Shoes that look better with age...

[Denim Phenom]

When i was on the Kingdom of the Crystal skull set, almost every pair of shoes that were being worn by the extras were being rented out to Lucas Film by a costuming company that was contracted by Bernie Pollack for the film. All the shoes were new old stock Sears and Montgomery Ward boots.

If I had pictures I would not have seen them. I was dressed in 1950's clothing I had collected. Touting a camera would have given away my cover....

The "Get that greaser" guy was totally you right?!

[Quinnskimo]

http://www.nicksboots.com/welted.htm

that's a pretty cool site. I didn't want to steal the picture, but this link has an awesome diagram of how their welted boot is put together. It's all starting to make sense...

[WhiteShark]

The "Get that greaser" guy was totally you right?!

The diner scene was shot in California at a universal studios stage. The chase itself however was shot in New Haven CT. I'm actually in the background of the shot right before they turn into the library. I was trying to stick around, but the costume designer noticed I was wearing a tan undershirt and not a white one, and that's when my fun ended. I was told "why are you not wearing the issued white undershirt!"

I did take some pictures after retuning in "normal" clothes the next day.

I even met Spielberg!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30235255&l=ce93c&id=1084200310

[Bill2]

Did some polishing on my Peal & Co. monkstraps....

Gave the toes a nice bulling with navy blue angelus polish to darken them down and have the natural tan color of the leather shine through underneath. They've been given about seven very thin layers of polish, each one bulled with a damp cloth and a slight bit of polish. The rest of the shoes remain untreated for the time being. This is the first time that I really feel like I'm getting the hang of bulling properly.

A quick shot of them unpolished for reference:

And now:

Before/After

[beatle]

something else

russell moc

[Aries]

Just received my first pair of Alden boots from Cabl3.

[heinrich BCN]

something else

russell moc

holy ... are those custom made? I mean, did you design this awesome combo of roughout and sleek leather...?

please share with us...

[Aries]

Here's a question chaps. With my Aldens, and I've noticed with a few other boots and trainers, the tongue has a tendency to shift noticeably towards the insole.

This was most noticeable I remember on a pair of Converse I used to wear a few years ago, where the tongue would pull inwards so much my socks would show under the laces on the outsole side.

Anyone know why this is? Remedies?

[Quinnskimo]

was covered several pages back. seems to be just a tendency for certain shoes. somebody suggested stitching the tongue to the shoe...only a couple should do it.

[coleslawyum]

Anyone know why this is? Remedies?

Actually from my experience, every boot I have with a loose tongue slides all over the place, unless its attached to the lace part of the upper. I believe some people hand stitched them on the side. I actually don't mind it moving around at all. I just consider it part of owning a dress boot.

EDIT: Quinnskimo beat me to it.

something else

russell moc

More importantly Beats, WHAT JEANS ARE YOU WEARING NOW?

[Aries]

I think I've actually got a much simpler solution for boots.

I've just tried lacing up the boot, and crossing over once, I've went *under* the tongue, then coming back *over* the tongue as usual. So as you can imagine, the tongue is now held in place by the lace.

Seems to be working fine thus far.

edit: This is best with flat laces as you can't even feel it; obviously with chunky laces this might be uncomfortable.

[Shorty Long]

I have a similar issue with my Aldens...I've decided that as long as it doesn't cause discomfort I can deal with it

[beatle]

holy ... are those custom made? I mean, did you design this awesome combo of roughout and sleek leather...?

please share with us...

not custom made...but I do believe it was a limited run that was sold in Japan, but I might be wrong..anyways - u can check here for more pics...

http://www.duff.to/item/ma007.html

[Bill2]

not custom made...but I do believe it was a limited run that was sold in Japan, but I might be wrong..anyways - u can check here for more pics...

http://www.duff.to/item/ma007.html

They look to me to be a modified version of the Sporting Clay Chukka; In Laramie Tan Suede with a tan boarhide double moc. bottom and the plantation crepe sole. I can certainly order boots like these for anyone interested in a similar pair........ Not to jock your style Beatle!

[beatle]

lol..u won't ...the knowledge out there always amazes me ! Also - which company would you custom order them from ?

[partytaco]

you can custom order them direct from Russell Moccasin. They are one of the friendliest and most helpful companies I have dealt with in some time. They offer quite a few leathers and also custom makeups not on their website or in their catalog... they were willing to work with just about any idea I could put together for a pair of boots.

