How to Date Allen Edmonds Shoes
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- čas přidán 10. 10. 2018
- *NOTE* I released a NEW UPDATED version of this video Jan 2023, which includes information on the DATE CODES many AE shoes have on the lining. Here's a link to it:
"ULTIMATE Dating Allen Edmonds Guide with DATE CODES!"
• ULTIMATE Dating Allen ...
In this video I show you how to determine the approximate manufacturing year of Allen Edmonds shoes, and I highlight a pair of Allen Edmonds Fifth Avenue quarter brogue cap toe Oxfords made in the 1980's that appear to have never been worn outside! I pulled most of my information from spending hours and hours of pouring over copies of Allen Edmonds catalogs available online. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but this got really complex and confusing, so I'm sure there are probably errors... I apologize in advance.
A viewer BTF9000 taught me something that has since been verified by others: Many Allen Edmonds shoes have a DATE CODE stamped onto the liner! They stopped doing this some time approximately in the 2000's or so though. Here's how to find and use it: There is always the Size (ie: "10" or "10-1/2" followed by the letter for the size, from AAAA, or 4A to EEE or 3E. There will be another number longer than 4 digits that has something to do with the manufacuring batch or something. Then there will be the 4 digit number for the shoe Model, usually followed by "COMB" (for combination last) followed by another 4 digit number. This 4 digit number is the date code.
- The first 2 digits are the WEEK that it was made. This number will be between 1-52.
- The 3rd digit is the day of the week and should be between 1-7.
- The 4th and final digit is the last digit of the YEAR in which it was produced. Therefore knowing what range of years the logo was used in, combined with the last digit of the year, you can narrow down what year it was made in to one or 2 years.
For example, a date code of 4233 would be the 42nd week, 3rd day of 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003, etc. If you knew the logo used on that shoe was from 1989 to 2012, it narrows it down to 1993, 2003.
Here is a link to download a free 5 page printable PDF file that I created with text and screencaps from the catalogs:
drive.google.com/open?id=1VUy...
Here are links to a couple videos I refer to:
"Saddle Soap: Why? What's in it?"
• Saddle Soap: Why? What...
"How To Tie Dress Shoes | Berluti Knot Method"
(Kirby Allison - The Hanger Project)
• How to Tie Dress Shoes...
The music is "Rise!" by Aq Xico, produced by Alegal, used with permission. Song is available on:
Soundcloud: / rise
CZcams: • Video
Also available on iTunes - Jak na to + styl
I saw the title and pictured myself and a pair of shoes having dinner at a cafe...
rsmith9733 - Haha... I JUST got that! 😂
LOL hahahah too funny!
Thanks! This helped me date a pair of Cambridges I bought, always thought they were pretty old. 82-88 based on your video.
Yes more stitches on the older AE’s, but the newer AE soles are channeled, the 30 year older shoes are stitch on the surface. PS thanks for doing these videos. I always thought my wife and I were odd for having a shoe hobby. Glade to know there are more of us out there.
I recently bought a pair of second hand Allen Edmonds McAllister ($50) which appear identical to yours at 7:30 but yours are labeled as Lloyd and I think they are corrected leather. I'm very impressed to have a pair of shoes that are other 30 years old.
Another excellent production Robert. Very informative and interesting. You did a fantastic job ‘recrafting’ the like new pair of older AE Park Avenues. While they may be 30 plus years old, they look brand new. Excellent!
Thank you for doing the research and putting it out there. This helps me better understand a used pair of AE Chester I just bought. Now I know I’ve got a ‘83-88 vintage!
Thanks for the video. It helped greatly in identifying a pair of Allen Edmonds Park Avenues from 1991 in Antique Burgundy.
Cool video! Entertaining and insightful! Nice find on those old shoes too!
