Allen Edmonds McTavish in Smokey Grey – $112.00 w/ HONOR
NOTE: Code is good for $35 off and you’re bound by the honor code to ship a pair of gently worn shoes to Soles 4 Souls. More on the promotion can be found over here.
Just over one hundred bucks for a pair of bulletproof, brand new, made in Port Washington Wisconsin Allen Edmonds lace-ups is unheard of. You just have to be okay with grey.
So are you?
The first question a lot of us will ask is what precisely should I wear these things with? Well here’s one suggestion… with jeans being the first go-to when it comes to your pants. And don’t worry too much about not wearing grey anywhere else. A charcoal sportcoat and jeans with these lighter grey shoes works just fine. Off white to white pants (especially 5-pockets) come spring and summer would be a great choice too, but other than that… well… pretty sure we’re all open to your suggestions in the comments. Fact is, these feel and look fantastic for the price. Not the most versatile, no, but they’ll be perfect for dressing up casual gear.
Notice the scuffed, extra distressed patch on the left. Might be a big deal to some.
These are part of the Allen Edmonds “Rough” collection, and the waxy distressed leather dresses them down quite a bit. On this pair, looks like whatever or whoever was doing the distressing got a little aggressive on the left shoe’s vamp on the left side. Guessing some would send these back since the side to side difference is pretty noticeable, but for whatever reason that flaw grew into “oh-it’s-just-character” in my mind (the dirt cheap price probably helped).
Up close with the thick, flexible leather. What you’d expect from Allen Edmonds, but not in a $112 shoe.
They are a shade lighter in person than they appear online, and in some light they’ll start to pick up beige/earth tones. They’re going to stand out since they’re not black or brown, but they don’t shout either. They actually blend in quite a bit more with the world (pavement, steel) than say, a pair of cognac shoes.
Built on the 5 last, which is the same last the Park Ave. and Neumok is built on.
Construction is terrific. They’re incredibly solid and while they have some weight, they’re far from bricks. Leather soles are on the bottom of one mean looking black welt. Toe shape is perfect with some sleekness through the sides. Shape has a trimness reminiscent of the mega cheap JCP Stafford Camlin wingtip boot. Makes sense since these are built on the 5 last, which is the longest last Allen Edmonds uses. Sizing seems to run maybe a half size large, and it’s all in the length. This 10.5D pair slipped a tiny bit in the heel at first and that was with some medium thick socks.
This is going to be a tough one for some. Plenty would never have ever considered buying a pair of grey shoes. But the fact that they’re part of the dressed down “rough” collection, easy to wear with jeans, built like (comfy) tanks, and the price has dropped so low… picking up a pair to mix into your off-duty rotation might be too tempting to pass up.
Thoughts from you guys? Would you take the visual risk on the grey for the dirt cheap price? Leave it all below.
i like the shape of these shoes. looks plasticky. i don’t think the monotone all black sole and welt helps. less speckles and a contrast welt might lessen the artificial look. but overall a nice shoe for 112$.
The welt kills these for me. Looks like a Goth chick’s lipstick.
OK with grey? I’ve been specifically looking for a new pair of grey wingtips so I jumped all over these. They should be delivered today so maybe I’ll pop back in later with my 2¢.
I bought these a few months ago and they ran a little longer than my other 5-last shoes, including the McAllisters that these seem to be based on (same details, just different color and material).
I want to buy at this price, but that giant hulking black sole just kills it for me.
I dislike pre-distressed anything, but that is just me. I might be able to let the grey ride if it wasn’t for that. I did pick up a pair of Ithaca Chili non-brogue wingtips. Those are very nice, same price as the grey McTavish, too.
It’s like a zombie McAllister
Only 9 and 10.5 left for you deal-hunters with little feet.
What has been seen, can’t be unseen.
Good price- would like to see some outift ideas to get a visual. I could see myself wearing the shoes with various color chinos more than jeans.
