garden gnomes in space

that denim fades beautifully.  

jesus, thats what is up.  Superb 

You can't really draw such conclusions off of just the Indy boot. It's one of their 'lower end' models and doesn't speak for the rest of their offerings. I frequent the Alden thread over on Styleforum, and I rarely see any issues with QC unless the buyer purchased their shoes from a retailer like J Crew who have very lenient to nonexistent try-on policies.

 

Most other Alden resellers are extremely strict about try-ons and won't accept returns if there is the slightest evidence of damage or creasing to the shoes. You can't really blame Alden as a company for these QC issues, since they really have no control over the shittier resellers like J Crew. If you wan't quality, buy from a quality re-seller or straight from a store like Alden of Carmel or SF.

I work 2 blocks away from the Alden SF store. I stop by to handle their stuff often.  Even their shell shoes have QC issues.  Visible flaws that should not be there. 

edit* and by QC issues, I usually refer to wonky stitching and the like.  Its nothing that should affect the wear of the shoe, but its there nonetheless.  

Red Wing makes a great boot don't get me wrong, but I guess I should have mentioned that I need a shoe that can be worn casually and also dressed up for work. Alden is one of the few that can comfortably straddle that line and thus provide a little more versatility than a typical workboot.

 

That said, I'm MUCH more apt to spend my money on Alden's shell cordovan offerings than their chromexcel, though I do have a pair of Natural CXL longwings and Color 8 longwings and I absolutely adore them. Shell cordovan is truly fantastic stuff. I may just end up finding a nice shell boot with commando sole instead.

Alden def. resides in that realm between dress and casual very well.  I dont mean to knock them, as Im happily wearing my rough out indy's with zero regret.  I just get a bit miffed at the relatively recent price hike many "Heritage" brands are enjoying, but still letting the typical QC things pass.  Shit, even Whites is blowing it on that regard some of the time.  In a perfect world, these "heritage" brands would step up their game as their prices rise.

i feel my jeans are way too loose fitting/relaxed to get fades like that.   

Alden doesnt  scream craftsmanship though.  Yes they are well made but in the price point they reside, I feel they should tighten up their QC.  I think the RedWing boot with the commando sole, whatever its called now, is a "better" buy.  Dont get me wrong, I love my Indy's and like you said, they will last so at some point the extra cost gets covered by longevity.  That said, we get really meta on these kinds of things.  Your average consumer will buy some Aldens and be pleased beyond belief with their style, construction etc.  Its the maniacs like us who notice minute QC things and bitch about it online

Since we are a bunch of coffee and espresso swilling fiends here, I figured this would be appreciated.  Im not too hip to the movement, but in the US, and Im sure elsewhere, theres this third wave coffee trend.  Single origin etc.. all that.  I like it because its great tasting coffee and espresso and beats the alternative here which is Starbucks, the McDonalds of coffee.  Blue Bottle Coffee has a newer location in Oakland where they do espresso machine repair.  I dont know much about it but its a cool place to cop a cup.

Possible UES sighting in the wild today:  In San Francisco, International food court at Bush and Kearny.  I looked up as a buttock passed my view.  Hoping it was a shapely female variety, I was disappointed until I noticed a familiar tab and leather patch.  Anyone here?  

Did your Piva player bring his garbage denim to poor ol Scotland?

Im still miffed I was fooled by fake selvage haha

Dang. Paul T comes in and drops the hammer again!

i love Hitachino Nest beer, only problem is the store that sells it charges fucking $5 a bottle....

RE: baby jeans.  I saw that Momotaro sold a pair of little kids denim but I cannot find it any longer.  Volvo, if you ever go the TCB route, I'll spring for a pair also!

also, crazy she's walking.  Ours just turned 10 months a week or so ago, and she wants to walk sooo bad but thus far its been just a random standing without support here and there

agree with everyone, thats a fine fit Volvo

Cold washed the Gatagata's last night.

W: 32

FR: 10.75

TH: 12.6

Inseam: 32.5

Hem: I cant remember, maybe 8 ish?  Ill double check tonight.  I just noticed the dual color chainstitch on the hem, which is really cool.  

Im guessing there is a bit more shrink to go.  

Love the denim.  has a nice course feel to it, but its not slubby.  I dont think the cut will work for me.  I was suspect of the rise from the get go and indeed its too low for my liking.  Dont have it in me to battle a fit anymore.  If it had an 11.5" rise this would be the money cut for me.  

Ill probably post these for sale at some point in the future.  

On a sidenote - I've been doing a little experiment since january. As I wanted to get a glimpse how my Warehouse could look faded, I threw the cutoff hem of my WHxBiG 660 into the machine everytime I washed. After 20+ washes it's still surprisingly dark and did only develop a bit of roping. Shows, that Indigo loss is due to wear, not due to washing. I'll continue the Experiment and try to post a pic when I can.

i have been planning on doing this with my Samurai 710xx hem pieces

Oops, accidentally neg repped your subtle joke Maynard.

would have been more subtle to not tell him...

Wow, that gatagata fabric looks so nice! Is it that dark like in the pictures?

yes, its nice and dark, with some vertical irregularities.  Its a rough hand, but its not slubby.   

Glad you UK guys received your jeans.  Its been emotional:)

mine should be delivered to my desk this afternoon

I thought it was 1st AND 2nd!

haha, I think AUS is up there with us

Theres a reason why the USA is 1st or 2nd in fattest country in the world haha.  

GGIS-  pic's of fried chicken or it didn't happen

maaaan, im hungry again.  I think the wings are the best part of the bird.  Then we have candied sweat potatoes, mac and cheese and this mac and cheese/bbq pork combo that was heaven on earth

haha, fake selvage fooled me!  

 my dads family was Calabrese, so I can stumble through some Italian.  

in the first youtube video, Whats that bag pipe called?  Looks like he's wearing some selvage denim haha