Recent Purchases

[thmage]

Got my Cardigan from LEC yesterday. http://www.landsend.com/pp/canvas-mens-v-neck-pocket-cardigan~237331_-1.html?bcc=y&action=order_more&sku_0=::PRH&CM_MERC H=IDX_sale-_-men-_-sweaters-_-cardigans&origin=index


I like it. It's my first cardigan though, so I'm still figuring out what to pair it with.

[runner-guy]

Got an awesome deal on these Tommy Bahama navy blue shorts:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/320889809430...ht_3837wt_1008

[tdig]

Picked up the seaside belt and the advisors tie bar from the May Frank and Oak. No blazers until later in the month...

[alan]

Ordered some shoes from AE with the 2 for $200 sale:


Allen Edmonds Hale (imagine these in black):




Allen Edmonds Player's Shoe (snuff suede):




Allen Edmonds Bayfield (Brown Chromexcel):

[mixto]

@alan: Nice. Now, what's the fourth pair that you are hiding from your wife? ;-)

[alan]

LOL this is everything. I swear! In fact, whether I keep the Players or not depends entirely on what I think of them when they get here. I'm not 100% sold on them yet. I like them in walnut leather, but I already have a pair of walnut wingtips. The ones I have are dressy balmorals, but still... Too similar for me so I'm giving the snuff suede a shot. I'm VERY excited about the other two, though!

[Pitt_10]

@Alan wow man those shoes look incredible! I actually think I may like the PLayers the most out of all of em haha, nice haul there

[Focuspants]

I am trying my hardest to resist purchasing more shoes, but $100 a pop is incredibly hard to resist... help me

[alan]

@ Focuspants: Allow me to help... feed your temptation. AE's should last for a very long time. So it's kind of like buying toilet paper on sale. You know that one way or another, you're going to need it down the road, so you might as well get it while it's on sale.


Of course, that only applies to required shoes like dress shoes. But even for casual shoes, if you can afford it, it's probably worth doing because you will get many wears from them down the road. So when you break down something that you have to do (wear shoes) by how much it's going to cost you to do that (wears per dollar), you might as well save money where you can (by buying quality shoes), even if that means spending more in the short term to save over the long haul.

[alan]

BTW, I found out why my wife was so cool about the whole "I just bought 3 pairs of high-end shoes" thing. Apparently she's signed herself up for some photography classes and now she doesn't have to feel guilty about it.

[LosRockets]

Got these during the piperlime sale for $75 w/ shipping: http://us.levi.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11632301 (the Iduno color). I'm hoping to get 3-4 years out of these. The last expensive pair of jeans (rigid BR jeans back in 2007 for close to $100) I bought are still in my regular rotation today. If I get any less than 3 years, I'll be disappointed. I don't usually buy jeans (the only other pair I've bought in the past year was a $12 pair from LEC).


And these for about $50 from Amazon: http://www.sebago.com/US/en-US/Produ...s?dimensions=0 (waxy brown). So comfortable. They look great!

[Focuspants]

I just bought walnut and burnished brown strands over the last 2 weeks, but I am tempted to get some black wingtips and a pair of the suede players shoes. Oh boy.

[alan]

@ LosRockets: There's something about that Lombard that I'm not a fan of. I think it's the shape. If I were going with the Lombard, though, I think burgundy is definitely the way to go.


The Malverns definitely look infinitely better in grain than in suede, and I think they would make a fantastic casual shoe.


As for the Players, if you want diversity, you can always try some suede Players. I don't know colors are available in your size, but snuff and sand are stand-outs in suede.


Since availability is different for every size, I don't know what you other options are. I like the Malverns and Players, but I can't help but think there are better looking wingtips in the AE lineup than the Lombards. They get pretty poor reviews on the Allen Edmonds website, too.

[LosRockets]

@Alan, I'd love the sand players if they were sandier, like darker looking. Do suede protectors darken the suede? That might be an avenue I would explore.

[alan]

@ LosRockets: You're asking the wrong guy. I suppose it's possible, but I would be a little concerned with getting a uniform color. You can probably have they professionally dyed, but I don't know what that costs.