The Official Alden Thread for 2024 - Share Reviews, Sizing, Advice, and Photos.

[Keyser_Söze]

Typical Alden QC sadly.

 

[JTMD]

So I took my brand new black cordovan LWB to my local cobbler. I have a habit of putting new shoes in the closet for several months. These have been sitting for nearly 9 months. I look over when they arrive, but I like to save my new shoes for a bit - I know it's strange. Anyway, when these arrived I looked them over pretty quick, and then put them away. I came back to them two weeks ago and noticed an issue. Perhaps it got worse while sitting, but you can see from the pictures that the sewing was not completed or became unraveled. I have a picture close up (which makes it look worse) and another from a distance. When you put them on and look down, it's hard to notice if you didn't know it was there. But it's coming apart in this spot. Worse still, per my cobbler, when built, the person at the Alden factory tried to glue this corner down with some type of hard glue. You can see the corner has a hardened white look to it, this is dried glue. To be frank, this is disapointing. With tax and delivery I paid over $1k for these. Too late now to send them back. The cobbler will re-sew it, but the corner will always have that hardened glue thing going on. Because I'm a EEE, I waited over 4 months for these. I'm not sending them back to Alden for repair, that will be expensive. My cobbler can re-sew for $25 - hopefully it looks better. I'm hoping when I polish them over time, this spot will pick up some of the polish and look normal.

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What? Screw that...they are unworn...why is it too late? As you said they are $1'000. Take some photos and fire off an email to whoever you bought them from for goodness sakes...Pretend someone said something offensive and go handle business. You're being way too nice in my opinion. They're obviously unworn during that time and it's an obvious factory defect where your cobbler can back you up with the use of glue trying to hide the defect. Alden should make this correct without you having to pay.. The glue thing is their fault no matter how long it took to come undone or be discovered...let alone on unworn shoes. Sometimes you need to bring out that inner as&*ole instead of just accepting such issues. If anyone should be embarrassed when you explain the issue it should be them and not you.

 

[Texasmade]

So I took my brand new black cordovan LWB to my local cobbler. I have a habit of putting new shoes in the closet for several months. These have been sitting for nearly 9 months. I look over when they arrive, but I like to save my new shoes for a bit - I know it's strange. Anyway, when these arrived I looked them over pretty quick, and then put them away. I came back to them two weeks ago and noticed an issue. Perhaps it got worse while sitting, but you can see from the pictures that the sewing was not completed or became unraveled. I have a picture close up (which makes it look worse) and another from a distance. When you put them on and look down, it's hard to notice if you didn't know it was there. But it's coming apart in this spot. Worse still, per my cobbler, when built, the person at the Alden factory tried to glue this corner down with some type of hard glue. You can see the corner has a hardened white look to it, this is dried glue. To be frank, this is disapointing. With tax and delivery I paid over $1k for these. Too late now to send them back. The cobbler will re-sew it, but the corner will always have that hardened glue thing going on. Because I'm a EEE, I waited over 4 months for these. I'm not sending them back to Alden for repair, that will be expensive. My cobbler can re-sew for $25 - hopefully it looks better. I'm hoping when I polish them over time, this spot will pick up some of the polish and look normal.

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Alden shouldn’t charge you for that. That’s a straight up defect and will be covered by them.

 

[CLH03]

Alden shouldn’t charge you for that. That’s a straight up defect and will be covered by them.

I agree, all you have to do is ask them… it’s not too late they’re obviously unworn. Email the retailer you got them from, they’ll fix it

 

[JTMD]

Typical Alden QC sadly.

Really? How many Alden's have you bought and how many have had QC issues? I think I've seen you post twice on the Alden thread. Both times a complaint of some sort...but never any photos of any Aldens that you actually own.. I have 15 pairs of Aldens and haven't had a single issue..so not at all typical from my own personal experience. I also don't see all that many complaints compared to Alden's output volume. I've belonged to several on-line clothing communities since 2008 and while there is certainly room for improvement, "typical" is quite a bit an exaggeration..

It is a bit strange that you think defects are Typical with Alden yet you were upset about not being able to buy make ups designed for individual retailers..If you've had such a horrible experience with the brand why are you looking at tossing a grand on a pair of their shoes?

