Allen Edmonds Appreciation Thread - reviews, pictures, sizing, etc...

[luv2breformed]

I always thought black Leed style shoe and jeans were a classic combo and being that denim is so popular again figure all different styles of shoes in black would be more popular not less.


I always just assumed that black shoes went well with all sorts of khaki style pants regardless of top..wouldn't the style of shoe dictate it? In my brain I would think nearly every color shirt would go with black pants and black shoes.. Will look at the Players for also for the suede, the Mora 2 is just enough of a pain ********** for me to get on that I think I am good with one pair of them

I could see how you might conclude this. Black is pretty neutral, right? But you also have to think about coherence in addition to color. You pretty much want all of your outfit's pieces to tell the same story in terms of formality AND city/county spectrum. So you've chosen black shoes and black pants, let's put the rest of the outfit together. What color shirt are you going to wear? White is the obvious choice. Light blue wouldn't be as good as white, but I suppose it could work. Any of your standard pastels (pink, yellow) would be telling a "carefree" spring/summer story while your black pants and shoes communicate formality or darker colored fall/winter vibe. So while the colors may technically work, the message communicated does not comport and creates incoherence.

Note also that I say all of this from a Classic Menswear perspective. on the Street Wear and Denim side of things, black is a far more popular color choice, but again the best outfits including it tend to be monochrome black/white/gray ones. Sure, black goes with denim, but so does pretty much EVERYTHING else. Brown also looks way better on NAVY IMO.

What is your take on the black McTavish?
How about a black blucher like Leeds or Macneil?

How does a navy shoe fit into this thought process of colors? You have not mentioned it in relationship to any of the versatile or non versatile colors. I am curious to the opinion?
I have had trouble with the Navy shoe.
I sold my first pair of navy chukkas due to them feeling less than versatile.
I have a navy shell boot again that I like much more, as it is more casual.

The black McTavish is interesting because he's both pretty "country" and well, black. I almost always associate country with brownish earth tones. I mean with his casual yet balmoral styling and contrast stitching and heavy appearance mean he's just all across the board in terms of classic shoe standing. From a CM perspective he shouldn't exist and is a terrible abomination. However, I think he could be worn well with jeans, although I think I'd prefer if he were a boot instead. I don't know if he'd work where a brown shoe normally would, he might given the stitching and styling, etc. I'd probably try him on and see. A caveat I expressed before is needed. The fact that this shoe is such an inherent abomination demands that the rest of your outfit be absolutely on point if you are going to look sharp.

Leeds or macneil are sort of the same story for me. The plain fact is that black is a formal color while all of these styles are informal. This is an inherent contradiction within the shoe itself which could be fun to play with and make look good; but they are the furthest thing from versatile. They are advanced or expert level shoes IMO and should never be the foundation of a solid shoe wardrobe. Again if you are going to wear shoes that break the rules that badly you have got to know what you are doing and make sure everything else is perfect.

 

[luv2breformed]

All worn with denim almost exclusively.

This is my point. They just plain don't go with anything else. In fact, the existence of denim allows abominations like these to exist.



So you can't call me a hater.

 

[halfnhalfnhalf]

Quote:
I just think black is bad-ass. Probably stems from my punk rock roots.

Not necessarily wanting to turn this into the WAYWRN thread, but . . . what do the rules say about black shoes with off-white denim? Personally I love that look - but then again I think off-white denim looks good with just about anything.

 

[peppercorn78]



I could see how you might conclude this. Black is pretty neutral, right? But you also have to think about coherence in addition to color. You pretty much want all of your outfit's pieces to tell the same story in terms of formality AND city/county spectrum. So you've chosen black shoes and black pants, let's put the rest of the outfit together. What color shirt are you going to wear? White is the obvious choice. Light blue wouldn't be as good as white, but I suppose it could work. Any of your standard pastels (pink, yellow) would be telling a "carefree" spring/summer story while your black pants and shoes communicate formality or darker colored fall/winter vibe. So while the colors may technically work, the message communicated does not comport and creates incoherence.

Note also that I say all of this from a Classic Menswear perspective. on the Street Wear and Denim side of things, black is a far more popular color choice, but again the best outfits including it tend to be monochrome black/white/gray ones. Sure, black goes with denim, but so does pretty much EVERYTHING else. Brown also looks way better on NAVY IMO.


The black McTavish is interesting because he's both pretty "country" and well, black. I almost always associate country with brownish earth tones. I mean with his casual yet balmoral styling and contrast stitching and heavy appearance mean he's just all across the board in terms of classic shoe standing. From a CM perspective he shouldn't exist and is a terrible abomination. However, I think he could be worn well with jeans, although I think I'd prefer if he were a boot instead. I don't know if he'd work where a brown shoe normally would, he might given the stitching and styling, etc. I'd probably try him on and see. A caveat I expressed before is needed. The fact that this shoe is such an inherent abomination demands that the rest of your outfit be absolutely on point if you are going to look sharp.

Leeds or macneil are sort of the same story for me. The plain fact is that black is a formal color while all of these styles are informal. This is an inherent contradiction within the shoe itself which could be fun to play with and make look good; but they are the furthest thing from versatile. They are advanced or expert level shoes IMO and should never be the foundation of a solid shoe wardrobe. Again if you are going to wear shoes that break the rules that badly you have got to know what you are doing and make sure everything else is perfect.

Fair bit of wisdom here. Thanks for laying it out like this.

 

[ridethecliche]

I just think black is bad-ass. Probably stems from my punk rock roots.

Not necessarily wanting to turn this into the WAYWRN thread, but . . . what do the rules say about black shoes with off-white denim? Personally I love that look - but then again I think off-white denim looks good with just about anything.

