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

[Bakes11771]

I
I like the eggplant look and hope it stays that way. It does look blackish to me at times in pictures though

Can always have them refinished if they fade too much. My Dad has some old #8 pairs that have gotten darker, but I'm sure it is from the polish he uses on them. They won't fade that quickly if they don't spend a lot of time in direct sunlight. (like if you work in an office and store them in a closet) Also, the color varies depending on lighting conditions. They look pretty dark (almost black) in low light, but you can see that they are burgundy (lighter than eggplant) in sunlight.

Edit:

Here is some #8 Appreciation for your viewing pleasure...

 

[925]



When did you score the whiskey lwbs? I've been on the hunt for an 8.5d barrie...

it was 2 years ago
alden stock them online about 2 months ago i think
needa try hard when you are looking for rare shell

 

[david3558]

What about purchasing from The Bureau Belfast, is it a comparable experience to ordering from Fransboone? As far as shipping to US goes...

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

They are worth what someone is willing to pay for them. No one is going to pay $1500 for Aldens, but they do pay $1500 for Lobbs.

Comparing the two shoes is like comparing a Ford to a Bentley. Source: I've owned multiple pairs of both.

to be fair.... i only own Alden's and Lobb's. to put Alden in the same sentence as Lobb from a construction quality perspective, attention to detail, quality control is just absurd. All my Cordovan, Suede and CXL shoes are Alden, all my formal/calf shoes are Lobb. it's not even a comparison, nor should it be for double-triple the price, but to call Alden's a bargain is just dumb. Alden's are a fetish pure and simple. they are lovely, classic, etc. but the quality isn't that great. often buying alden's 100% feels like a fetish... like paying someone to spit in your face.

Not really. Aldens are a lot closer to John Lobbs than Fords are to Bentleys.

Actually, I think my comparison is rather spot on.

Fords are purpose-built, with generally spotty quality control, a lack of attention to detail, while still commanding a decent premium over the truly cheap vehicles on the road.

Bentleys are rare, refined, hand made, with a meticulous finishing and every detail scrutinized and polished over several times. They are expensive, but people are willing to pay for them.

I am assuming that the Lobbs being referenced are JL Paris, and not the bespoke JL on St. James's street (which are in a completely untouchable league compared to either Alden or JL Paris). I agree that it goes without saying that there isn't much of a comparison between JL quality shoes (similar to EG, G&G, etc.) and Alden from an attention to detail and quality control perspective. However, from the construction quality standpoint, I have to say that people need to make sure they aren't letting these companies pull the wool over their eyes. That is, I interpret construction quality to be equitable to durability. From a durability standpoint, the law of diminishing returns pretty much kicks in at Allen Edmonds. Assuming you have a shoe that isn't structurally defective with faulty stitching, or leather defects that may surface after a few years of wear, then all of these shoes should last a similar period of time given equal wear and care. After all, we are talking about Goodyear-welted shoes constructed with gemming. To get above the durability threshold that a Goodyear-welted shoe with gemming offers, you have to move into hand-welted and bespoke shoes. These are the objective facts of the matter.

From a finishing perspective (QC and attention to detail), price moves into the subjective realm. As it was said, they are worth what people will pay for them. If you think that a JL shoe looks twice as nice as an Alden, then feel free to pay twice the price. Just don't expect it to last twice as long. If you are simply concerned about how many miles you will walk in your shoes, and if beauty of the shoe is secondary, then you shouldn't be spending more than what Allen Edmonds charges on a pair of shoes as long as you are stuck in the gemmed shoe game. Trying to compare shoes and justifying their prices using analogies like car makers is common in the forum, but problems with the analogies abound. If you are going to use cars as an analogy it probably makes more sense to compare makers that are more likely to compete. Ford isn't a competitor with Bentley. They are completely different markets, purposes, uses, etc. Perhaps calling JL a Bentley and Alden a Mercedes would make more sense. Then you can start nit-picking why one is more comfortable, better looking, smells better, feels better, whatever.

Whatever you do, don't buy into the belief that paying twice the price for a pair of Goodyear-welted gemmed JL's will get you twice the mileage than a pair of Goodyear-welted gemmed Aldens. Using the car analogy again.... there are probably alot more Honda's with a million miles on them driving around than Bentley's. To escape the law of diminishing returns, you have to go up in construction quality and look beyond the beauty of the shoe. Luckily, going up in quality of construction always retains beauty when it comes to shoes, so you get the best of both worlds there.

