In Person: The Allen Edmonds McTavish in Grey

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.