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

[ReppTiePrepster]

Complements on that picture. The lighting is perfect and so is the clarity. Good job! And great shoes, too!

Thank you!

 

[slide13]

The J Crew LWBs are not CXL, they don't know what they're talking about. Great shoes and great leather though. I have them and couldn't be happier with them. I'm one of the rare few who prefers calf to shell though, at least in most cases.

 

[zippyh]

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I think it's worth it but that's me. Others may disagree, but I'm fine with that.

From top to bottom: J Crew Waxed Tobacco, J Crew dark brown calf, Ravello, and Cigar. I have black shell and color 8 in the LWB as well to complete the redundancy.

This looks amazing. Btw, never mind about my earlier request to see pics of the cigar lwb with nuance. I can see the slightly olive, caramel hues in this wonderful pic. Thank you for sharing it. You, sir, are not helping my descent to the land of the rock bottom. I aspire to grow the lwb collection to the depths you've reached. That said, the part of me still anchored in reality wants to ask if the JCrew "waxed" CXL could ever pass for "ravello-esque" or is seeing the ravello in vivo where the believing takes place? One more question, and I will apologize in advance for being a noob, how much wear are your black shell LWBs getting? (I recently plunked down for the Leffot naval boot and am worried I won't wear it enough.) Do the black shell LWBs get worn much with jeans?

Not sure there is a pseudo-substitute for Ravello, but owners of the J Crew waxed CXL can chime in on this. As for the black shell LWB question, I wear mine quite a bit but I usually dress it up more often than not. I don't wear jeans much, but when I do I usually go with the Cigar bc the antique edge seems to make it more casual. I'm sure though that others wear denim with black shell.

I like that J Crew waxed LWB but I don't think it looks anything close to Ravello. I think burnished tan is a fair Ravello substitute.

 

[El Argentino]



The J Crew LWBs are not CXL, they don't know what they're talking about. Great shoes and great leather though. I have them and couldn't be happier with them. I'm one of the rare few who prefers calf to shell though, at least in most cases.

You must have missed the JCrew Ravello LWB release at the TriBeCa store a few weeks ago in this thread... singlehandedly sold out to SF users.

 

[kwhitelaw]

still wish I would have grabbed a pair of those ravellos, even tho i'm not a fan of the brass eyelets..

if anyone is 11.5 and not wanting them, get at me

 

[Dr. D]



I've thought about the balmoral question. Are you talking about the bals that are on the Tremont last? I haven't spent much time researching that last yet. Anyone feel like commenting on Tremont? I know bals can be considered a bit more formal, but for some reason, I like the look of the lwb better (maybe also because it seems I can dress LWBs up or down depending on my mood). Where are folks on the bal vs blucher thing? (I know our closets can always make room for both, but let's go with the desert island way of looking at the question...)

I was referring to the whiskey captoe bals that Alden NYC sold. They told me last year that more were on the way but they had no idea when they would arrive. Check this thread for a pic:
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/...-Aldens-exist-out-there&p=1194696#post1194696

I would suggest that you wear the pairs you have obtained dozens of times and see how they work for your feet in real life. You may be surprised to find that you like unlined LHS more than lined, or that you want more ravello instead of whiskey, or that you hate the double leather sole and want everything with a waterloc, or that you should have gone down a width in the barrie, or that you don't like the way LWB look with suits, etc. Figure out what works for you and your feet and then increase your collection in a focused direction. While this forum has amazing expertise and provides plenty of eye candy, we tend to get worked into a frenzy over each exotic shell preorder that comes along. In actuality, most models will get restocked at some point and with a little patience and flexibility you can (more than likely) get what you want down the road. Eventually we are all limited by closet space, finances or spousal threats so I would urge you to find a direction and then start hunting. Good luck!

 

[ReppTiePrepster]

Quote:

Dr. D, You're not helping!

It was hard enough to get through the day without outright placing the order for the cigar lwbs (the impulse buy struck a couple times in the last week alone; I'm working on not being so trigger happy, especially as the LHSs have yet to see light of day yet...). If the shells will lighten, then both the cigar and the #8 will lighten and will therefore remain different enough from one another. The wardrobe question is what presents the slippery slope for this whole Alden thing. I'm in private practice working for myself. Some days, it's suits, some days it feels like a jeans w/ blazer sort of day. Anything can be justified given that many of my colleagues are wearing the good 'ol Kenneth Coles and Aldos (not that there's anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld says

).

Regarding the lightening of cigar (and #8, for that matter), do folks ever find themselves concerned that the shell lightened too much? Is this easy enough to rectify or prevent if I'm a mac method adherent?

I've thought about the balmoral question. Are you talking about the bals that are on the Tremont last? I haven't spent much time researching that last yet. Anyone feel like commenting on Tremont? I know bals can be considered a bit more formal, but for some reason, I like the look of the lwb better (maybe also because it seems I can dress LWBs up or down depending on my mood). Where are folks on the bal vs blucher thing? (I know our closets can always make room for both, but let's go with the desert island way of looking at the question...)

Shell fade is good.
These are Crockett & Jones for Ralph Lauren but you get the idea.
Faded pair was about 4 years old. Other pair was brand new.


I'm pretty sure that the ones on the left are a different color; the older model (Darlton) came in a lighter color than the new dark brown Marlows. Both colors are pretty close to their original BNIB color.