 

[MoneyWellSpent]

Can always have them refinished if they fade too much. My Dad has some old #8 pairs that have gotten darker, but I'm sure it is from the polish he uses on them. They won't fade that quickly if they don't spend a lot of time in direct sunlight. (like if you work in an office and store them in a closet) Also, the color varies depending on lighting conditions. They look pretty dark (almost black) in low light, but you can see that they are burgundy (lighter than eggplant) in sunlight.

Edit:

Here is some #8 Appreciation for your viewing pleasure...

Those really are great looking shoes.

 

[werty369]

Any expert able to identify the brand of these shoes??

 

[mr chorizo]

Crockett and jones I think, looks like some black fleece models too.

Sample sale?

 

[PhiPsi32]

I did what I could which didn't get me anywhere. The charge came from the shipper (UPS) and was for a "brokerage fee". I argued the brokerage fee with UPS and sat on the phone with them forever, ultimately they said that $121 was their brokerage fee for this package and that was all there is to it. They make it pretty difficult IMO. Note the * and ** comment at the very bottom.

Yeah, UPS and FedEx are not great options for international orders. If I can't have my parcel shipped through the Postal service I either find a proxy or pass. It's a pain in the neck.

 

[Numbernine]



interested in getting my first pair of aldens. looking at the LHS in ravello or whiskey but am reading about this shell shortage. Is it still possible to source the LHS in ravello or whiskey?

I was on shoemarts site yesterday they had them up but you will have to select size to see if they are in stock

 

[mtoc]

For those interested in the J Crew cap toe, the personal stylist I chatted with on jcrew.com said they have no plans restock that boot.

I'm undecided about keeping a pair of ravello chukkas from the shoe mart, or returning them and picking up the #8 chukka from unionmade with antique edging. Unfortunately, I can't have both. Any opinions on which would be better for casual wear (mostly raw denim)? I'm leaning towards ravello because they may never be available again in my price range. Plus, I could always have a pair of #8 chukkas modified...

 

[Numbernine]

My wife was watching me put on my color 8 captoe boots this morning and commented that I didn't " have any boots in that caramel color". Crap !! this is a really bad time for a shell shortage

 

[FrankCowperwood]



For those interested in the J Crew cap toe, the personal stylist I chatted with on jcrew.com said they have no plans restock that boot. 

I'm undecided about keeping a pair of ravello chukkas from the shoe mart, or returning them and picking up the #8 chukka from unionmade with antique edging. Unfortunately, I can't have both. Any opinions on which would be better for casual wear (mostly raw denim)? I'm leaning towards ravello because they may never be available again in my price range. Plus, I could always have a pair of #8 chukkas modified...

Ravello and raw denim:

I'd say keep the Ravello. #8 will be out there for you and perhaps even at a discount in some way or another if you are patient and willing to pick up the standard black welt (which is really pretty good looking on #8 IMO). Enjoy the chukkas.

Also, my 2 cents on the shell shortage. It may be six of one and half dozen of another, but I think there's really only a shortage of exotic shell when viewed from the perspective of Alden's volume needs. Makers doing smaller runs seem to have access to many colors of shell frequently enough (I'm thinking of Rancourt, Carmina, and Vass just off the top of my head... and I don't mean to equate any of these shoemakers or to suggest that one brand is a replacement for another, just that you can order shoes or boots in exotic shell colors from them fairly reliably).

What I think we are really seeing is a shortage of enough exotic shell to make it worthwhile for Alden to produce. They clearly aren't interested in making one, two, or even half a dozen shoes at a time. And they clearly must have some serious fixed costs to cover that require them to make anything in volume for it to be worth the effort.

As I said, this really is neither here nor there if what you really want is Ravello or Whiskey or Cigar shell (and when spending the kind of money we're talking about on shoes, it's best to get what you really want). On the other hand, if you want shell in different colors and you are interested in other shoemakers, then I don't think things are quite as dire as the Alden market makes them appear.

 

[david3558]

Ravello for sureeeee. I wish my SWB had fit me much better.

 

[bespoken pa]

Both go very well with denim although I'd lean towards the #8 with dark denim. However with that said I'd keep the ravello. You situation may change in the future and you would be much more likely to pick up another pair of 8s vs the ravello which may not be available for who knows when. Just my.02

 

[BIG WONG]



Alden NY did the same thing a few months ago. I too suspect this is only for cigar, ravello, and whiskey.

Alden of Carmel did the same thing a few months ago.

Looks like Alden SF did so as well, but they forgot to take down the Whiskey and Cigar LHS.