Just ordered a pair- that extra $35 off made it too good to resist. I’m sort of curious as to whether or not a darker shoe cream would work at lowering it a few shades though.
I own a pair of the McTavish in black. I really like them; they are great shoes. I would suggest that if you choose to jump on these, you go a half size down from your normal dress shoe size. They fit about a half size too large as compared to most of my other AEs, in which I generally go TTS. Oh, keep in mind this has the double-oak sole. The shoe is heavy, and the sole will take longer than a single sole to break in. I think if I were in the market for a grey pair, I would consider the grey calf Dalton for a few bucks more. My walnut Daltons are still my favorite pair out of my 25+ pairs of shoes.
Says ships in 3-5 weeks. Has everyone else gotten this? BUMMER
This. I have no idea how the distressing will react but if you can darken it and pull it closer to the sole coloring that’d make these fantastic.
It said that when I ordered on 2/24 and mine were delivered today. That’s like 8 days.
I have these, and they’re actually quite nice. They’re not dress shoes in the strictest sense, but if I lived somewhere cool and I owned a heavy weight fabric like Tweed, I’d have no problem wearing them together.
The black sole/welt combo isn’t that bad in practice. Paired casually with some dark indigo jeans and colorful socks, and they are a great example of something just a bit different to wear than your typical standard fare.
Just got shipping confirmation as well. Ordered 2/21 (before $35 off) with quoted 3-5 weeks, and they shipped yesterday and will be here tomorrow.
Weird. It looks almost silver, and not in a good way. I think the black sole and laces makes it look sort of comical to me, that’s sort of what kills it.. That being said, who knows, it might look good with a particular outfit. But I doubt it.
They are also doing $197 clearence for grey dalton. I love the shoe and would really like to buy it, but I am not so sure about the grey color. Any inputs?
It said that when I ordered my grey Long Branch boots back in December (or November?), and they were shipped the next day to arrive within a week.
The rep i spoke to said they’re just on back order.
I was looking for ideas on these a little while back and came across pictures of someone who had sanded the black off the sole. it looked like a natural finish and looked pretty good. Gray, black welt, natural sole. He claimed the modification was pretty simple. I think he used a dremel? I can’t find the site any longer or would share.
I’d love to see the results. The all black sole is what is delaying me on pulling the trigger…
Too much detailing for the color. I would like them much better if they were the low profile wingtip like these:
http://www.zappos.com/a-testoni-lux-wingtip-oxford-black
(obviously not this brand, but a minimal wingtip)
My own personal rule for shoes is that you can do interesting colors or bold patterns/shapes, but probably not both.
well said.
man… been trying to google it with no luck. I am almost positive it is in the AE appreciation thread on SF…. but it has like a 1000 pages.
FOUND IT!
I’m totally going to try this on the McTavish. Hopefully this will address the black sole…
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/showthread.php?112293-DIY-Cobbler-ing-Changing-Sole-Edge-Color
Excellent find and a pretty nice tutorial. Somewhere out there are actual before and after pics of this specific shoe – The grey McTavish that was modified.
Thanks for the input fellas, I’m gonna pull the trigger. Hopefully I get them soon! 😀
Edit: Link
http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/839/photo6nz.jpg
Look what came in the mail today!
Threw some blue laces on my goth-lipstick kicks and their just Spring enough for me.
I will admit though, I’m not a fan of how large the black last is –The extra bit of lip which creeps onto the top of the leather gives the shoe a cold-weather look and feel.
They’re a little heavier too, but for the price!? Couldn’t pass. Glad I didn’t.
Great choice on the laces- seems to brighten them up a bit
Ordered almost two weeks ago, I hope they come soon! I wear A LOT of gray (and colors that match with grey) so I think these will get some good use. I’ll try to post pictures of ideas.
you nailed it here… but, i would personally go with dark solid levi 527s… me and Jeremy Piven
Just ordered these. Will update once they are in hand.
Took the plunge and changed the edge color to brown.