Nice, looking forward to seeing how this all turns out.
The Great Debate: Allen Edmonds vs Alden
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There are only a few dedicated Alden retail locations in the US. Look for third party retailers that carry their brand. If you're near a major metro area you'll probably find someone. For Example, if you're near Philadelphia, Sherman Brothers carries a fair number of Alden models, as do other shops near the city. I think the only dedicated Alden shops are in New York City and San Francisco. Check out their retail finder here:
http://www.aldenshoe.com/DrawStoreSearch.aspx?PageID=3
Certainly always good to get people's opinion, but I expect the preference between AE and Alden is largely, as is the case of the other subject matter on this site, a matter of personal preference. First and foremost, which last(s) fit your foot best. Both AE and Alden produce shoes on a number of lasts so, IMO, your best bet will be to find the make and model that fits your foot and style best. Apart from that, I am with musicman1951. I've owned both and find Aldens better made. By that, I mean that there's more support throughout the shoe. I find that as AEs break in, they get mushy, Aldens do not. AEs, however, have many more contemporary styles. Aldens tend to be very old school.
Personally, I've owned several pairs of AEs. I currently own two pair of Alden plain toe bluchers in shell. Best shoes I've ever owned. They are easily the most comfortable, they're low maintenance and they wear like iron. My 2¢.
Personally, I've owned several pairs of AEs. I currently own two pair of Alden plain toe bluchers in shell. Best shoes I've ever owned. They are easily the most comfortable, they're low maintenance and they wear like iron. My 2¢.
I gather the aim here is to compare the two on their performance and durability over a set length of time, with equal wear times to give an honest review, rather than being simply a matter of personal opinion. Naturally, "if the shoe fits" applies when you're trying to find out if the shoe fits, though it seems we're being prepared to be presented with some useful information that a few (many?) might be pondering when it comes to how each similar type shoe endures over said length of time. I remain interested to find out.
Yup. It's what makes this thread different from all the other, "IMO" and "YMMV" threads.
Having used both companies since the late 60s, I can tell you that until AEs were sold in 2006, they was no difference in the quality of both companies. I preferred AEs because I am not a fan of the steel shank that Alden uses. I have shoes from both companies that are over 35 years old that look better today than when I purchased. Today its Alden hands down unless you choose to go British. I am sadly disappointed in the direction AE has taken since they were sold. Still a good shoe but light years from where they used to be.
I believe they were recently resoled and the CEO seems like he wants to get back to the pre-2006 days, IE no more glued garbage from the DR.
See what I did there?
I\'ve been an AE aficionado for years, and have accumulated way too many pairs, including several in shell cordovan. I also have a couple of paid of Alden shell loafers. As far as workmanship, I\'m equally pleased with AE and Alden; however, as Joel indicates, AE is less trying on my budget. Regarding the shell vs. cow leather debate, I have a pair of plain-toe black bluchers in shell that have an almost mirror-like shine equal to the best results I\'ve been able to get on cow leather shoes. The biggest advantage I find with shell shoes is that they don\'t tend to develop the fine network of wrinkles found on cow leather.
Nice article, but there is no debate. One brand has shoes made in the Dominican Republic, has shoddy quality, and costs $200-$300 per pair. The other brand only makes shoes in the U.S., has excellent quality, and costs upwards of $500 per pair. They are in different leagues. I own four pairs of Allen Edmonds. I will never purchase another shoe from them again. If Aldan's price point was closer to Allen Edmonds's price point, Allen Edmonds would go out of business.
If the once lengendary world leader Florsheim,along with Bostonian,Stacy-Adams,Nunn-Bush , AE and even Red Wings are all made on foreign soil,does this mean the only American made dress shoe left is Aldens ?
The keyword is "all" in that sentence.
Allen Edmunds manufactures and sells US made, Italian made and Dominican made shoes. I don't disgard an entire company because they offshore a portion of their casual line. I prefer to buy US made when possible; all my AE dress shoes and boots (14 prs) are made in the USA, but for boat shoes I went with Quoddy since the AE's were made offshore.
The Alden vs Allen Edmonds trial in this thread is interesting; because even if I accept the premise that Alden are "better" (open to debate, but going with it for the sake of argument) are Alden shoes "better" enough to justify the add'l cost and effort to seek out
There are many others, but they are much smaller. Oak Street, Quoddy, and Yuketen are three that come to mind.
Isn't answering that question the entire point of what the author is objectively going to do here? If we all just wait until this little experiment/comparison is complete, I think most of the questions posed in this thread will be answered.
Did you get bit by their QA/QC issues? Because if Alden was selling as many shoes and expanding as rapidly as Allen Edmonds, I'm betting they'd have quality control issues also. I think a key point of the comparison as described in the article is that they're looking at the one specific area where AE and Alden overlap a bit: Shell cordovan boots. Other than that (and this is stated in the article), they fill very different niches.
Also I really never understand the hate for their DR constructed line. Is it just some "rah rah they too err jeerbs" thing? Their DR constructed shoes were nearly all driving shoes and casual loafers. Not exactly styles that would always benefit from the recraftability of the US-made ones.
Fair points. I would disagree, though, because QA/QC issues should never be excused by "we are expanding". The reason why their "Made in the Dominican Republic" line is such a sore point of contention is because a large part of paying a premium for Allen Edmonds is to support a company that keeps manufacturing in the U.S. They clearly do not care about that. It is the same reason why most people who are interested in eating only organic food refuse to shop at Whole Foods: the company does not care about the movement, just the money that they can milk from it.
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