Very informative content. I now know how old my AE's are . I have two pairs that were both thrift store finds The first pair I got are a pair of Burgundy Polos (cedar shoe trees included) from the 1982 -88 period . The other are a pair of Burgundy Lloyds from The 1989 - 2015 period. Thanks again for your great videos
ttop64 👊🏼
Great video. Many thanks. FYI, I have a pair of Maxfields, which say, 'Allen Edmonds', followed by what appears to be, 'of Imported Materials'. Keep up the good work.
This was an excellent presentation of AE typology.
Hey Robert,
I find myself coming back to this video over and over again. My favorite pair of AE's are a pair of Saxon tassled Wong tip loafers that are 30 years young. Also in contention are a pair of Pebble Grain Strands that are by your video description, about 25 years young.! I sold or gave away a few others on the vintage range to help a few young men get started on the shoe appreciation journey. I have a few pair of new old stock (never worn) pairs, I am always on the lookout for those as well. Back to the Saxons. They are butter soft calfskin and feel like velvet gloves for the feet. At 30, no tears or rips, and only very minimal creasing at the major flex points. Thanks again for such an informative tome. Keep em coming.!
Mark Gillum 👊🏼 that’s so cool that you’ve helped other young men with their shoe game!! I love seeing young men latch on to nice shoes for the first time.
@@CobblerBob Thanks, Robert. My main reason for trying to help others is that I came to learn and appreciate shoes in my 30's. I could have saved so much more and had an even more extensive collection if I'd started earlier. So I figured I'd share what I knew and pass some great shoes on.
By the way, you are my shoe guru. Whenever I wonder if I am doing something correctly, or need some real world knowledge, I look for what you have on the subject. Keep up the good work.!
Robert,
Fantastic video.! That type of research is sorely needed in the AE world. It was so helpful, especially since I have shoes from multiple eras and did not know how to date them other than trying to decipher the numerical codes. I believe that I have a pair of Park Avenues from that same batch bought new and unworn on eBay. I could tell from the blank sticker markings and the small numbers written on the outsole.
One great point you bring up is the sizing. At the AE store, I was measured as a 9 1/2. I have been comfortable with AE's ranging from that to an 11 depending on style, last, and width. This afternoon I am going to look over my collection for dating as the numerical dating system in the shoes is not always apparent. From that, and your video I should get a more accurate picture. Yes, I too am a shoe fanatic and AE my favorite brand and shoe of choice. And like you, I have multiple pairs and find that caring for them is often as much fun as wearing them. It helps pass my weekends especially. Thanks so much for your informative videos, please keep them coming. Take care.
Mark Gillum 🙏🏼 thank you! I at first just started digging just for my own curiosity and wound up diving down a rabbit hole, so I decided I might as well document what I learned. PS there’s a link in the description to a downloadable PDF (it’s free, no gimmicks). I’m not familiar with AEs dating? Is one of the numbers on the lining a numeric date code? Florsheims have a 2 digit letter code that tells you the last digit of the manufacture year and the month they were made. I’d love to learn more about what you know...
attractive 👞 shoes
Thank you for your research
I love seeing your shoe collection. Very nice.
rhymeandreasoning a few of those shoes aren’t mine BTW, borrowed a couple for the video.
All are hot, great looking shoes.. I like your shoes videos, very much.
Another informative video full of fascinating history. I’am looking for some information that you might know where it could be found. A list of what shoes were made on what lasts and what lasts are best for what foot types? I have narrow feet with a long heel to ball measurement with short toes . My arch length is 10.5a but because of my short toes the overall foot length is only 8:5b !
spotsill Allen Edmonds’ website has a page exactly on that. The page is called “All About Lasts” under the “Shoes 101” section of their website:
www.allenedmonds.com/discover/shoes-101/lasts.html
Going to an actual AE store and buying at least one new pair with a professional fitter is well worth it too. They’re the real experts.
