Advice for my new shell cordovans

[mizanation]

Hi Guys,

I finally bought my first grown-up shoe. I went with the Alden burgundy shell cordovan lace-up boot. Here's a pic:

when i tried them on in the store, they felt pretty good. however, after i bought them, my right foot on the right side is having occasional pain. my left foot feels perfect.

i've heard that shell cordovans do not stretch as much as calf-skin, so is there anything i can do to make my right foot fit better?

is it better to just "break them in?" i've heard conflicting reports on whether it is good or necessary to do this.

thanks in advance,

miz

 

[aportnoy]

Great boots, welcome to the club!

 

[grimslade]

I'd wear them for 3-4 hours at a time for a while and see whether the pain persists.

 

[mizanation]

i've been wearing them at work for the past 3 days. pain comes and goes as my foot swells and shrinks.

 

[NoVaguy]

Originally Posted by mizanation

i've been wearing them at work for the past 3 days. pain comes and goes as my foot swells and shrinks.

is your foot swelling a lot? might be a medical problem if its excessive.

for future reference, buy shoes towards the end of the day. your foot should be at its largest then.

 

[grimslade]

I definitely would not wear them everyday until you've given them a chance to break in.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by grimslade

I definitely would not wear them everyday until you've given them a chance to break in.
And then wear them no more often than every other day. While they're resting be sure to use shoe trees. If they're not extremely tight, it sounds like you just need to break them in. Shell cordovan will conform very well to your feet, I just find that it takes a little longer than calfskin. Nice boots!

 

[mizanation]

thanks everyone for your help. looks like i have nothing to worry about.

also, looks like i'll need to buy another pair so i can alternate! ;-)

thanks again.

 

[bengal-stripe]

Do you live in the northern hemisphere?

It's summer right at the moment and in Europe (don't know about the States) a rather hot one.
If, in this heat, you even get into your boots, they're gonna be fine in somewhat colder temperatures.

 

[mizanation]

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

Do you live in the northern hemisphere?

It's summer right at the moment and in Europe (don't know about the States) a rather hot one.
If, in this heat, you even get into your boots, they're gonna be fine in somewhat colder temperatures.

thanks for the tip, i didn't know about that.

i'm in nyc, and we just finished having a record breaking heatwave. now, it's just hot and humid, while before, it was like being in an oven. so, i should be fine in a couple months...

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by thinman

And then wear them no more often than every other day. While they're resting be sure to use shoe trees.

If they're not extremely tight, it sounds like you just need to break them in. Shell cordovan will conform very well to your feet, I just find that it takes a little longer than calfskin.

Nice boots!


I should have added that as well. You'll be surprised how much longer your shoes last if you don't wear them every day.

What I meant to say is, especially don't wear them everyday when you're trying to break them in. Your feet need to rest too!

 

[mizanation]

Originally Posted by grimslade

I should have added that as well. You'll be surprised how much longer your shoes last if you don't wear them every day.

What I meant to say is, especially don't wear them everyday when you're trying to break them in. Your feet need to rest too!

got it, will do. just with i had another pair of alden cordos. my black taxtos will have to do.

 

[grimslade]

Originally Posted by mizanation

got it, will do. just with i had another pair of alden cordos. my black taxtos will have to do.


Better, at least in my opinion, to take care of good shoes you've got by alternating them with less-good shoes than to overtax the good ones.

 

[mizanation]

i got another tip from the guy from http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com.

he said, that you can send the shoes back to alden and have them stretch on a wider last for a week.

good to know for the future.

 

[thinman]

Originally Posted by mizanation

i got another tip from the guy from http://www.leathersoulhawaii.com.

he said, that you can send the shoes back to alden and have them stretch on a wider last for a week.

good to know for the future.

I recommend you try to break them in first. Stretching could leave you with shoes that are too wide and/or don't conform to your foot as closely as you'd like.