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

[Alcibiades]



Sounds like we're starting to get the "Shoe Nazi" persona put on us! I apologize to those who we did not do a good job helping. I think the main problem is the growth of my business. When I started posting on SF years ago, I was a one man operation. I had the time and energy to reply and help everyone and anyone. Now as I type this, we have 7 customers in store, 2 sales people and 1 manager helping, one shipping clerk behind me, my CPA doing the Quickbooks inputs, and 1 manager on lunch. Our in-store business takes up our time and energy. Kuni, my top sales person, stays every night till around 1-2am replying to his emails. His shift ends at 10:30.

As you could imagine, this increase in in-store business has also lead to an increase of mail order business from those customers who bought in-store. Those customers, combined with those with long histories with us, take preference in our replies and allocations. I'm being totally honest here. It's just business. When we get an order of 24 pairs of whiskey shoes, of course we need to offer these to those customers first. Most times they do sell out before we can offer them to the public.

As far as sizing, it makes most business sense for me to order D widths, size 5.5-12. The majority of those sizes are between 7-9 though. I'll order 5-6 pairs of 7-8, but only 1-2 pairs over 10.5. It's not easy to order C widths since they don't fit the masses. I'm slowly adding Es as our orders grow. Preorders have become extremely frustrating for me since half the people don't understand why our preorders have been taking so long. New orders are currently taking over a year so it gets frustrating for some people. I'd almost rather not do preorders when I need to deal with the frustrations of so many people.

As far as checking individual stock, it's always best to call us. If you want to know everything we have in a size, then an email would be better so we can take the time to check. However, our makeups tend to sell quick and the majority of our stock (and business) is still in Alden standard stock shoes, so if you ask us what we have in a 9D, you may get a long list of standard stock shoes.

I've always been honest and up front with everyone on SF and AAAC. I still check SF multiple times a day. I check AAAC maybe once every three months. SF members are still extremely important to me so I apologize if we can't take care of you guys as much as we did in the past. We are human, and there are multiple sales people, so although I try my best to watch over and train my staff, I can't guarantee everyone will give the best service every time. If anyone has any problems please email me directly and I'll try my best to help or rectify the situation. Same goes for those who have direct questions about Aldens in general.

Sorry for the long reply. We should get back to posting pics about Aldens!

Everything in this post makes sense and is reasonable... Good luck, I haven't bought from you before but hope to soon

 

[NAMOR]

Tom needs to run for office

 

[applky]

^ True.

Also as a C-width wearer, I've approached all my Aldens as needing a pre-order. Supply and demand, friends.

 

[closerlook]



Sounds like we're starting to get the "Shoe Nazi" persona put on us! I apologize to those who we did not do a good job helping. I think the main problem is the growth of my business. When I started posting on SF years ago, I was a one man operation. I had the time and energy to reply and help everyone and anyone. Now as I type this, we have 7 customers in store, 2 sales people and 1 manager helping, one shipping clerk behind me, my CPA doing the Quickbooks inputs, and 1 manager on lunch. Our in-store business takes up our time and energy. Kuni, my top sales person, stays every night till around 1-2am replying to his emails. His shift ends at 10:30.
As you could imagine, this increase in in-store business has also lead to an increase of mail order business from those customers who bought in-store. Those customers, combined with those with long histories with us, take preference in our replies and allocations. I'm being totally honest here. It's just business. When we get an order of 24 pairs of whiskey shoes, of course we need to offer these to those customers first. Most times they do sell out before we can offer them to the public.
As far as sizing, it makes most business sense for me to order D widths, size 5.5-12. The majority of those sizes are between 7-9 though. I'll order 5-6 pairs of 7-8, but only 1-2 pairs over 10.5. It's not easy to order C widths since they don't fit the masses. I'm slowly adding Es as our orders grow. Preorders have become extremely frustrating for me since half the people don't understand why our preorders have been taking so long. New orders are currently taking over a year so it gets frustrating for some people. I'd almost rather not do preorders when I need to deal with the frustrations of so many people.
As far as checking individual stock, it's always best to call us. If you want to know everything we have in a size, then an email would be better so we can take the time to check. However, our makeups tend to sell quick and the majority of our stock (and business) is still in Alden standard stock shoes, so if you ask us what we have in a 9D, you may get a long list of standard stock shoes.
I've always been honest and up front with everyone on SF and AAAC. I still check SF multiple times a day. I check AAAC maybe once every three months. SF members are still extremely important to me so I apologize if we can't take care of you guys as much as we did in the past. We are human, and there are multiple sales people, so although I try my best to watch over and train my staff, I can't guarantee everyone will give the best service every time. If anyone has any problems please email me directly and I'll try my best to help or rectify the situation. Same goes for those who have direct questions about Aldens in general.
Sorry for the long reply. We should get back to posting pics about Aldens!

