***The official Alden thread *** Share enthusiasm, reviews, sizing, advice, and photos.

[AnOxymoron]



Those boots look great. I am tempted as I don't own a plain toe high boot at this time...
BTW, the crepe sole on this shoe looks great, chalk up another model where crepe works

Yeah, I've got my first pair of Aldens--Indy 403s coming in the mail today, but I'm tempted to return them and snag those pitt boots because I love the crepe sole.

 

[localman]



Has this happened with anyone else's Indy's (or any other boots for that matter)?  



Basically the upper is separating from the welt/sole of the shoe (the white you see is I assume the thread holding them all together.  Just noticed this today, with nothing notable happening to cause this.  Really starting to lose faith in the quality of Aldens as these boots are less than a year old.  I get it the demand makes the QC go down or something like that but this should not be happening on a $450 dollar boot regardless of the reasoning.  I mean hell this doesn't even happen on $100 boots.  I'm starting to really question whether Aldens are worth the trouble.  So far I've had speed hooks tearing out of $650 Cordovan boots, ugly wrinkles on $460 chukkas, and now this.  Pretty disappointing.

Anyone else have experience with this?  Is it an easy fix at a shoe repair?  

Thanks in advance. 

Just an update on this. I took them to J.Crew who then sent them back Alden. Yesterday I received a call from an Alden representative and he said that they were going to proceed with 're-bottoming' my boots and then would send them back to me should take 3-4 weeks to gt them back. This in addition to the 2 weeks it has already been. I also raised a question regarding my eyelets being pulled through the leather when I tighten my laces after which they seemed to have checked the wrong thing (the pressure at which the eyelet was fastened to the boot?). He said he would take another look specifically at what I'd detailed to him and assured me that if there was something wrong they would fix it. He also said he would include a couple of sets of laces for my #8 cap toes which I had mentioned had broken.

All in all the customer service has been very good aside from having to resend emails a couple of times. I do appreciate that they stand by their product it really does speak volumes (even if their QC seems spotty at times)

 

[FrankCowperwood]



Add them to your cart before the sale starts, should get you the 25% off
It happens when the length is a bit longer than it should be, looks fine

Agree with this. My PTBs have creasing that's about the same as in your photo. I keep shoe trees in them, but I think they are definitely a smidgen too long (the cost of being adequately wide). They were one of my first pairs of Aldens and I didn't realize one sized down or really even that I should/could ask about an E width. I think the more snugly the shoe fits, in both length and width, the less creasing there is. Of course, I'm prepared to be corrected on this supposition by the fine gentlemen of this thread.

Oh yes, and wear them and enjoy them.

 

[Beatlegeuse]



Aldens at Roden Gray are 25% off. Must resist the blue suede somebody cop my size before I cave

Every time Roden Gray has a sale I check for the blue suede chukkas in my size, but they never have anything in stock bigger than size 11...maybe one of these days they will restock all sizes and I can finally pick them up.

 

[lagsun]

Picked up these unlined #8 Alden for BB LHS off of eBay for around $230. My guess is the seller got them at the BB clearance center in North Carolina because the right shoe is lighter than the right. They are the same size as my Alden LHS on the Van last but feel a little looser. My teenage son is the same size so trying to figure out which pair will be his....

 

[AnOxymoron]

they look a little awkward

 

[rennavate]



Picked up these unlined #8 Alden for BB LHS off of eBay for around $230. My guess is the seller got them at the BB clearance center in North Carolina because the right shoe is lighter than the right. They are the same size as my Alden LHS on the Van last but feel a little looser. My teenage son is the same size so trying to figure out which pair will be his....

It looks like you have the oddest shape feet ever in this picture.

 

[lagsun]



It looks like you have the oddest shape feet ever in this picture.

Weird angle as I was sitting in my house with my feet out the sliding back door to get better lighting. I was too lazy to walk outside to take the shot....

 

[NAMOR]



Weird angle as I was sitting in my house with my feet out the sliding back door to get better lighting. I was too lazy to walk outside to take the shot....

pantharella!

 

[shaunw]

Agree with this. My PTBs have creasing that's about the same as in your photo. I keep shoe trees in them, but I think they are definitely a smidgen too long (the cost of being adequately wide). They were one of my first pairs of Aldens and I didn't realize one sized down or really even that I should/could ask about an E width. I think the more snugly the shoe fits, in both length and width, the less creasing there is. Of course, I'm prepared to be corrected on this supposition by the fine gentlemen of this thread.

Oh yes, and wear them and enjoy them.

I always hear the same thing about the better/snugger fit leading to less creasing. I'm one of the unlucky fools with different sized feet and have actually found that my larger left foot and shoe has more creasing than my smaller right foot and shoe. This is with cigar ptb on the barrie last. The fit on my left foot is "glove like" and on my right is slightly loose. Strange that the looser fitting shoe has less creasing......who knows.....

 

[mr chorizo]



Anyone kop those natty cxl ptboots from leather soul?

nope, but they look great.

 

[Dbear]

Don't see a lot of plain toe (or pitt boot?) boots on shell. Is it not appealing, or just a rare combo?

 

[lagsun]



pantharella!

Yes from STP. Unfortunately they are too long in the foot so the heel rides up. Marcoliani feet me better....

 

[TheArgonaut]

So I'm trying to decide which wingtip combo to get for my first pair. I want something that can go from dress pants (at work) to jeans. I've narrowed it down to either 1) Natural Chromexcel Wingtip Boots (Epaulet), 2) Tan Calfskin Wingtip Boots (from shoemart), 3) Natural CXL Longwings (Epaulet), 4) Tan Calfskin Longwings (Jcrew).... Seem to be leaning to choice #1, but still on the fence.

 

[stevent]



Agree with this. My PTBs have creasing that's about the same as in your photo. I keep shoe trees in them, but I think they are definitely a smidgen too long (the cost of being adequately wide). They were one of my first pairs of Aldens and I didn't realize one sized down or really even that I should/could ask about an E width. I think the more snugly the shoe fits, in both length and width, the less creasing there is. Of course, I'm prepared to be corrected on this supposition by the fine gentlemen of this thread.
Oh yes, and wear them and enjoy them.

Yeah I wish there were more E widths around. But when I do see an E width shoe a lot of times it just looks super chunky and not very sleek. Rather have a little extra creasing for the sleeker profile