*Points to SWD*

 

[ScottMC]

PSA - AE/Brooks Brothers Strand in Walnut size 10E for sale here: http://www.styleforum.net/t/387955/allen-edmonds-brooks-brothers-strand-walnut-10e

Worn once very lightly and realized they didn't work, first quality purchased from Brooks Brothers.

 

[cincikid]

I could see how you might conclude this. Black is pretty neutral, right? But you also have to think about coherence in addition to color. You pretty much want all of your outfit's pieces to tell the same story in terms of formality AND city/county spectrum. So you've chosen black shoes and black pants, let's put the rest of the outfit together. What color shirt are you going to wear? White is the obvious choice. Light blue wouldn't be as good as white, but I suppose it could work. Any of your standard pastels (pink, yellow) would be telling a "carefree" spring/summer story while your black pants and shoes communicate formality or darker colored fall/winter vibe. So while the colors may technically work, the message communicated does not comport and creates incoherence.

Note also that I say all of this from a Classic Menswear perspective. on the Street Wear and Denim side of things, black is a far more popular color choice, but again the best outfits including it tend to be monochrome black/white/gray ones. Sure, black goes with denim, but so does pretty much EVERYTHING else. Brown also looks way better on NAVY IMO.


The black McTavish is interesting because he's both pretty "country" and well, black. I almost always associate country with brownish earth tones. I mean with his casual yet balmoral styling and contrast stitching and heavy appearance mean he's just all across the board in terms of classic shoe standing. From a CM perspective he shouldn't exist and is a terrible abomination. However, I think he could be worn well with jeans, although I think I'd prefer if he were a boot instead. I don't know if he'd work where a brown shoe normally would, he might given the stitching and styling, etc. I'd probably try him on and see. A caveat I expressed before is needed. The fact that this shoe is such an inherent abomination demands that the rest of your outfit be absolutely on point if you are going to look sharp.

Leeds or macneil are sort of the same story for me. The plain fact is that black is a formal color while all of these styles are informal. This is an inherent contradiction within the shoe itself which could be fun to play with and make look good; but they are the furthest thing from versatile. They are advanced or expert level shoes IMO and should never be the foundation of a solid shoe wardrobe. Again if you are going to wear shoes that break the rules that badly you have got to know what you are doing and make sure everything else is perfect.

Excellent post; thanks for sharing your thoughts on the topic. On a related note, what do you think of the black grain leather?

 

[Darkside]

Anyone who didn't get a Brooks Brothers Macneil on sale is completely missing out. I am enamored...

 

[luv2breformed]



Excellent post; thanks for sharing your thoughts on the topic. On a related note, what do you think of the black grain leather?

I love the idea of black grain if you do it right. Here's why. Given black's inherent formality, if you are going to make a casual shoe out of it, every casual detail you can add will help swing it to the other end of the spectrum.

It kind of says "sure I'm black, but every other detail about me screams casual so I'm quite obviously a casual shoe." There's only 1 thing "wrong" with it (it's color), so it sends a more coherent message. This is actually whY bothers me about the McTavish, it's a bal, it's black, smooth leather, but it's casual! Well, when half your details are formal and half are casual you just look like an abomination.

Imagine this instead. Black grain, blucher, heavy brouging, longwing, double sole, blobby last, gunboat style. This shoe would own with gray flannels, and own hard.

One last caveat. It's still not CM. It's still an expert level shoe. But it's a shoe that says I know what I am doing and I broke this particular rule on purpose to put my twist on it. It looks like it was designed by somebody who knows what they are doing in the world of CM, and paired with all the right gear it would be stunning.

 

[Spiker]

Hey how often does AE do the 2/250 sale? I really want to get some loafer next time that comes around.

 

[cincikid]

Hey how often does AE do the 2/250 sale? I really want to get some loafer next time that comes around.

Hard to say, 3-4 times per year.

 

[rink]

Imagine this instead. Black grain, blucher, heavy brouging, longwing, double sole, blobby last, gunboat style. This shoe would own with gray flannels, and own hard.

luv2, I have really enjoyed reading your advice and expertise in this thread. So much so, in fact, that I decided to register to ask you a question. I recently purchased the BB MacNeil in black grain, which fits this description to a T. I have been strictly wearing them with dark gray trousers in a business casual setting, so I am glad to hear that my instincts have been correct (I pair the dark gray trousers with a light blue or white shirt, sometimes with a tie--typically some variation of dark navy or burgundy). What I was wondering was whether the shoes may be paired with any other color of trousers? The only other color that came to mind was a dark navy pair of trousers - though I typically do not like black shoes with dark navy trousers (reminds me too much of a police uniform, IMHO). I am fine if the MacNeils can only be paired with dark gray trousers, because I have several of those, but wanted to know if the shoes were a little more versatile than just dark gray trousers.

Thanks in advance for your input. Again, your advice has really been a welcome addition to this thread!

 

[Denton]

So far my Walnut Strands have been my favorite AEs out of my closet. My new Bourbon McAllisters are hot, and haven't worn the Merlot yet. I liked that they were V-tread but I go against the grain on this, all of my AEs have rubber sole inserts.

Now up to:
Black Park Avenue
Chili Park Avenue (webgem)
Brown Fifth Avenue
Walnut Strand
Navy Neumok
Brown Firenze
Bourbon McAllister
Merlot McAllister

 

[bespoken pa]

I feel like merlot is generally under represented.

 

[Denton]



I feel like merlot is generally under represented.

For being inherently versatile, I agree. In contrast, black is overrepresented.