Thursday Loophole

The great thing about Lands End, which we can all agree upon regardless of whether or not you own any of their gear, is the fact that they are always having sales seemingly for no reason other than to save you some much needed cash.  Lands End Canvas has a huge sale going on now and the best thing about all of it, in my humble opinion, are the deals you can snag on some Allen Edmonds "strongwings".  Normally the MacNeil goes for $325, but they are currently discounted to $260 at LEC's website.  On top of this there is an extra 20% off promotion going on right now complete with free shipping.  Grand total: $208.  Savings of over 100 bones?  Not too shabby if you ask me.  I'm not sure how many of us absolutely need a new pair of wingtips, but you never know.  As you may have expected the brown ones are almost all sold out, but black is fully stocked (sizes 8-13).  Black wingtip don't seem to get a lot of love, which is a shame.  Not many shoes look better with a business formal getup.  If you wear a suit to work it would behoove you to look into this.  Happy Thursday.

-L.A.S

[Editor's Note: See comments for steps on how to pull this off.  I guess you gotta head to the phones...]

Today's Headlines

Allen Edmonds Gets That Paper, Son

The good folks over at Allen Edmonds just got hooked up courtesy of the great state of Wisconsin to the tune of a $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant Economic Development loan.

Sid Mashburn's Face Time in Paste

"The Best of What's Next: Fashion Designer" talks about his plans for the future. Spoiler alert - he wants to bring the shop to new cities.

Marc McNairy 

Tres Bien has a little fun at their good friend's expense.

Bastin Tweets

The extremely talented and always hilarious Gant Rugger Head Designer hits Twitter.

-L.A.S

Rediscover America!

They took our jobs!  Well, not really, but right now Allen Edmonds is having their "Rediscover America" sale in honor of Columbus Day and American Manufacturing Week.  From now until the 12th of October you can grab up to 14.92% off (see what they did just there?) on some of AE's most popular styles.  Maybe you want to yell, "Women and children first!" without feeling super awkward.  Or maybe you want the style of shoe Michael Bastian is always recommending and wearing himself.  Regardless, check out some new shoes and save a little money all while supporting one of America's last great shoe brands.

-L.A.S

Fingers Crossed

I am doing everything in my power to make the Mora a reality again for US based customers.  If you feel the same way shoot AE a tweet.  Or you could start a petition. Just make sure you let me know so I can throw my John Hancock on that.  [Editor's note: Updated with factory tour.  I hear the kids love those things.]

-L.A.S

Allen Edmonds Bayfield

September 15th sees the re-release of Allen Edmonds' popular 1990's boot the Bayfield.  If the boot does look familiar it's most likely because the boot was first designed to be worn by all the male, first class passengers in a little indie movie called Titanic - sorry, never heard of it.  Notice the mini lug sole, utilized in this case to keep the balance between rugged and classy.  A sole like this is great if you're looking for a boot that can stand up to the elements, but also not look completely out of place in the office.  The cap toe style works extremely well, especially with the brown chromexcel leather, and plays a big factor in dressing up the boot as well.  Best of all, the Bayfield has 4 speed eyelets, which come in real handy.  If you've ever owned a 6" and up boot like this you know exactly what I'm talking about.

-L.A.S

The Player's Shoe

I'm assuming Allen Edmonds is talking about these kinda players as oppose to these, but I guess the shoe in question would work pretty well either way - they're just that nice.  Yes, I know longwings get all the love in this little corner of the internet. Yes, we see more longwing makeups than we can shake a stick at.  And yes, you probably own enough longwings to last you a lifetime. But for my money it's all about shortwings.  I can't say why for sure, that's just how I feel on such matters.  The new Player's Shoe from Allen Edmonds takes suede shortwings a level after next level (think Inception).  They've got all the colors you could possibly want (besides green, red and some other Duckie Brown territory type ish) and a snazzy "toasted sole edge" - whoever is writing copy for AE deserves a serious raise for that one.  There's sand and white suede to help you close out the summer and various darker shades to help you ring in fall.  It's more than likely you're gonna want at least three of these. I know I do.  Not very often do I scour the vast reaches of the internets looking for promo codes, but I'm making an exception this time around.

