***The official Alden thread *** Share enthusiasm, reviews, sizing, advice, and photos.

[reedobandito]

hahahaha you sick ***** are not going to convince me hahahaah





Just go to your closest J Crew store and start flirting with a female SA. Take it from there...

 

[thebrownman]



Edit: Does anyone have fit pics wearing the shell captoe shoes or a similar pair?

Yep, I have a couple of pictures of me wearing the Alden for JCrew Cap Toe Boot. Picked them up from the Madison/79th store in December last year. Have a look here.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Would like some thoughts here:

These are The Ultimate Jumpers (fulfilling the cap toe fit pics request as well) and I got them off of B&S last Spring after they got lost in the post (literally, for like 6 months). Anyway, I'm thinking that whats so great about shell is the fact that its durable and that it ages well with wear, you know, it gains "character". All of my other shells I treat like a baby, I pamper them, take lots of time brushing them with the occasional conditioning treatment, and if I get lonely sleep in my bed with them. OK, the last one was a joke to see if you were still reading. Well, with these, I want to totally DOG them. Wear the **** out of them for the fall/winter and see how they hold up, and age. I don't, however, want to ruin them, because even second hand these things were not cheap.

I had originally intended to do this with a pair of Indy's, but a) I hate the Trubalance last and b)since these were lost for 6 months I'd figure i'd never see them again, so getting them on my desk at work was like a sign when they arrived...besides, I'm not sure parachuters in WW2 had all that much time to clean and polish their jumpers and c)I'm on a pre-order list for the chromex ultimate jumper back from February at LS.

So:
1. How should I go about doing this?
I'm thinking a simple brushing before and after wearing to get off any dirt, mud, or anything else that is right on the surface.
2. How long do you think it'll take to start showing some signs of "character" that we all love so much? I'd be in these at least 3 days a week.
3. What are some possible effects that I'm not seeing right now? This is the talk me out of it one, if you think I'm nuts.

I'm all ears fellas.

 

[thebrownman]

I think what you've suggested sounds fine to me. A simple brushing with a horsehair brush should suffice. You may want to use a smaller dauber brush or even a toothbrush to get any residual dirt out of the exposed welt stitching. Other than that, I wouldn't worry so much. Even Alden's most "elegant" shoe is rugged by comparison to St. Crispin's or Lobb. Just wear them and give them enough attention so the leather remains in good health, other than that - wear them wherever you have to wear them.

Here's my colour 8 shell cap toe boots. Just wear them as often as possible and I find lacing them up nice and tight and walking in them a lot helps really get colour variations in the creases. Or, go to a concert, drink copious amounts of beer and don't take them off for a while. They'll get character. And quickly, too.

 

[Ahab]



kathy from alden dc let me in on a little secret ... before alden decided to market their own line of waxes and creams, all of the alden stores used kiwi products

for ravello, since there is no alden wax counterpart for this shade, she actually gives her local customers a tin of kiwi in "mid tan"

so yeah kiwi will be fine for your aldens

OK, I stopped using wax or cream on my cordovan, especially the lighter colors. I just brush and if you wish to be fancy use one brush for the light colors and one for the darker so as not to get any color bleed. I am still trying to brush the excess wax off of some of mine. I think the wax holds dirt particles on top and then they start to gather and make darker areas on the outside of my toe box as well as some other issues. I just do not need it and the Mac method calls for almost no wax at all.

I do use wax on calf and do not have any problems.

Snuff suede shortwings from Frans Boone. He has better pictures on his site, but I thought I'd share anyhow. I think I'm going to like these.[/QUOTE]

NICE!

[QUOTE="CTYGGG, post: 4844663, member: 0"]Ravello Medallion Cap Toe...
[IMG]http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i329/TosaJoe/IMG_0408.jpg

Thanks to Mac for posting his pics of this makeup. Thanks to all the SF'ers who managed to get Kathy to reissue this makeup. Lastly thanks to Kathy, and the fact that she had my size left in stock.

Fantastic! I may have to stop by Alden DC to see if they have any left....

CTYGGG, those are gorgeous!

So I wore my Pitt Boots around today and really loved them. I'm real excited to put them through their rounds in the snow and to see how they hold up. I think that they're great looking boots; the Barrie last is certainly more sleek than some of you guys made it out to be. I snapped some photos, if anyone is interested:

I am really digging the color on these. Very nice.

Also, I know this might be a silly question, but is it normal for the tip of the sole to be kinda flattening out over the edge like so?

Spoiler

I am trying to buy all my new boots with the commando sole for this reason. I do put plastic toe taps on my leather sole Alden shoes and boots. Not the best looking but I really do not think anyone cares.

^

I concur.

