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

[mdubs]

Cigar LHS from yesterday... Thought that it would be nice to go slightly casual on Friday after traveling.









-Mike

 

[Alcibiades]

Hit the cigar chukkas with some Reno and brown paste wax...
I like chukkas on the weekend - very easy going and casual, but yet striking in cordovan

 

[thebeebs]

Cigar LHS from yesterday... Thought that it would be nice to go slightly casual on Friday after traveling.









-Mike

Those are beautiful shoes, mdubs! I have gained a new appreciation for LHS, even though LHS was my second pair of Aldens, and that was over 20 pairs ago!

 

[Burzan]

Cigar LHS from yesterday... Thought that it would be nice to go slightly casual on Friday after traveling.




-Mike

Awesome!

Before finding this thread I really only considered beefroll penny loafers having a place in my collection, now I can't wait for my Whiskey LHS I ordered the other day to arrive just in time for spring. I am starting to see the LHS in a new light and someday owning them in as many colors as possible.

 

[MrDV]



what a beautiful shot

Thank you blue.

thanks for the suggestion. i just ordered the rochester boot tree from amazon and will report back (boot barn was sold out of large sizes).  appreciate it, Mr. DV!

Nice, I hope the trees help.

I need to get those trees. I stay away from loafers for instep reasons. Is Boot barn where to buy these trees?

I bought mine at "boot barn", a boot and western retail store.

Just be careful when stretching cordovan shoes.  It's easy to stretch them too much and also to cause distortion in the shape.  But best of luck.  Cheers. 

Thanks for the warning, now that the shoes fit well I will replace the boot trees with standard trees.
Thanks for the pictures bakes, I will make sure to keep my pair well conditioned.

 

[MrDV]



Cigar LHS from yesterday... Thought that it would be nice to go slightly casual on Friday after traveling. -Mike

Sweet looking shoes mike. You wear them well.

Hit the cigar chukkas with some Reno and brown paste wax... I like chukkas on the weekend - very easy going and casual, but yet striking in cordovan

Nice boots Alcibiades. Great shine too.

 

[mdubs]



Hit the cigar chukkas with some Reno and brown paste wax...
I like chukkas on the weekend - very easy going and casual, but yet striking in cordovan

Spoiler

I am with DV, those are very nice. Chukkas are a beautiful Shell Cordovan canvas.

-Mike

 

[PhiPsi32]

Hit the cigar chukkas with some Reno and brown paste wax...
I like chukkas on the weekend - very easy going and casual, but yet striking in cordovan

 

[thams]

Soooooo just ordered the AF53 from AoC for my trip to Europe in about a week. I justified by needing a commando boot for tromping around Normandy and whatnot. I've always wanted the plain toe and I know the trubalance deters some folks. I've just always been attracted to the way PTBs patina and I don't plan on babying these. I'm hitting up North Carolina in the next couple of months and I think these will accompany me on mineral hunting escapades while I'm there. Whatever I need to do to justify it...especially with the cigar boots coming soon.

 

[AAF-8AF]

I just got the March 24, 2014 issue of Time Magazine, and the shoes being worn by Keegan-Michael Key on the cover and in a photo inside look a lot like Alden shell longwings, specifically they look like the Leffot color 8 version with antique edging. Here is an image I found, though it's pretty low-res.

 

[Alcibiades]

Those are either Leffot longwings or the J Crew copy of Alden longwings (Ludlow shoes). I would bet they are the J Crew copies

 

[mtc2000]



Or it can tear.  It doesn't stretch much, it will tear under enough tension before it stretches enough to make a huge difference.

This old pair, for example, that my dad had been putting trees in that were too big.

Another example would be how carmina stopped making certain laceless boots in shell because the leather would frequently tear when they remove the last.  (Albeit carmina shell is dryer so probably more susceptible to tearing.)

What is most likely happening when you stretch the instep of a pair of LHS is that these threads are doing most of the stretching (or breaking) like has happened on all of my pairs of LHS from my high instep.

Just a word of caution.  I would not hesitate to adopt Mr DV's technique for the LHS, but just thought I'd warn others who might think that they can stretch a pair of shells that are too small to fit based on his experience.

Yes, the threads will be the first to give when the shoes are stretched excessively. I almost ruined a good pair of #8 LHS using a set of shoe stretchers.

Shell Cordovan cracks occasionally during the lasting process. It is the nature of the material. It is not due the "dryness" of the shell for any specific manufacturer.

(skip to 11:42)

Alden shell has that plasticky wet feel because of the extra acrylic overcoat (glaze) that Alden applies to the shoes.

 

[AAF-8AF]

Yep, that's possible as well, though the shoes in the Time photo appear to have a light colored welt from what I can see with a magnifier. Are there versions of the Ludlow like that? (I don't really follow J Crew offerings since I need an E width.) Either way, there is not really any evidence of a black layer in the heel, so it could be entirely something else unless that detail was post-processed.

Those are either Leffot longwings or the J Crew copy of Alden longwings (Ludlow shoes). I would bet they are the J Crew copies

 

[stevent]



I just got the March 24, 2014 issue of Time Magazine, and the shoes being worn by Keegan-Michael Key on the cover and in a photo inside look a lot like Alden shell longwings, specifically they look like the Leffot color 8 version with antique edging. Here is an image I found, though it's pretty low-res.

Those are either Leffot longwings or the J Crew copy of Alden longwings (Ludlow shoes). I would bet they are the J Crew copies

Yep, that's possible as well, though the shoes in the Time photo appear to have a light colored welt from what I can see with a magnifier. Are there versions of the Ludlow like that? (I don't really follow J Crew offerings since I need an E width.) Either way, there is not really any evidence of a black layer in the heel, so it could be entirely something else unless that detail was post-processed.

Looks like Grenson maybe? Shine doesn't look shell

 

[dslonghorn4]

Awesome!

Before finding this thread I really only considered beefroll penny loafers having a place in my collection, now I can't wait for my Whiskey LHS I ordered the other day to arrive just in time for spring. I am starting to see the LHS in a new light and someday owning them in as many colors as possible.

Dubs - great color on these. Also, what type of hoverboard do you have? Your shell has such minimal creasing!