Advice on first Cordovan boots recommendations

Hello everyone,

I recently decided to buy a new pair of quality boots as the ones I currently did not last more than a year.

I came across the Alden and Allen Edmond brands which are very pricey but I am willing to spend the cash for my first pair of cordovan boots.

I am very new to this style and brand of shoe and I would like people's input.

I am looking for a boot that I can use with casual, suit and Jeans as this would be my first pair.  There is an Allen Edmond store in California but is an 1.2 hour and before I decide to travel that far I would like to get peoples input.

Any recommendations for my first set of boots and color?

At works we wear causal and suit and also when going out.

I'm currently looking at the Cordovan Dalton 0181 Burgundy Genuine Shell Cordovan from Allen Edmond.

Thanks in advance for your help input.

Thanks for your feedback.

My first choice was this http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF0181_1_40000000001_-1

but not sure if It will be a good idea to spend that much on my first pair.

Then this

http://www.allenedmonds.com/aeonline/producti_SF0111_1_40000000001_-1

just not sure if the Walnut or the chocolate color since they will be my primary shoe for everyday use until I can get another pair.  

I'm leaning toward AE since there is a store about an hour away from where I live.  Nordstrom did not have these two shoes only the fifth street ones'.

I decided on the Dalton - Chocolate.  So on Sunday I drove an hour to the closest store in Costa Mesa, CA just to find out they did not have the shoe size I was looking for.  I thought that by going directly to the store they would have more in stock.  I was surprise also that they did not have the Cordovan Dalton which I was looking forward to try out as well.

The person at the Allen Edmonds store was not too helpful as well and I had to ask twice for him to measure my foot to make sure I was getting the right fit.  

I just checked online and it would take-  4-6 weeks  to get the shoe due to the holidays.

Hello everyone,

So last week I finally decided to buy my first AE shoes and I decided on the AE chocolate Dalton books and placed my online order from the AE website.

I just received the boots and upon inspecting them I notice a few marks and stain in black which I think is not normal but I am unsure since this is my first pair of expensive shoes.  I would think the quality would be better but I might be wrong.  I would like some input from the experts.

The left boot has a black stain about the size of a nickel.

Also the back side of the but has like a small cute close to the heel, kind of hard to explain so I'm posting some pictures of how the shoes looked upon opening them seeking advice.

I don't want to keep these if they are defective specially after spending close to $400.  When I tried it at the store I did not see these marks even on shoes that other people had tried at the store.

Here are the pics.  If you would like to see them at different angles please let me know I will post new pictures.

Thanks in advance for you time and help.

I bought them new from allenedmonds website, I called their main number but they are close for the holidays.

I returned the shoes and I just received the new pair.

However on this new pair the heel on one of the shoes has a small gap, I'm attaching a picture.  The first one shows the gap that I have described.

Other than that the shoe looks great.