Are these Allen Edmonds Park Avenues?

July 16, 2010 2:17 PM

Men's Shoe Filter: Today I bought this pair of Allen Edmonds "Park Avenue" shoes on eBay. After the initial excitement wore off and I looked more closely at the pictures, I'm not sure if they are AE Park Avenues... Can any shoe pros weigh in?

So I'm an idiot and should have noticed this from the very beginning. But the pair I bought looks, well, clunkier than the more streamlined pictures I've found of Park Avenues. In particular, the raised portion where the laces go through (sorry, don't know the term) doesn't seem to jibe with the other pictures, which have that area flush with the rest of the shoe.

What do you think? Did I indeed buy Park Avenues? If not, can you I.D. the shoe that's erroneously pictured on the auction? I'd like to settle this ASAP so I can get my refund request filled prior to shipping. Thanks!

posted by travisf to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Best answer: Those don't look like Park Avenues at all. The silhouette is one thing, as is the slightly more luggish sole, though it's possible (though highly unlikely) that a previous owner could have added those. But look at the way the pieces of the shoe are constructed and sewn together.

On your pair, the part with the ties is made of two pieces of leather sewn over the toe. The stitching line from the edge up to the lacing is kind of squarish.

On the Allen Edmonds pairs, the toe piece is sewn over the laced pieces, with a smooth curve that reaches past the arch. The stitching is in a similar place to the shoes listed above, but the curve of the stitching is also smooth and less square.

Here's another pair of brown Park Avenues from the same seller. That's kind of crazy.
posted by Madamina at 2:26 PM on July 16, 2010

Best answer: If you compare the picture of the sole from Zappos (click on the link for additional views), it's completely different from the picture of the sole in the eBay auction you linked to. I have no idea what shoes they are, but the eBay ones are definitely not the "Park Avenue" model.
posted by needled at 2:27 PM on July 16, 2010

Best answer: 1) Park Avenues only come with leather soles.

2) The shoes pictured on the eBay auction are Bluchers and Park Avenues are Oxfords (which is what you're talking about with the lacing).

Definitely not Park Avenues.
posted by strangely stunted trees at 2:27 PM on July 16, 2010

Ah, thank you, SST. I knew I was missing some terminology but was always confused by the LL Bean Blucher moc, which is distinctly more casual (though it does have the style you describe).
posted by Madamina at 2:32 PM on July 16, 2010

Response by poster: Thank you, MetaFriends! I'll get my claim in right this second.
posted by travisf at 2:42 PM on July 16, 2010

Clearly not Park Aves. But AE does make rubber-soled captoe bluchers. I don't see a model without broguing, but it could be an older style.
posted by mullacc at 2:43 PM on July 16, 2010

Not Park Avenues. I've dealt with that ebayer before with no issues. He probably just made a mistake.
posted by jayne at 5:27 PM on July 16, 2010 [1 favorite]

For what it's worth, for searching etc., AE calls oxfords by the alternative term "balmorals".
posted by mendel at 5:32 PM on July 16, 2010