Hi Everyone,
First post after reading the official Alden thread this past month trying to get educated on all things Alden (I've decided that, despite my desire to be thorough and not embarrass myself on this forum given my Alden-illiteracy, it is highly unlikely I can read through all 2860 pages of the thread and stay married). Having said that, hope you guys will be patient as I pose some of my questions.
A little background on how I got here: As a mid/late-30's professional in health care, I decided to begin dressing more professionally. I've been trying to learn much more about permanent fashion in general this past year and moving beyond the fickle and random teachings of GQ (I'm intrigued with what I've learned so far from Flusser). To deal with my remedial shoe education, I got rid of a decade's worth of shoes and began investing in Allen Edmonds shoes (am I allowed to utter that brand here :) Over the course of reading up on AE, I naturally encountered the great Alden vs AE debate and decided to learn about Alden to settle it for myself. Well, thanks to Mac and many others very intriguing photos and wisdom, I've decided that one way to resolve ambivalence between two brands is to just buy some of both. So, my quest has begun for wingtips and boots from the Alden universe.
I finally took the plunge and ordered 2 LWBs from JCrew: the "waxed" tobacco horween CXL and the snuff suede (a shout-out to the personal stylist at JCrew who was able to get me a 25% discount!!). My first question to the forum is: Is there a Mac break-in procedure for non-shell Aldens?
The followup to that question is, which materials should I have on hand? I've taken a look at the goods offered on the Hanger Project and wondering which things I truly need and which things I could arguably skip.
Another question is: how many longwings does one need to make a decent rotation for oneself? I have a mind to get a Color 8 shell and would love to learn how one finds their way to a Ravello, Whiskey or Cigar shell LWB. (I guess I want to be like Mac when I grow up...)
Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.