Reddit reviews Allen Edmonds Men's Strand Cap-Toe Oxford
We found 11 Reddit comments about Allen Edmonds Men's Strand Cap-Toe Oxford. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Classic lace up oxford featuring medallion toe and stacked heelTraditional broguing and pinkingLined premium calfskin leather upperSingle leather sole and regular heel. Care use Allen Edmonds leather lotion to remove surface residue and to keep leather soft and pliable
Budget shoes are definitely not high quality. A good idea would be to find a middle ground shoe such as a brogue cap toe from Cole Haan or a Florsheim oxford, if possible.
..........................................................................................................................$1095.50
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Shirt: Gitman English Spread Gingham
Pants: Unis Gio Skinny
Tie: Ralph Lauren Black Label Peau de Soie Tie
Tie Bar: Barneys New York Short Silver Tie Bar
Belt: Berhe Light Brown Burnished Leather
Shoes: Allen Edmonds Strands Cap Toe Oxford
..........................................................................................................................$174
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Shirt: Penguin Slim Fit Check Shirt
Pants: J. Crew Broken-In 484 Chino (on sale)
Tie: The Tie Bar Solid Satin Midnight Navy
Tie Bar: The Tie Bar Silver Shot Matte
Belt: H&M Leather Belt
Shoes: Aliexpress Vintage Brogue Oxfords (sketchy)
Link here.... Can confirm, code worked.
http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Edmonds-Strand-Cap-Toe-Oxford/dp/B001TDL0GK
All year:
Allen Edmonds Strand
Florsheim Broxton
Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars
Winter:
Red Wings Iron Ranger
Summer:
Sperry Top-Siders
There are many others, but these are the mainstays. I really like shoes.
Need help between two shoes:
Allen Edmonds Walnut Strands or Herring Shoes Hampsteads. I find myself drawn more to the sleekness of the English style shoe whereas the Allen Edmonds seem almost clunky. I feel like my suit would work better with the Herring which is apparently made on a Loake last.
Problem is I've already ordered a pair of Allen Edmonds at an amazing price point ($170 USD for firsts), so maybe you can convince me that AEs are good enough, and I shouldn't go through the trouble of ordering something from England.
Thoughts?
Word.
The Park Ave is probably a bit overkill unless you need it for black suit wear regularly. Which is not to say you can't dress it down, as most people won't care at all, but if you want to get something a a little more interesting you can probably get away with it just fine.
I personally prefer things with broguing on them just because they're more interesting. The AE Strand is in a style I like quite a bit (and which MFA recommends regularly). It's got what's known as a "medallion" on the cap, which just means it has a cool little perforation pattern. A nifty thing about medallions is that each shoe maker tends to have their own trademark design, so you can get a cool unique looking shoe even if the styling is standard. AE's medallion is relatively plain, but just something fun to look for.
One last note on dress shoe stuff in general that I don't think is in the sidebar: Full leather shoes are made on different "lasts," which are just molds that the leather is shaped over. Thus when you see something on a dress shoe that tells you what last it is, that's telling you the shape. Note that it might be tricky to figure out which last a shoe is on if you're not at a specialty store where the salespeople really know their shit, but you can usually look it up online easily. Different lasts fit differently, so you can't ever assume that if you fit a size X perfectly in one shoe you'll be a size X in any other dress shoe, even if it's from the same manufacturer. I highly advise you to go try shoes on in person if you can. You'll feel like a dick trying on a bunch of shoes and getting sizing help when you don't intend to buy at full price (which you should not need to do), but it's a pricey decision so it won't seem weird if you tell them you need to think about it.
So anyway, on to deal searching. If you want to step it up from Florsheims, know that while Allen Edmonds basically all retail for $325 you shouldn't have trouble finding them for cheaper if you're diligent and patient. A couple weeks ago Amazon was selling a lot of them 30% off, for example. Nordstrom or Neiman's (can't remember which) should be having a half-yearly men's sale right after Christmas, too, which I think is 25% off.
This guy on Styleforum, though, sells new versions of the most popular AE models for $245 (25% off). He's got the Park Ave, the Fifth Ave (which is the Park Ave with a line of brouging on the toe cap), and the Strand. Haven't used him, but he's got good reviews. These guys usually get overstock, floor samples, etc. so it's legit.
You can also be on the lookout for "seconds" or "second quality" shoes in any brand, which are shoes with some sort of defect that kept them from passing QA. They're usually sold at a way deeper discount than the defect merits, and often the defect isn't noticeable. Usually to get ahold of these directly from the company you have to have a factory outlet or something near you, though.
Let's see if this works.
If not, no, I don't believe there has been a recent price hike.
A little difficult at that price. Consider upping that budget just a little remembering that a good pair of shoes will last for a very long time.
Good suggestions would be: http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Edmonds-Avenue-Oxford-Black/dp/B000H10RX2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375426408&sr=8-1&keywords=allen+edmonds+park+avenue
or
http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Edmonds-Strand-Cap-Toe-Oxford/dp/B001TDL0GK/ref=pd_sbs_shoe_1
Seem to be on amazon for ~300.
https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Edmonds-Strand-Cap-Toe-Oxford/dp/B001TDL0GK
Are the Club Monaco Allen Edmond Oxfords the same as the Allen Edmond Strands? Club Monaco is having a 30% off today on em
Depends on what you're talking about but yeah in terms of dress shoes, these shoes are classy and fashionable and everything else is pretty much seen as plebeian imitation. Is what it is, but these are the fashionable choices for dressed up casual all the way to suit wear.
For example, /r/malefashionadvice (used to? still does?) have an affection for Allen Edmond Strands, like these:http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Edmonds-Strand-Cap-Toe-Oxford/dp/B001TDL0GK
Those styles of lighter brown with detail can be worn down to jeans, or worn up to certain types of suits. They catch the attention of people who know shoes and judge based on shoes.
>Durability is not an issue because fashion wise you need to swap out your shoes every so often
To be honest, these styles of menswear aren't going to go out of style, or at least they haven't over very many decades. There are styles/trends in shoewear (avoid boxy toes) but smart purchases will avoid it because while some certain attributes may be trendy, the overall style of the hand welted leather dress shoe has been fashionable for centuries.
And durability is an issue with these shoes much like it is with a suit. You don't buy new suits every year or two, why buy new shoes every year or two?
I haven't heard any serious feedback on these shoes. Should I buy them?