Tom and his business are tops among Alden retailers.
I have been very happy with his assistance and that of his colleagues at LS.

 

[Pastor]



Sounds like we're starting to get the "Shoe Nazi" persona put on us! I apologize to those who we did not do a good job helping. I think the main problem is the growth of my business. When I started posting on SF years ago, I was a one man operation. I had the time and energy to reply and help everyone and anyone. Now as I type this, we have 7 customers in store, 2 sales people and 1 manager helping, one shipping clerk behind me, my CPA doing the Quickbooks inputs, and 1 manager on lunch. Our in-store business takes up our time and energy. Kuni, my top sales person, stays every night till around 1-2am replying to his emails. His shift ends at 10:30.
As you could imagine, this increase in in-store business has also lead to an increase of mail order business from those customers who bought in-store. Those customers, combined with those with long histories with us, take preference in our replies and allocations. I'm being totally honest here. It's just business. When we get an order of 24 pairs of whiskey shoes, of course we need to offer these to those customers first. Most times they do sell out before we can offer them to the public.
As far as sizing, it makes most business sense for me to order D widths, size 5.5-12. The majority of those sizes are between 7-9 though. I'll order 5-6 pairs of 7-8, but only 1-2 pairs over 10.5. It's not easy to order C widths since they don't fit the masses. I'm slowly adding Es as our orders grow. Preorders have become extremely frustrating for me since half the people don't understand why our preorders have been taking so long. New orders are currently taking over a year so it gets frustrating for some people. I'd almost rather not do preorders when I need to deal with the frustrations of so many people.
As far as checking individual stock, it's always best to call us. If you want to know everything we have in a size, then an email would be better so we can take the time to check. However, our makeups tend to sell quick and the majority of our stock (and business) is still in Alden standard stock shoes, so if you ask us what we have in a 9D, you may get a long list of standard stock shoes.
I've always been honest and up front with everyone on SF and AAAC. I still check SF multiple times a day. I check AAAC maybe once every three months. SF members are still extremely important to me so I apologize if we can't take care of you guys as much as we did in the past. We are human, and there are multiple sales people, so although I try my best to watch over and train my staff, I can't guarantee everyone will give the best service every time. If anyone has any problems please email me directly and I'll try my best to help or rectify the situation. Same goes for those who have direct questions about Aldens in general.
Sorry for the long reply. We should get back to posting pics about Aldens!

Tom,
I appreciate you stating your business model on a forum like this. It is your business and you have every right to run it like you want. Since I do not live in Hawaii and probably won't visit there for some time it seems impossible to develop a business relationship with you or any of your salesman. I'm fine with that. No beef from me as there are other dealers that also get exclusive Alden models that are willing to sell to the "general" public. I spend my money at places that want my business. This doesn't hurt your business when it comes to Aldens because they sell out whether you sell them to a returning customer or to someone like me. When it comes to buying higher-end men's shoes (like the MTO EG Shannon boots i'm going to order for myself as a prize for completing my PhD) i'll order from the stores i'm already doing business with.

I really am glad to see your local business doing great and I hope that it continues to grow in the future.

 

[jerrybrowne]



Tom and his business are tops among Alden retailers.
I have been very happy with his assistance and that of his colleagues at LS.

+1. Leather Soul is by far my favorite store. Excellent customer service!

 

[Trinitrogen Oxide]



Wore my new whiskey LWBs the other day.

It was a difficult thing to do since that meant removing them from beneath my Sherlock Holmes detector magnifying glass and putting them way down on my feet where it is very hard for me to see any flaws in the stitching or punching or welting or finish.
Seriously, that scratch we've all been reading about is very unfortunate, Renton, on a pair of shoes you've been waiting for and that will be very hard to replace in any timely manner. Sorry to see it and it would bother me, though I'm not sure what I'd do in your place. Hope you can work it out to your satisfaction.

I''m currently looking for some brown LWBs and go back and forth every day about whether I'm going to go with the Jcrew waxed, or go nuts on a shell whiskey pair. This pic may have helped me make my decision.

 

[applky]

^ Need Supply also has a brown LWB in stock that I would recommend. I do not own it, but a medium edgetrim and waterloc soles are very attractive details:

http://needsupply.com/mens/brands/alden/longwing.html

 

[Alcibiades]

On a related note, I encourage stocking E widths, particularly in the narrower lasts (Aberdeen, Plaza, Grant, Leydon, etc). Steven at Leffot does this - the ravello tassels in 10E I got from him are awesome. For a lot of guys, the E width is just like going up half a size (a bunch of guys can wear 10D and 9.5E in the same last, for example), so think of ordering E sizes as simply ordering more of the corresponding D size one half size up. I'd love a shot at ordering some of those Plaza makeups in 10E

 

[lagsun]



Just received these J.Crew x Alden which actually have a double leather oiled sole instead of the normal double leather sole (J.Crew website shows inaccurate photos).

