Allen Edmonds

Allen Edmonds is one of the very few companies still making dress shoes in the U.S., and that domestic, hand-built construction is the core of its value. Each pair runs through a 212-step process and sees up to 60 different craftspeople, so buyers generally feel the price buys real shoemaking rather than a label. Against heritage American peers like Alden it competes on craft and recraftability; the right pick comes down to fit and budget.

For a first pair, lean toward a classic American cap-toe oxford or a versatile derby — the kind of timeless design Allen Edmonds is built around, in the range of sizes and widths it is known for. Whatever you choose, it is made to last and to be recrafted, so a do-everything dress shoe earns the most wear before you branch out.

Recrafting is one of the brand's signatures: it refurbishes worn shoes by replacing soles and heels, building a new cork base and strip, and reapplying finish. The company recrafts about 26,000 pairs a year and has recrafted over a million pairs since the program began, and it says a pair can be recrafted around four times before it should be retired — which is why owners treat the shoes as a long-term investment.

Largely, yes — and that is a defining point. With more than 98% of shoes sold in the U.S. made overseas, Allen Edmonds is among a small minority producing domestically, with completion happening in Port Washington, Wisconsin. The exception is the hand-sewn collection: those uppers are cut and sewn in the Dominican Republic from U.S. raw materials, then shipped back to Wisconsin for completion.

The company was established in Belgium, Wisconsin, in 1922 by Elbert W. Allen as the Allen-Spiegal Shoe Company. In 1931, Allen partnered with salesman Bill Edmonds to form the Allen Edmonds Corporation. It remains an American men's shoe company, now based in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

For a long stretch, yes. Allen Edmonds was the choice for every U.S. president on inauguration day from Ronald Reagan through George W. Bush. The brand also built lasting loyalty by supplying shoes to the U.S. Army and Navy during World War II, with many recipients staying devoted for life.

Allen Edmonds is owned by Caleres, which acquired it in December 2016 from private equity firm Brentwood Associates for $255 million. Before that it had passed through several hands — out of the Allen family to John Stollenwerk in 1980, then to investment firm Goldner Hawn Johnson & Morrison in 2006, and to Brentwood in 2013.

Allen Edmonds sources its cordovan shells from the Horween Leather Company, a respected American tannery. That partnership is part of why its higher-end shell cordovan models are prized — the leather is known for its durability and the deep patina it develops with wear.

A lot of hands touch each pair. The company employs around 135 craftspeople — many of them 2nd- and 3rd-generation makers — and runs an apprentice program to train new ones. Each shoe goes through a 212-step process and will see up to 60 different craftspeople before it is finished, which is built on Goodyear-style team craftsmanship rather than an anonymous assembly line.

Give them rest days and use shoe trees to hold their shape between wears, then brush, condition and polish the leather regularly so it does not dry out. When the soles and heels finally wear through, send them in for recrafting rather than retiring them — done properly, a single pair can serve for many years and several recrafts.