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

Originally Posted by edubs01

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Is Kiwi neutral a good polish to use?

It'd be fine. There are better options out there, Meltonian and Saphir to name a couple, but Kiwi neutral will be fine.

Originally Posted by Flowah

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Do you know how reliable The Shoe Mart is to buy from? I've been looking at their Alden 404, which the site seems to say is fully stocked. However, I've read a bunch of reviews of the site that say that often they will claim to have sizes in stock, only to charge you, then send you an e-mail about how it's actually backordered and then you wait around for weeks on end.

I've sent them an e-mail, but they aren't very talkative. They reply with terse one word answers to questions that aren't one word answer questions.

If anyone has had experiences with ShoeMart, good or bad, please let me know!

Originally Posted by Ahab

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I love shoemart and have not had any problems dealing with them. They have not charged me until shipped. If you are uncertain just pick up the phone and call them.

I have a feeling these are not email people. I always call.

+1

Have ordered Alden through Shoe Mart three times now, and never any problems. Great sellers.

Originally Posted by Ahab

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I love shoemart and have not had any problems dealing with them. They have not charged me until shipped. If you are uncertain just pick up the phone and call them.

I have a feeling these are not email people. I always call.

Alright, I can trust the recommendations of a SF member I'll call first thing Monday.

Just to confirm with some SF members along with when I call on Monday, I've seen various sites say that the new Aldens 403, 404, and 405 run a half size large, and so you should order a half size down, so that if you're normally an 8D, you should get a 7.5D. If anyone has ordered Aldens from Shoe Mart, is that still the case?


I assume these are the EXACT same boot, right down to the build and leather quality? Shoe mart vs. Blackbird Ballard

Originally Posted by Flowah

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Alright, I can trust the recommendations of a SF member

I'll call first thing Monday.

Just to confirm with some SF members along with when I call on Monday, I've seen various sites say that the new Aldens 403, 404, and 405 run a half size large, and so you should order a half size down, so that if you're normally an 8D, you should get a 7.5D. If anyone has ordered Aldens from Shoe Mart, is that still the case?


I assume these are the EXACT same boot, right down to the build and leather quality? Shoe mart vs. Blackbird Ballard
They look like the same boot. Shoemart does not mention the sole so I cannot be sure but the pic show's Vibram.

Good luck.

Whoa...."Aniline pull-up" and "Chrome Excel" are different leathers? I thought they were the same, but Shoe Mart has them listed as separate options.

Originally Posted by Trapp

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Whoa...."Aniline pull-up" and "Chrome Excel" are different leathers? I thought they were the same, but Shoe Mart has them listed as separate options.

What are the differences again? Better in materials/colors/durability?

First day wearing my Bal Hampton Black Wingtips - best fitting, most comfortable dress shoe I've ever had.

I'm going to have a tough time beating this Adlen addiction - so far 2 pairs in 2 weeks.

Originally Posted by Omega Man

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What are the differences again? Better in materials/colors/durability?
My understanding is that Chromexcel is their premiere pull-up leather. I think the non-Chromexcel pull-up is still good stuff, but not as oily and not as amazing-looking. It's still an Alden shoe. Get both and send back whichever you don't like. Shoemart is very good with returns.

OK I actually do have a question here (Chromexcel-related, actually). I have a pair of 403s -- Chromexcel Indy Boots -- and am having a bizarre problem with the tongue on the left boot.

The problem is this: about 60 seconds after walking around in the boot, the tongue falls to the left down into the small space between the left side of my foot and the side of the boot. I can pull the tongue back up, but it will fall back down after another 1 to 3 minutes of walking. Sometimes if I've been sitting for a while it will slip down on its own.

The right shoe doesn't have this problem at all, and bizarrely enough the tongue on the right shoe looks very, very well worn in unlike the one on the left (these boots are about a month old), which has some but not a lot of signs of wear. I'm hoping that this is something that goes away with age, but the issue here is that this slippage problem is preventing the tongue from breaking in in a way that might prevent this in the future. (Also, thickness of socks does not affect this problem; the burliest of wool socks or the thinnest of dress socks don't affect this one way or another.)

So... any ideas? I had thought about putting a tongue pad on the bottom of the tongue facing my foot, but am looking for something less invasive/less permanent. Is there some kind of Chromexcel-friendly adhesive I could use that would be removable and wouldn't damage the leather? It'd have to stick to some fairly oily leather...

Thanks in advance, everyone!

