You ALDEN HATERS Are Gonna Have Mixed Feelings Re: This Thread **NOW RESOLVED 2/28**

[coldnyt1]

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

My whiskey shell LWBs and ravello shell LWBs after just ONE wear each. Both on the inside left vamp. Same stitching coming out.

Recommendations? One is from Alden SF, the other, Shoemart.

same stitching coming out from my alden chromexcel (j crew) trubalance... maybe due to the leather type too... sad really...

 

[blofeld]

Originally Posted by Mr. Moo

I dunno... I have other Aldens (none have been shell though) and they have been fine. So far I have only seen shell with these issues... I hope these don't tear because I don't want to deal with it, especially for $650 shoes.

strange...good luck anyway. **** should not happen EVER at that price point.

 

[onix]

We should have an "actual shoe damages" thread.

 

[Mr. Moo]

Originally Posted by blofeld

strange...good luck anyway. **** should not happen EVER at that price point.

Thanks. I agree.

I purchased these through JCrew - should I perhaps ask for an exchange through them? Being a large company (much larger than any other Alden retailer), perhaps they will take back warn shoes?

 

[apropos]

Am really amazed at the amount of apparent goodwill there is for the brand here on SF - almost every tale of woe (and many replies) in this thread and others are accompanied by one of the following - 'But none of my other (insert relatively low # of shoes) have this problem' 'I guess I'll see if I can live with it ' 'It can be fixed easily at a cobbler' 'Send it back to Alden to fix it, no problems' WTF?! You are already compromising by buying an Alden, arguably more so then anything at the price point (see Spoo's posts in this thread). IMO, the meagre attractions of the brand comprise solely of some vague Americana appeal, and that it is made in the USA, which I suppose is meant to imply that there is some level of... quality. Moo - J. Crew should take care of you.

 

[Gibonius]

People comparing AE and Alden seem to be doing an apples to oranges comparison (perhaps both American apples and oranges, but still). At the price point of Alden, you're looking at C&J, Church, Alfred Sargent, Trickers, etc, etc. Compared to those makers, what is compelling about Alden? You can even find that "substantial" style in the English makers. I don't own any Aldens, and given these repeated issues, the extremely infrequent discounts, and the high prices on Ebay, I doubt I'll be looking.

Is it simply that more models available in shell for Alden?

 

[Trompe le Monde]

Originally Posted by Gibonius

At the price point of Alden, you're looking at C&J, Church, Alfred Sargent, Trickers, etc, etc.
Almost all of which look better. Churchs has ****** (IME) leather , so its a draw...

 

[Salad]

I buy Alden because they look American, at least the ones I like (PTB, LW, Saddle, Penny Loafer). Those to me look like traditional American shoes. EG, C&J, AS, G&G, etc. are some of the best made shoes in the world. No argument on that point but they don't look American.
That said, if I spent $600 on some Alden shell LWs and they look like NYRs after one wear, I'd be more than a little pissed. I'd want a brand new pair. No excuse for that happening.
This thread made me go check my 405s and shell PTBs and they are both solid as they were when new. I have a pair of Ravello wingtip boots that are still new and I'll be watching them closely once I break them out. I hope Alden takes care of this.

 

[Mr. Moo]

Well, I have sent JCrew an e-mail, so we'll see how good their customer service is.

 

[entrero]

Those shoes needs to put to good use Allow me

 

[cold war painter]

I feel bad adding to the negativity, but my chromexcel ultimate Indys from Leather Soul had exactly the same problem. The local cobbler restitched and glued them; his stitching came out almost immediately leaving a gluey mess, so no more of my business for him.

As others say I've not had similar problems with C&J, EG, Blundstone, RMW etc.

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

I have had (and still have most) about 10 pair of Aldens and these were the first problems I've had.

Two out of ten is not very good odds for this I think. One out of one in my instance is even worse. I like everything else about Aldens and have a couple more pairs on order but if this problem crops up again then I'll probably have to give up on them.

 

[Ich_Dien]

Dear lord, this is terrible!

 

[kolecho]

So many closet cases emerging. Amazing!

I wonder if Mafoofan has any issues with his Long Wing Oneshoe. Hmm....

 

[upnorth]

The quality is probably so poor that he needs multiple pairs of the same shoe, hence the oneshoe was coined as a euphemism.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

Originally Posted by apropos

IMO, the meagre attractions of the brand comprise solely of some vague Americana appeal, and that it is made in the USA, which I suppose is meant to imply that there is some level of... quality.

Moo - J. Crew should take care of you.

So where are our SF entrepreneurs creating a shoe with that same aesthetic with better quality?

Seriously though, to me, Alden is the last of the great American shoe companies. My great grandfather was a shoemaker in Roxbury, Mass when he came here a hundred and ten years ago, so yea, I have some irrational sentimentality for the brand. But for me, no other company makes shoes in the variety of shell colors and styles, than does Alden. I also think, with the economy the way it is, that they may have recently tried some cost cutting measures (maybe using different threads?) and that the thicker leathers simply can't hold up to it. If they're smart, they'll revert back, and charge a bit more (Oh wait, they are doing that!). Perhaps thats the reason behind the shoemart's new email of the $40 Alden upcharge for "materials".

Regarding C&J and thos brands, its a totally different shoe. A much lighter shoe, so of course, you won't see these kinds of stitching problems. These shoes are sleaker, and not what I would normally want to wear on a daily basis stylistically.

Moo, call their 800 number, they'll take care of you. They usually do. Especially as they advertise on their wen site that these are shoes you'll stand in for a lifetime!

I did not mean this to be a bash Alden thread, because I still love them despite this. Am I glad it happened? No. But I wanted to share because to me, the same problem in the same place on a similar shoe means something may be up at the factory, and I was curious if (and sure I wasn't) the only one.