comfortable than walking barefoot. Even a running shoe is less comfortable than walking barefoot on the world’s hardest surface. So let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that AE shoes are comfortable like «a massage for the feet.»

I recently purchased a pair of shoes at Allen Edmonds on Newbury Street, and every aspect of my experience was five stars all the way. I needed a pair of formal dress shoes for an upcoming job interview; and since I can’t afford to fly over to London for some $ 5K bespoke shoes handmade just for me, I had narrowed it down to either Allen Edmonds or Alden. My wife and I entered Allen Edmonds’ small store at 5:30PM on a Monday night. The store is quite neat and tidy, and they have beautiful shoes.
A lovely young woman named Shannon introduced herself, and asked me if I had worn Allen Edmonds shoes in the past. I told her no, that this was my first foray into higher-​end shoe territory [I had never paid more than $ 175 for a pair of shoes (Cole-​Haan loafers at the Wrentham outlet — they’re holding up quite well)]. It was time to step into some serious shoes. Interview shoes. The black Park Avenue cap toe lace-​ups, at $ 325, looked like they would do the job.
Shannon measured my feet and brought out a pair of Park Avenues for me to try on. They felt pretty good, but were a little tight. She assured me that the leather would stretch a bit, and that the shoes should be snug at first and not overly comfortable right out of the box. They should not be uncomfortable, of course, but they should be snug. If the shoes feel just right immediately, the leather will stretch over time, and the shoes will become a little too roomy; they will then develop excessive creases across the tops of the shoes. Come to think of it, most of my other dress shoes do have such creases.
When we told Shannon that we wanted to run over to North River Outfitters to try on a pair of Aldens before making a final decision, she was quite gracious about it. She gave us her card (she works full time at Allen Edmonds’ State Street location and works at the Newbury Street store but once a week) and said she hoped she’d see us soon. She did.
My wife and I were back at Allen Edmonds within the hour. The Alden shoes, at $ 416, simply didn’t seem to be worth the additional $ 91, though they did have a little more arch support. The Allen Edmonds Park Avenues just look neater to me, with a slightly higher shine. Based on Shannon’s recommendation, I purchased a pair that was a half size smaller than my usual. The Park Avenues were not in stock in my size, so they had to be shipped from the factory in Wisconsin. When my wife expressed concern that the shoes might not arrive in time via standard UPS, Shannon offered to ship them via UPS 3-​day service at no charge.
The shoes arrived in plenty of time for my job interview, and they feel even better than the ones I tried on in the store. They’re quite sturdy, but not clunky, and each foot feels like it’s in its own little house. I trust they will wear in well. The cedar shoe trees are nice, too.

Allen Edmonds’ shoes are excellent, and I was treated to superb customer service at their Newbury Street location. Shannon was personable, gracious, and knowledgeable. She educated me regarding shoes, without being the least bit condescending about it; and she sold me a great pair of shoes. I will not hesitate to return to Allen Edmonds soon … if I get the job, of course.

I love Allen Edmonds. The styles are classic, the construction is superb, the price is reasonable for a pair of shoes that you can wear for a long, long time (with proper care, of course). This review has nothing to do with the quality or my opinion of Allen Edmonds shoes.
I’ve been to two Allen Edmonds locations in the Midwest (one being at the actual factory) and two in Boston. My first experience was at the State St location. I couldn’t have been happier with the service.
Then comes the Newbury St location. The first time I visited I was ignored about as much as your typical Joe walking into Louis. When I needed help, I felt like I was seriously inconveniencing some girl behind the counter, both to get the specs on a more casual line of shoe, and to try a pair on. I left with a pretty bad taste in my mouth from the whole ordeal.
Upon my second trip to this location, the customer service was similar. When I was getting some information on a shoe refurbishing process for an aged pair of Park Avenues I had received a response along the lines of, «you must have been drinking that day,» when I was telling her what I read on the Allen Edmonds website about having the shoes sent in.
Hopefully you have a better experience should you ever decide to pay them a visit!

Allen Edmonds has it’s roots with Alden over a century ago. They are the two classic American brands of men’s high-​end dress shoes. I have two pairs from this location and like them alot. The downside is that we live in a horrible winter climate so it’s hard to justify wearing them in snow/​slush/​etc… Make sure you take care of them well or they will fall apart.
I would recommend getting sized at the store (vs. a department store) because I’ve noticed that my shoe size can differ almost an entire size between models.

Good entry level shoes, but the welt goes around the heel which makes it too clunky for a serious dress shoe. Alden is a better bet and can be found at the Tannery and Brooks Brothers.
Haven’t been here in a while. Can’t speak on the staff, but the shoes are still the same stalwarts.

For those of us who have lots of money to spend on shoes, and even for those of us who don’t, save up and get a pair of shoes from Allen Edmonds. A few years ago my father gave me a pair of hand-​me-​down shoes from 1972 (and he paid $ 250 for them!@!@ You could buy a Mustang at the time for like $ 4000), needless to say, I looked upon him as if he were on crack. He wasn’t. I put the shoes on, and let me just say, holy shit. Every step was like a massage on my feet, with a little indent for every toe which hugged my foot like a glove. I later found out that they were the pair of shoes which my father had gotten married wearing. Well, on to the store, and not just the shoes. I went there not long ago because this pair of shoes, which had become my absolute favorite, were starting to develop a slight tear on the curve of the heel. The staff could not have been more helpful or nicer. They made me feel like a regular customer. Sent my shoes back to the factory, a few weeks later, good as new! All I had to pay was shipping! Now on to their new shoes, they will run you upwards of $ 500, but it’s worth every damn penny, your feet will know where that money went!