Hey, lay off. It's early... it's Friday... I'm trying to lay off the morning tea today. :grin:

Nobody ever accused me of having good taste, so don't be offended by what I am about to say.

That first shoe, the Maxwell, is one butt ugly shoe, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. If I saw a well dressed person wearing a pair of Maxwells, I would assume that it was the latest in fashion because no well dressed person would wear such an ugly shoe unless people with a sense for fashion liked it. That is exactly the reaction I had the other day when I went to a business meeting that included some well-off and fashionable people. One guy was there in expensive, though casual, attire. His whole outfit looked great, but then he had these funky loafer things on that also looked expensive. I thought, "Those are some ugly shoes." But the overall effect wasn't bad.

Ohhh, jes'set a spell on yer verandah an' have ol'Mose shuffle up with a cold mint julep an' y'all'll feel like king'o the world I doubt not.

Gotta go for a run today, so I'm trying to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. This weekend, on the other hand, is our annual pilgrimage to Indy for the F-1 race. As ice will be scarce, gin & tonic is probably out of the question, but the brew will be flowing.

Gin & tonic out of the question???ever hear of Thermos??? Git yourself some Tanqueray and tonic,not the low sodium s--t,add a spritz of lime and there you are,out of the question hell.

Reminds me of one of Grandpa's tales.

Old Mose was shufflin' down the pike by farmer Jefferson's,ol' Jef needed help rickin' some wood so he calls out,"Hey Mose,want to make a dollar?"Ol' Mose fingers around in his pocket and replies"no Suh,I already gots one".

Brand name to me, isn't so much of an issue as comfort. If it's expensive, but you wish you had no feet at the end of the day, you paid too much.

Wear what you like, just like you drive what you like (and can afford). ;)

Howdy All,
Mephisto!¡

For a semi-casual shoe with a sport coat, I wear one of two shoes: the Nashua or the Wilbert model made by Allen Edmunds.

I've tried both, and in my opinion, there is a world of difference in quality between Cole Haan and Allan Edmonds. They aren't even in the same league.

The first shoe is the Nasua, the second Wilbert. The Wilbert in particular is extremely comfortable.

Its funny I talked with a feel people today at the marina and half of them love Allen Edmunds and think Cole Haan's are junk. The other half said the reverse.

I am just going to go to a store that has them both and see which one I like. Their is a very high end store in Westport I have been wanting to check out, I know they carry both lines among others.

I like the Cole Haan's more because they are a bit sleeker looking.

Personal preference for sure, but Cole Haan's don't wear as well. I have lots of both.

Don't worry Ted, my daily wear is generally Tommy Bahama flip flops:cool:

Not to completely discount the opinions of the people you talked to, but they are just different shoes.

Allen Edmunds are the last bench made American shoe. Every shoe comes in a wide variety of widths, from very narrow to EEE.

Allen Edmunds shoes have terrific arch support, and also have a cork bed as part of the sole of the shoe. In time, the cork molds to the shape of your foot.

Cole Haan doesn't even pretend to have any of the above features.

Look, people may like the look of Cole Haan shoes, and they compete at a similar price and quality level to many makes of shoes. Allen Edmunds just isn't one of them. They are on different planes.

Did they quit making Aldens?

I believe Alden makes a very limited selection of dress shoes, and they are tough to find, at least in St. Louis. I have some Allen Edmonds that I've had for nearly 15 years, still going strong. I treat the Cole Haan's as being disposable.

I thought so. I have one or two pair and know they are bench made here in the States.