The Shell Cordovan, non-Alden Shoe and Boot Thread

[Shawnc]

For me @Watchman1, I’m just enjoying the heck out of your recent posts. Man, we all knew you had an impressive collection but I had now idea how impressive. The color journey down memory lane is fascinating.

 

[Watchman1]

For me, I think what your examples do is simply confirm what those of us that have been in the shell shoe game for awhile always say. Don’t buy shell shoes, if you’re not willing to accept variation. At times striking variations. For me personally, it’s a feature, not a bug.

You must not buy many Alden’s…”variations” is putting it lightly

 

[stephenaf2003]

You must not buy many Alden’s…”variations” is putting it lightly

Read, “striking”, lol. I’ve a good number of Alden shell, but approach shell shoes the same way I approach scotch and cigars. I need variety, so shell shoes from a broad spectrum.

 

[Blastwice]

Lol

IDK man, they did say the hides were less plentiful than before and lower quality when I was at the factory in 2017…

All I’m doing is showing the how the color scheme have changed. Don’t fully know how or why.

It is all very strange to me. This is a big deal because when gents go to spend 1k on footwear and they have a particular shade in mind then get something completely different…it causes some frustration and confusion

Can you post some examples of this low quality (Horween) shell out in the wild?

I've been buying shell footwear for at least 7+ years now and am curious about this sea change you are describing.

In the past 7 years, despite your claim of being "less plentiful and lower quality than before" Horween has manged to introduce a rainbow of shell colors including but not limited to Ultraviolet and psychedelic, as well as many many new textures and dying methods (including shaved shell, tumbled shell, hatchgrain shell, inverted colors, football texture, etc.)

It's easier now to get things like hatchgrain shell, amaretto, etc. than it has ever been in the past-- you can order them everyday at Carmina.

Doesn't seem like shells are in short supply to me?

Seven years ago people were talking about how "shell was in short supply" after Horweens latest price increases happened and a lot of people speculated that moving forward they would produce limited colors and shell would become egregiously expensive and face a decline in quality. It's intersting we are having the same conversations today.

 

[Watchman1]

Lesser quality shells get dyed dark shades…lesser quality simply is markings in the hides common to all leather…don’t want to argue man…

 

[Watchman1]

All I was saying was the various shades have darkened significantly over the years. Whether it’s because they changed the names or not…IDK…there was talk about shell shortages and so forth…due to Europeans not eating as much horse…I don’t have all the answers…just sharing my experiences through pics and word of mouth

 

[Blastwice]

Lesser quality shells get dyed dark shades

I feel like this is incorrect (or not the whole story), but I am not close enough to the production floor to say with specificity.

Shell is shaved and glazed and it's such a small part of the hide, I don't think there are as many imperfections as calf. Finished shells can have ragged edges and come with holes sometimes, but this is not a "quality" issue, exactly.

Shells are also graded (and priced) by size (from distributors, at least), which is typically the way a maker would value them too, for reasons which should be obvious.

 

[Watchman1]

I thought I remembered them saying the hides which had blemishes in the leather, when I say blemishes I mean like a horse had a pimple or brushed up against a fence and scarred itself...those hides got dyed darker shades.

I could be wrong, but I thought I remembered them saying only the most "clear" hides got dyed natural, whiskey, saddle, etc.

Again, no expert, but I just share what I have experienced.

 

[Watchman1]

^These WT boots from Alden were Ravello (made in 2011 I think). I offloaded them due to fitting issues. I have not seen a batch of Ravello like this in many, many years.

@mdubs how long has it been since Alden did a run of this old school Ravello?

 

[Blastwice]

View attachment 1927681

^These WT boots from Alden were Ravello (made in 2011 I think). I offloaded them due to fitting issues. I have not seen a batch of Ravello like this in many, many years.

@mdubs how long has it been since Alden did a run of this old school Ravello?

Looks like Alden bought some Amaretto and sold it as Ravello to me.

 

[Watchman1]

^This pic is from like 2017 I think. From Hector at the Barcelona Carmina flagship store. I ordered several pairs from him back in the day. Awesome guy. You could get stuff from there on the cheap. Carmina no longer allows for US clients to order from their flagship stores overseas, they want you to do business in New York which is totally understandable.

Anyways, can you believe both these pairs are old cognac? Really shows you the variations in the different runs. I believe Hector said the pair on the left had been sitting in the store for awhile and faded.

I ended up buying the pair on the right and they are still in rotation today. Truly, one of my favorite pairs. So many compliments. They are nearly identical to my #4 pairs

 

[Watchman1]

Looks like Alden bought some Amaretto and sold it as Ravello to me.

These were made way, way before Amaretto existed. I do know that and have it documented through pics.

^This was one of the very first Amaretto hides ever produced. I was in awe as Skip allowed me to see these hides. My understanding is the leather lightens significantly when lasted and stretched into shoes and boots.

This would have been summer 2017 and I was with Lorenzo and his dear wife. From Solegarb. Wonderful people and very kind.

 

[MajorDash]

Can you post some examples of this low quality (Horween) shell out in the wild?

I've been buying shell footwear for at least 7+ years now and am curious about this sea change you are describing.

In the past 7 years, despite your claim of being "less plentiful and lower quality than before" Horween has manged to introduce a rainbow of shell colors including but not limited to Ultraviolet and psychedelic, as well as many many new textures and dying methods (including shaved shell, tumbled shell, hatchgrain shell, inverted colors, football texture, etc.)

It's easier now to get things like hatchgrain shell, amaretto, etc. than it has ever been in the past-- you can order them everyday at Carmina.

Doesn't seem like shells are in short supply to me?

Seven years ago people were talking about how "shell was in short supply" after Horweens latest price increases happened and a lot of people speculated that moving forward they would produce limited colors and shell would become egregiously expensive and face a decline in quality. It's intersting we are having the same conversations today.

Here is a low quality shell. Marbled chili shell from AE. The shell is wrinkling on the flex point instead of “rolling” like it usually does. It looks worse in person (to my eyes) than it does in this picture. I don’t know if it is because the shell is thinner here or what.

 

[Blastwice]

Amaretto Work Boots

 

[Blastwice]

Here is a low quality shell. Marbled chili shell from AE. The shell is wrinkling on the flex point instead of “rolling” like it usually does. It looks worse in person (to my eyes) than it does in this picture. I don’t know if it is because the shell is thinner here or what.

View attachment 1927745

I wouldn't say this has anything to do with the quality of the shell.

I actually don't know what causes it to happen, but it happened on a pair of mine as well in a high flex area where the leather was thinned for connection with another piece. (My immediate instinct would be to blame AE QC and snark, but it can happen even on high end pairs, honestly.)

At the end of the day, it's on your shoes, not your face and most people couldn't tell cordovan shell from patent leather anyway.