• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Cordovan v. calfskin

slaavwmr

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2004
Messages
101
Reaction score
0
Hi. I was wondering what you guys think about buying cordovan as opposed to calfskin. I am wondering since I was in an Alden store and I was wondering if it was worth buying 2 conrdovans when I can get 3 calfskins for the same price. Am I really getting that much for the extra cash.
 

johnapril

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
5,600
Reaction score
11
Hi. I was wondering what you guys think about buying cordovan as opposed to calfskin. I am wondering since I was in an Alden store and I was wondering if it was worth buying 2 conrdovans when I can get 3 calfskins for the same price. Am I really getting that much for the extra cash.
I bought a pair of Alden's 974 (cordovan bal wingtip) two months ago because I needed something to go with two of my suits. Cordovan is great material, hard as nails compared with my calfskin shoes, which are mostly Ferragamo and best left for dry, sunny days. I wish Alden did their shoes with a more interesting last. The 974 has a damned boring shape, but it works with my suits well enough, the price was right, and once I knew I wanted cordovan, I didn't see any other reasonable, readily available options. If I had the cash to spend on two pairs of cordovans, I might use it as a down payment on one pair of something that I really liked, or have something made for my foot. Recently I received the C&J catalog; they make cordovan shoes. It looked like their last was a bit more interesting, though the shoes cost a bit more than Alden.

Good luck.
 

bry2000

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
Messages
10,039
Reaction score
8,998
The C&J shell cordovan shoes are a little more interesting than those of Alden, but are not worth the incremental cost (in my mind). There are a few shell Aldens that are attractive. The Alden shell monk straps in color 8 are gorgeous. Those are followed closely by the dress loafers and then the split toe bluchers. The cap toes, the plain toes, and the full brogues are a little too clunky for me.
 

johnnynorman3

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2004
Messages
2,702
Reaction score
25
I have one pair of cordovan shoes, and I love them. I think if you have mentally committed yourself to buying 3 pairs of calf or 2 pairs of cordovan, you should go with the latter -- though I don't know why you can't choose one of each and buy a nice pair of trousers or something like that with the extra cash. Cordovan has a quality -- a shininess, an elegance, and a durability that even the best calf can't match. But I wouldn't want all my shoes to be in cordovan. But I'm glad I have at least one pair. If you buy two pair, buy one in the cigar color and one in the dark burgundy color, is my recommendation. You won't be sorry for spending the extra on the Alden cordovan -- I talked to a proprietor the other day who said that Alden cordovans outsell the Alden calf in his store by 10 to 1. And he said that Alden makes him place a calf order if he wants to order cordovan.
 

slaavwmr

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2004
Messages
101
Reaction score
0
I am talking about some basic designed shoes. Plain toe and cap toe. If you had a choic between buying the same shoes in calfskin versus the cordovan is the extra money spent on the cordovan worthwile. The cordovan adds an etra $125-$175 a shoe.

I would prefer to avoid the british shoes since recrafting is more of an issue with them. Plus for the shoes I buy the styling is not so much better that I can be patriotic and help support a company that does business in the USA. Also, the CJ calfskin in the cost of Alden Cordovan.
 

Phil

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2003
Messages
596
Reaction score
1
It really comes down to personal preference. Cordovan shoes look different than calfskin. They are thicker, more shiny, and crease in an entirely different fashion than calfskin. Cordovan shoes are also much more durable.
 

johnnynorman3

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2004
Messages
2,702
Reaction score
25
I'll agree that the Color 8 is incredible -- if you've ever seen burgundy calf, I'll say that the Color 8 cordovan looks nothing like that. I actually showed the Alden shoes that I'm auctioning right now to a couple of my wife's friends the other night, and they both responded with "Wow." Granted, they have no idea that there is such a thing as Lattanzi out there, but these were not fashion dolts by any means. I also think that Alden makes some great, albeit traditional, lasts. I had never seen the Aberdeen last before I picked up the shoes I'm auctioning off, and it strikes me as much more refined than, say, the majority of the Aldens carried at Brooks Brothers, which I think run mainly on the Barrie last.
 

