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AE shoes too formal with dress slack?

toddinjax

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Hi all,
I'm shopping for shoes to wear with dress slacks, mostly lightweight wool, a couple pairs Perry Ellis microfiber, very rarely a suit. I'd like 2 pair from these 4 choices - A Edmonds Park Ave, Soho, Evanston, and Strand. I was told all but the Park Ave are too formal/dressy for anything BUT a suit. Is that so? I'm having a hard time believing the above shoes can't be paired with dress pants without a jacket; but I am here to learn. FWIW, the retailer that said this to me has the Park ave in stock. Thanks.
 

KPO89

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You know I've always felt that there is no such thing as shoes being too dressy. As long as we are talking about slacks or chinos....Park Ave's definately have a bit of that formal look to them but then again....I think shoes should always be the dressiest part of your outfit.
 

Alias

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They will all work. The Soho looks better than the Park Avenue to me, but just pick one and you won't go wrong.
 

superego

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Originally Posted by toddinjax
Hi all,
I was told all but the Park Ave are too formal/dressy for anything BUT a suit. Is that so? I'm having a hard time believing the above shoes can't be paired with dress pants without a jacket; but I am here to learn. FWIW, the retailer that said this to me has the Park ave in stock. Thanks.


The retailer was just feeding you rubbish to get you to buy the shoes. Any of the shoes you mentioned ought to be fine either with a suit or trousers.

And if you decide to go with the Park Avenue, make sure to find a different retailer to buy from--anyone that's so obviously disingenuous doesn't deserve your business.
 

MatthewN

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As I understand it, brogues (shoes with perforations, like the Strand and Evanston) are actually less dressy than plain captoes. As for the Park Ave vs the Soho, they're both plain captoes, just on slightly different lasts. I don't see how one could be dressier than the other. In any case, all are more than acceptable with your attire. If you're getting two pairs, pick one plain captoe and one brogue, probably one in black and one in brown. A black oxford captoe is often seen as the "standard dress shoe", so you may want to go with that and then get a brogue in brown. Oh, P.S.
Originally Posted by KPO89
You know I've always felt that there is no such thing as shoes being too dressy.
I mostly agree, but for the sake of completeness and at the risk of sounding like I'm nitpicking: patent leather is only appropriate with formalwear. Otherwise, quite right.
 

amplifiedheat

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The Park Avenue and the Strand are the more elegant of the four. Cap-toes are dressier than brogues.
 

KPO89

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Originally Posted by MatthewN
As I understand it, brogues (shoes with perforations, like the Strand and Evanston) are actually less dressy than plain captoes. As for the Park Ave vs the Soho, they're both plain captoes, just on slightly different lasts. I don't see how one could be dressier than the other.

In any case, all are more than acceptable with your attire. If you're getting two pairs, pick one plain captoe and one brogue, probably one in black and one in brown. A black oxford captoe is often seen as the "standard dress shoe", so you may want to go with that and then get a brogue in brown.

Oh, P.S.

I mostly agree, but for the sake of completeness and at the risk of sounding like I'm nitpicking: patent leather is only appropriate with formalwear. Otherwise, quite right.


Yes of course....I agree with you there.
 

The Louche

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Originally Posted by amplifiedheat
The Park Avenue and the Strand are the more elegant of the four. Cap-toes are dressier than brogues.

+1. I would consider a pair of loafers, though, if you are wearing odd trousers most of the time. One pair of lace-ups - such as the PA - and one pair of loafers - such as the Walden, Melrose, or Clifton - will get you through almost any situation.

And, as some have said before, the more broguing the shoe has, the less formal it is; the AE is the most formal of the lace-ups you have listed. Don't patronize this establishement ever again - they know not what they speak of.
 

phillyesq

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I have both the Strand (Chestnut) and PAs in black. I rarlely wear the PAs with anything other than a suit, but that is mostly because of the way I rotate my shoes. I wear the Strand with both suits and trousers, and it looks great with both.

If you're wearing mostly trousers, I second the recommendation of a pair of loafers, or perhaps monks.
 

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