The Official Alden Thread for 2022 - Share Reviews, Sizing, Advice, and Photos.

[Adhazem]

This is some pretty bold shiznit. You cannot tell whether a shoe fits based on the creasing. I have several pairs of boots on the same last and the same size and yet the rolls in the shell are different and/or the creasing is different in the leather. These were fitted by the manager of the Alden store in DC who has decades of experience fitting shoes.

Different leathers crease differently. Different linings or unlined causes creases to be different. Different wear purposes - hiking compared to office wear - cause different creases.

The important thing is that there is no heel slip and that the shoes feel comfortable on the feet all day for their intended purpose.

I think heel slip affects people differently. Like I’ve had pair eat me alive from heel slip. Remember two years ago thinking I had a pair of balmoral dress boots and I had worn them around the house a couple times thinking great I can take them out. Well I had a full day of walking on cobblestone and halfway through the day I had to take them off. It was insane. The nearest shop only had slippers and that’s how I ended the day. My feet hurt just thinking about that day 😭

 

[Sheepdog]

These came in the mail a couple of weeks ago, and today is the perfect rainy day to give them a try.

Can't believe after all this time they're my first pair of longwings....for sure won't be my last!

 

[audog]

I think heel slip affects people differently. Like I’ve had pair eat me alive from heel slip. Remember two years ago thinking I had a pair of balmoral dress boots and I had worn them around the house a couple times thinking great I can take them out. Well I had a full day of walking on cobblestone and halfway through the day I had to take them off. It was insane. The nearest shop only had slippers and that’s how I ended the day. My feet hurt just thinking about that day 😭
View attachment 1853929

Those slippers look comfy!

 

[audog]

Today's pair

 

[JSO1]

Today's pair View attachment 1853947

i dunno man i think you really ought to be wearing a 10.5AAA, those creases are unacceptable, all wrong

also your jeans appear to be approximately 3/8" too snug in the knee

 

[audog]

i dunno man i think you really ought to be wearing a 10.5AAA, those creases are unacceptable, all wrong

also your jeans appear to be approximately 3/8" too snug in the knee

I love you guys!!!!

 

[wonkytoe]

Election day boots.

View attachment 1853904

Well you got my vote.

 

[sazon]

Boots named for SF members. Here, Sasso boots!
View attachment 1853843

Sasso in the house !

And the fitment looks spot on !

 

[scurvyfreedman]

i dunno man i think you really ought to be wearing a 10.5AAA, those creases are unacceptable, all wrong

also your jeans appear to be approximately 3/8" too snug in the knee

There was a guy on the leather jacket thread who bought jacket after jacket, maybe two dozen or more, all that looked good enough, but not perfect to him. Most of the jackets were either demonstrably too tight when zipped or he said they were too loose. His argument that the jackets were not too tight was that he could fit two tennis balls under a zipped jacket and it still zipped. Now, that's the thread meme on how to ensure your jacket fits across the chest.

 

[ac106]

There was a guy on the leather jacket thread who bought jacket after jacket, maybe two dozen or more, all that looked good enough, but not perfect to him. Most of the jackets were either demonstrably too tight when zipped or he said they were too loose. His argument that the jackets were not too tight was that he could fit two tennis balls under a zipped jacket and it still zipped. Now, that's the thread meme on how to ensure your jacket fits across the chest.

That thread spread like wildfire. It hit Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, the blogsphere. What a tool

 

[James1051]

Want to add something from a shoemaker, who started by fitting shoes, then went on to shining shoes, then trained in bespoke and now owns his own RTW line.

The Delusion of Uncreased Leather

Good Leather Creases A Lot

Remember: Leather Creases...Plain and Simple

He may not have seen the Mayor’s exceptional no crease collection !

 

[Zeus47]

As someone with an MD behind their real name I’m compelled to contest your diagnostic criteria for antisocial personality. It’s actually human nature to get defensive and show some fangs when someone challenges another’s authority, sanity, wisdom, and thought process in decision making where they think they’d had them. Most people would legitimately struggle to reconcile their feelings and thoughts and curl up into a thorny porcupine with shield as high as they get. This is not served by present day academic environments that discourage debate and free speech in service of safe spaces but that’s my opinion and is a tangent that’s neither here nor there.

I never said those people have antisocial personality disorder. I said they're anti-social. Maybe a better framing would be that they're under-socialized. Learning to check your ego and listen to other people is trait of well-adjusted people.

