Crockett & Jones Audley vs John Lobb City II

[dmash]

Can anybody offer an opinion on these? I am looking for a solid brown captor that will last for many years and be quite versatile. I have found these two which seem to be the ticket. I like the color of the JL better, but the price difference is about $350 (obviously the JL being more). The color would be dark brown burnished calf for the C&J and dark brown museum calf for the JLs. What would you do?

*Just a side note, no requirements for a job, etc, this purchase is purely for myself as a pair of nice cap toes I can wear with an abundance of slacks.

**Secondly, I have a cheap pair of black punched toes right now, so those will be getting replaced within the next year as well (as stated, I don't need these for a job and I wear WAY more brown, that's why I'm purchasing the brown before the nice black punched toes). Ideally I would like to get them of the same brand/last as this purchase, so I'd be looking at the C&J Belgrave or the JL Phillip II in black as well. So in a nutshell if I went with the JLs for the brown captor it's going to end up being about a $700 difference when both pairs are purchased. Just another factor to throw in.

***Lastly, I'm more of a SW&D type guy and a pair of C&J Cliffords (hand grades as well) were the nicest pair of dress shoes I've worn, so I definitely would not be 'let down' in any way by the C&Js. I'm more just asking if you gentleman genuinely find the JL to be a superior shoe.

Thanks in advance. Any and all advice is welcomed!

Pics for reference:

C&J:




JL:

 

[Liquidus]

How can the JL be only $350 above C&J?

 

[dieworkwear]

Perhaps you should consider what you plan to wear these with. The Audley is a bit more versatile, since the last is a bit less sleek. Lobb's 7000 last, on the other hand, can be rather dressy looking. I would recommend you start by thinking about what kind of silhouette you want to create.

FWIW, the museum calf on the Lobb is more discrete in person than it appears in photos. I think this is a plus. It seemed too loud to me when I first saw it in photos, but once I got to handle it in person, and walk around a bit in them, I realized the finish isn't as loud as, say, some Italian makers.

Personally, I would recommend the Belgrave in brown and the Lobb City in black, just because of how each is likely to be worn (black being the dressier shoe, and Belgrave being a bit more interesting and casual looking than the Audley). You may want to also consider Gaziano & Girling's oxford in the round toe last for your black oxford. It's every bit as handsome as the City II.

Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these choices. They're all very nice.

 

[Arzakon]

C&J handgrade detailing is really nice, I just find plain brown shoes to be sort of bland until they get a nice patina.

Brown Museum Calf is stunning in person and if you are getting them at UK prices I'd get those hands down.

How can the JL be only $350 above C&J?

The Lobb's are benchgrade and only ~$850 in London if you get VAT refund. Resellers in the US have import tax and an extortionate markup.

 

[dmash]

Well I didn't really consider the city ii overly dressy.....i want something I can still wear with let's say chinos and a linen dress shirt as well. I'm almost leaning towards wingtips as my brown pair now, however I just really like the sleekness of a plain captoe. Do you think the wingtip would be a better call? I'm definitely wanting versatility as I pretty much will only have 2 pairs of dress shoes as I don't really have a need for more than that (a plain black captoe/punched toe and a brown shoe that I'll buy next).

 

[fritzl]



Well I didn't really consider the city ii overly dressy.....i want something I can still wear with let's say chinos and a linen dress shirt as well. I'm almost leaning towards wingtips as my brown pair now, however I just really like the sleekness of a plain captoe. Do you think the wingtip would be a better call? I'm definitely wanting versatility as I pretty much will only have 2 pairs of dress shoes as I don't really have a need for more than that (a plain black captoe/punched toe and a brown shoe that I'll buy next).

a wingtip on the same last is always sleeker in appearance.

 

[JayJay]



Well I didn't really consider the city ii overly dressy.....i want something I can still wear with let's say chinos and a linen dress shirt as well. I'm almost leaning towards wingtips as my brown pair now, however I just really like the sleekness of a plain captoe. Do you think the wingtip would be a better call? I'm definitely wanting versatility as I pretty much will only have 2 pairs of dress shoes as I don't really have a need for more than that (a plain black captoe/punched toe and a brown shoe that I'll buy next).

Either brand would look good. I like the captoe better though.

 

[apropos]



a wingtip on the same last is always sleeker in appearance.

+1

And might I add less sleek in suede.