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

[BootSpell]

I just ordered these Alden for J. Crew #8 PCT boots on the J. Crew site. I have to wait till November for estimated shipping as they were out of my size.

PSA for anyone interested in these: I signed up to receive emails from J. Crew last month and they sent me a 10% off my next online purchase (email). I was able to use this on these boots so I got them for $645 less 10% which comes out to about $580. Not bad for shell boots!

 

[mediahound]

I just ordered these Alden for J. Crew #8 PCT boots on the J. Crew site. I have to wait till November for estimated shipping as they were out of my size.

PSA for anyone interested in these: I signed up to receive emails from J. Crew last month and they sent me a 10% off my next online purchase (email). I was able to use this on these boots so I got them for $645 less 10% which comes out to about $580. Not bad for shell boots!

 

[MarioImpemba]

I have both shells (AE Bradley; numerous Alden color 8 shells).
The shell is sourced from Horween for Alden and AE, but the finish applied by each respective company is quite different. The AE's will eventually morph into a brownish-burgundy, where as the Alden's will stay a much truer burgundy throughout, and, depending on the specific shell used for your pair, may even have hints of dark purple. Alden's will be much shinier.
So, in large part it depends on what you are looking for. For me it's not even close - go with the Alden 990 (or the Alden for BB PTB in color 8).

Colour aside, my AE Leeds (black shell - ebayed for $100) are much more comfortable than my Alden PTB's (Barrie, TSM 2nds)... for whatever reason.

Though, given my experience with Wolverine #8 (721 LTD's made be AE) vs. Alden #8, I can attest to how rich a finish the Alden #8 has - very shiny and lots of purple - just beautiful.

 

[BootSpell]

Thanks for sharing. Only increases my anticipation to receive them (as well as the unrelated discussion of Alden #8 above).

 

[Kai]

Suede Chukkas.

6 eyelet Shell Cordovan Norwegian front Oxford

 

[mcarthur]



thanks
anyone have experience with their turn around time for mail-ins?

nephew,
call nick ask him. i highly recommend him

 

[AldenLuver]

Quote:
Thanks for the insight. I have the 990 and 975 and love them. I am intrigued by the color/patina of the AE shell burgundy; brownish. I guess I'm curious how different they feel (comfort-wise) over time. I don't have any AE to compair. Thanks again!

 

[PK35216]

Thanks for the insight. I have the 990 and 975 and love them. I am intrigued by the color/patina of the AE shell burgundy; brownish. I guess I'm curious how different they feel (comfort-wise) over time. I don't have any AE to compair. Thanks again!

AE Burgundy Cambridges I picked up on ebay. Definitely more brown highlights, but still burgundy. I sold the 976 I inherited a while back because they were too big. The 976 were a deeper burgundy.

Next up, my burgundy shell AE MacNeils, which I just picked up off ebay. The previous owner used a lot of black polish apparently. She shoes seem pretty old, and I am working to restore them (paid $45). Work in progress, but I love them.

 

[herrmj]

This is a great makeup - good choice!

I just ordered these Alden for J. Crew #8 PCT boots on the J. Crew site. I have to wait till November for estimated shipping as they were out of my size.

PSA for anyone interested in these: I signed up to receive emails from J. Crew last month and they sent me a 10% off my next online purchase (email). I was able to use this on these boots so I got them for $645 less 10% which comes out to about $580. Not bad for shell boots!

 

[El Argentino]



Next up, my burgundy shell AE MacNeils, which I just picked up off ebay.  The previous owner used a lot of black polish apparently. She shoes seem pretty old, and I am working to restore them (paid $45). Work in progress, but I love them.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Working on something similar, love hearing about a good snag-and-restore project. Best of luck!

 

[closerlook]



closerlook, which two parts? Are you talking about the stitching attaching the quarter to the vamp? If so, you can probably take them to LeatherSoul in Beverly Hills, because this is an Alden quality control problem and they'll send them back to Alden for repair free of charge. I've taken two pairs to them for this problem, only one of which was purchased at LeatherSoul, and they gladly handled both.

Last time I took a pair back, the Alden rep happened to be in the store and explained that the problem was caused by their practice of burning off excess bits of thread after stitching was complete. Some employees held the flame to the stitching too long, so not only was the excess thread burned away but the main thread holding the quarter and vamp together was singed and weakened, and it would break after a couple wears. This happened to my recently purchased LeatherSoul chromexcel jumpers.

Morgan, thanks for the info. yes that is exactly the problem.

 

[rmc]

So I have a quick question to ask all you Alden experts on my cordovan Barrie Wingtip boots. I am super excited as I just purchased my very first pair of Aldens and received them today in the mail. As I was checking the quality/symmetry of both shoes, I noticed a small chip on the side of the barrie sole of the left foot shoe only. Since these are my first pair, I am unsure as to whether this is a defect/poor workmanship or something that is very common on Aldens. Is this something that i should worry about and return to the store? I have the option of returning the shoe within 30 days. I'm usually not this picky, but TBH, I kind of expected a little better quality control for a $740 shoe Let me know your thoughts on this.

Here are some pics for reference:

Note how the right foot shoe does not have the chip.
Left Foot Shoe:

Right Foot Shoe:

Here is some extra shoe Appreciation:

 

[NAMOR]

^ beautiful pair. you got off easy with those "minor" defects. how do the vamps look under the light? they appear mismatched but it may be the photos.

 

[pic9809]

^ +1

Beautiful LSH color 8s with the antique sole

I am still sad that I had to send mine back as the medallion broguing on the two shoes were completely mis-matched

 

[veedubhkg]

Stunning wingtip boot!