Mail Order Dress Shoes

[Bobonli]

Anyone mail ordering their dress shoes? If so, please share your experiences.

I’ve been a loyal Allen Edmonds customer since 1997. Still have the shoes but now I need orthotics that don’t fit in the shoes, so I’m in the market for new dress shoes. AE, in recent years, has seen some drop in quality so I went in search of alternatives and came up with Bridlen, TLB Mallorca and some other brands that are mostly mail order.

I’m a little reluctant particularly with the orthotic inserts. Help me be brave and not obsess about potential return problems!

I don’t need custom. My inserts fit in most shoes; it’s just that they add an entire shoe size from what I used to wear.

[vertical_doug]

Anyone mail ordering their dress shoes? If so, please share your experiences.

I’ve been a loyal Allen Edmonds customer since 1997. Still have the shoes but now I need orthotics that don’t fit in the shoes, so I’m in the market for new dress shoes. AE, in recent years, has seen some drop in quality so I went in search of alternatives and came up with Bridlen, TLB Mallorca and some other brands that are mostly mail order.

I’m a little reluctant particularly with the orthotic inserts. Help me be brave and not obsess about potential return problems!

I don’t need custom. My inserts fit in most shoes; it’s just that they add an entire shoe size from what I used to wear.

You live in Long Island. You should be able to find just about anything in greater NYC. Even if you need to pay more, I'd go brick and mortar for your first pair until you find something you like. I am always willing to spend a little more for shoes to get just the right comfort. It's so much better.

When I finally went to Sigma Sports to try on all the different Lakes shoes in wider lasts, it was worth it. I did the same for my last pair of ski boots, with the wider last in Nordicas. Knowing the value of comfortable feet, in 20/20 hindsight, I'd pay even more.

[AngryScientist]

AE sizing, in my experience is so weird. I wear a 10 in all my running shoes, 44 in all cycling shoes, but 8.5 in AE, so a word of caution that your AE size may not translate well to other brands.

[caleb]

I don’t need custom. My inserts fit in most shoes; it’s just that they add an entire shoe size from what I used to wear.

Try them on in person, like @vertical_doug said. Most of the mail order-only operations from Spain/Italy run narrow, which is the opposite of what you're saying you want.

There's an Alden shop right by Grand Central on Madison Avenue, around the corner from J. Press. They'd be my first stop for a high quality shoe built on an American-style last.

[Bobonli]

thanks everyone

[NYCfixie]

I'll send you a PM with my contact info if you want to discuss via phone, text, email, or in-person.

I was on a more than 3 year hunt to find dress shoes that fit and went through several brands, many models, several lasts, and many different sizes and widths before I was able to find anything that works for me. Not that long after, I was prescribed 3/4 orthotics and all the research was useless and I had to start again. Take your time, do you research, and you should find something that works.

Most importantly, DO NOT get caught up on the "number size and width". You may need to go up a size and width to accommodate an orthotic.

I would ignore (for now) what @AngryScientist said because the majority of people can find a good fit with AE because they have so many models, lasts, sizes, and widths but their are outliers (and apparently he and I are some of them). AE was known to be have great "fitters" but that is unfortunately no longer the case. I have found Nicole Jenkins at the 551 Madison Avenue (55th street) location to be knowledgeable and patient but know two important things going in: try to make an appointment with her for a non-busy time (aka avoid weekends and sales times) and the retail stores no longer carry the wide variety of sizes and widths they did in the past but they can order anything so you may need to make a few trips. Look for shoes and boots that are made with removable insoles. Personally, I have only found the Courtside "Dress" sneaker to work for me with my orthotics but my overall foot shape is an outlier (wide forefoot, narrow heel, tall arch, high instep) so I am difficult to fit in many shoe brands.

I 1000% agree with @vertical_doug in that you must try things on in-person especially if you have orthotics and fit issues. Stay away from mail order, at least for now, though Meermin has a showroom in Soho and Thursday Boots (and shoes) has a showroom in the Flat Iron and Soho.

Enslow Shoes and Orthotics on the Upper East Side is a retail location. They have many old person looking shoes but there are a few more modern brands that look better and fit orthotics.

Mephisto also has an Upper East Side location and offers removable sole shoes, boots, and sneakers to be used with orthotics.

An amazing option is Moulded Shoes in Midtown. The owner, Ronnie, is a "fitting maestro" but they are mainly an Alden dealer so be prepared for expensive shoes but they will fit well if they work for you. Most of my life I thought I was a 10D, but after a few years of research, many try-ons at many stores, and a few hours with Ronnie at Moulded, I realized I was wearing bigger sized shoes because I actually needed more width. The 10D was too long for me. Feet like many body parts change over time so what the size you wore in your 20s may not be the same size you wear later in life.

To help prove the point here are some of my sizes:
8.5EE (fits similar to a standard 9EE)- Alden, Modified Last, my orthotics are not needed due to shoe characteristics (only fits about 5% of the population)
9.5E - Allen Edmonds, Courtside Dress Sneaker (with insole removed and my orthotic used, sneaker so roomier fit than shoes of the same size)
8EEE-UK (Similar to a US model 9E) - Carmina Detroit Last (no orthotic, not a perfect fit but I love their shoes)


Good luck and I hope this helps.