Great stuff. two things: 1. try saphir renovatour or Bick 4 to moisturize. Both are great, though the former gives a bit more shine. 2. here is what I found about how to date AEs using the codes on the inside of the show. This is apparently directly from AE, but I pulled it from a Styleforum post: "The coding inside the shoes tells quite a bit of information regarding the shoe. If you look at your strand, you stated the markings are as such: 8.5 D 22643 II 6155 COMB. 4613 On the top line, 8.5 D is the size and width of the shoe. 22643 is what is called a Case number. This number is used internally during manufacturing to track the shoes progress through the factory. All shoes are made in lots of 12. There are 12 pair of shoes per case which is where the next number comes in. The II that you see is actually a number 11, this is called the Match Mark number. So this shoes is Pair number 11 of 12 in case number 22643. On the bottom, we start with the Style Number. The style number 6155, tells us the type of shoe, the color of the shoe, and what last the shoe was manufactured on. COMB designates that the shoe was manufactured on a 'combination last' This marking is rarely used any longer, since all of our lasts are now combination lasts. Lastly the 4613 is the production date code. 46 is the week of production, 1 is the day of the week, and 3 is the year. So your 6155 Tan Grain Strand lace-up shoe, was manufactured in mid-November in the year of 1993 or 1983."
friendlygoz - Wow! I was really hoping just with flush out some of this information. Do you happen to have a link to that post?
Thanks to Rob and this comment, my MacNeils were finished on June 27, 1990. Great to know these things, especially since wondering for years!
Hey Robert,
Your video was so helpful and informative that I had to recheck and research my collection over and over to properly date each pair.
I was wrong about the Park Avenues. My Parks are in the 1989 - 2017 range according to your description. They also say in addition to the Allen Edmonds logo font, "Made in USA of Fine Imported Leather" which makes me feel they were later along in the run. (5875). I also have a pair of Walnut McAllisters with that same insole, outsole and labeling. Neither have touched the ground.
Now for the bit rarer club. I have two pairs of loafers, one Saxon model from the 1982 - 1988 run you describe, all caps and "The Handcrafted World of Allen Edmonds" inside, making them at youngest 30 years young. The second loafers are Biscaynes with the ALLEN EDMONDS in the all caps, Edmonds in smaller cap don't. At youngest that dates them from 1982, making them 36 years young. I believe I got them both from a collector as they have seen very little wear and no recrafting symbols. Last, but not at all least are a rare pair of Strands from the 1982 era in Pebble Grain. They we're in excellent shape when received and I do nothing but work on my shoes as my weekend passion and they are shined to almost mirror gloss. My others were direct purchases and are all 2013 and newer through 2018. I was racking my brain trying to properly date them, and I thank you profusely for your painstaking work. I could send the loafers off for recrafting, but the truth is they are nowhere near needing it yet. By the way, the heel in the Biscaynes predate the AE V split heel. They have the same 1963 -82 font lettering but set in an oval on the heel. I absolutely blows my mind that these shoes remain in such pristine condition for so long. Thanks again.
Mark
Mark Gillum that’s awesome! Glad it helped.
@@CobblerBob I had been the average shoe guy for a lot of years. Mainly department store, and an occasional pair of Bostonians and J&M. Frye boots, Timberlands for function as I am over 50. Then, I discovered the world of Allen Edmonds a few years ago and never looked back. As a kid growing up in NY, my Dad had my brother and I work a shoe shine parlor on the weekends, the deluxe double thrones you see in major airports. I knew how to polish, but didn't know shoes as well as I needed to. AE changed that. I am a patron of the brand and after learning I could source them in other ways and save money using recrafting my collection has grown. An although I could afford more lavish brands, I prefer the AE's all things considered. Like any good collector, I try to cover most ground and have at least one style to wear for any setting from casual to formal. I have maybe 5 or 6 more styles to acquire to round out my own personal needs. Since I had begun to acquire shoes for my own aesthetics info was scarce and your video was 7th heaven. I have even MORE appreciation for the shoes now. In fact, I was just in communication with a seller on eBay who pulled his auction once he was able to properly identify and date a pair of Strands in the Pebble Grain. Part of that information came from your video. Like I stated, it is a total mind blower to me that I have some thirty year old shoes that look and feel brand spanking new.! And that the shoes that I have purchased recently will actually outlive me.