 

[mdubs]

Wait, Jcrew released a pair of ravello LWBs? Ive never seen rare shell from them! Or Todd Snyder, the other larger company who stocks Alden. Cool makeups at times, but never rare shell.

As stated, JCrew only had them in their NYC Liquor Store. It was the Ravello with Brass Eyelets made in 2012. Probably my favorite Alden ever between the pattern, shade of Ravello, and the playfulness of the Brass.

-Mike

 

[sazon]

Funny thing - that Alden x J. Crew Ravello LWB was a mistake. Wasn't supposed to have brass, so they sent it to a J. Crew B+M store.

However, it wasn't the Liquor Store. It was the J Crew Suit shop in Tribeca NYC. I remember that day very well. I even managed to score a discount on them, somehow

 

[M635Guy]

Thanks for this - helpful!

So I would like to add a rare shell pair to my collection. I went though the various colors last night on a site and it appears my realistic choices are: color 2, color 4, and Ravello (their are others, but these are the ones I like). This is a pursuit I've not had an interest in before, so when someone has time, I had a few questions for the regulars on best way to proceed.

1. From what I've read, I can put my name on a list at TSM
2. Is putting my name on a list at AOSF an option
3. Of the colors I mention, does the type of shoe make it easier/harder (I would want a penny or a LWB)
4. C&J offers up a "whiskey" cordovan, it seems like the picture of it is very close to Ravello, but pictures on the web always seem lighter and the shoe shows up and looks darker to me. Is there something else that is close to Ravello
5. Is getting a new pair in Ravello even possible?
6. I'm assuming checking frequently at Ealdwine is another path to rare shell?

** I realized as I started to look that boots seem to be in demand, I don't have any boots, not a single pair, I've never been a boot guy, so it looks like just wanting shoes limits me a bit.

I'm patient and don't mind waiting.

I also just realized I can order from Carmina and they list "color 4" as an option.

The challenge with rare shell is each stockist gets to decide the build when they get allocated, so looking for rare shell in a specific shoe will make it more challenging. I think AoSF is the only one that is pretty set in their builds.

Between Ravello, Color #2 and Color #4, Ravello is the "most attainable" by a fair margin (#2 is particularly rare). A new pair is attainable, including in the aftermarket. AoSF and TSM are the "easier" stockist routes, but their wait list is generally yearslong.

I was never a boot guy until I tried on a pair of boots at AoSF. Now I have a LOT of boots (although in this company I'm not in rare boot-count territory), and generally prefer them to shoes.

 

[tuna roll]

Funny thing - that Alden x J. Crew Ravello LWB was a mistake. Wasn't supposed to have brass, so they sent it to a J. Crew B+M store.

However, it wasn't the Liquor Store. It was the J Crew Suit shop in Tribeca NYC. I remember that day very well. I even managed to score a discount on them, somehow

I’m usually not a fan of metal eyelets, unless on something more casual like Rancourt Ranger Mocs, but these look fantastic! The brass goes really well with the shell color.

 

[Markintosh]

As stated, JCrew only had them in their NYC Liquor Store. It was the Ravello with Brass Eyelets made in 2012. Probably my favorite Alden ever between the pattern, shade of Ravello, and the playfulness of the Brass.

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-Mike

Classic and still looking great - just love Ravello!!!!

 

[Markintosh]

The challenge with rare shell is each stockist gets to decide the build when they get allocated, so looking for rare shell in a specific shoe will make it more challenging. I think AoSF is the only one that is pretty set in their builds.

Between Ravello, Color #2 and Color #4, Ravello is the "most attainable" by a fair margin (#2 is particularly rare). A new pair is attainable, including in the aftermarket. AoSF and TSM are the "easier" stockist routes, but their wait list is generally yearslong.

I was never a boot guy until I tried on a pair of boots at AoSF. Now I have a LOT of boots (although in this company I'm not in rare boot-count territory), and generally prefer them to shoes.

I'm not a boot guy either, don't have a single pair. Ravello is #1 on my list of what I want...curious about Revello, is it called Whiskey sometimes?

In this picture, the boot on the left is Ravello, the boot on the right it's called Whiskey - they look very similar?