 

[closerlook]



Snuff suede unlike chukkas just arrived from NRO. Is it just me, or is the color a bit off? Seems awfully .. Well, brown. I seem to recall them being more orange-ish.

Also, they're rather tight. I wear an 8 Barrie, so I went 8.5 for Leydon. How much will the suede stretch and loosen with wear?

its going to stretch a great deal.
what is the style number - they may well be the brown model.

 

[PhiPsi32]

Snuff suede unlike chukkas just arrived from NRO. Is it just me, or is the color a bit off? Seems awfully .. Well, brown. I seem to recall them being more orange-ish.

Also, they're rather tight. I wear an 8 Barrie, so I went 8.5 for Leydon. How much will the suede stretch and loosen with wear?

Actually, steven Taffel at Leffot only sells the "E" width because they run narrow--it isn't just you. If you haven't worn them I would try and get an "E."

I have the same pair of snuff suede chukkas that I got from NRO last year. The color looks fine - they tend to look a little more orange-ish in direct sunlight and more of a light brown indoors. I went up a width and a half size from my Barrie size (12B). I originally ordered 12C but they were too tight in my toes so I returned them for a 12.5C and now I love the fit (FWIW my brannock size is 12.5B) I didn't experience any noticeable stretching.

They will loosen with a few wears, mine did. Oh and the colour looks fine.

its going to stretch a great deal.
what is the style number - they may well be the brown model.

The color looks about right. Hard to say exactly as color reproduction can vary based on the lighting in the photo. And specific batches can vary in color as well. I saw a pair of snuff suede chukkas that had a pinkish hue at Alden DC.

The unlined suede loosens up quite a bit. I bought my 1494s TTS. They were tight but loosened up nicely after a few wears. Wear them around the house for a bit if you're not sure.

 

[Broark]

You guys are making my next Alden purchase difficult. I went with the natural CxL Indys for my first pair and now I'm looking for something for the summer. So many choices. Not sure what route to go yet.

 

[docalden2013]

You bet, friend. I'm very saddened I missed out on the naval boot - been looking for a great "black shoe" option for a while, and this would've fit the bill. Do enjoy them! (and if you have an 11.5 or 12... you know where to go if they fail to live up to your expectations...

)

Would have been glad to send 'em your way in the event that they don't work out. Sadly for you, I'm the Asian guy with the small frame. Best I could do for you would be a 9.5 AE bal

That said, have you tried calling Leffot? I decided very last minute and got on the phone Friday with Colin Small at Leffot, who took my preorder over the phone. Very relieving, as it looked like my size was no longer available on the website 10 minutes after I had looked this past Friday morning.

 

[docalden2013]

The J Crew LWBs are not CXL, they don't know what they're talking about. Great shoes and great leather though. I have them and couldn't be happier with them. I'm one of the rare few who prefers calf to shell though, at least in most cases.

Thanks. I thought my JCrew "waxed brown" / "tobacco" (they seem to have called it different things over the months) looked quite different from my LS Ultimate Indy's in Brown CXL. The Jcrews are more, well, waxy looking (reminds me a bit of old buster brown shoes I faintly recall having as a kid), whereas the brown CXL indy's have this smooth, milk chocolatey flavor. I'll work on getting some pics.

Would you mind sharing what tilts you more toward the calf end of the Alden spectrum?

 

[Papa Doble]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I was referring to the whiskey captoe bals that Alden NYC sold. They told me last year that more were on the way but they had no idea when they would arrive. Check this thread for a pic:
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/...-Aldens-exist-out-there&p=1194696#post1194696

I would suggest that you wear the pairs you have obtained dozens of times and see how they work for your feet in real life. You may be surprised to find that you like unlined LHS more than lined, or that you want more ravello instead of whiskey, or that you hate the double leather sole and want everything with a waterloc, or that you should have gone down a width in the barrie, or that you don't like the way LWB look with suits, etc. Figure out what works for you and your feet and then increase your collection in a focused direction. While this forum has amazing expertise and provides plenty of eye candy, we tend to get worked into a frenzy over each exotic shell preorder that comes along. In actuality, most models will get restocked at some point and with a little patience and flexibility you can (more than likely) get what you want down the road. Eventually we are all limited by closet space, finances or spousal threats so I would urge you to find a direction and then start hunting. Good luck!

This is good advice.

 

[docalden2013]

Cigar LWBs today:

WJ4, thanks for posting. That second pic seals the deal. I'll be getting on the horn tomorrow and ordering the cigar lwbs first chance I get. Maybe my wife will fall for the old, "no, they're not new, they're just the Allen Edmonds I picked up this past summer" trick...

 

[docalden2013]

You must have missed the JCrew Ravello LWB release at the TriBeCa store a few weeks ago in this thread... singlehandedly sold out to SF users.

That apparently went down 5 days before I started getting into this thread. I believe I was delusionally attempting to read every post from page 1 onward that week. So tragic, especially as the J Crew personal stylist I've been buying from has helped me get a 25% discount on the JCrew Alden LWBs and shoe trees I bought as my first Alden purchase a month ago. Of course, he ended up leaving 2 weeks later. Ack!

Did anyone mention whether there was likely to be a JCrew ravello sequel? Let me guess, in a couple of blue moons...