What I find amusing is that instead of a favorite pair, I tend to love and appreciate different pairs for what they bring to the table. I have learned that each shoe has it's own strong points, and fit and feel very differently and uniquely. So my wearing has become a matter of complimenting or augmenting the look, the fashion or the mood. Thanks again.
Hey Rob. I've been investigating my c. '89 - '95 vintage pair of MacNeils and the insoles do not have _The hand crafted world of_ stamped on them. Instead it only says Allen Edmonds in the fancy typeface (capital A and E) over the arch region. This is stamped right-side up by rotating the shoe towards the left, on the in side of the shoe. To the left, there's a *_MacNeil_* but rotated with the top side adjacent to the toes. Beneath the Allen Edmonds stamping it says *Made in USA* but in a not so bold, not so slim typeface.
Now, the right shoe, on the left side of the heel on the wall of the heel cap/counter, has a window with a sewn *ALLEN EDMONDS* logo in the more military, capitalised typeface. This logo has gold fabric lettering on a blue fabric background. The catalog archives do not show this.
Here's one last thing though. If I shine a torch inside the shoe, towards the toe area, there's yet another stamping that simply says, in generic (non-special) typeface, *FINE* . It's all caps and in more of a medium, but not skinny, stature.
The left shoe has the same stamps tucked inside of it. The catch is that Allen Edmonds *Made in USA* is not rotated to mirror the right shoe. It follows the same stamping format that the right shoe has. This should mean that Allen Edmonds *Made in USA* is ONE single stamp. Left shoe also does not have the window *ALLEN EDMONDS* military style logo. And yes, the *FINE* toe stamp is also there in the left.
Left shoe also has a printing (not stamping) on the left side of the tongue (on the wall), inside of the shoe, which says ARCH SADDLE-STITCH in white ink/paint. The result is an inbetween bold and slim typeface. My final reporting would be that my model is as follows, printed inside the shoes next to the heel obviously:
10 E 95341 9
6 0947 COMB. 2630
The left shoe's 9 and 30 on the right side is all rubbed out. Lucky there! I'm hoping this means anything to you and if you can help me figure out those codes. My guess is the 95 probably means 1995. Thank you so much Rob. Been watching you since 2018.
*Update*
After thinking I may have missed something in my investigation, I retraced my steps and bam.. .. I can safely say my MacNeils, which I have been talking about on your channel since 2018, are from early 1989. The Spring 1989 catalog issuu dot com/allenedmonds/docs/spring-1989-catalog reveals just one major clue about my shoes. If you take a look at the last page (36) it's shown that Allen Edmonds did in fact, at the time, use two logos/typefaces. That military style one in capitals is identical to the window in my right shoe. What else does my shoe have? That's right, the regular fancy typeface on both insoles and outsoles. The Fall 1991 catalog also shows the regular insole stamping, no "Handcrafted world" writing, right there on pages 5 & 7, just like my pair of MacNeil.
Cheers Rob. Still would love to know if you can figure anything out from my codes/serial numbers in my initial comment. Been wondering about this for 4 years and now I can be at least 99% sure.
Thanks for following! So the Cap A Cap E is obviously the 1989-2016 logo, which makes sense that the “Handcraftwd World” moniker is not there, because that moniker disappeared when the logo changed in 1988/1989. Check the
Description is this video: after releasing this video I learned from a viewer about date coding on AE shoes. I believe 0947 is the model #, and 2630 is the date code. This means it was made in the 26th week, 3rd day of a year ending in 0. So based on that, I’d say they are a 1990 model. FYI the logo on the fabric patch on the side of the insole is always only on one shoe. Florsheim did it that way too. I don’t think that logo necessarily is supposed to match the logo on the insole and outsole, OR being that those shoes were made not too long after the logo change, those linings may have been made a year or two earlier with the old logo and they just hadn’t used all of the “old” logos up yet.
