The 'Hopkinson' by Allen Edmonds. . .

The Hopkinson, part of Allen Edmonds' Independence Collection, in a photograph borrowed from the AE website.

A new pair of Hopkinsons (in black) arrived at our doorstep here at Totleigh-in-the-Wold earlier this afternoon.  In a word, they are absolutely beautiful shoes and will look fantastic when worn with gray, navy, and charcoal suits.  Easily up to Allen Edmonds' usual high standards of design, appearance, and quality.  The pair sent to me are slender, sleek, and elongated (I wear a 9D), definitely not "stubby" as some have complained. 

Although mine were advertised as factory seconds (at considerable savings), I cannot tell why exactly save for a small dark smudge on one sole.  Otherwise, they look amazing.  The negative comments some have left about the shoe on the Allen Edmonds website, or in other fora, are puzzling.  My suspicions are that these individuals either are not caring for their shoes like you should with any investment (for instance, you use shoe trees and dust off your shoes each morning and/or evening with a horse hair shoe brush), or they have worn their Hopkinsons daily in all kinds of weather, without a break, putting undue stress and wear on the shoes. 

Either habit leads to footwear deteriorating faster than normal, leading to a worn out, beaten to death, nicked, scuffed up, and/or shriveled and cracked appearance.  Guys, you put on work boots to mow the grass or clear the driveway of snow, and old sneakers to walk the dog.  You wear rubber galoshes, like those sold by SWIMS, over you dress shoes in rainy weather, or you wear a a slicker and pair of L.L. Bean Boots that day and skip the suit and necktie.  Figure it out. 

In any case, these are wonderfully rendered shoes in my view.  Extremely pleased here.  I will continue to purchase and wear AE products and now feel ready to don evening dress, join Bingo and Tuppy for dinner at The Drones, and accompany them to the opera in Covent Garden.  What ho, chaps?   

-- Heinz-Ulrich