 

[Markintosh]

Really? How many Alden's have you bought and how many have had QC issues? I think I've seen you post twice on the Alden thread. Both times a complaint of some sort...but never any photos of any Aldens that you actually own.. I have 15 pairs of Aldens and haven't had a single issue..so not at all typical from my own personal experience. I also don't see all that many complaints compared to Alden's output volume. I've belonged to several on-line clothing communities since 2008 and while there is certainly room for improvement, "typical" is quite a bit an exaggeration..

It is a bit strange that you think defects are Typical with Alden yet you were upset about not being able to buy make ups designed for individual retailers..If you've had such a horrible experience with the brand why are you looking at tossing a grand on a pair of their shoes?

I agree with you - Alden has a style all their own, I have 3 pairs, one on the way (a makeup from AOSF) and I love the brand. My point on the fix, why I didn't send them in, was it's such a hassle to UPS to the Easy Coast when I can fix for $25...it's not the end of the world for me. Once fixed, the Alden LWB in black cordovan is a timeless classic!!!! My dream shoe, is a LWB in Ravello with the commando sole that AOSF uses...

 

[Keyser_Söze]

Really? How many Alden's have you bought and how many have had QC issues? I think I've seen you post twice on the Alden thread. Both times a complaint of some sort...but never any photos of any Aldens that you actually own.. I have 15 pairs of Aldens and haven't had a single issue..so not at all typical from my own personal experience. I also don't see all that many complaints compared to Alden's output volume. I've belonged to several on-line clothing communities since 2008 and while there is certainly room for improvement, "typical" is quite a bit an exaggeration..

It is a bit strange that you think defects are Typical with Alden yet you were upset about not being able to buy make ups designed for individual retailers..If you've had such a horrible experience with the brand why are you looking at tossing a grand on a pair of their shoes?

I own 5 Alden boots. All have some defect whether its crooked something or welt problems. It's always something. My C&J's have zero issues.

What is strange is how defensive people get such as yourself. Where did I say I was upset I couldn't buy it? I said it was bullshit marketing tactics to offload inventory nobody wants. Stop putting words in my mouth or learn to read.

 

[JTMD]

I own 5 Alden boots. All have some defect whether its crooked something or welt problems. It's always something. My C&J's have zero issues.

What is strange is how defensive people get such as yourself. Where did I say I was upset I couldn't buy it? I said it was bullshit marketing tactics to offload inventory nobody wants. Stop putting words in my mouth or learn to read.

Defensive? I simply enquired as to your experience as it is the exact opposite of mine. Ive seen you crying a couple times but never any other participation such as posting photos of all these defects you mention...yep pretty much nothing from you but whining and crying..I get it...the tears are flowing for some reason. You are upset and bitter over something...but you haven't really proved your point with the whining and crying any more than my 5 year old crying because she can't have candy. We have plenty of members that seem quite happy with their Aldens. There are dedicated threads to the brand on numerous websites. They post photos of these products that they are happy with...then we have you...boohoohoo...Alden QC sucks...just don't ask for any proof beyond my word...boohoohoo...A business does something I disagree with...boohooohoo..and no, I don't want to purchase anything versus just whining and crying over their business model. It isn't "defensive" to follow through on your whining..simply asking for evidence beyond the tears you shed. If you asked for photos of QC issues from Carmina...I have some..If you want proof of Carmina's garbage Customer service, I can provide emails..you...boohoohoo.

5 pairs, 5 faults? amazing...Perhaps you cried too much so they started sending you seconds as a joke? Just compare the 15 pairs in my closest with no issues...and unlike you, I actually post photos of my shoes here. Anyone is free to comment on any defects of preferred details. Maybe you can do a side by side phot session of your perfect C&Js versus the "standard" QC issues you have with your Aldens? Show us some proof versus just whining?I have at least 10 other shoe brands in my closest with European brands leading over Alden at least 2 to 1 (to include C&J) so you can't use the "Alden fan boy" cr*p.

I look forward to your inspiring post showing us your point of view versus just more crying

 

[Texasmade]

I have 3 pairs of Alden. Order of purchase.

1. Chukka boots- no issues
2. Short wings from Brogue Shop- sole ripped from the upper. Contacted Brogue who contacted Alden. Brogue gave me a return package who shipped back to Alden for repair. They reattached the soles and been good ever since.
3. PTB from Shoe Mart- recently purchased and everything seems fine for now.

1/3 QC issue isn’t very good on Alden’s part but they fixed it without any hesitation which is really all I wanted.