Trip to AE in DC

[musicman1951]

My long anticipated trip to Allen Edmunds finally happened. As you can see, I purchased a couple of pairs of comfort shoes and one pair of tweeners - but I think I can still wear them with jeans.

I've been wearing 10 1/2 E forever. Alex fit me as a 10 D.

The shoes felt great and I thought I was on my was to shoe heaven. Later that day I wore the Wilberts around Alexandria and after about 4 hours my pinky toe on my right foot started to ache.

Background: about 12 years ago a student broke that toe by dropping a marching snare drum on it. One of the reasons I have so many shoes is an attempt to try and find comfort. But the toe has not bothered me for years - the sliding around in the shoes has.

It appears I have a choice: wear the correct size and have the toe uncomfortable or wear shoes too big and slide around all day. I'm going to experiment with looser laces in the Wilberts. I have not worn the other two pair outside yet.

 

[closer]

If your pinkie toe is hurting, you are either wearing shoes that are too narrow, or the length is too long (causing your feet to move up into the toe box), or you just need to let the shoes break in. Since you've sized down in length, the length is likely not too long. Since you felt the fit was fine when trying them on, the width is likely ok. So most likely you need to let the shoes break in. This may take several wearings. I've found the leather on the regular AE line to be much stiffer compared to the more expensive Independence line, requiring over a dozen wearings for it to become comfortable. Note: what I've said applies to dressier shoes - I wear the Clifton and Montgomery in a business casual setting. Not sure how the construction of your shoes compares, which you've described as being more "comfort".

 

[mretzloff]

Allen Edmonds are notorious for being tough to break in, so if your feet hurt, it may not mean that the shoes do not fit. I also have a pair of Wilberts, but my pair is black. I have a total of four pairs of Allen Edmonds (Park Avenue, Fifth Avenue, Nashua, and Wilbert), and my Wilbert pair was easily the hardest to break in. I think it was worth the pain, though. The pair of shoes go well with jeans.

EDIT: In the future, I would pay attention to the lasts. Some lasts do not work for some people. For example, many people complain that the 5-65 last, the one used for the Park Avenue, gives wearers blisters, even if the shoe should fit correctly otherwise.

 

[musicman1951]

It was my fondest wish to leave with a list of lasts and corresponding sizes so I could order online. I tried on about a dozen different shoes and it was remarkable how some didn't even start to fit.

They had a cheaper pair of "the most comfortable walking shoes" that I couldn't even get my foot into. I wanted a pair of penny loafers. The left (bigger) foot felt great and the right heel slipped very noticeably with every step. The salesman could not say if the slipping would abate after break-in. I couldn't even get my foot into the next smaller shoe, so I guess I'm not destined to wear loafers.

There is a store in NYC - only about 3 hours away - so I think I'll just make the trip the next time I need more shoes.

 

[StillShaving]

You can order some AE models in mixed sizes from their website. Not sure if loafers are offered that way.

I am not sure how well this approach works over time, but when I was at an AE store a fellow customer bought a pair of shoes where the salesmen installed some padding at the heel (or maybe it was underneath the tongue). I tried to mind my own business so I didn't really pay attention that much, but I believe it was some thin pad with sticky tape on one side to help the smaller foot get a better fit. Being a salesman, he claimed he could get the OP a proper fit. (The salesman was a very nice fellow and was experienced and appeared to know what he was doing, so I am not trying to disparage him with that comment). The customer was happy with the result and bought the shoes.