Custom Allen Edmonds "Chestnut" Spectator Wingtips

[herringbonekid]

How do you all feel about seasons for spectators?

some shoes are just obviously summer shoes; white bucks and mesh spectators as you've already mentioned. but if your spectators are heavier and go with a more winter-weight wardrobe (colour palette too) then there's no reason not to wear them. i have a brown/black pair and wear them all year round.

 

[Lawman]

These aren't quite specs, but are talking to me just the same.


*editor snip* Please see FAQ - no live ebay auctions please. But here's a picture:

 

[Orgetorix]

These aren't quite specs, but are talking to me just the same.


*editor snip* Please see FAQ - no live ebay auctions please. But here's a picture:

Mmmmm...those would be calling my name, too, if they were my size.

 

[Lawman]

I have a pair of the Tramezzas, and they are terrific shoes. Probably on the order of the Crockett & Jones handgrades. Do these look to you guys like a decent facsimile of the "Golden Era" type of shoes?

Mark

 

[The Shooman]

Farragamo Trezza also have a nice pair of Ostrich wingtip spectators. l have my eye on them, waiting for a drop in price before i'd be strongly tempted to buy them. (lt's not black, it's dark brown with Ostrich).

http://www.salvatoreferragamo.it/web/othhome.html

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I was in an Allen-Edmonds store today, and the salesman there told me that they're coming in spring with a "bone and dark brown" spectator, same pattern as the Broadstreets. The pic he showed me was small and not much help, but he definitively said it was not the one with the linen vamp...anyone else know anything about this?

 

[reetpleat]

NOt crazy about white non buckskin.

I like the Allen Edmunds bron and whites, and might get a pair someday. But I usually don't like brown and white if the white is not buckskin. The white seems too stark. Is the bone and white more of an offwhite? That would interest me. I have always felt if I got pain leather I would prefer it to be off white or bone or tan.

 

[cookie]

The opposite is also true: often quality shoes made with nice, non-corrected-grain leather will not be shiny straight out of the box and will need a few coats of polish to get them in tip-top shape.

I notice a nice pair of Giorgio Armanis I bought look great and classy leather but never achieve a high shine and then dull down during wearing.

 

[Lawman]

Those ostrich specs are incredible lookingl. As to the Allen Edmonds spring 07 offering, I thought the linen brown and white was going to be the only new spectator model. I hope I am wrong.

What do you guys think about the linen thing in a spectator? How does it hold up? What happens if polish gets on it?

Mark

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I like the Allen Edmunds bron and whites, and might get a pair someday. But I usually don't like brown and white if the white is not buckskin. The white seems too stark. Is the bone and white more of an offwhite? That would interest me. I have always felt if I got pain leather I would prefer it to be off white or bone or tan.

Well, that's the thing...the picture was *tiny* and not very clear, so it was very hard to tell...

 

[AlanC]

Posted in an earlier thread by Zemke Fan, these are the new model AE specs:

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Posted in an earlier thread by Zemke Fan, these are the new model AE specs:

Maybe I wasn't clear in my earlier post...I specifically asked the sales guy "You mean the ones with the linen vamp?", and he replied "No, these are different..." and described them as bone and dark brown leather, then brought out a copy of a preview sheet or something.

So unless he was wrong (which he might have been, I dunno), the ones you're showing are not the new ones to which he was referring.

 

[AlanC]

Sorry, I must have misunderstood. Well, all I can say is that I'm for as many high quality specs on the market as possible.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Sorry, I must have misunderstood. Well, all I can say is that I'm for as many high quality specs on the market as possible.

As soon as I recover from Christmas , I'm going to place the order for a pair of brown and white ones from AE...wooohoooo!

 

[jkingrph]

Those look great! I had a pair by a company years ago called British Walker, well made, but had so much trouble in my youth keeping the white vamp clean that I finally dyed them to match the rest of the shoe.

I now wear Allan Edmonds as my daily wear because it's one of the few brands that still makes a full range of sizes. Try finding a 12 a in your average store! I'm on my feet a lot so like the ones with the double oak soles. One pair in cordovan leather is over 12 years old , look like new, and are worn weekly.
Jeff

 

[The Shooman]

Thanks for the explanation, Shooman. How does one distinguish between full grain and grain corrected before they are damaged?

David

l've been delaying my answer [on purpose] because it is tricky to explain.

Just go around and compare the higher end shoos to the lower end ones. You'll find that bottom level J&M's and many of the Florshiems will have a really shiney leather with no pores in the leather. The grain corrected leather is usually alot stiffer too. Some of the AE's and Church shoos have shiney grain corrected leather (polished cobbler leather) too. Many designer shoos use grain corrected leather.

Compare lower brands to higher brands like C&J Handgrade, Trickers, many Santoni ranges, Lobb, Edward Green, the better range Grenson. All those top brands use full grain leather. Often the leather is initially dull and can be shined up.

Here's is a trick i've just thought of.
1. Put water on your shoos and see if the leather repells it completely. lf it does, there is a good chance that they are grain corrected.

2. Can you rub/message the water into your shoos??? lf you can't, it's a good chance the shoos are grain corrected.

Be careful not to mistake Analine leather (shinier) or that buttery soft ltalian stuff for grain corrected leather. Remember, grain corrected leather is usually pretty stiff.

Jeffery West uses grain corrected stuff exclusively. Prada uses alot of it too.

 

[Top Hat]

Spectators - seasonal or no?

I confess, if I lived in Malibu, California, I would be tempted to wear my specs whenever the weather permitted. However, living in the midwest, with its unpredictable weather, I fear they will be a spring & summer fair weather shoe. Perhaps someday I'll live in a more hospitable climate! Now that I think my wife has recovered at the sight of the brown & white specs, what does the group think of the black and white ones? I have always thought the brown & whites would be much more versatile, but now and then I long for both.

 

[Orgetorix]

I confess, if I lived in Malibu, California, I would be tempted to wear my specs whenever the weather permitted. However, living in the midwest, with its unpredictable weather, I fear they will be a spring & summer fair weather shoe. Perhaps someday I'll live in a more hospitable climate! Now that I think my wife has recovered at the sight of the brown & white specs, what does the group think of the black and white ones? I have always thought the brown & whites would be much more versatile, but now and then I long for both.

I love the look of brown and white ones, but have never like the black and white specs. Too severe, IMO.

 

[cookie]

AE Broadstreets

Please tell me why I did not buy the 11D AE brown B'streets the other day on eBay from the AE outlet store. They went to buy now for USD200. They are USD 305 + 110 for the brown ones - are they not to order? The site said they were slighty imperfect - what does that mean? Is this what made me a doubting Thomas? I could kick meself sideways!

 

[vonwotan]

I have purchased several pairs of seconds from Allen Edmonds (imperfect). The one pair with a noticable imperfections were cordovan loafers with a slight crease in the leather just in front of the throat line. I took them because they were one of the rare pairs in my size that were still at the factory and the crease is/was right where my shoes always crease from wear.

My understanding from the AE shopkeeps in Manchester Ctr., VT, New York, and Boston is that the seconds will only have cosmetic imperfections. Site unseen however, I would have my doubts as well.