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

[hoser133]

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[rydenfan]

Did you placed your order Ryden?

No, I actually passed. I have the Leffot Naval boot in #8 and there are too similar. Plus I have way too many pre-orders going on. These are an incredible boot though so congrats to all that got in.

 

[Nullson]

For those interested in Carmina.
There is a GMTO going on now for the tanker boots based on the designs below in Navy shell cordovan.

 

[rydenfan]

this is your 3rd post for the Carmina pre-order you are trying to put together. Plenty of threads geared specifically for Carmina and GMTO's

 

[iDoc]

How much is Alden SF asking for the Whiskey LHS?

I called Alden SF about the whiskey LHS. No E widths available...

With recent acquisitions and some preorders coming, I need to sell shoes in order to maintain my goal of limited shoes... But it is harder and harder to let go of models nowadays. I still may yet add a few stock, J Gilbert and AoC orders...

A question for those that own color 8 NST - do you wear them with suits? I want a blucher that can do double duty with with suits occasionally. The captoe bluchers would fit the bill, but I like the NST more. I occasionally wear 990 with suits, though, so that may be all I need...

 

[sazon]



[

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

IMG]http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/13/ty5eguse.jpg[/IMG]

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

exactly.

 

[sazon]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

no explanation needed.

 

[lagsun]



At what price point do people start saying "enough is enough"?

Clearly demand is still super high at $755 US for a shell boot. I wonder how quick they would go at $1k?

As the price creeps up other options start becoming way more attractive (I understand the "Made in America" angle might have a role to play) but there has got to be a price ceiling before we move into Vass, G&G and EG $ ranges!

FWIW, I recently paid $750 for the C&J Islay boot in Paris (hope to get the VAT refund of $100+ at some point but this is the Barney's price point too). The Islay is dark brown scotch grain calf. Not even shell so prices are high elsewhere too. However, I liked the style and fit so I was willing to pay.

Carmina is an attractive option, but

1) Styling is very different than Alden
2) Their scale is much smaller than Alden (I think Epaulet has sold a couple hundred pairs of Carmina so far, where Alden moves many more)

Carmina also has not yet penetrated GQ, the blogs, eBay, etc yet. If they did, who knows if Carmina would be able to meet demand or if they wouldn't raise prices as well.

I see more young finance bros swapping out their Ferragamo loafers for black and color 8 Alden full straps nowadays (I know because I qualify as one of them). Honestly demand could keep rising for Alden for a long time.

Another nice thing about Alden is there seems to be a healthy secondary market for their shoes and boots. You have the TSM seconds list, B&S and eBay just to name a few. Of my current rotation, I've only paid full retail on my Cigar Indys and #8 Captoe boots. My Ravello LWB, #8 LWB, Snuff LWB, Cigar Captoe boot, Snuff Dover PTB, Chamois Ranger Moc and #8 PTB were all purchased either new or slightly used for less than retail. So we got that going for us

 

[Alcibiades]



no explanation needed.

The shoes speak for themselves, don't they...

 

[Papa Doble]



I called Alden SF about the whiskey LHS. No E widths available...

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

With recent acquisitions and some preorders coming, I need to sell shoes in order to maintain my goal of limited shoes... But it is harder and harder to let go of models nowadays. I still may yet add a few stock, J Gilbert and AoC orders...

A question for those that own color 8 NST - do you wear them with suits? I want a blucher that can do double duty with with suits occasionally. The captoe bluchers would fit the bill, but I like the NST more. I occasionally wear 990 with suits, though, so that may be all I need...

I can't speak from experience, but if you already wear the 990 with suits, I think the 2210 is arguably a dressier shoe. Yes, it's a split toe, but the flat welt, closed heel, and significantly sleeker last dress it up quite a bit IMO.

 

[Vicious49]

Docalden - just post when you don't buy a model. : )

Hahahaha. So true.

At what price point do people start saying "enough is enough"?

Clearly demand is still super high at $755 US for a shell boot. I wonder how quick they would go at $1k?

I've already reached my limit. I still can't believe I paid $670 for my shell CT boots.

Another nice thing about Alden is there seems to be a healthy secondary market for their shoes and boots. You have the TSM seconds list, B&S and eBay just to name a few. Of my current rotation, I've only paid full retail on my Cigar Indys and #8 Captoe boots. My Ravello LWB, #8 LWB, Snuff LWB, Cigar Captoe boot, Snuff Dover PTB, Chamois Ranger Moc and #8 PTB were all purchased either new or slightly used for less than retail. So we got that going for us

Of the 6 pairs I own, I only paid full retail for the shell CT boots from Alden DC. Of the others, 1 was 20% off, 1 was 25% off, and the other 3 were 33% off.

 

[docalden2013]

Six more inches of snow on the ground today for the winter that never ends.

That's no deterrent to wearing the whisky Indy boots though.

It's awesome when folks don't baby their shell cordovan. I'm trying to get over being too sensitive about scratches, bloom and spots, so have decided to devote my 4060s to all purpose, sh**kicker duty. Well done MP!

 

[Handcuffed]

Hey guys, question -

I wanted the tankers in size 12D. I e-mailed info@leffot asking for it, but I've yet to get any sort of reply. I e-mailed at 4:20 EST, and I believe all sizes were still available when I e-mailed (assuming the largest size available on the site for pre-order was 11.5).

Is it taking them some time to go through the e-mails or did I miss out?

 

[kwhitelaw]

Hey guys, question -

I wanted the tankers in size 12D. I e-mailed info@leffot asking for it, but I've yet to get any sort of reply. I e-mailed at 4:20 EST, and I believe all sizes were still available when I e-mailed (assuming the largest size available on the site for pre-order was 11.5).

Is it taking them some time to go through the e-mails or did I miss out?

I'm pretty sure 12D was an option earlier in the day..

I'd call them tomorrow and see if you can hop on the preorder in hopes that Alden can allocate the material for an extra pair for you.

 

[docalden2013]

Docalden - just post when you don't buy a model. : )

That's what my wife said, rolling her eyes and pointing to my empty wallet.

Seriously, I've been flirting with the idea of operationalizing when an Alden collection is done. I went a bit insane for the Leffot tanker because I'm a big fan of shell boots on barrie, a big fan of antique edging and because I have 0 nsts in the collection. What do you guys think? I've got lwbs, chukkas, wt and pct boots, ptbs and lhs. I think I still need to cover tassels and maybe a king and/or cigar nst shoe. I try not to be too formal when wearing suits, so I'm thinking of foregoing trying to get sizing right on bals.