Win It: The Allen Edmonds First Avenue Dress Boot

First Ave. Boots in Brown Grain or Black/Walnut/Brown Calf – $395

NOTE: Regular price on these boots is $445, but Allen Edmonds is running a $50 off select boots special through Christmas Eve.

Whoever is in charge of the Allen Edmonds boot design department deserves a raise. Between the Higgins Mill, the Liverpool Chelsea, and now these… that woman or man who heads up their boot division is due for a fat holiday bonus.

Goodness. That grain.

Built on the new 201 last, this thing has somehow been engineered to be more comfortable & accommodating, yet plenty sleek all at the same time. These are NOT classically inspired work boots. But the quality of the materials and construction is immediately evident. Meaning… you should be able to put them through their paces if you so choose.

I don’t know why you’d want to beat them up though. They’re too damn pretty. But, say you were packing for a weekend away at a nice cabin in the mountains and wanted to keep your bag light. Well, you could do much worse than wearing these for a weekend (barring major precipitation of course).

Sleek and dressed up. Simple cap toe. Soles provide nice traction.

The “brown country grain” option comes with a subtle, studded Danite sole for extra traction. The regular calf versions come equipped with a slim, v-tread sole. They’re lean in silhouette, but the designers still knew they were making boots. So they gave you some grip on the underside no matter the model.

The grain leather is something to behold. Immediately flexible and pliable out of the box. Super comfortable as soon as you put them on. But that subtle texture is something. It’s not football leather deep. Much smoother than gripping a football. But the texture is there, and should stand out awesomely against dark wash jeans, cords, and tweed or thicker flannel trousers.

Nice and slim shape. NOT a classically styled, heritage type work boot.

The reinforced eyelets are a nice touch in terms of durability, but they do dress down the boots a notch. When combined with the blucher-style, open lacing, these boots probably aren’t gonna look right when worn with a deep navy or medium grey smooth wool business suit. But anything less formal than that? Absolutely. They’d look great with a tweed or corduroy suit, and on the other end of the spectrum, they’d also look super sharp with jeans, a t-shirt, and a shawl collar sweater. Any sort of outfit in-between? Go for it.

Sizing seems to be true. A 10.5 D fit my normally 10.5 D feet great out of the box. I was wearing thinner dress socks, but some mid-weight wool hiking socks should do just fine in there too. The brown grain option appears to be a little darker in person than on the AE website. More of a true deep brown.

Nice work Allen Edmonds design team. Not that AE needs me to tell them this, but this year, you deserve much more than a Jelly of the Month Club membership. Even if that is the gift that keeps on givin’ the whole year.

Enter here to win a pair of Allen Edmonds First Avenue Boots in your size and width. Brown country grain, or one of the three shades of smooth calfskin, it’s up to the winner. They pick. One entry per person. Deadline for entry is 11:59 pm ET 11/30/16. Many thanks to Allen Edmonds for providing a pair for giveaway. Good luck!

UPDATE: Congrats to B. Moldaner who won the random drawing for the boots!