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

mikesduc · Mar 30, 2010

I have this boot in black and #8. The #8 does not have the blind eyelets unfortunately. I wear both a lot. In my job I'm tramping through muck on a regular basis inspecting properties so they're real handy for that. They look pretty good with anything except a slim suit in lightweight material. I think of the Leydon as a jack of all trades last. Good at everything, not that great at anything. But with my budget and uses it's hard to have shoes that are too narrowly focused.

I would look at the J Gilbert Plaza Wingtip boot if you want something sleeker.

Motorsport226 · Mar 30, 2010

Originally Posted by REguy

I have several shoes on both lasts. The Leydon isn't as roomy and the toe is a little more low-profile than the Barrie's bulbous look. I personally think the Leydon still looks clunky as a shoe. However, I don't think you'll get anything more sleek from Alden in a boot unless you happen to find something in the Aberdeen or Hampton.

Originally Posted by mikesduc

I have this boot in black and #8. The #8 does not have the blind eyelets unfortunately. I wear both a lot. In my job I'm tramping through muck on a regular basis inspecting properties so they're real handy for that. They look pretty good with anything except a slim suit in lightweight material. I think of the Leydon as a jack of all trades last. Good at everything, not that great at anything. But with my budget and uses it's hard to have shoes that are too narrowly focused.

I would look at the J Gilbert Plaza Wingtip boot if you want something sleeker.

Good, that's exactly what I needed to know. I don't wear suits, so versatility shouldn't be a problem. And I have a similar budget where I can't afford shoes that are too specific.

Thanks guys!

-226

enigma77 · Mar 30, 2010

Originally Posted by Scrounger

AFAIK, the 403 Indy is chromexcel and leather-lined. If that's close enough, it's available from a number of sellers. No commando sole though, not sure what the other differences are.

It depends. As far as I can tell Leather Soul orders their Ultimate Indys as custom makes always, so each run might be a little different. If you search "ultimate Indy" on Leather Soul's site, you'll see how many permutations they have of that boot.

The more "usual" 403 dark brown Chromexcel one is fantastic. I have that one and it has that newfangled oil-resistant neocork sole, which is slippery at first but picks up traction as you wear it. It also looks better, IMO, than the commando sole, although the commando sole's usefulness is fairly obvious. The difference, besides the commando sole, is that the 403 Chromexcel is more or less the same everywhere, whereas with Leather Soul you can get slight variations that may make your boot more unique. For me the 403 Chromexcel was perfect. I bought my pair from Epaulet and was very happy to give them the business. Shoemart also has some sizes in stock right now.

mlyngard · Mar 30, 2010

PETEROCK1;3093159 said:
i finally have these in my possession...

Awesome.

Anyone else here who ordered the Chromexcel Indys from North River Outfitters experiencing a silly-long lead time? Quoted lead time ~3 weeks, current waiting time for me (now) seven weeks and not even an idea of delivery date.

I'll have to shelve these once I get them. Summer will be here.

Scrounger · Mar 30, 2010

mlyngard;3097066 said:
Originally Posted by PETEROCK1

Click to expand...

i finally have these in my possession...

Awesome.

Anyone else here who ordered the Chromexcel Indys from North River Outfitters experiencing a silly-long lead time? Quoted lead time ~3 weeks, current waiting time for me (now) seven weeks and not even an idea of delivery date.

I'll have to shelve these once I get them. Summer will be here.

Yup, 7 weeks now. I see on the website they've finally adjusted it to 3-12 weeks leadtime. In response to my last inquiry they told me mine should ship by the end of March. Needless to say...

werdswerf · Mar 30, 2010

This might be a noob question, but what if you really like everything about the look of a brown chromexcel Indy except for the white contrast stitching on the toe? How easy is it to blend it in with the rest of the boot?

Curious_George · Mar 30, 2010

Originally Posted by mg428

http://winnperry.com/updates/alden-d...-officer-boot/ If you email Jordan of Winn Perry, he will send you larger versions of the photos. I recall that there is a real life photo of the boots worn with a slim navy suit in this thread.
Those look like what I've been looking for, I just wish they were available in E widths. I'm an 11E in the Indy boot so I think I'd have to size up to 11.5 with those and hope they wouldn't be too long. edit: werdswerf: it's pretty easy to blend it. When you polish the boots with a colored polish or cream just polish over the stitching. The stitching on my Indy boots blended right in after just a few times.

RFX45 · Mar 30, 2010

Originally Posted by mlyngard

Wait, I thought the Chromexel Indys has the cork soles? How come the one in the pic has a rubber sole?

djh · Mar 30, 2010

Yep, those are Ultimate Indy's, not the Chromexcel Indy's. The leather on both is the same, only difference between the two is the sole.

Dexter_ · Mar 30, 2010

Originally Posted by djh

Yep, those are Ultimate Indy's, not the Chromexcel Indy's. The leather on both is the same, only difference between the two is the sole.

The differences are subtle but its more than just the sole. I don't know all the technical jargon but as far as I can see they are:
- white stitching on the top heel on the 403 vs matching stitching on the ultimate
- white stitching on the outside edge of the sole on the 403 vs matching stitching on the ultimate
- thicker (cotton?) laces with the 403 vs flat waxed laces on the ultimate

And of course there's the obvious... cork sole on the 403 vs leather sole w/stitched rubber sole (commando) on the ultimate.

djh · Mar 30, 2010

Good eye.. didn't even notice the different laces or white stitching.

mg428 · Mar 30, 2010

Originally Posted by Dexter_

The differences are subtle but its more than just the sole. I don't know all the technical jargon but as far as I can see they are:
- white stitching on the top heel on the 403 vs matching stitching on the ultimate
- white stitching on the outside edge of the sole on the 403 vs matching stitching on the ultimate
- thicker (cotton?) laces with the 403 vs flat waxed laces on the ultimate

And of course there's the obvious... cork sole on the 403 vs leather sole w/stitched rubber sole (commando) on the ultimate.

These are the very differences why I preferred and paid more for the Leather Soul Ultimate Indy.

iansir · Mar 30, 2010

Almost at 10 weeks on my NRO order...really tired of this.

In the meantime I ordered a pair from Epaulet, recieved them, and wore them about 6 times - in which time the stitching on the inside of one of the boots came loose - see below. Epaulet says I can send them back to Alden for repair...we'll see how that goes. So I will have none of the two pairs of Indy boots that I ordered to wear...

bakatora · Mar 30, 2010

For those with wider feet, tbs got leydon last lined chukkas and #8 cordovan longwings in E width, but looks like they're only carrying whole sizes.. and the site is down right now.

enigma77 · Mar 31, 2010

Originally Posted by iansir

Almost at 10 weeks on my NRO order...really tired of this.

In the meantime I ordered a pair from Epaulet, recieved them, and wore them about 6 times - in which time the stitching on the inside of one of the boots came loose - see below. Epaulet says I can send them back to Alden for repair...we'll see how that goes. So I will have none of the two pairs of Indy boots that I ordered to wear...

That sucks, but it's Alden's fault. Get in contact with them so they know to expect your boot.

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