@@CobblerBob Makes sense, I knew they've got to be a transitional manufactured unit. That's why I was 99% sure. One of my vintage electric guitars is also a transitional model from the restructuring period of Gibson. It has several leftover parts from the previous model/generation and not many from the next model year/generation when they made the distinct cosmetic changes, making it an oddball especially for investigating its lineage. The internet is a wonderful place, I also learned on CZcams through a guy that has the same odd model that I do, proving that it's real - factory stock and not counterfeit.
These MacNeils are, I suppose, more special to me because they were finished/completed just near my birthday. When I bought them, I had no idea what I was going to end up with. The listing just said "1989 - 1994 vintage". Thanks so much for the reminder with decoding the codes and numbers. Going to do this for the rest of my AE collection!
So I purchased some Fifth Avenue’s on eBay and I did not know the year but according to this video they were from the latest 2015. As rough as they are that is very sad that they are only a few years old and looks so rough I look forward to fixing them up
Very nice video, shoes seem to be one of the last old crafts left. Some shoes are works of art. I bought a pair of Allen Edmonds but there is a small part at the tip of the toe where it seems the polish just bubbled off leaving the leather underneath. Tried matching the color but was not quite able to do so. Would you know a way of fixing that and do you know why in older shoes sometimes the polish flakes off?
rocky jaydog of course this is A little difficult because I can’t see it, but is it anything like this? (I apologize, I’m not just trying to get you watch more of my videos, but I really think this may be the same issue you’re dealing with):
czcams.com/video/Dmx7dJm-j9M/video.html
I’ve seen a couple times where I’m just guessing solvents/oil’s migrate out of the leather, causing an area where polish won’t stick. The key I’ve found is very gently, very lightly, rebuilding layers of clear polish over the area with a very light pressure and copious amounts of water on the spit shine. If you get a few light coats to cover it, then you can build up heavier coats.
I’ve also seen Johnston & Murphy shoes where the coating rubs off because they are corrected grain leather. I doubt that’s your problem if they’re AEs.
I just got a pair of strands off eBay and they have the numbering on the tongue, which I've never seen before. They have the "Allen Edmonds" logo on the outsole and "Allen Edmonds, Made in USA, of Fine Imported Leather" in black on the tanned brown Insole. Normal black V heal with AE. Could you give me a possible date on these based on what you know?
The newer AEs do have the size and model info under the tongue. They are probably 2000-ish to 2016.
I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but on the website issuu.com you can find all (or at least very many) AE catalogs.
According to those catalogs the "1922 hammer badge" appears on the Fall 2013 issue from August 2013 for the first time. The sentence "Made in USA of fine imported leather" on the insoles was already used in 2009, maybe earlier (the catalogs don't really show shoes from the inside).
Mr. Krugslowsky - yes, that’s exactly where I pulled the catalog scans from to do this video. It wasn’t easy and I’m sure there were some oversights. And as you said, images of the insoles for some reason get harder and harder to find the farther back you go in time.
Great video Robert! thanks for all the information and your time to do all this for the shoe aficionados, do you know if any Allen Edmonds shoes were made in Italy and if so are those more valuable or better made?
Bernardo Pena - There night be, I think I vaguely remember reading about that on styleforum but I’m not familiar with any Italian made versions.
I found a little more information on this, Allen Edmonds did made some models in Italy as well as in the Republica Dominicana, I found a pair of Allen Edmonds luverna loafers made in Italy on Ebay I made an offer and bought them, can't wait to get them and work on them to make them shine, they seem to be older shoes but in grate shape.
Bob, how did you remove the wrinkles on the vamp? Was it the saddle soap? Also, I'd love to see you try a Glycerin treatment video one of these days. I followed the method David at VCleat provided but I think before doing that I should've used the Renomat to strip off any polish so that Glycerin soaks into the leather better. Hope you find some time to do it.
Sidharth Panwar I think the appearance of the wrinkles “disappearing” is because of the shoe trees being inserted. And yes, I should get some pure glycerin.
