# Opinion On Johnston-Murphy and Cole Haan



## Claybuster (Aug 29, 2007)

What do you gentlemen think overall of Johnston-Murphy and Cole Haan shoes? I own a couple of pairs of JM casual loafers and am looking at purchasing either a pair of JM or Cole Haan cap-toe dress shoes. The prices I have seen are very reasonable especially at Jos. A. Bank.


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## DocHolliday (Apr 11, 2005)

Neither are held in high regard around these parts. Try doing a search here and at StyleForum.net.


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Claybuster said:


> What do you gentlemen think overall of Johnston-Murphy and Cole Haan shoes? I own a couple of pairs of JM casual loafers and am looking at purchasing either a pair of JM or Cole Haan cap-toe dress shoes. The prices I have seen are very reasonable especially at Jos. A. Bank.


Appealing styles. Poor quality. Fortunately, the J&M shoes I own are American made...which makes a big difference.


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## cobblestone (Feb 13, 2007)

*bad shoes*

Both are average at best and getting worse. Cheap leather uppers, cheap leather soles, paper heel bases with toplift that will fall off in time. Latex foam inside that breaks down in a year. All the materials used to make these brands are cheap so they can sell them cheap. Now both are being made in India. Now the high end of both models are still a nice shoe but if you are spending that much, get alden or a/e or the like.


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## Claybuster (Aug 29, 2007)

Thank you so much for the quick replies. I do appreciate it. I have never owned Allen Edmonds, but I am going to check them out. Thanks again.


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## petro (Apr 5, 2005)

Claybuster said:


> What do you gentlemen think overall of Johnston-Murphy and Cole Haan shoes? I own a couple of pairs of JM casual loafers and am looking at purchasing either a pair of JM or Cole Haan cap-toe dress shoes. The prices I have seen are very reasonable especially at Jos. A. Bank.


Depends on what you want them for, and what your budget is.

I just got a pair of JMs off ebay for like 60 bucks. Sort of chucka boots. They're corrected grain leather and some sort of synthetic sole, but I ride a motorcycle occasionally, and once and a while wind up walking a lot.

If you spend all day on your feet, leather soled shoes are not the best.

Tools for tasks.


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## dfloyd (May 7, 2006)

*JM and Cole-Haan*

I used to wear these two almost exclusively, but no more. They are cheaply made since not made in US anymore. Even the Cole-Haan Bragano made in Italy leaves a lot to be desired. Bought a Cole-Haan driving shoe which literally fell apart in a couple of years with very moderate wear. Most of their designs look like they were made by teeny boppers for the same. SQUARE TOES ARE UGLY. Try Allen-Edmonds for price and, when you can afford them, C&J.


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## jholbrook (Jul 12, 2007)

Claybuster said:


> Thank you so much for the quick replies. I do appreciate it. I have never owned Allen Edmonds, but I am going to check them out. Thanks again.


I'm a recent convert from J&M - if you check posts under my user name, you see some posts about my transition - I know have about 5 pairs of AEs.


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## cglex (Oct 23, 2006)

I am a big fan of J&M shoes - for my college and high school age kids. They have traditional styles that are built well enough to last at least a few years. They are still sold by the few remaining local shoe stores who stock a full array of sizes insuring a good fit (that excludes Banks.) If you are on a tight budget, even post college, they are not a bad choice. J&M shoes are cheap enough to throw away every other year and the good stuff requires constant, expensive resoling when worn regularly. However, if you have any scratch what so ever, do buy Aldens or Allen-Edmunds at a minimum.


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## red96 (Jun 26, 2007)

cglex said:


> J&M shoes are cheap enough to throw away every other year and the good stuff requires constant, expensive resoling when worn regularly.


I agree that you often can find J&M at reasonable prices. But I don't understand how they get away with the full prices (over $200) they charge in their stores. Their product just doesn't come close to Alden or AE, both of which are better constructed and will last a lot longer. The prices, esp on AE, aren't that much higher.

I also agree that if I was trying to dress a high school or college kid in a nice shoe (that they might yet still outgrow), I'd probably find a discounted JM.


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## Robwynge (May 15, 2007)

I wore J&M shoes for a while before I started visting this forum. My experience from those days is hard to measure because I frankly didn't know how to care for shoes. I made all the mistakes - no shoe trees, wearing multiple days in a row, infrequent polishing. I went out and bult a new shoe rotation based on 3 A&E and 2 Yankos. However, I did have one fairly new pair of J&M burgundy captoes from it's mid-range @$250 collection that I started to treat correctly with shoes trees and polishing and figured it could be in the weekly rotation. 

I must say, after about 4 months with the new rotation, the J&M are actually doing very well. The leather shines up beautifully and there has been minimal cracking. In fact, they cracked less than my A&E Delrays and are on par with my Park Avenues. My favorite shoes are the Yankos, which has really soft leather and have a more elegant style than the A&E and J&M. I hope the new line of A&E's lives up to expectations, because otherwise I will be leaning toward European shoes in the future.


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## bflotomny (Aug 8, 2007)

*JM & CH vs AE*

My experience with JM & AE may not be typical but for the price point JM is equal to AE (as long as your NOT a shoe snob) I have several pairs of both brands. I've worn them over several years. The AE Waldens I have have a painted on finish. They look like to give the shoes a finish they spray painted them with black paint. The Seneca's have a tougue that pitched, not staight.

