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

Originally Posted by forex

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That's a nice belt,where did you get it?

I got mine from Tom as well. I had to wait for a while, but it was worth it. The Alden belt is way better than the ones sold by BB.

mine is from Alden SF. i went my size +4. +2 fits but i like a bit of extra belt length. personal preference, thats all. i think it looks nicer

My wife just got her first pair of Aldens... The 909.

She's been jealous for a while and wanted a piece of the action. I think they look pretty sweet!

Originally Posted by jasonfoote303

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My wife just got her first pair of Aldens... The 909.

She's been jealous for a while and wanted a piece of the action. I think they look pretty sweet!

thats awesome, they do!

Picked up the black Alden 9901s. The shoelace holes on the left shoe were misaligned, but the right shoe was ok.

Sent it back. Alden didn't have any more 9901s in my size for two months. So I returned them and exchanged for the 990s (color #8).

The 990s had the same issue. Left shoelace holes misaligned. Right shoe ok.

In addition, there was some gunk on the heel of the 990s and a dangling string.

Are these sorts of things normal for an Alden shell cordovan shoe? The left shoe had shoelace hole issues in both the 9901 and 990 models. See images below.

Black 9901.



Color 8 990.





Glue on the heel?



Stitching dangling.

Originally Posted by GreatHighway

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mine is from Alden SF. i went my size +4. +2 fits but i like a bit of extra belt length. personal preference, thats all. i think it looks nicer

It is also a lot more of shell lulz.

Originally Posted by nurktwin

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Picked up the black Alden 9901s. The shoelace holes on the left shoe were misaligned, but the right shoe was ok.

Sent it back. Alden didn't have any more 9901s in my size for two months. So I returned them and exchanged for the 990s (color #8).

The 990s had the same issue. Left shoelace holes misaligned. Right shoe ok.

In addition, there was some gunk on the heel of the 990s and a dangling string.

Are these sorts of things normal for an Alden shell cordovan shoe? The left shoe had shoelace hole issues in both the 9901 and 990 models. See images below.

Black 9901.

Color 8 990.

Glue on the heel?

Stitching dangling.

I think "Normal" is a relative term. I have a few pair of Alden and can say, clearly, that the misaligned eyelets are a critical miscalculation on their part. I don't think you'll have a problem with having Alden replacing them. As for a raveled thread or glue (if it can simply be wiped away) they're only as grave a concern as you allow them to be. If you see leather separating because of the ravel/stitching and/or color being pealed away when attempting to remove the glue then perhaps the items are more serious.

Originally Posted by nurktwin

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Picked up the black Alden 9901s. The shoelace holes on the left shoe were misaligned, but the right shoe was ok.

Sent it back. Alden didn't have any more 9901s in my size for two months. So I returned them and exchanged for the 990s (color #8).

The 990s had the same issue. Left shoelace holes misaligned. Right shoe ok.

In addition, there was some gunk on the heel of the 990s and a dangling string.

Are these sorts of things normal for an Alden shell cordovan shoe? The left shoe had shoelace hole issues in both the 9901 and 990 models. See images below.

It may be discussed whether these can be offered for sale. In any case, IMHO, they should only be sold as "seconds". Every company MAY manufacture products with "defect"s, which can easily be overlooked especially if such company is a reputable company granting generous policies, but the fact that Alden shipped both pairs to you as "firsts", and that the second pair has the same problem MAY denote that Alden does not consider this kind of mis-alignment a "defect", which certainly is IMO, although I am not an expert-- perhaps a knowledgeable person about shoes may contribute and say that such mis-alignment is not a big deal to qualify shoes as seconds?

Hi long time reader, first post here. Just want to share my own Alden's wtf moment. Its a LHS loafer in #8 cordovan. Knowing Alden's issue with QC, I specifically asked the store rep. through mail to check if my shoe was in good condition before shipping (won't say which store). Paid full price, wasn't buying seconds. This is what I got. Looks likes someone at New England made a sloppy mistake, tried to correct it in a worse way. I mean, really?? And yes, I returned them, but not before I got some good photos. As told countless of times before, my advise is to buy them in person.




Different view

Eww, that's nasty. That's appalling. I would give the retailer a piece of my mind.

Now that is horrible.

I thought you were complaining about the somewhat sloppy stitching on the penny strap until I looked at the whole pictures. That line of ripped out stitching looks like total ****!

It seems that in their need to meet demand they've hired workers who haven't yet acquired the skills needed to make the product. Having said that, it's completely unacceptable to let a mistake like that get by.

That is absolutely appalling...
Also shows a lack of integrity from whichever worker did this imho. This is clearly a corrected mistake, albeit poorly, and someone consciously decided to ignore it.

Argh. That should have been taken care of at the retailer level. Yes, mistakes happen and things slip through. It's definitely Alden's fault for letting it through to the retailer, but at the same time it's the retailer's fault for letting it through to the customer and ultimately hurting Alden as a brand. It sucks for Alden that this kind of thing makes it through all the way to the customer when there's at least 3 times it could have been stopped and taken back and sold as a FD. No excuses either way though. I'm just sorry it made it through to a customer. Of course, things happen...sales people are not owners of stores so they don't necessarily have the same viewpoint. This could have happened through my shops too really. Anyhow, I just hope the retailer makes it right for the customer.