Two words: Allen Edmonds. My Dad was an A-E guy all of his life, and I often hassled him about his expensive shoes. I grew up and got smart.
The trick is to not buy them at list, but wait for the sales. Get on their online mailing list. They had several online sales in the past month, which are now expired. Find one of their retailers in your area and get fitted so you know your size - this saves a lot of hassles with having to guess and return shoes purchased online. I wouldn't even have a lot of qualms about buying them at list. Here's why: I have 6-7 pairs of A-E shoes in my closet right now. I have two more that they refused to recraft, mainly because of their age. Of the pairs I still wear, the NEWEST pair was purchased in 1996, with the others ranging in age all the way back to 1991-2 or thereabouts. I had the privilege of living in Port Washington, WI, where A-Es are made. If you're lucky enough to be in the area, the first week of July is their "tent sale". This is the annual meeting for their salespeople, and they put up a huge tent in front of the plant where they sell discontinued and factory seconds at as much as 50% off. The salespeople staff the tent, so every person you speak to knows the shoes better than any retail store clerk will. The sales people will often point out why a particular shoe is a second, and believe me, the stuff they showed me was imperceptible to me and probably every other person who looked at them. Most of my shoes have been recrafted at least once, which costs around $100 depending on the package you choose. I can take a pair of brown tasseled wingtips I bought in 1994 for around $200 (a $400 shoe new) and add in the recrafting I had done around 2001 and I have a shoe that cost me $300 that has lasted close to 20 years (and is still going.) I do want some new black loafers and maybe another brown shoe, so I am planning on making a trip to Port Washington in July. As far as I'm concerned, it's money well spent. On a related note, one of the finest shoe repair guys in the nation is about 40 minutes away from me in Lakeland, FL. He recrafted one of my pairs of A-Es for the same price and did a fantastic job. I highly recommend him for any serious shoe repair. http://www.mcfarlandsshoerepair.net/ Dan On Jan 3, 2013, at 1:09 PM, Donald Snook wrote: > I get the feeling a lot of us on this list appreciate quality products even > if they cost more but last longer. Why else would so many hang on to 10 or 20 > year old Mercedes. I wear dress shoes everyday and have finally discovered > that more expensive shoes are worth it. But, with leather soles they wear > out. I just dropped off my favorite Cole Haan shoes for soles and heels it > was $65. That seems steep. But, they were the most expensive and most > comfortable dress shoes I have ever had. I went ahead and had them do it. > > Anyone have other suggestions for great well made dress shoes that are worth > repairing and keeping for years? I want some Allen Edmonds, but I'm not > willing to pay $350 for them at least not yet! > > Donald H. Snook > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