Thanks, Bob. I love data guys. I couldn't find this info when I did a cursory look. I was hoping to find some Shell Cordovan shoes on ebay that may be priced at Calfskin pricing b/c the seller doesn't know. Is there any indicators that I can look for?
Mark Duvall yes... The best thing I can tell you is this, once you familiarize yourself with Shell Cordovan, and you develop an “eye“ for it, it will kind of jump out at you. Here are a couple videos I have that will help:
czcams.com/video/hKgFI3N_BS8/video.html
czcams.com/video/uUZnfQP0Yf8/video.html
czcams.com/video/5meGrRWW7Xs/video.html
The Allen Edmonds website is good too. All of AEs Shell shoes come with JR Rendenbach soles and a leather rubber heel, so they’re visibly different. The tricky ones are new unworn burgundy colored calfskin non-AE shoes. If it has not been worn and flexed, burgundy/oxblood colored new calfskin shoes can look a little like Shell. Also beware, I’ve caught about 4 or 5 people on eBay selling calfskin shoes as Shell Cordovan and messaged them and gotten them to change the ad. Also, some people will say “Cordovan” and are referring to the COLOR. “Cordovan” is a burgundy color and is not “Shell Cordovan”, the material made from a horse.
Also go to www.vcleat.com. All of the Shell Cordovan Florsheim Model Numbers are documented there.
vcleat.com/florsheim-shell-cordovan-models/
I think I once saw a thread on www.styleforum.com or .net called “Shell or not Shell”. It was a huge thread with tons of pics people posted and a few expert shoe Guys on there commented if they were Shell or not.
Whats weird is just last week i bought a pair of AE walnut strands from nordstrom just a couple days ago but they dont fall in any of these categories, but i can tell these are pretty old. They have white/untanned soles with a sewn in "allen edmonds" tab on in inside ankle area along with an old box and red shoe bags.
All i know is they are easily not from this decade lol.
Interesting… if you’d like to email me pics, send them to robertpowers1972 at gmail dot com!
What do think about the Allen Edmonds McGregor Wing Tip shoes?
Do u know how old the "hastings" are? I just picked up an unworn pair for 40 $ in brown. Its my first pair of EA and they are very comfortable. They looked a bit bland but i used some Saphir polish and renovateur and waxes and now they look brilliant.
Nick De Bruin no I don’t, I know AE hasn’t made them recently. I got them from a friend who bought them off of eBay but they were too loose for him.
Hey pal. Who made your shoe trees? I didn't catch the make in the vid.
Hi, the ones in the 5th Avenues are by Ollieroo. I get them from eBay, the user is Ollieroo.inc - they were $21+ shipping.
Nice. I'm trying another Chinese pair soon as my old pair are 1 size too big - such is the roller coaster of buying Chinese products even from your homesoil. So far I have Ace Marks and Leonardos. My Rockports have a synthetic sole but will also fetch me a pair of trees for them. If all else fails, I'll give Ollieroos a go.
I live in Australia FYI. Cheers mate.
What an interesting video! I purchased a pair of pre-owned Park Avenues on E-bay one month ago and they have the 2015-Summer 2018 leather insole, but the new leather outsole they show on the website. It has the new font and says "Bench Welt". The uppers and sole show wear, so I thought these were an older pair, but now I'm not so sure. Perhaps they were recrafted? But the sole doesn't have the recraft mark.
Red Tangoes: hmmm... I used to work in manufacturing, and in many other companies I’ve seen cases where a design changes, but there is old stock. Some design changes would warrant throwing out and not using old stock, some design changes would allow using up the old stock to save money. Maybe that’s the case? Or like you said maybe they were recrafted & the stamp got missed?
I used to own a 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. General motors changed the seat design between the 1986 & 1987 Cutlass model years. That car had one 1986 model year front seat, and one front seat 1987 model year. It came that way from the factory. Weird stuff does happen.
The inside of a pair of McAllisters I'm thinking of picking up says "Allen Edmonds (the "n" in Allen sits directly above and between the "d" and "m" in Edmonds. Below that it reads in small font "Made in the USA of fine imported leather" There is an AE stamp and the V on the heel. Any idea what the age range might be on these?
