Cole Haan and Allen Edmonds Shoes

The Allen Edmonds Park Avenue, dollar for dollar, is the best shoe I have ever owned.

Try hitting up Century 21. I got a pair of Delrays for $170 back in '08. It's only know that I had to resole them and they still look like new.

Just as the default Sperry Topsiders are the JI fratting variant, Cole Haan is the upperclassman fratter's shoe. Allen Edmonds are the footwear equivalent of the post-grad slickback, the urbane choice for the young man looking to make his mark past the chapter room and tailgates in the Grove.

Paraphrased from TFM.

i have AE park aves for work. great shoe

Love my Allen Edmonds. Very stylish and comfortable. These shoes are worth every penny.

I rock these almost every day..they're unbelievably comfortable, and theyve held up perfectly for 8 months so far without having to get any work done to them yet

http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/product.jsp?catId=100&productI…

The shoes hold up fairly well, I would say about year depending on how much of your commute is made up of walking. After a year, you can get them recrafted for like $100, and it's like getting a brand new pair of shoes. That is how I justify spending $250 for a pair shoes. I look at it like I am spending $350 for two pairs of shoes, and that is probably about what you would spend on two pairs of Cole Haan shoes, but you get, in my opinion, superior comfort and style. Below is a link which shoes what is included in the recrafting process:

Agree with above. I have a variety of shoes, but they are all able to get fixed by a cobbler. For A&E's I wouldn't even get them recrafted for a long, LONG time. If the soles wear out, which should take more than a year, I'll just get them resoled some place. The recrafting comes when the whole shoe is beat to hell.

Either way, a good pair of shoes that can be repaired should last you 10-15-20 years or more. I have shoes that are at the decade mark and they keep going strong.

I really like AE but recently have started having issues with heel separation. I've noticed rather quickly the heel beginning to pull away from the sole. This was noticeable on the last two pairs of AE park aves which I had to have a cobbler fix. One was clear from the start and I sent back for replacement but this seems to be a recurring issue. Anyone else have this problem?

http://www.styleforum.net/t/141581/allen-edmonds-appreciation-thread/915

With Nordstrom's sale right now you're looking at $229 not even $250+ so definitely take a look

Do you guys typically wear one pair of shoes all the time, or have a solid rotation going?

You need to have multiple shoes if you want them to last. General rule is to never wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row. Use shoe trees and have the leather taken care of.

I have 4 (2 brown and 2 black) but i usually keep 3 in the rotation.

APAE smalleights:

Do you guys typically wear one pair of shoes all the time, or have a solid rotation going?

Rotation. Never wear the same pair two days in a row. Ideally, you ought to have an oxford and a loafer in each basic color, black and brown, and eventually both in less common colors, i.e. walnut, oxblood, cordovan, etc. Then consider the loafer variations, monkstraps, double monks, bluchers, and so forth.

Obviously this isn't going to be feasible right out of school, but if you add a new pair every few months and treat your footwear properly, a year or two after graduation your wardrobe ought to be in decent shape.

I like your style. I am just starting to build up the collection. I've got a black and brown cap toe but they are getting a lot of wear and tear. Going to buy a black and brown loafer next. Any recommendations?