Allen Edmonds

There's something kind of remarkable about a company that's been making shoes the same way for over a century. Allen Edmonds isn't just another footwear brand-it's basically one of the last holdouts of American shoe manufacturing, still handcrafting premium men's shoes in Port Washington, Wisconsin, using a 212-step process that sounds almost absurd in today's world of mass production.

The company is one of the few companies to maintain manufacturing in the U.S. and was the choice for every U.S. president on inauguration day from Ronald Reagan until George W. Bush. That's not nothing. When you're the go-to for presidential inaugurations, you're doing something right.

But here's what makes Allen Edmonds interesting beyond the patriotic manufacturing angle. Allen Edmonds offers recrafting services to refurbish its shoes, which includes replacing soles and heels, creating a new cork base and strip, and reapplying finish. The company recrafts 26,000 pairs of shoes each year and has recrafted one million pairs since the program's inception. So basically, you buy a pair of their shoes and they can be rebuilt multiple times. It's the anti-fast-fashion approach.

The company's been through some changes over the years. In December 2016, Caleres acquired Allen Edmonds from Brentwood Associates for $255 million. Now they're part of a larger footwear portfolio, but they've maintained that commitment to American craftsmanship that defined them from the start.

And the shoes themselves? They're not cheap-you're looking at several hundred dollars for a pair. But people who own them tend to keep them for decades. The cork footbed actually molds to your foot over time, which means they get more comfortable the longer you wear them. Notice how that's the opposite of most shoes?

As of 2022, Allen Edmonds employs 135 craftspeople, many of which are 2nd and 3rd-generation makers, and has an apprentice program to train new generations of craftspeople. There's something reassuring about that-the idea that skills are being passed down, that someone's teaching the next generation how to make something that lasts.

They've got retail stores across the country, plus they sell online. And if you're the type who cares about fit (which you should be, honestly), they offer extended sizes and widths that most brands don't bother with. Their Master Fitters have fitted thousands of customers, so they actually know what they're doing when it comes to getting you the right size.

The brand's had to evolve, sure. They've added sneakers and more casual styles to stay relevant. But at its core, Allen Edmonds is still about making dress shoes the old-fashioned way-by hand, in America, with materials that'll last. In a world where most shoes are made overseas and designed to be replaced every year or two, that's become kind of radical.