If the Logo is in Times New Roman font, and only the A and E are capital, that logo was used from 1989 through 2013. I think that they started using "Made in the USA of fine imported materials" or the "...of fine imported leather" in 2006 or 2007. I'm guessing they do not have a 4 digit date code? Probably just the 4 digit model number. If that's the case, they're made between around 2006 to 2013.
I have a pair of AE MacGregor (spelled like this) and the appear to be from the 50's according to your video. They are beautiful but I'm confused about the spelling. Does that indicate a different time period? The logo is script. Thanks in advance!
Mary Jane Hogan - Although I’m not intimately familiar with either model line (the current McGregor, or your MacGregors) that would make sense!
Fantastic i learned alot about allen edmonds! Is there any way to contact you? im looking to buy a pair of ae on ebay
Jo I know this response is 2 years late, I completely missed your comment, my apoligies. My email is robertpowers1972 at gmail...
So, a question:
I just this week picked up a wonderful pair of McGregor Wingtips with a pebble grain finish.
They are built like tanks! Of the 8 pairs of AE’s that I have, none are built like these..not even close.
Honestly, they remind me of the legendary Florsheim Imperial long wings that are long gone. Double sole, substantial stitching, a notable weight to them unlike any of the others.
They have a cloth tag in them with an AE logo much like the very early cursive logo that you showed.
I got them for $40 and they are in remarkable shape!
Could these really be 50 years old+ ?
Joshua Steele - they could!! Google “Allen Edmonds catalogs” and you’ll find almost every year on issuu.com if you’re so inclined.
Robert Powers they certainly look to be from before 1970 from everything I can see. That’s stunning to me!
I have sent an email to AE’s customer service team to see if they can assist. No idea if they will, but it’s free to ask!
So, a follow up on this. I did get a reply from AE / Calares to my inquiry about the MacGregors. They said that their style database only goes back to ‘08, and they couldn’t tell me anything about these since their numbers weren’t in that DB.
A little stunned at that. I work on product databases, professionally, and I have products going back over 20 years and many thousands of skus.
For shoes that can last decades with proper care, twelve years seems a short horizon.
Also, if you join the “Allen Edmonds Enthusiasts” facebook group, there is a pinned comment with a PDF document I compiled on how to date AE shoe.
Robert, do you have an opinion on Mezlan shoes?
Kent pool, They make some stunning shoes with unique but not crazy designs that can still be worn in a business environment, so from a style standpoint I really like them. Such as:
instagram.com/p/BOxH-9LA4JK/?
I think the quality is very good, probably better than Allen Edmonds from a fit and finish and lack of flaws standpoint. Whether the quality from a longevity standpoint is better or worse, I can’t really say, I haven’t seen enough examples to comment. I know 2 people that have a couple pairs, (and have handled/polished a few other pairs), but those 2 people don’t really take that great care of their shoes, so when 2 of them started to crack a little bit I cannot blame it on the shoes (they’re not religious with polishing and will wear them out in the bad weather). I’ve seen them make Goodyear Welted and Blake stitched shoes. Some people like Blake stitched better as they appear more slender/sleek. Obviously they have very different styling, more of the European look.
Unless I’m mistaken, I don’t believe they even make any wide width shoes, so they’re useless to me.
Do you know anything about Allen Edmonds 45361, cap toe brown shell cordovan? It's a Milford model. I tried checking the catalog, but can't find any info. Thanks.
Bonn Aure, check out this article I created, it may help:
drive.google.com/file/d/1T1Jnt4gQHfPLc6rv7HX3Oez1Dyiar2E_/view?usp=sharing
Hey rob I won a pair of shell cordovan MacNeil’s on eBay that had never been worn on pavement. Can you confirm the date for me? They look as if they may be around the same year.
jjabost20 i’m not really up to speed on the changes on the shell Cordovan models. I would imagine the logo changes followed along as in my video though.
