I really want to like this shoe. It is casual, and is the best looking blucher out there. Light tan leather, solid construction, and AE quality. These will last you four times longer than $50 shoes, and look twice as good while doing it. (You can resole these and extend the life to 5+ years!)

However, I have had some issues with these shoes. Between seeing these in brick-and-mortar stores, and two purchases on Amazon, my left and right shoes have looked DIFFERENT each time. Not just minor details either.

Pair 1)Right shoe had a large, dark, pronounced linear defect on the toe, out of the box, about 5cm long. I know the shoes may come slightly distressed in appearance, but this looked unnatural and more like a defect. I tried polishing the mark out to no avail, and they were still noticeable.

Pair 2+3)The right shoe creasing created large, unsightly bubbles/bumps.  I assume this is the shoe being of a different grain, being from a different part of the cowhide being used (perhaps where it is less dense?).  I could live with this if it matched the other shoe, but for $200 shoes that I expect to wear 5+ years, I want perfection to start out with.  It ends up just looking like cheap creasing.

I will return these and look to spend a little more in the brick and mortar AE store so I can get visually inspect what I buy, even if it does cost a little more.