The Official Alden Thread for 2021 - Share Reviews, Sizing, Advice, and Photos.

[NYCTechNerd]

Here, here, here, and here.

Just sold my new (and never worn) Brooks Brothers by Alden 00067 Dark Brown Suede LHS / Penny Loafer because I was foolish (aka I purchased it on closeout sale, put it away because it was too nice to wear, my foot shrunk, and then I recently realized it no longer fit - too big). The third one listed above (and shown below) might be a great replacement that I will actually not save but wear often.

 

[audog]

Thought you might like this new crowdfund style at AoM:
6 Eye PCT Chukka
View attachment 1537891

Very nice, not exactly what I was after, but it is a nice looking Chukka.

 

[audog]

Every day is boot day

 

[mdubs]

Happy MLK Day. Alden Ravello Shell Cordovan PTBs.

-Mike

 

[mdubs]

View attachment 1537493

Chippy, your Whiskey Shell LHSes are looking sharp on you! +1 for a LHS on Sunday to you!

Brown CXL afternoon View attachment 1537496

Dog, your evening dose of Brown CXL is looking good on you! Hope that they did you well last night!

Country calf on Modified to ride out the weekend.
View attachment 1537523

Krebsy, those Brown Country Calf Boots are looking really good on you. Interesting as I mainly saw only Tan CC when they had it last.

Tomorrow's boots tonight View attachment 1537637

Looking forward to seeing them on your feet soon!

Brogue Terranova Jumpers
View attachment 1537650

Joe, those TerraNova’s are looking superb! And like someone else said, those slubby jeans are looking stellar!

Black TSM Shell Shortwings to start the week. View attachment 1537836

Mark, those Black Shell SW Bluchers are looking great on you! A classic design that’s hard to match!

Blue Monday.
View attachment 1537840 View attachment 1537841

TC, those Dr. G NSTs are looking great on you! A lovely boot and you wear them well!

Wingtips work every day, including Wednesday.

View attachment 1537865

Doc, those LWBs are looking superb on you! A great model and you wear them well!!!

Just sold my new (and never worn) Brooks Brothers by Alden 00067 Dark Brown Suede LHS / Penny Loafer because I was foolish (aka I purchased it on closeout sale, put it away because it was too nice to wear, my foot shrunk, and then I recently realized it no longer fit - too big). The third one listed above (and shown below) might be a great replacement that I will actually not save but wear often.

View attachment 1537896

TechNerd, sorry to hear about the LHSes, but do hope that you get those beautiful loafers and wear them well.

Every day is boot day View attachment 1537901

Dog, you are looking great in your Color 8 PCT Boots. A lovely design and were worth the wait that you teased. Enjoy them today!

-Mike

 

[woofmang]

2210s to start off the week:

 

[Irish]

Does this mean I'm due for a recrafting? Stitches at the toe have given way. If so, do I just email Alden about it?

Epaulet "Innsbruck" Indy, ~5 years old:

 

[madhat]

Does this mean I'm due for a recrafting? Stitches at the toe have given way. If so, do I just email Alden about it?

Epaulet "Innsbruck" Indy, ~5 years old:

View attachment 1538060

Or just glue it back.
I had a pair separate on the back side of the commando, and it hasn’t come back apart. The toe does see more stress though

 

[chipshot]

Cigar LHS.. following up on the LHS size fitting.. as someone who owns many iterations.. Shell, Calf, lined, unlined.. I wear the same size in all. The small variances between them all just doesn’t require size changes.. my 2 cents..

 

[wdahab]

Does this mean I'm due for a recrafting? Stitches at the toe have given way. If so, do I just email Alden about it?

Epaulet "Innsbruck" Indy, ~5 years old:

Shoe goo is your friend here. Just lightly apply a thin layer in between and use some binder clips to hold it back together as the glue dries.

 

[mdubs]

2210s to start off the week:

View attachment 1538058

Woof, you are looking superb in your hard to beat, classic Aberdeen NST Bluchers! A great and classic model!

Does this mean I'm due for a recrafting? Stitches at the toe have given way. If so, do I just email Alden about it?

Epaulet "Innsbruck" Indy, ~5 years old:

View attachment 1538060

Irish, as the others here have said, i personally would just glue and clamp that together unless it looks like you have almost worn through all of the rubber on the bottom.

. as someone who owns many iterations.. Shell, Calf, lined, unlined.. I wear the same size in all. The small variances between them all just doesn’t require size changes.. my 2 cents..

Chippy, your Cigar LHSes are looking great. I personally concur with your sizing advice as to wear the same personally. Each shoe has a reason to go the same whether they are lasted looser (shell) or stretch out (suede and CXL). In the end, the same size usually ends up the winner.

-Mike

 

[mdubs]

View attachment 1527552

January 2021: Your Alden History and Forecast for the New Year

Gentlemen, as promised, I wanted to kick off January 2021’s monthly topic. Take all the time that you need to think of your personal response, as you got all month to work on a post that suits you and captures your thoughts, so no need to rush to post a response today!

This post is a two-part topic focused on yesterday and tomorrow.