STYLESTUDENT

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
1,143
Reaction score
3
I'm an Alden fan and supporter and have a good many of their loafers. Until recently, I never understood the allure of cordovan as opposed to calf (I always bought calf or suede). I recently acquired a pair of the burgundy shell cordovan penny loafers and agree the leather is something special. I wouldn't bother with the cordovan if it were a black shoe. Although the new cigar brown color is interesting, I'd stick with the classic (i.e. easily recognizable) number 8 shade for my first purchase. I second Johnny Norman's nomination of the Aberdeen last as more elegant (it's what Alden uses for its tassel loafers)-the shape seems more elongated. My own preferences for this shoe would be either the tassel or penny loafer and maybe the steel-eyeleted Brooks version of the blucher. Alden lasts vary widely and a try-on for each style shoe you're considering will be necessary.
 

jcusey

Distinguished Member
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 24, 2003
Messages
1,803
Reaction score
54
I'm not a big fan of shell cordovan. I know that this puts me in the minority around here, but there it is. I have shell cordovan shoes, and I will buy them again; but the thickness of the hide, the natural waxiness, the creasing patterns, and the fact that there are no pores all are characteristics of shell cordovan that I don't particularly like. And I've never been able to understand the attraction to Color 8. The other shell cordovan colors (mahogany, whiskey, cigar, etc.) all strike me as more attractive.

But to each his own.
 

FIHTies

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2004
Messages
2,950
Reaction score
6
I'm not a big fan of shell cordovan. I know that this puts me in the minority around here, but there it is. I have shell cordovan shoes, and I will buy them again; but the thickness of the hide, the natural waxiness, the creasing patterns, and the fact that there are no pores all are characteristics of shell cordovan that I don't particularly like. And I've never been able to understand the attraction to Color 8. The other shell cordovan colors (mahogany, whiskey, cigar, etc.) all strike me as more attractive. But to each his own.
Jeeez...cant you wait ten friggin minutes before you post about shoes? Or was this thought burning a whole in your mind for the past 3 days...
wow.gif
(I think that the judges will agree that I am ahead here)
tounge.gif
 

jcusey

Distinguished Member
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 24, 2003
Messages
1,803
Reaction score
54
Jeeez...cant you wait ten friggin minutes before you post about shoes? Or was this thought burning a whole in your mind for the past 3 days...
wow.gif
(I think that the judges will agree that I am ahead here)
tounge.gif
Oh, whatever. You're just jealous because you don't have a pair of navy blue shell cordovan shoes on order.
wink.gif
 

MCA

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
77
Reaction score
0
Some shoe experts I know, like Tony Gaziano and Maciej Kielman, prefer good calfskin over cordovan from an aesthetic standpoint (and not simply because calfskin is more forgiving to work with). I'm no expert, but I feel the same way.
 

JDMcDaniel

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Messages
51
Reaction score
1
Can someone describe the distinct creasing pattern of cordovan? For some reason, I don't recall seeing any with much wear.
 

montecristo#4

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Messages
12,214
Reaction score
21
I'm not a big fan of shell cordovan. I know that this puts me in the minority around here, but there it is. I have shell cordovan shoes, and I will buy them again; but the thickness of the hide, the natural waxiness, the creasing patterns, and the fact that there are no pores all are characteristics of shell cordovan that I don't particularly like. And I've never been able to understand the attraction to Color 8. The other shell cordovan colors (mahogany, whiskey, cigar, etc.) all strike me as more attractive.
I completely agree. I own a pair of cap toe cordovan (#8) bluchers on Alden's Aberdeen last. Nice shoes, but they are heavy and clunky compared to calfskin. Here in DC, you can only wear them half the year at most because they are a lot warmer than calfskin. And you obviously can't antique them the way you can antique calfskin.

For $450, you're close to what Ben Silver is charging for a C&J handgrade, which in my opinion is a VASTLY superior shoe.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,161
Messages
10,579,036
Members
223,882
Latest member
anykadaimeni
Top