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

[New Shoes1]

On State St? Color/size please!

I only looked at 12's, but there were black and walnut players there. Nordstrom also has them available on-line for $200ish.

 

[norite]

Are the Walnut Strands suitable for a Business Casual office, more specifically, a public accounting office?

The reason why I am asking is because I will start working in the Fall. I recently purchased Black PA, Walnut Strands, Burgundy Mcallister, and Brown Fifth Avenues. I have decided I only want to keep 3 of the 4, but as of right now, I am not sure which to keep. I figure having the PA, Mcallister, and Fifth Avenues would give me a great rotation of shoes for when I start working. However, I would save about $140 if I switch either the Mcallister or Fifth Avenues for the Walnut Strands.

I would love to hear what you guys think/suggest.

 

[itsmejson]

New Mctavish & Strand

 

[wigglr]

New Mctavish & Strand

Your stands look so much lighter than mine? WHat have you used for polish?

 

[JackFlash]

Do these new, never worn, Strands look right? Referring, in particular, to the bubbling and tracks. Both shoes look like this on both sides of the laces. Should I return or am I being too picky?

 

[Breedlove]

Are the Walnut Strands suitable for a Business Casual office, more specifically, a public accounting office?

The reason why I am asking is because I will start working in the Fall. I recently purchased Black PA, Walnut Strands, Burgundy Mcallister, and Brown Fifth Avenues. I have decided I only want to keep 3 of the 4, but as of right now, I am not sure which to keep. I figure having the PA, Mcallister, and Fifth Avenues would give me a great rotation of shoes for when I start working. However, I would save about $140 if I switch either the Mcallister or Fifth Avenues for the Walnut Strands.

I would love to hear what you guys think/suggest.

The Strands should be suitable for the Business Casual office.
In terms of saving money, both of those choices should be fine and the Strands should not keep you from choosing either of them.

 

[itsmejson]

Your stands look so much lighter than mine? WHat have you used for polish?

I have not done anything to them yet. They may look lighter due to the natural window light.

 

[PhiPsi32]

Don't polish the waxy AE leather. Just use saddle soap for occasional cleaning.

 

[RossPirelli]

Received my Allen Edmonds PA's from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale today. They were shipped directly from Allen Edmonds. Inspected them and no issues.

 

[msulinski]



Are the Walnut Strands suitable for a Business Casual office, more specifically, a public accounting office?

The reason why I am asking is because I will start working in the Fall. I recently purchased Black PA, Walnut Strands, Burgundy Mcallister, and Brown Fifth Avenues. I have decided I only want to keep 3 of the 4, but as of right now, I am not sure which to keep. I figure having the PA, Mcallister, and Fifth Avenues would give me a great rotation of shoes for when I start working. However, I would save about $140 if I switch either the Mcallister or Fifth Avenues for the Walnut Strands.

I would love to hear what you guys think/suggest.

I may be going against popular opinion here, but return the Park Avenues. Since your office is business casual, you don't really need them. For formal occasions, the brown 5th ave will do the job. My guess us you will enjoy these shoes more, while the black pa's will only be worn out if obligation. Eventually, I suspect, you will stop wearing them unless you absolutely have to. Wait until you truly need them before buying,

 

[sevenfoldtieguy]



Are the Walnut Strands suitable for a Business Casual office, more specifically, a public accounting office?

The reason why I am asking is because I will start working in the Fall. I recently purchased Black PA, Walnut Strands, Burgundy Mcallister, and Brown Fifth Avenues. I have decided I only want to keep 3 of the 4, but as of right now, I am not sure which to keep. I figure having the PA, Mcallister, and Fifth Avenues would give me a great rotation of shoes for when I start working. However, I would save about $140 if I switch either the Mcallister or Fifth Avenues for the Walnut Strands.

I would love to hear what you guys think/suggest.

In my judgment, this one is easy: Keep one black pair, one burgundy pair, and one brown/walnut pair. This will provide you the most flexibility for your wardrobe.

And you may wish to have at least one blucher instead of all balmorals ....

 

[norite]

The Strands should be suitable for the Business Casual office.
In terms of saving money, both of those choices should be fine and the Strands should not keep you from choosing either of them.

I was thinking it would be suitable for a Business Casual office, but I almost feel like the Walnut Strands are too eye catching and may bring too much attention to me in that setting. After all, I am going to be a first year at the office. I don't want to rub people the wrong way with the clothes/shoes I am wearing, if that's possible.

I may be going against popular opinion here, but return the Park Avenues. Since your office is business casual, you don't really need them. For formal occasions, the brown 5th ave will do the job. My guess us you will enjoy these shoes more, while the black pa's will only be worn out if obligation. Eventually, I suspect, you will stop wearing them unless you absolutely have to. Wait until you truly need them before buying,

I never thought about returning the PA haha. That's something I am going to have to consider now that you bring up a pretty good point.

 

[msulinski]



Are the Walnut Strands suitable for a Business Casual office, more specifically, a public accounting office?

The reason why I am asking is because I will start working in the Fall. I recently purchased Black PA, Walnut Strands, Burgundy Mcallister, and Brown Fifth Avenues. I have decided I only want to keep 3 of the 4, but as of right now, I am not sure which to keep. I figure having the PA, Mcallister, and Fifth Avenues would give me a great rotation of shoes for when I start working. However, I would save about $140 if I switch either the Mcallister or Fifth Avenues for the Walnut Strands.

I would love to hear what you guys think/suggest.

I just wanted to add that I have all of those shoes in those exact colors, except for the pas, and they work great for my slightly-more-than-casual office. A lot of people wear medium to light brown shoes (not as nice as the strands), so it is definitely not too showy. If it us relevant, i work in NYC in the financial industry, but for a California-based company.

 

[dannygold]

Still drooling for a pair of cordovan strands. Some day.

 

[norite]

In my judgment, this one is easy: Keep one black pair, one burgundy pair, and one brown/walnut pair. This will provide you the most flexibility for your wardrobe.
And you may wish to have at least one blucher instead of all balmorals ....

I was considering doing exactly that. Keep the Black PA, the Burgandy Mcallister, and either the Walnut Strand or Brown Fifth Avenue. I was leaning more towards keeping the Walnut Strands because I could save myself $140 and with that money, buy shoe trees and all the things I need to keep the shoes clean and whatnot. And with any money left over, I was thinking of getting a pair of Brown Bluchers, more specifically Brown Cole Haan Air Carters as my "beater" pair of shoes from Nordstrom Rack. Yes, I know, I went from Allen Edmonds to Cole Haan Air haha.

I just wanted to add that I have all of those shoes in those exact colors, except for the pas, and they work great for my slightly-more-than-casual office. A lot of people wear medium to light brown shoes (not as nice as the strands), so it is definitely not too showy. If it us relevant, i work in NYC in the financial industry, but for a California-based company.

AHHH Thank you very much for this extra input. I haven't been around in a professional office setting too much other than for office tours and interviews. The color of the Walnut Strands concerned me as I thought it would be much too casual. Definitely great to hear that it might fit in perfectly fine.

And on a random side note - I just booked a flight to New York just minutes ago! I'm going to start my itinerary planning pretty soon, but if you have any suggestions of great places to eat, sights to see, and anything else that will make my first time experience a better one, I would appreciate it!