With genuine appreciation to dialogue in general, my feedback is that you come off pompous and know it all AF volunteering your unsolicited….let’s say constructive…input as a nameless newcomer. Yes it’s a forum. Yes we post pictures for others to see in hopes that they should typically validate our purchasing choices. You kinda showed up and started poopooing on some people’s parade. So naturally they’ll snap back at ya.

So they're bullying me because I'm a new user? Not good.

Having said all that, I’ll concede as someone who’s the opposite of an expert, but of a fun ongoing journey into fine footwear, that it takes a very very long time to understand fitment. It has taken me years to just come to the realization that your “size” is dependent on the shoemaker, the last, the style of shoe …etc. it’s like a dark art. So the more I delve into this hobby the better understanding I have and I’m keen to learning new things from all possible avenues.

I would classify myself as a fitment expert because 1) I've struggled with shoe fitment and 2) I've done research.

Shoe fitment is not a dark art; it is a science. If you understand the different aspects of the foot and the last then you can make good fitment predictions and decisions. However, there is still an element of guess and check.

Not having any bespoke pairs, I believe I still don’t know what a “perfect fit” is, having come close in some semi-bespoke commissions on modified lasts. Keep in mind that some people’s foot anatomy, or past injuries might dictate a particular crease pattern, that may not indicate a poor fitment, especially if the individual reports great comfort and all day usability. That’s just my own personal experience as someone with crappy feet.

Cheers 😘

Having too much or too little girth in the shoe as seen in the vamp is a fault. So if the vamp is touching the foot tightly and the person can't bend their foot then that's bad. Likewise if there is so much excess leather in the vamp that the shoe is forming huge creases then that's also bad.

The same applies to instep or lacing gap. No gap means no pressure is securing the heel to the shoe and too much gap (ideally 5mm but no more than 15mm for Oxfords) means the shoe is too small.

Lastly the crease should be a small, smooth, diagonal line, from the inside to the outside of the shoe. If the crease is wonky or it's a straight line then the fitment is wrong. This is affected by foot shape but most people should be able to fix this issue by adjusting shoe size.

These are objective fitment criteria and they should be taught as a shoe 101 fitment course. If someone has never worn properly fitting shoes then how would they know the difference between mediocre comfort and great comfort? Very bad fitments are easy to tell and I think most people can avoid them but going from decent to excellent is a huge chasm and many people struggle to cross it. Primarily because it requires many people to either change lasts and/or to go up in shoe size and down in width or down in shoe size and up in width and these 2 actions aren't intuitive.

 

[zippyh]

So they're bullying me because I'm a new user? Not good.

They're bullying you because you're a dick.

 

[JayDotz]

I never said those people have antisocial personality disorder. I said they're anti-social. Maybe a better framing would be that they're under-socialized. Learning to check your ego and listen to other people is trait of well-adjusted people.



So they're bullying me because I'm a new user? Not good.



I would classify myself as a fitment expert because 1) I've struggled with shoe fitment and 2) I've done research.

Shoe fitment is not a dark art; it is a science. If you understand the different aspects of the foot and the last then you can make good fitment predictions and decisions. However, there is still an element of guess and check.



Having too much or too little girth in the shoe as seen in the vamp is a fault. So if the vamp is touching the foot tightly and the person can't bend their foot then that's bad. Likewise if there is so much excess leather in the vamp that the shoe is forming huge creases then that's also bad.

The same applies to instep or lacing gap. No gap means no pressure is securing the heel to the shoe and too much gap (ideally 5mm but no more than 15mm for Oxfords) means the shoe is too small.

Lastly the crease should be a small, smooth, diagonal line, from the inside to the outside of the shoe. If the crease is wonky or it's a straight line then the fitment is wrong. This is affected by foot shape but most people should be able to fix this issue by adjusting shoe size.

These are objective fitment criteria and they should be taught as a shoe 101 fitment course. If someone has never worn properly fitting shoes then how would they know the difference between mediocre comfort and great comfort? Very bad fitments are easy to tell and I think most people can avoid them but going from decent to excellent is a huge chasm and many people struggle to cross it. Primarily because it requires many people to either change lasts and/or to go up in shoe size and down in width or down in shoe size and up in width and these 2 actions aren't intuitive.

Maybe the best approach is for you to start your own thread where you share your knowledge on how someone else’s shoes should fit? Then people are free to come to you for your expert help and we are free in this thread to enjoy pictures and discussion of Aldens.

 

[Vincent George]

Non-Alden related: can anyone here help me check to see that my underwear fit right? Creases, bulges, etc.