-L.A.S

Done Right: Black And White Pt. II

Practice what you preach - Michael Bastian white jeans x Allen Edmonds Mora.  Excuse the affected undone back buckle.  I don't normally wear them like that in real life. 

-L.A.S

[Editor's note: I have since had these white jeans tailored to minimize all scrubbery.]

Allen Edmonds Mora

The Tradest double monk on the Tradest last by, arguably, the Tradest shoemaker.  While the double monk set tends to gravitate towards the British and Italian juggernauts lest we not forget the discontinued beauty that was/is the Allen Edmonds Mora.  The appeal of the Mora lies in its hybrid of attributes - a wholly European style by a wholly American company.  Unlike the sleeker toeboxes found on most double monks the Mora's natural shape creates a wonderful juxtaposition of both old and new worlds.  The results of which, as you can see below, are quite astounding.  Why Allen Edmonds refuses to re-release this badboy is beyond me and thus the Mora is relegated to eBay, forum sales and thrift stores around the country.  The Allen Edmonds Mora - a sartorial unicorn in the truest sense of the word.

-L.A.S

Wednesday Morning Inspiration: The Tasseled Moc Toe Loafer

The more I think about it the more I'm going with the tasseled moc toe loafer as my favorite shoe at the moment of writing this. Wear them with anything and everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-L.A.S

S/S Footwear Primer: High

Despite being a little less structured than the low end list I still tried to be fairly comprehensive with my high end recommendations.  The disclaimer from before applies here as well: "Ultimately this blog reaches a wide range of people and I just want to make sure everyone is covered.  I realize some of you have already seen a lot of this stuff so read on accordingly.  Also, lots of these shoes (probably all of them actually) have gotten some face time on Sart Inc in the past, but I thought it would be helpful to bring them all together in one convenient location."  Anyhow, for all the trustfunders and the financially irresponsible I present to you Sartorially Inclined's S/S Footwear Primer: High...

The Buck:
Mark McNairy's Red Brick Soul Suede Derby...$258.00

 

I promised myself I wouldn't geek out over McNairy AGAIN, but it's really hard not to.  These shoes speak for themselves and are the perfect dirty buck in my book. Great color, red brick sole, goodyear welt, hiking laces, etc. Game. Set. Match.

The Longwing:

Loake Royal Shoe...$196.00 

I realize you can spend a ton more and get a pair of Alden or Allen Edmonds longwings, but I figured I'd do my best to even keep the high end on a short leash where I could.  The Loake Royal in burgundy is a great looking shoe with a classic shape, a Goodyear welted sole and leather insoles.  These puppies are bench made in England and should last you a very long time without forcing you to file for Chapter 11 immediately after you swipe your plastic.

The "Moccasin":
Allen Edmonds Grayson...$325 or $525 for cordovan

I know, I know - these aren't true moccasins so please forgive me.  I'm not the biggest fan of high end moccasins so for me a moc toe, tassled loafer is a great shoe for a sockless S/S.  With that being said, I'm partial to the AE Grayson in the merlot colorway as I believe it adds another level of sophistication to an already sophisticated style of shoe.  Talk about a great way to top off a casual kit.

The Boat Shoe:
Quoddy Deck Chukka...$274

 

If you are going to step up your boat shoe game I personally believe you should man up and go with a chukka version.  Quoddy makes the hands down best in the game and odds are you already know why so I won't bore you by rehashing the details.  I will mention, however, that if the white sole is a little too WASP-y you can always have it switched out for a camp sole.

The Penny Loafer:

Alden Leisure Handsewn Moccasin...$404.00

 

This is your classic Bass Weejun except it's on performance enhancing drugs. Much like all the brands on this list Alden's reputation precedes itself.  The penny loafer is a classic silhouette that every guy should have in his closet. Dress it up or dress it down, it doesn't really matter.  Remember to start from the ground up and if you have the money remember to start with Alden.

-L.A.S