AE McAllisters or AE Strands

[meekrab]

charcoal suit. Quit honestly, I wear them very infrequently these days. They're basically reserved as my more "formal" shoe (I do not need a true, formal shoe like the Park Ave). I wore them more often when I still had to wear the occasional suit to the office. My medium/lighter gray suits usually got my bourbon McAllisters, but when I wore my charcoal suit, I'd go with the darker shoes.

Thanks.

[drocpsu]

What do you wear them with, if you don't mind?

charcoal suit. Quit honestly, I wear them very infrequently these days. They're basically reserved as my more "formal" shoe (I do not need a true, formal shoe like the Park Ave). I wore them more often when I still had to wear the occasional suit to the office. My medium/lighter gray suits usually got my bourbon McAllisters, but when I wore my charcoal suit, I'd go with the darker shoes.

[meekrab]

Black Strands,

What do you wear them with, if you don't mind?

[drocpsu]

Why choose? Both are great. I have both Walnut and Black Strands, and a pair of Bourbon McAllisters. I wear the McAllisters substantially more often than the others. I'd love to pick up a pair of dark brown McAllisters as well, but the Bourbon color works well enough for most of my situations.

If I had to pick one, I'd probably end up going with the McAllisters, but my uses lean business-casual, (chinos, jeans). If it leaned a little more formal, I'd probably lean back toward the Strands.

[mreams99]

Several years ago, AE offered some of their shoes with a polished leather — due to customer demand. (They looked nice and shiny when new.).
The McAllister is not currently offered with that leather.

[mebejoseph]

just be careful which McAllister you get. Some are made with "bookbinder" leather which can't be conditioned as it has almost a plasticy coating on top of the leather. They WILL crack and nothing that can be done about it.

Seriously? Really? I had no idea. Yeah--avoid bookbinder leather on a $400 shoe. That's weird.

[k.dutton85]

I think that, given the OP's stated needs, they are more likely to be too formal than too informal - if anything, he could consider a suede Strandmok or something like that. Neither the Strand nor the McAllister is too informal to wear with a mid-grey suit or with a sport coat and jeans/slacks. And if he only wears the mid-grey suit twice a year, he's not likely to wear a charcoal suit very often should he eventually buy one. Worrying that shoes are too informal to wear twice a year rather than too formal to wear five days a week strikes me as a mistake. Sure, get the shoes to go with the charcoal suit eventually but don't prioritize them as much as all that. That way, you end up with shoes you almost never wear and, as a result, have to wear the pairs that are the right level of formality for your work place and general life too often. Anyway, he already has a black cap toe, which I imagine gets almost no use. (I've worn my black Fifth Avenues three times in the three and a half years I've owned them. Going forward, I doubt I'll even wear them that often).

armedferret I agree! Get both if possible.

OP - I agree with you that the Strands are marginally preferable. An attractive brogue design but not so all-encompassing that you can't enjoy the leather.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I think you have helped me to think this through. I will go with the Strand probably for now. I have been using the black cap toes for weddings with my mid-grey suit, but wanted to have a brown shoe to wear with the suit as well as a weekly wear with my work/church dress. I will probably go with a navy suit instead of charcoal after feedback from others.

[srlclark]

Generally, formality calls for shoes darker than trousers; the greater the contrast when the shoes are lighter, the more attention you call to your shoes and yourself.

You could get away with either shoe for a navy suit, but I wouldn't pair either with charcoal. The colours are less than formal, and with the amount of pinking and broguing they're about as casual a design as balmoral oxfords can be (the wingtip making the McAllisters a little more casual). If you're planning to wear them with a suit I'd go with the slightly more formal and slightly darker Strand, but it largely depends on how you want to balance formality with flash.

I think that, given the OP's stated needs, they are more likely to be too formal than too informal - if anything, he could consider a suede Strandmok or something like that. Neither the Strand nor the McAllister is too informal to wear with a mid-grey suit or with a sport coat and jeans/slacks. And if he only wears the mid-grey suit twice a year, he's not likely to wear a charcoal suit very often should he eventually buy one. Worrying that shoes are too informal to wear twice a year rather than too formal to wear five days a week strikes me as a mistake. Sure, get the shoes to go with the charcoal suit eventually but don't prioritize them as much as all that. That way, you end up with shoes you almost never wear and, as a result, have to wear the pairs that are the right level of formality for your work place and general life too often. Anyway, he already has a black cap toe, which I imagine gets almost no use. (I've worn my black Fifth Avenues three times in the three and a half years I've owned them. Going forward, I doubt I'll even wear them that often).

armedferret I agree! Get both if possible.

OP - I agree with you that the Strands are marginally preferable. An attractive brogue design but not so all-encompassing that you can't enjoy the leather.

[armedferret]

If you can only get one, reconsider your life and what brought you to this horrible place. Then get the McAllister because I like it better.

just be careful which McAllister you get. Some are made with "bookbinder" leather which can't be conditioned as it has almost a plasticy coating on top of the leather. They WILL crack and nothing that can be done about it.

[mebejoseph]

If you can only get one, reconsider your life and what brought you to this horrible place. Then get the McAllister because I like it better.

[Galcobar]

You nailed my dilemma. I find the Strand more attractive but think the McAllister probably works better with how I will wear it most of the time.

If you've already got the formal option covered, then it's a matter of preference rather than function to choose between these two shoes. The difference in casualness is negligible even to the well-educated shoe connisouers. Go with the one that makes you smile more. And if wearing the Strands with jeans still feels a little too formal, switch up the laces (though frankly I'd say it's unnecessary).

[tankerjohn]

You nailed my dilemma. I find the Strand more attractive but think the McAllister probably works better with how I will wear it most of the time.

Go with your gut, man. Get the Strands if you like them better. Even though the Strands have a toecap, they’re still fully brogued, which puts them on the informal end of the dress shoe scale.

[k.dutton85]

I would choose Strand, because they are simply awesome; but for your mostly more casual application, McAllister.

You nailed my dilemma. I find the Strand more attractive but think the McAllister probably works better with how I will wear it most of the time.

[k.dutton85]

Get both. Actually get multiples of both. The only way to be sure.

Eventually but I got to stick with one

[k.dutton85]

I'm Team McAllister. With that much brogueing, I'd rather go wingtip than toe cap. Technically, I guess the McAllisters are more casual than the Strands. But in this day and age, in America...come on! For anything short of a tux, dress shoes are dress shoes. For colors, its hard to go wrong with dark brown. Personally, I think walnut looks better with navy and mid-gray, but would be harder to pull off with charcoal.

Good point about a dress shoe being a dress shoe. Splitting hairs here but I suspect that is why I posted on this forum since people here know the minute differences that certain style shoes are for.