As for yesterday, what was your first Alden pair and where did you get it? You can go into as much or little detail from your beginnings in your shoe endeavor or it could just be Color #8 Tassel from the Alden Shop of San Francisco. Up to you and no worries either way.

The second part is where are you looking to head this year and what is the first pair that you plan to get this year? For some, this may be just starting the rotation of shoes. For others, it could be refining their collection. And for some, it may be reducing down the overall collection to a more manageable state and buying none and enjoying the fantastic shoes that you already have.

Please reply to this post to make your responses easier to see. Thank you so much and I very much look forward to seeing everyone’s thoughts this month!

-Mike

Gentlemen, before I begin my Alden story, I thought that I would share a little personal shoe history.

I remember getting my first pair of dress shoes while shopping shortly before graduating college with my now wife. I knew nothing about shoes and ended up at a Macy’s looking for dress shoes and ended up getting two pairs of Bostonians. I don’t remember a ton about the pairs that I got, but I remember getting a Burgundy Tassel (my wife called them mustache shoes) and Black lace ups.

In 2011, I decided to take a job for a year in Washington D.C. and as I was moving there, I realized that my Southern California engineering outfits really weren’t compatible with the D.C. culture. During that year I got into suits and I decided that I really wanted a pair of Tan lace-ups (probably closest to the Allen Edmonds Walnut Calf McAllister). I went to a large mall/outlet in the area and couldn’t find anything at any of the shops that I went to, Bostonian, Johnston & Murphy, etc. and eventually found Allen Edmonds. I used to go to the Reston store quite regularly since parking was pretty easy and its a lovely drive. At the store, I became fascinated with these mysterious Shell Cordovan models. On one visit, the saleswoman showed me the Walnut Shell Cordovan Strands and it hit my love for the tan/lighter shoes with my interest with these Shell Cordovan shoes.

Later in 2012, I discovered this other American brand Alden and during a visit to my parents house, I managed to convince my wife and mom to go with me to visit the Alden Shop in San Francisco. Going there I really loved the Color #8 Shell Cordovan Tassel Loafer, I guess going back to my original eye for shoes, and picked up a pair. I was helped by a patient salesman, Robert, who was wearing the Color #8 Shell Cordovan Chukka Boot and I truly loved those. By chance, I went to Washington D.C. the following week and of course found my way to the Alden of Washington D.C. shop and made my first purchase from Kathy, the Color #8 Chukka Boots that Robert had worn. I remember being able to dry them on in several colors including Cigar and Ravello but decided to stick with Color #8. I was very fortunate that both Robert and Kathy were very patient with my as Robert pulled out every length and width between 10 and 11, allowing me to try them all on until I got the perfect fit, 11B. Those Tassel Loafers still fit me perfectly to this day and are amongst my most worn pairs.

Pivoting to my plan for 2021, I partially posed that question to force myself to think about what my plans were. In 2020, I ended up purchasing far more pairs than I intended to - with too many too good to pass up on models becoming available - and with a soft market this year, decided to not list any sales. Although, I already have a healthy pipeline of unstoppable shoes in my pipeline from Exotics to New-Unique Leathers, I hope to have a more balanced in/out ratio this year as I think my new focus is (and should be) refinement of my collection.

Thanks much and have a great one!
Mike

 

[madhat]

View attachment 1527552

January 2021: Your Alden History and Forecast for the New Year

Gentlemen, as promised, I wanted to kick off January 2021’s monthly topic. Take all the time that you need to think of your personal response, as you got all month to work on a post that suits you and captures your thoughts, so no need to rush to post a response today!

This post is a two-part topic focused on yesterday and tomorrow.

As for yesterday, what was your first Alden pair and where did you get it? You can go into as much or little detail from your beginnings in your shoe endeavor or it could just be Color #8 Tassel from the Alden Shop of San Francisco. Up to you and no worries either way.

The second part is where are you looking to head this year and what is the first pair that you plan to get this year? For some, this may be just starting the rotation of shoes. For others, it could be refining their collection. And for some, it may be reducing down the overall collection to a more manageable state and buying none and enjoying the fantastic shoes that you already have.

Please reply to this post to make your responses easier to see. Thank you so much and I very much look forward to seeing everyone’s thoughts this month!