Look again at AE selection, $260-300 for rubber soled shoes. IMHO shoes at this price point deserve a leather sole.

The best advice is to try all brands you can afford and purchase the pairs that fit well


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## DunninLA (Aug 17, 2007)

I don't have experience with Johnson & Murphy, but I do with Alden, Allen Edmonds and Church's.

The workmanship on Allen Edmonds is simply very clunky... especially the very wide and deep rubber sole covering is an aesthetic disaster. Yes, they are well made, but if you're going to pay $315 or whatever at least get Alden.

But here's my tip: Allen Edmonds is made is such HUGE quantity that on ebay you can find almost new shoes in at lest 10-15 style selections in your size for under $100. i just this month bought very good condition 10D Park Avenue black for $30, and two other pairs of brown AE shoes for about $30 each. I also notice Santoni seems *much* better made than Allen Edmonds, and probably Alden too. I bought an almost new pair of black calf mock toe bluchers (called Brenden) for $98 last month. Retail at Nordstrom is $500.

If I'm going to pay over $300, it will be Alden or I would consider (but haven't looked into it yet) the Crockett & Jones handgrade mail ordered from (I think Malaysia).


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## Gradstudent78 (May 7, 2003)

Anyone know anything about J&M's custom select program? It says they make the shoes in the US.

https://www.johnstonmurphy.com/custom_select.aspx


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## wolfhound986 (Jun 30, 2007)

J&M and CH just aren't what they used to be, the current models show a significant drop in quality and construction from the made in USA years. Also, they only have a handful of classic styles left. The past few years they have introduced more fashion-forward models which get discontinued after a year or two, but consider this, they fall apart within 1-2 years!

I started out with with J&Ms (non-USA made) and, they would become heavily creased after a few wears and then after 1 year, to maybe 2 years max, have to be thrown out because they were worn and unrepairable.

I have since moved on to AE and Alden. As you have seen in this forum, you can find heavily discounted AEs for about the same price or less as a regular priced J&M or CH.

With all that being said, I agree with the above posters in that if you are on a tight budget, a sale-priced J&M or CH would work, especially if you are starting out in those high school/college/post-college years. 

Then you can save some room in your budget for those AEs, Aldens, Ferragamos, C&Js, etc...

But, if you are looking for a quality shoe to invest in, then an AE or Alden cap-toe oxford would be the better option to purchase. The initial cost is higher, and there is maintenance such as and reheeling/resoling, but his purchase will definitely last longer and look much better!

Also note it helps to have a good pair or two in rotation. So maybe an AE/Alden/C&J for interviews/weddings/fine dining, etc. and save the J&Ms and CHs for casual, knocking-around occasions, or bad weather.

It really depends on what you need at this moment and for what purpose.


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## sia (Apr 27, 2007)

wolfhound986 said:


> J&M and CH just aren't what they used to be, the current models show a significant drop in quality and construction from the made in USA years...


Despite the fact that I tend to agree with most of this thread, and personally consider AE to be my favorite my favorite brand (I have a rather large collection), I offer a dissenting opinion and say that Cole Haan shoes sold under the "Cole Haan Collection" label are usually very nice in terms of style, materials, and construction. The English-made ones are extremely nice (mostly Goodyear welted construction), and the Italian-made ones only slightly less so (some Goodyear welted, but mostly Blake stitched or Blake-rapid stitched).

They're relatively expensive ($285-$650), but can usually be found at significant discount at places like the Nordstrom Rack, DSW, etc ($85-$200).

J&M, on the other hand, which used to make a great shoe, unfortunately, has done nearly nothing of notable quality in years...


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## wolfhound986 (Jun 30, 2007)

sia said:


> Cole Haan shoes sold under the "Cole Haan Collection" label are usually very nice in terms of style, materials, and construction. The English-made ones are extremely nice (mostly Goodyear welted construction), and the Italian-made ones only slightly less so (some Goodyear welted, but mostly Blake stitched or Blake-rapid stitched).


sia, good to mention these CH models, I had forgotten about them!

The higher-end line of CH that is made in England and Italy is way better in materials and construction than the lower-end line that is made in Mexico/India/China and more commonly found in stores.

In my shopping experience, other than at the CH website and store, the higher-end models are just harder to find. Nordstrom carries a select few models as well. Unfortunately, the DSW and Nordstrom Rack out here rarely has these, if at all!


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## sia (Apr 27, 2007)

wolfhound986 said:


> In my shopping experience, other than at the CH website and store, the higher-end models are just harder to find. Nordstrom carries a select few models as well. Unfortunately, the DSW and Nordstrom Rack out here rarely has these, if at all!


Saks Off Fifth in The Great Mall (Milpitas) was my favorite source for those things when I used to live up North...


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## Blackie (Jul 21, 2007)

I miss my Cole Haan dirty bucks..............Not made anymore.


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## sia (Apr 27, 2007)

Blackie said:


> I miss my Cole Haan dirty bucks..............Not made anymore.


I came across a pair in the Nordstrom Rack a few weeks ago...are you sure they're not made any more?


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## youngdcprofessional (Dec 11, 2006)

*AE Park Ave on ShoeBuy.com*

I'm sure this has been hashed out (and re-hashed) a number of times. It's been some time since I visited the forum. Just to note, on shoebuy.com, you can get AE Park Avenue for $260.00 after a 15% holiday discount. Free shipping and no tax as well...


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