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

[audog]

Gents, two fantastic Indy Boots there! Both are looking great and congratulations on getting your vaccine shots!

-Mike

Everyone should get the shot(s) when they can...stop this sucker so we can get back to some semblance of normal.....

 

[Vincent George]

Beautiful 405s.?

Congrats on getting the vaccine. I took two doses of Johnnie Walker Black tonight. (Doctor’s orders). ??

I think Churchill had a similar regimen...

 

[mdubs]

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.

Madhat, thanks for sharing your detailed journey of your road to Alden. Great to hear the acquantance/enabler that you have made on your route! Crazy to hear about the coincidence of you and @smfdoc growing up so near each other (although with a time offset). The Atom is a really cool blucher and a great first choice! On an another related note, it is rad that you were able to get your dream RX-7! A very cool and unique car! Hope that you have a great mechanic around you who knows rotary!

Cheers, Mike

 

[mdubs]

Everyone should get the shot(s) when they can...stop this sucker so we can get back to some semblance of normal.....

Agreed my friend! I am patiently awaiting my opportunity!

-Mike

 

[vnguyen_md]

My color 8 belt from Ealdwine finally arrived. Pretty good color match to Alden color 8

 

[Thrift Couture]

My color 8 belt from Ealdwine finally arrived. Pretty good color match to Alden color 8

View attachment 1539791

Nice!

 

[Thrift Couture]

Everyone should get the shot(s) when they can...stop this sucker so we can get back to some semblance of normal.....

Eagerly waiting for the opportunity for my Mother and myself to get vaccinated. We're both in the next tier. She's 77, Diabetic, and a cancer survivor. I'm an "essential worker", I suppose.

 

[Johnniegold]

Eagerly waiting for the opportunity for my Mother and myself to get vaccinated. We're both in the next tier. She's 77, Diabetic, and a cancer survivor. I'm an "essential worker", I suppose.

Same here. As a precaution, I get tested regularly since I visit my 89-year old mother who should be receiving the vaccine shortly.

My last test came back negative although it did come back positive for two butterscotch Krimpets.

 

[Thrift Couture]

Same here. As a precaution, I get tested regularly since I visit my 89-year old mother who should be receiving the vaccine shortly.

My last test came back negative although it did come back positive for two butterscotch Krimpets.

Well played Sir. Lol! I literally hit the reset button every work night. I’m a bus operator at O’hare Airport. SMH.

 

[barutanseijin]

Well played Sir. Lol! I literally hit the reset button every work night. I’m a bus operator at O’hare Airport. SMH.

I won’t be traveling until until mid April — and that’s only if my 79 year old mother has received the shots by then. I might end up waiting for a bus at the O’Hare bus shuttle center in... uh... probably slip ons, so umm... LHS? Maybe vintage AE though...

Anyway, here’s hoping everyone who faces the public has had their shots by then.

 

[BAK]

Drake's NYC is about to drop their first 3 make-ups online any day now, all Barrie lasted Color 8 with reverse Mahogany welt and edge, Commando sole:

U-Tip (DeRosa Blucher)
Straight Tip (DeRosa Blucher)
Chukka Boot (1339 but w/ Commando)

If you can't wait for them to appear online I'm sure they could take care of you with a phone call to the store.

If anyone is interested those Mahogany edge styles dropped last night at Drake's. Cheers.

Spoiler: Color 8 - Commando - Mahogany

 

[audog]

405's and 501's

 

[FatTuesday]

Rainy day wear
(And Tanker Thursday)

 

[smfdoc]

Good day for some boots.

 

[audog]

Waiting the required 15 minutes

, post vaccine