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

robin, I understand. Plus you owned lots of Aldens in the past so you know what you like. Personally, I've gotten 4-5 pairs of Alden shells in the last few months. Thankfully only 2 pairs were close to retail. I'm fearful that the rest of my wardrobe won't hold up to my shoes but I'm pretty much done buying shoes for the moment (so I'll have money for other items). I just placed a pre-order with LS for a boot that will be done 6 months. Also I plan to purchase a pair of the wing-tip boots on plaza last in #8 the next time they are available. After that I'll just admire other people new purchases and maybe snatch up a random pair of cigar or whiskey shells if they pop up in my size on eBay or the buy/sell.

My 2pr, Leisure Handsewn and Indy in shell:

^Both look fantastic. I finally got my LHS from Brooks Bros. the other day. Shell cordovan seems to be getting harder and harder to find, as it took my SA almost 6 months to track down a pair of 9 D LHS.

None the less, they're terrific.

Those Indys look unbelievable AHarris.

Originally Posted by crosswound

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thanks jonb27 i've looked at alden-of-carmel i'll check out shoemart. serious though i think i'm talking to someone who is rude because the person i talked to before said they would gladly take paypal and that the deadline for this particular shoe was july 2009. now this other person says they never ever took paypal and the deadline for the shoe already passed. i don't want anything to do with leathersoul anymore after all that. they must be doing really good in the economy to talk to people like that.
What shoe were you looking for? I find your experience very strange as Tom and LeatherSoul has always given me excellent service. Tom has also gone out of his way to help out people on the forums and is at times an active participant, here, AAAC, and at SuFu. If I can dissect what I think may have happened is I would guess that the pre-order deadline for non-stock sizes has already passed, but they're expecting delivery around July 2009. If you're within their normal sizes, then you're probably still in luck. As far as Paypal goes, I've never paid them that way before, so I don't know. I would encourage you to consider them again. I'm not sure what happened with your situation again, but I'm 100% positive that it is an unusual experience. This is the first time I've ever heard anyone unsatisfied with their customer service. (Note, I have no affiliation with them. I'm just a very satisfied customer.)

Great picture of the Indy boots, A Harris!

Here are my Alden LHS in burgundy calf before and after an Alden restoration. A needed resole prompted the restoration.

I'd love to have a pair in shell like A Harris's above.

Before:





After:

Looks great. Can you choose any sole for the Alden restoration? They don't seem to offer any different pricing levels. I'm thinking of putting a massive double leather commando on my dainty bals, wondering if they would do it.

To my knowledge, yes, but if I recall reading correctly there are some things they won't do. I think that they have an objection to a commando sole on a loafer.

Commando soles don't sound right with a loafer.

I don't disagree. Just pointing out that there are things they won't do. I think they also object to putting a sole with natural edge dressing on #8 shell.

Amlai, I haven't been on sufu in a while but what happened to the Leathersoul x sufu boots.. I sent the order form to Tom but never checked back to see if it was still in the works??

-don't go on sufu much can't stand the new site. (I really only used it for the shoes that look better with age thread anyway)

A Harris, that picture of the #8 Indys is one of the best pictures of any Aldens I have ever seen, EVER! They look like they belong in some magazine, or museum. Great job!

BTW Crosswound, I paid Leathersoul with paypal after winning one of their auctions off eBay. However when I placed a pre-order with them 2 weeks ago, Tom (the owner I believe) said that they only took credit cards. This makes sense to me as I use paypal often and have had buyers file for their money back for no good reason in the past. It's a lot more difficult to file claims with credit card companies, and for a small shop such as Leathersoul, I can see why they wouldn't want to bother with that hassle which is more likely to occur with paypal payments.

Good luck finding the Aldens you are looking for.

Originally Posted by JonB27

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Amlai, I haven't been on sufu in a while but what happened to the Leathersoul x sufu boots.. I sent the order form to Tom but never checked back to see if it was still in the works?? -don't go on sufu much can't stand the new site. (I really only used it for the shoes that look better with age thread anyway)
They won't be branded as a SuFuxLS boot (due to lack of interest), but the last I heard (12/13), the perforated toe version is still being made. Only 2 people expressed interest in the plain toe version so that version isn't getting made. I'm not sure when he's finalizing the order, but I'm guessing it'll be soon. Yes... the new SuFu is a real eyesore... but I'm addicted enough to that thread that I keep going back.

haha ^ the shoes that look better with age thread is the ONLY thread I bother to check on sufu anymore. Everything else is a damn mess. I wouldn't be surprised if Sufu completely dies or has 75% of the old members leave permanently. I don't wish for that to happen as there is some great knowledge contributed there under all the BS, but I guess only time will tell...