[vegetaray123]

Okay everybody...Got my custom boots done up in the Burnished Tan Calf in the mail today and I gotta say they are fantastic...Been having a hard time of it as of late so these def picked me up a little...

I purchased these back in December when the order was confirmed and they weren't supposed to be done until the end of March...Early from Alden is great...They turned out to be more of a muted color than I was hoping...Almost caramel colored...But great none the less...

Here is some pics...I took them with my other Aldens so I could show the color contrast...Obviously the pair all the way on the left is my custom order pair, the pair next to them is the general 405's that I have not altered the color on, the next pair is the one's I darkened myself using Pecards, and the pair all the way on the right is my AB's...

[mechanical pencil]

Woah! Those are nice lookin!

So do I understand correctly that you ordered directly from Alden?

How did that go? How long did they take?

Been thinking about doing that myself....

[Xolotl]

I just bought these boots on ebay. Has anyone heard anything about the manufacturer New Avenue (England). I couldn´t find anything on google.

[SLAB]

wow vegetaray123, jealousy fire here; thats one great collection of ALden boots. I still need to get my first pair :-( ; most shops won't ship the boots declared as gift so I'm hesitant to purchase

[vegetaray123]

Woah! Those are nice lookin!

So do I understand correctly that you ordered directly from Alden?

How did that go? How long did they take?

Been thinking about doing that myself....

Thank you very much...

I did order them directly through Alden and the whole thing was the best experience I've had...Very smooth...Very professional...Obviously they won't do single pair orderd for Cordovan Leather but everything else is pretty much fair game...If I had the cash I would be putting an order in for another pair of Custom boots (Maybe in a wingtip) right now...Funds are low though due to some unforseen circumstances plus the pendind arrival of my new son the first part of next month...It's alright though because I'm sure these will last me a while...

I ordered them at the end of November I think and the order was confirmed and went into production in December...The estimated arrival date was the end of March or first part of April but as you can see they clearly came early...

[vegetaray123]

wow vegetaray123, jealousy fire here; thats one great collection of ALden boots. I still need to get my first pair :-( ; most shops won't ship the boots declared as gift so I'm hesitant to purchase

Slab you could always just have a friend buy you a pair here in the states and mail them too you declared as a gift...Technically they would be a gift after all...

[fre-co]

Those new avenues look pretty good, I assume they are new old stock? The only info I can see is a 1960s deadstock pair of The New Avenue shoes on some Japanese website.

Nice collection vegeteray123, I must say though I still prefer the normal colour to both your custom pairs.

[Xolotl]

Those new avenues look pretty good, I assume they are new old stock? The only info I can see is a 1960s deadstock pair of The New Avenue shoes on some Japanese website.

Nice collection vegeteray123, I must say though I still prefer the normal colour to both your custom pairs.

"new old stock" sounds reasonable. It would explain that there are no other sites which refer to "The New Avenue" as manufacturer. I guess the company doesn´t exist any more. I got the boots without cardboard box, so I have no other hints.

[Aries]

Here's a question for you experienced boot wearers.

My Alden cordovans have developed creases just before the toe cap as so:

Now this is perfectly normal I'm aware. The problem is after wearing for a while the creases begin to rub against the top of my foot (just behind the toes).

Has anyone else experienced similar? Does it go away (soften up) after wearing, or is there any remedy?

[Denim Phenom]

Obviously they won't do single pair orderd for Cordovan Leather but everything else is pretty much fair game...

This upsets me. I was told by Tom at Leather Soul that Alden will not do one off custom boots. If I had known they would, my Black Indy's would have been made long before the NYC shop had them done up.

I guess i'll know for the future.

[avonalliv8]

quick question: i wear a 12 in the alden indy and a 12 in the 9011.

is an 11.5 in the 8138 going to be ok?

[tmadd]

As per my recollection, I believe Alden suspended its MTO option a year or two ago and wouldn't confirm whether or not it would be an option again...I was not aware, but am happy to know that they are offering such an option again...although I'm not sure Alden makes anything I need in calfskin.

[jpsmith98]

Now this is perfectly normal I'm aware. The problem is after wearing for a while the creases begin to rub against the top of my foot (just behind the toes).

Has anyone else experienced similar? Does it go away (soften up) after wearing, or is there any remedy?

This is normal on a new pair of boots; it will go away with wear.

[Aries]

Cool, thanks for the reply.