Although I do like them, I have only been purchasing shell cordovan (RL Marlow wingtips, RL Marlow penny loafers, RL Marlow PTB, Alden cigar captoe boots, Alden x LS cigar Pitt boots) and I am thinking, should I get a pair of ravello longwings instead or would they be too similar to the RL wingtips?

Nice. I have these on backorder and wanted an oiled sole anyway. Crossing my fingers this is what I get.

 

[interlockingny]



On a related note, I encourage stocking E widths, particularly in the narrower lasts (Aberdeen, Plaza, Grant, Leydon, etc). Steven at Leffot does this - the ravello tassels in 10E I got from him are awesome. For a lot of guys, the E width is just like going up half a size (a bunch of guys can wear 10D and 9.5E in the same last, for example), so think of ordering E sizes as simply ordering more of the corresponding D size one half size up. I'd love a shot at ordering some of those Plaza makeups in 10E

+1. There are a lot of E widths out there and normally people learn by trial and error that their feet are wider than they first thought. While it is normal to start out at the standard width, I'd bet we are not the only two that wear an E width in Alden. In fact I believe Tom has mentioned in the past that he too is an E width.

 

[SuitedDx]

I recently started on Alden and I think I'm hitting it too hard. In a span of 2 months, I obtained:

Natural CXL LWB
Ravello LWB
#8 plain toe boot (Modified)
Cigar LS wingtip boot (Plaza)
Whiskey PTB

In order:
Ravello Leffot Day Tripper
Cigar LWB
Whiskey LWB

I'm thinking of another #8 but can't decide. I need to go back to school and take out student loans just to pay for this. Whomever quoted Alden holding around 80% of its value I am hoping you are right

 

[interlockingny]



Sounds like we're starting to get the "Shoe Nazi" persona put on us! I apologize to those who we did not do a good job helping. I think the main problem is the growth of my business. When I started posting on SF years ago, I was a one man operation. I had the time and energy to reply and help everyone and anyone. Now as I type this, we have 7 customers in store, 2 sales people and 1 manager helping, one shipping clerk behind me, my CPA doing the Quickbooks inputs, and 1 manager on lunch. Our in-store business takes up our time and energy. Kuni, my top sales person, stays every night till around 1-2am replying to his emails. His shift ends at 10:30.

As you could imagine, this increase in in-store business has also lead to an increase of mail order business from those customers who bought in-store. Those customers, combined with those with long histories with us, take preference in our replies and allocations. I'm being totally honest here. It's just business. When we get an order of 24 pairs of whiskey shoes, of course we need to offer these to those customers first. Most times they do sell out before we can offer them to the public.

As far as sizing, it makes most business sense for me to order D widths, size 5.5-12. The majority of those sizes are between 7-9 though. I'll order 5-6 pairs of 7-8, but only 1-2 pairs over 10.5. It's not easy to order C widths since they don't fit the masses. I'm slowly adding Es as our orders grow. Preorders have become extremely frustrating for me since half the people don't understand why our preorders have been taking so long. New orders are currently taking over a year so it gets frustrating for some people. I'd almost rather not do preorders when I need to deal with the frustrations of so many people.

As far as checking individual stock, it's always best to call us. If you want to know everything we have in a size, then an email would be better so we can take the time to check. However, our makeups tend to sell quick and the majority of our stock (and business) is still in Alden standard stock shoes, so if you ask us what we have in a 9D, you may get a long list of standard stock shoes.

I've always been honest and up front with everyone on SF and AAAC. I still check SF multiple times a day. I check AAAC maybe once every three months. SF members are still extremely important to me so I apologize if we can't take care of you guys as much as we did in the past. We are human, and there are multiple sales people, so although I try my best to watch over and train my staff, I can't guarantee everyone will give the best service every time. If anyone has any problems please email me directly and I'll try my best to help or rectify the situation. Same goes for those who have direct questions about Aldens in general.

Sorry for the long reply. We should get back to posting pics about Aldens!

This blunt and professional response is exactly what I have expected from Tom. Tom has always been upfront and honest with me even if the news wasn't always good, something I can appreciate. While this business model may put us Easterners who cannot visit the brick and mortar store at an inherent disadvantage, I continue to admire all the cool makeups that LeatherSoul comes up with and hope it continues.

 

[applky]

Re E widths -- Alden of Carmel stocks them as well, as do the coastal Alden stores.

 

[Alcibiades]



Re E widths -- Alden of Carmel stocks them as well, as do the coastal Alden stores.

Yup! I bought 10E Grants from Alden DC a while back. Alden NY always seems to stock E too.