When did they start offering the Dainite sole?
I’m honestly not sure. If one was ambitious, one could get on issuu.com and comb back though the AE catalogs to find out.
I have the "payson" golf shoes and have looked at every catalog with that logo type and still couldnt find them
Did you look up the catalogs on www.issuu.com?
Seven pair, that’s not that addict. Barely enough to get through a week. 😜
American1911 😂😂😂 👊🏼😉👍🏼
I am going batty trying to find out about a few pairs of AE shoes. Is there somewhere I can email pictures for some help?
Sure, robertpowers1972 at gmail dot com
Where can I buy some in 12 C ? I usually wear the Mac Neil
Stephen Ruten create a saved watch on EBay. Check out the ebay seller dabondo1 - he sells all of the AEs that are returned to the store but have been worn. Also put your email on Allen Edmonds’s website and watch for sales! There’s also Factory 2nds available through Shoebank.com.
So I just bought a pair of park avenue in black from eBay and the text is going back to front instead of side to side. The text that says Allen Edmonds is in gold overlay and it appears to have flatter laces. The seller said it was worn only a few times but it looks virtually unworn. maybe he wore them on carpet areas or something. I have a new pair of unworn straight from AE themselves and it is a bit different, same text but it's not golden, it looks like it was burned in with a cattle prod. The stitching is 11 per inch on both except for the sole where the eBay one has 11 but the newer one from AE has only 9 per inch. The new ones smell like coffee for some reason lol. Also the heel has no AE on the bottom on the ones straight from AE. Maybe they're switching things up again with caleres cutting costs and having bigger sales now more often.
Aceman, are you part of the "Allen Edmonds Enthusiasts" Facebook group? If not, join it, and then go to the tab labeled "More" and click on "Files" and grab the file titled "Dating Allen Edmonds Shoes v2019-05-03.pdf". It's a PDF file I made with more detail than the video and some new information on how to find the date codes! Here is a direct link:
facebook.com/download/473199800221542/Dating%20Allen%20Edmonds%20Shoes%20v2019-05-03.pdf?av=100001885974536&eav=Afa2ng4w1n2a92xwThXboK-eAG0GBqLEpRt7mV4aHv3FCefM5L9K0Hw_6CZY1Li7rPE&hash=Acq-fSkah0LYBv93AP8&__cft__[0]=AZUyT_iTy8wS0CSvGsu-fDM50VsbmObCCUBtJzNAf4e2-3_D6xtygFnj3eTBDoxsx7Hlym9m8hYHLollNP0ppCWMjHsWBRM4a2yFuyTgGYYni3Jrx4VI5fP6ep2zOXsQwEWIDGzlTYkDMOUaWcQCwWHC&__tn__=H-R
@@CobblerBob okay I'll definitely check them out, I already have 6 pairs and only bought my first pair the first weekend of their anniversary sale in April. I got a new one coming in a few days, I guess I jumped head first into it haha
Hey Robert, here is what's in my shoe 9 1/2 D 37102 5
1983 4719 Ans something else that is interesting the heel and sole are made in Italy. Inside footbed Allen Edmonds, Made in USA, Chester.
Freddie, I know you're a regular viewer, and I apologize for missing your comment. I JUST released a NEW updated Dating AE video. This new one covers the Date Codes, which the old video didn't. Your shoes were made in a year ending in 9 (1989, 1999, 2009, etc). Combined with the style of logo and some other features covered in the video, you should be able to nail it down to the individual year; check it out:
czcams.com/video/80hBLwFpBFo/video.html
Hey Robert, I absolutely love your videos and enthusiasm! We have an Allen Edmonds Enthusiast page on Facebook, and we’d be happy to have you! Here is the link if you’d like to join!
facebook.com/groups/343279262549057/
Did you know that Allen Edmonds it's not top quality shoes in US
Lucky Strike - yes, there has been a lot of talk in the last couple years about their quality. I have yet to see anyone say it’s gone up in recent years, unfortunately.