-Mike

So, I've taken my time to reply, but here goes:
I've always had an interest in dressing up, even as a kid, most likely due to my dad wearing a suit as a salesman. He used to work at a hifi shop selling home theater, etc, so I grew up with Adcom and Denon receivers, etc in the house.
Anyway, I've always had wide feet, so places like Payless were never a good fit for me. Regardless, I more or less made due with off the shelf stuff because wide shoes were hard to find and very limited stylistically. Wore Dillard's/Macy's level stuff through my teenage years and through college.
In Novemeber of 2008, we were in DFW visiting my dad for Thanksgiving and went to a Nordstrom Rack. They had a pair of AE Leydons. They were still a D width, but I knew they were something special. I grabbed them and wore them a lot; they handled it like a champ too! Continued to lust after AE (and their Christmas themed saddles) over the years, thinking they were out of my price range. My mother got remarried in 2012, and I decided to grab a new pair of shoes for the occasion now that I was an engineer and not a college kid. Went to a local shop after talking to a professional acquaintance, and ordered a pair of AE Norwich in black.
Fast forward a few years, by early 2016, I had switched over to the manufacturer's rep side and had a hard break up with a girlfriend. I'd always dressed to match others, so as an engineer it was chinos and a polo (I'd sneak a SC in as a jacket in the winter), but now that I was kicking ass as a rep, I decided I wanted to dress the way I've always wanted. Started wearing bow ties, grabbed more sport coats, and started to look at upping my shoe game. Order a pair of Oxblood AE PAs when I discovered I could get them in EEE! The seal had been broken, and I started to order a few more here and there.
Well, come May of 2017, the enabler @smfdoc prods me for my shoe size. We discover not only are we of similar size, but that we grew up on the same street a block apart (be it a generation apart). So, as he's working through sizing trying to see what fits and doesn't, he ends up with a pair of Adam's #8 Atom bluchers in 11.5EE. He had them listed for sale, so I messaged him about their fit, but I was a bit hesitant due to the cost of shell! Well, as you may have guessed, my first Alden and first shell were those Atoms. They remain one of my favorite pairs to this day! He continued to take my money with #8 chukkas from Adam, as well as a few others. That along with my first MTO (from J.Fitzpatrick) opened the flood gates. Next thing I knew, things got really bad as I started buying like 30 pairs a year...
So, this year I'm not planning on buying much at all. I made a big ole purchase of my obtainable dream car, a RHD 1994 Rx-7 back in September, which was as expensive as all my shoes put together! I've got a few pairs I'm going to pass along as well. So far, I'm only in for the shark Landons Ashley cooked up for us on the AE thread.

 

[woofmang]

Woof, you are looking superb in your hard to beat, classic Aberdeen NST Bluchers! A great and classic model!




Irish, as the others here have said, i personally would just glue and clamp that together unless it looks like you have almost worn through all of the rubber on the bottom.




Chippy, your Cigar LHSes are looking great. I personally concur with your sizing advice as to wear the same personally. Each shoe has a reason to go the same whether they are lasted looser (shell) or stretch out (suede and CXL). In the end, the same size usually ends up the winner.

-Mike

Thanks, Mike!

 

[audog]

Gentlemen, before I begin my Alden story, I thought that I would share a little personal shoe history.

I remember getting my first pair of dress shoes while shopping shortly before graduating college with my now wife. I knew nothing about shoes and ended up at a Macy’s looking for dress shoes and ended up getting two pairs of Bostonians. I don’t remember a ton about the pairs that I got, but I remember getting a Burgundy Tassel (my wife called them mustache shoes) and Black lace ups.

In 2011, I decided to take a job for a year in Washington D.C. and as I was moving there, I realized that my Southern California engineering outfits really weren’t compatible with the D.C. culture. During that year I got into suits and I decided that I really wanted a pair of Tan lace-ups (probably closest to the Allen Edmonds Walnut Calf McAllister). I went to a large mall/outlet in the area and couldn’t find anything at any of the shops that I went to, Bostonian, Johnston & Murphy, etc. and eventually found Allen Edmonds. I used to go to the Reston store quite regularly since parking was pretty easy and its a lovely drive. At the store, I became fascinated with these mysterious Shell Cordovan models. On one visit, the saleswoman showed me the Walnut Shell Cordovan Strands and it hit my love for the tan/lighter shoes with my interest with these Shell Cordovan shoes.

Later in 2012, I discovered this other American brand Alden and during a visit to my parents house, I managed to convince my wife and mom to go with me to visit the Alden Shop in San Francisco. Going there I really loved the Color #8 Shell Cordovan Tassel Loafer, I guess going back to my original eye for shoes, and picked up a pair. I was helped by a patient salesman, Robert, who was wearing the Color #8 Shell Cordovan Chukka Boot and I truly loved those. By chance, I went to Washington D.C. the following week and of course found my way to the Alden of Washington D.C. shop and made my first purchase from Kathy, the Color #8 Chukka Boots that Robert had worn. I remember being able to dry them on in several colors including Cigar and Ravello but decided to stick with Color #8. I was very fortunate that both Robert and Kathy were very patient with my as Robert pulled out every length and width between 10 and 11, allowing me to try them all on until I got the perfect fit, 11B. Those Tassel Loafers still fit me perfectly to this day and are amongst my most worn pairs.

View attachment 1538134

Pivoting to my plan for 2021, I partially posed that question to force myself to think about what my plans were. In 2020, I ended up purchasing far more pairs than I intended to - with too many too good to pass up on models becoming available - and with a soft market this year, decided to not list any sales. Although, I already have a healthy pipeline of unstoppable shoes in my pipeline from Exotics to New-Unique Leathers, I hope to have a more balanced in/out ratio this year as I think my new focus is (and should be) refinement of my collection.

Thanks much and have a great one!
Mike

Is that a recent photo of the tassel loafers? If so, you are the master of keeping footwear looking perfect, my hat is off to you!! I can't even take a new pair out of the box without scuffing or something.