Now...in the meantime, I noticed these:

[URL=http://www.styleforum.net/image/id/760768/width/350/height/350]

WANT

hahahaha you sick ***** are not going to convince me hahahaah

Just go to your closest J Crew store and start flirting with a female SA. Take it from there...

Yeah, is is worh the shipping, drama, returns, and general BS that comes along with money? Plus do you want to tell chicks you sell shoes for a living:



Sorry Tom, You are still the man! [/url]

 

[Menlo]

Hello, Do you know what style number those Alden shell cordovan strap loafers are ?
Thank you for your answer.
Regards,
Menlo

 

[Leighlon]

First time poster and owner of a pair of Alden Indy's. Bought them back in June at the Alden's of San Francisco and now surfing the internet for my next pair.
I've been scouring this post over the last week and I see mention of SF'ers which I take to mean a shoe store.
Could you guys help me out with the name?
Thanks in advance and look forward to reading more posts about these fabulous shoes.

 

[enigma77]

First time poster and owner of a pair of Alden Indy's. Bought them back in June at the Alden's of San Francisco and now surfing the internet for my next pair.
I've been scouring this post over the last week and I see mention of SF'ers which I take to mean a shoe store.
Could you guys help me out with the name?
Thanks in advance and look forward to reading more posts about these fabulous shoes.

"SF" around here generally means "StyleForum" (SF'ers being StyleForum posters, like you). Welcome!

The only other Alden retailer in the Bay Area that I know of is Unionmade, whose collection is generally small and custom. You can view their Aldens online.

The first page of this thread contains a partial list of Alden retailers. Notable ones include:

Alden stores in NYC, DC, and SF
Leather Soul (Hawaii/Beverly Hills)
Epaulet (Brooklyn/NYC)
Leffot (NYC)
ShoeMart (CT, mostly e-commerce)
Unionmade, as mentioned above

Was there a particular style of shoe you were looking for?

 

[burningbright]

^

SF = Style Forum.

You may be confusing it for collaborations with shoe stores like Leather Soul (ex. LS x SF shortwing collab).


EDIT: Beat me to it, Enigma.

 

[Leighlon]

Thanks Engima77 and Burningbright for the information. I actually thought it was a store.

Looking at one these for my next purchase:

http://www.theshoemart.com/alden-mens_40566c_cigar_shell/pvc-ald-mxsb-40566c_ald_m_40566c.html

http://www.contextclothing.com/item.php?id=2244

Although I would have to ask about the Barrie Last and comparable sizing to the Trubalance? Are they about the same ?

 

[enigma77]

Thanks Engima77 and Burningbright for the information. I actually thought it was a store.

Looking at one these for my next purchase:

http://www.theshoemart.com/alden-mens_40566c_cigar_shell/pvc-ald-mxsb-40566c_ald_m_40566c.html

http://www.contextclothing.com/item.php?id=2244

Although I would have to ask about the Barrie Last and comparable sizing to the Trubalance? Are they about the same ?

Short answer: Same size.

Long answer: The Trubalance is the widest, chunkiest last Alden makes. Some people with narrower feet go down a width from their Barrie last size for their Trubalance size, but sizing them the same is just fine.

Another answer: Buy a different shoe. I think that, given your preferences, the #8 tanker from Leffot might be the way to go. Notice how the natural edgetrim enhances the look of the shoe significantly: http://blog.leffot.com/2010/12/09/tanked-2/

You should call Stephen and secure your size; I believe he does this shoe every year, but it's a very popular make up and sells out immediately.

 

[Leighlon]



Short answer: Same size.

Long answer: The Trubalance is the widest, chunkiest last Alden makes. Some people with narrower feet go down a width from their Barrie last size for their Trubalance size, but sizing them the same is just fine.

Another answer: Buy a different shoe. I think that, given your preferences, the #8 tanker from Leffot might be the way to go. Notice how the natural edgetrim enhances the look of the shoe significantly: http://blog.leffot.com/2010/12/09/tanked-2/

You should call Stephen and secure your size; I believe he does this shoe every year, but it's a very popular make up and sells out immediately.

Thanks for the recommendation. Awaiting an answer from Leffot.

 

[wj4]

Does anyone else have this problem? I wore my #8 captoe boots yesterday and realized that on the left shoe, there is a line of 'haze' around the front of the shoes, where the 'waves' would form from bending due to walking. The texture is kind of rough, and not smooth like the rest of the shoe. I have no idea where it came from and why it's only on the left side.

 

[Ahab]



Thanks for the recommendation. Awaiting an answer from Leffot.

Confession: I am not a fan of the NST

BUT if I were to get a NST boot I would look at Chromexcel (brown or natural) or possibly reverse chamois but I have never seen an NST in reverse chamois.

 

[rkusmant]

Anyone received latest shoemart seconds list?