Allen Edmonds Park Avenue Cap Toe Oxford: Is It Worth It? - Iconic American Dress Shoe

The Gentleman's Gazette's take on the Park Avenue Oxfords: https://gentl.mn/allen-edmonds-park-avenue

GUIDES YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS:
~Men's Dress Shoes: Difference Between Oxford , Derby & Blucher Shoes Explained - https://gentl.mn/2QQOFUR
~Anatomy Of A Dress Shoe - https://gentl.mn/2R9BlcZ

CHECK OUT THESE CHANNELS FOR OTHER ALLEN EDMONDS VIDEOS:
~The Kavalier https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBkL03Y0hIZAsv3rWyrSCtw
~The Elegant Oxford
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdV7lCjZqIpaNiSbx3PcMTA

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Today, Allen Edmonds pride themselves on their history and status as an iconic American shoe company. Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush are just some of the many American presidents who have worn Allen Edmonds shoes and Park Avenues, in particular.

Allen Edmonds also differentiates itself from many other shoe companies by offering a recrafting service whereby customers can send in old or worn pairs of Allen Edmonds shoes to be largely rebuilt for a fee.

THE PARK AVENUE

This is a lace-up cap toe Oxford dress shoe. Allen Edmonds refers to it on their website as a cap toe balmoral. While Balmoral is a term often used, especially in America, to refer to Oxfords, it most technically refers only to a kind of boot.

The shoes feature a single oak sole with rubber top lifts on the heel, lined calfskin leather uppers made from premium horween leather, and six pairs of eyelets for the laces. They are welted on the 65 last which is Allen Edmonds' most popular shape and also used for many other models including the closely-related fifth avenue. This particular last is known for being slightly longer than the typical American dress shoe last adding some sleekness to the overall shape.

In addition to this, the toe cap is a good deal shorter than many other brands. For today's video, we purchased a new pair of shoes online directly from Allen Edmonds for a retail price of $395. We decided to go with black which is perhaps the most signature and conservative shade. In addition to this new pair, we're also featuring a pair in brown that I've personally owned for about a year now. My pair are factory seconds meaning that I purchased them at a discount with the understanding that they didn't necessarily meet the quality control standards to be sold at full price.

Also, here's a brief word on the overall quality control issues we alluded to earlier, while we didn't experience any major defects with the pair we purchased for today's video and I also didn't experience anything major with my factory second pair, it's becoming an increasingly shared opinion in online menswear spaces that Allen Edmonds has begun to cut back on quality control to some degree.

So you may have to be a bit more cautious when buying from Allen Edmonds today but we're not going to go so far as to suggest that the overall quality of their product has dramatically decreased.

I will say that they did have a bit of a break-in period, perhaps two or three wears, where I did find them to be slightly uncomfortable, particularly in the heels where I experienced some irritation and mild blistering. After this initial break-in period though, I've had no further issues and I now find my shoes to be quite comfortable.

Now, for our main question of the video then, is a pair of Park Avenues from Allen Edmonds worth your money or not?

Ultimately, it's likely going to depend on your budget as well as your taste. As we said before, Allen Edmonds currently sells Park Avenues on their website for a retail price of $395 though they do often run sales so you should be able to find them for less. The shoes are well made with no major flaws and a durable construction.

Even so, their overall look is definitely conservative and not quite as elegant as some other British or Italian models that you might find today. If you're looking for a more flattering silhouette at a similar price point, you might want to consider spending your money elsewhere.