Every man should at some point or another purchase himself a pair of well made, welted dress shoes. Doesn’t matter what kind, we each have our preference. Regardless of what you choose, they probably won’t be inexpensive, but they’ll return in spades over the longevity of their life. A good pair of shoes that you care for and recraft now and then could last upwards of 15 years. One of a handful of companies that produce shoes that fit this bill is Allen Edmonds.
Based out of Port Washington, WI, Allen Edmonds produces shoes domestically just as they did upon their founding in 1922. Search them on Google and you’ll find stories of people fondly buying their first pair of Allen Edmonds on graduation, or still having the pair they got married in. With a recrafting service known to work wonders, these shoes might age better than you. When Allen Edmonds offered us chance to do an in-depth review of their legendary shoes, we jumped at the opportunity.
these shoes might age better than you
For our review we selected a McAllister short wing tip in Walnut Calf. For the uninitiated, a wing tip is actually a slightly more casual dress shoe because of its distinctive broguing. Our shoe toed the line between looking great with a navy blue suit (and adding panache that black shoes never can) while allowing us to still pull off a Great Gatsby in our summer whites. Versatility is a beautiful thing.
The shoes themselves arrive in a sturdy navy blue box that’s meant to be retained for storage. The McAllister’s themselves utterly ooze with quality. Stacked leather heel, beautiful broguing, good year welted soles with recessed stitching… Allen Edmonds has a sterling reputation for a reason. Stiff at first like any new dress shoe, they began to break in quickly and become quite comfortable. We demoed them with jeans, Nantucket Reds, and khakis in addition to the aforementioned white pants and navy suit. They pulled off each instance with ease, and earned plenty of compliments in the process. We say stop blowing your money on the square-toed rubber soled abominations you’re wearing and start saving for a pair of Allen Edmonds, you’ll thank us and them.
Buy Now: $295
