I have AE's that old, but job changes meant I stopped wearing them. But I do ask myself what brand would I buy if I needed a new pair of dress shoes. I often see Meermin come up for best bang for buck.
Male Fashion Advice
Thanks for your insight. I'll check them out.
I believe I have been taking good care of these shoes. I keep them on cedar shoe trees. I wash them with saddle soap, conditioner them, and polish them about once a month. I just wear them a lot. The reason I think it's time to replace the strand is because of a tiny hole. Feeling in behind there is about a dime sized area where the leather is very thin. I am continuing to wear these but I think a hole is inevitable at this point. A cobbler told me he could put a leather patch behind the hole but it wouldn't likely last much longer even with that.
I believe these shoes have served me well. I've worn out the initial leather sole, plus two rubber soles. These have cost me about $85/year which is even cheaper then when I was buying the wallmart garbage shoes. They have looked great the whole time.
My recommendation would be to look into helm boots (they make shoes too). I have some RM Williams for 500 and some red wings for 220 and the helm feel closer in quality to the RM Williams. Big fan of the value.
helm
Interesting. Thanks!
Have you look at Ecco?
https://us.ecco.com/men/shoes/dress-shoes/
They even have dress shoes that are almost as soft as Snickers.
I'd check out Parkhurst. They get good reviews and I was impressed with what I saw when I stopped in. Haven't bought any, they're not my style.