Originally Posted by enigma77

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So... any ideas? I had thought about putting a tongue pad on the bottom of the tongue facing my foot, but am looking for something less invasive/less permanent. Is there some kind of Chromexcel-friendly adhesive I could use that would be removable and wouldn't damage the leather? It'd have to stick to some fairly oily leather...

Thanks in advance, everyone!

From reading previous posts... this is a very common situation. You can either send it back to Alden or take it to a local cobbler and they will stitch the tongue in place.

ugghhhhh another one of my laces split on a different pair of Aldens!!!

Originally Posted by enigma77

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OK I actually do have a question here (Chromexcel-related, actually). I have a pair of 403s -- Chromexcel Indy Boots -- and am having a bizarre problem with the tongue on the left boot.

The problem is this: about 60 seconds after walking around in the boot, the tongue falls to the left down into the small space between the left side of my foot and the side of the boot. I can pull the tongue back up, but it will fall back down after another 1 to 3 minutes of walking. Sometimes if I've been sitting for a while it will slip down on its own.

The right shoe doesn't have this problem at all, and bizarrely enough the tongue on the right shoe looks very, very well worn in unlike the one on the left (these boots are about a month old), which has some but not a lot of signs of wear. I'm hoping that this is something that goes away with age, but the issue here is that this slippage problem is preventing the tongue from breaking in in a way that might prevent this in the future. (Also, thickness of socks does not affect this problem; the burliest of wool socks or the thinnest of dress socks don't affect this one way or another.)

So... any ideas? I had thought about putting a tongue pad on the bottom of the tongue facing my foot, but am looking for something less invasive/less permanent. Is there some kind of Chromexcel-friendly adhesive I could use that would be removable and wouldn't damage the leather? It'd have to stick to some fairly oily leather...

Thanks in advance, everyone!

I have a pair of black Indys and when I was breaking them in, the right tongue did the same thing as yours. I was able to solve the problem by carefully breaking the tongue in for the first week or so. I just made sure when I laced, that the tongue was leaning just a bit (in my case) to the left. I also made sure I laced the top two crosses pretty tight; tight enough to keep the tongue from moving much. I would then go about my day, but in the beginning, I would unlace, realign the tongue and then re-lace tight again. The first couple of days I was doing this quite often (often enough to catch the tongue before it had time to move much), after that it started to stay longer, until now, I have no problem with it. Basically what I did was to create the right break and creases in the tongue to hold it in place, and I didn't give it a chance to break-in the wrong way. If you catch it early, this should work. Otherwise, your looking at having the tongue tacked to the boot.

Hope this helps, and good luck -->Tod

Originally Posted by Dexter_

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From reading previous posts... this is a very common situation. You can either send it back to Alden or take it to a local cobbler and they will stitch the tongue in place.

Oh god under no circumstances am I sending them back to Alden. I already bought a pair of these and they were defective beforehand, so I'd rather not have to deal with another "defective" pair of Indys. I'm sure Alden will do the best work, but it'll take months and months. I'd rather take them to a cobbler, I think...

Originally Posted by todot62

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I have a pair of black Indys and when I was breaking them in, the right tongue did the same thing as yours. I was able to solve the problem by carefully breaking the tongue in for the first week or so. I just made sure when I laced, that the tongue was leaning just a bit (in my case) to the left. I also made sure I laced the top two crosses pretty tight; tight enough to keep the tongue from moving much. I would then go about my day, but in the beginning, I would unlace, realign the tongue and then re-lace tight again. The first couple of days I was doing this quite often (often enough to catch the tongue before it had time to move much), after that it started to stay longer, until now, I have no problem with it. Basically what I did was to create the right break and creases in the tongue to hold it in place, and I didn't give it a chance to break-in the wrong way. If you catch it early, this should work. Otherwise, your looking at having the tongue tacked to the boot.

Hope this helps, and good luck

-->Tod

I've tried relacing throughout the day, and the vamp on the left side is just not as tight on the right side. It's not anything I notice during wear (mostly) except that it means that that tongue has room to fall. I'm trying to create the right breaks in the tongue but it's unclear if it's doing anything. I'm trying a tongue pad and will see how that works.

Originally Posted by zippyh

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I wouldn't. The Leydon last is fairly narrow.

+1

i am a 10D in barrie
but need 10.5E in unlined chukka (Leydon)

Originally Posted by gnatty8

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It'd be fine. There are better options out there, Meltonian and Saphir to name a couple, but Kiwi neutral will be fine.

How's Obenauf's Oil/LP for the Indy boot in Chromoexcel? Do the above brands you mentioned not darken the leather at all?