Shoes that look better with age...

[LeicaLad]

See!!! I knew it! Weirdly kindred spirits. Ha.

[Happy Hooligan]

I thought bridgestone went out of business?

[mizanation]

hey guys!

went to the greek today and saw a pair of beautiful shell cordovan bluchers in the window. i asked him about them and he said try them on. they fit PERFECTLY. they are a beautiful pair of allen edmond leeds in #8. exact size as me, 8.5 and the width is E--perfect! he gave me a great deal--$100. he said he was happy that these shoes went to me since he knows how much i love cordos and since these are the exact same shoes that i lost in the mail...

from the looks of 'em i figure they are about a couple years old.

i hate to admit it, but these allen edmonds shoes look better and fit better on me than the aldens. greg, you're right, for plain toe bluchers, you can't beat the leeds.

i think i am an alden edmonds convert... at least for non-boots.

for some reason, the quality of the leather is smoother and has a more brilliant reddish color than alden. i am not sure how this could be if they are both getting the leather from horween.... i know greg has seen this also.

also, my greek friend looked at my frye's and said that they are in great condition. no refurbishing necessary. he said to hit them with some mink oil if they need it later.

what a great day.

[skalogre]

hey guys!

went to the greek today and saw a pair of beautiful shell cordovan bluchers in the window. i asked him about them and he said try them on. they fit PERFECTLY. they are a beautiful pair of allen edmond leeds in #8. exact size as me, 8.5 and the width is E--perfect! he gave me a great deal--$100. he said he was happy that these shoes went to me since he knows how much i love cordos and since these are the exact same shoes that i lost in the mail...

from the looks of 'em i figure they are about a couple years old.

i hate to admit it, but these allen edmonds shoes look better and fit better on me than the aldens. greg, you're right, for plain toe bluchers, you can't beat the leeds.

i think i am an alden edmonds convert... at least for non-boots.

for some reason, the quality of the leather is smoother and has a more brilliant reddish color than alden. i am not sure how this could be if they are both getting the leather from horween.... i know greg has seen this also.

also, my greek friend looked at my frye's and said that they are in great condition. no refurbishing necessary. he said to hit them with some mink oil if they need it later.

what a great day.

:eek:

Now THAT is good luck!

[denimdestroyedmylife]

alden edmonds

that's up there w/ dior x eternal

hehehehehe

[dave023]

hey guys!

went to the greek today and saw a pair of beautiful shell cordovan bluchers in the window. i asked him about them and he said try them on. they fit PERFECTLY. they are a beautiful pair of allen edmond leeds in #8. exact size as me, 8.5 and the width is E--perfect! he gave me a great deal--$100. he said he was happy that these shoes went to me since he knows how much i love cordos and since these are the exact same shoes that i lost in the mail...

from the looks of 'em i figure they are about a couple years old.

i hate to admit it, but these allen edmonds shoes look better and fit better on me than the aldens. greg, you're right, for plain toe bluchers, you can't beat the leeds.

i think i am an alden edmonds convert... at least for non-boots.

for some reason, the quality of the leather is smoother and has a more brilliant reddish color than alden. i am not sure how this could be if they are both getting the leather from horween.... i know greg has seen this also.

also, my greek friend looked at my frye's and said that they are in great condition. no refurbishing necessary. he said to hit them with some mink oil if they need it later.

what a great day.

so, any pics of your next purchase??

[Chicken]

hey guys!

went to the greek today and saw a pair of beautiful shell cordovan bluchers in the window. i asked him about them and he said try them on. they fit PERFECTLY. they are a beautiful pair of allen edmond leeds in #8. exact size as me, 8.5 and the width is E--perfect! he gave me a great deal--$100. he said he was happy that these shoes went to me since he knows how much i love cordos and since these are the exact same shoes that i lost in the mail...

from the looks of 'em i figure they are about a couple years old.

i hate to admit it, but these allen edmonds shoes look better and fit better on me than the aldens. greg, you're right, for plain toe bluchers, you can't beat the leeds.

i think i am an alden edmonds convert... at least for non-boots.

for some reason, the quality of the leather is smoother and has a more brilliant reddish color than alden. i am not sure how this could be if they are both getting the leather from horween.... i know greg has seen this also.

also, my greek friend looked at my frye's and said that they are in great condition. no refurbishing necessary. he said to hit them with some mink oil if they need it later.

what a great day.

sweet man. now i have to come and check out your new shoes.

and i also need to hit up your shoe man for few projects.

[dave023]

Guys,

Today I got my Red wing chukka's 3140 back from the cobbler, he had to stretch them because they were killing my feet( right foot). The guy told me I should wear them for at least a whole week daily to be sure they'd keep the stretch...did any of you know about this?Onced stretched, can the turn back to their previous width??Tx

[mizanation]

that's up there w/ dior x eternal

hehehehehe

oops!

a little slip there. but a alden x allen collabo would be off the chain!

chicken: yeah, let me know when you're downtown!

dave: i've only had these babies for a couple hours now. i'll post some pics when i get a chance

[GregNYC]

Familyman - nice lines on that bike! Here's my custom Serotta track, horizontal dropouts:

Dave - pics of the RW 3140's? I can't find them online. I've found that shoe leather can't stretch more than 1/4 or 1/3 of a size, even with stretching solution and a week on the machine. If they depend on being on your feet to maintain the stretch (usually not necessary), I wonder if you will really get them comfortable. Good luck!

Miz - I think Allen Edmonds does a lot better than alden. I'm not alone in thinking that Alden's lasts are undistinguished. Kind of blobby and overly symmetrical like a light bulb. Not shaped to a foot. And their QC is not great, they don't hammer down the seams inside the shoe. The seams dig into your feet - even the employees there tell me so. That's why I had to try on so many 405s before finding one that felt as nice as my basic Red Wing 875s.

BTW, this is the only thread I know of anywhere, where folks talk knowledgeably about boots more than shoes. There are the erotic boot sites, but that's a different thing altogether!

[GregNYC]

they are a beautiful pair of allen edmond leeds in #8. exact size as me, 8.5 and the width is E--perfect! he gave me a great deal--$100. he said he was happy that these shoes went to me since he knows how much i love cordos

Pics, pics!!!

[mizanation]

yeah, greg, this pair of allen edmonds has really turned me into a believer. i forsee myself getting a pair of black shell cordo leeds sometime in the not so near future.

btw, my greek shoe guy also told me that i should put shoe trees in my frye's. he says the same care that you give a shoe is the same for a boot. are any of you guys putting trees in your redwings, indy's and other boots?

[skalogre]

...

btw, my greek shoe guy also told me that i should put shoe trees in my frye's. he says the same care that you give a shoe is the same for a boot. are any of you guys putting trees in your redwings, indy's and other boots?

All the time. The only shoe I wear that does not get a shoe tree is a pair of Puma Futurecats...

Did you see kronik's thread over at SF with those nice Woodlore shoe trees?

P.s. ok, I lied, there are those hefty Polo boots I have that I don't always use a tree. They seem impervious to any sort of damage and crease very little though. Rather scary actually, lol.

[snugglepony]

miza: i put plastic boot shapers and cedar boot trees (yes, there's a difference) in my frye cavalry boots, but not in my redwings (1905) or danners (mtn lt II)...

is that stupid?

[does that make me a dunk chain?]

[dave023]

I'm not sure but I think the RW 3140 are for the european market??

http://www.redwingshoe-europe.com/

They're still very new, so I hope that once they're completely broken in they'll be comfortable...

Here some pics from the european red wing site:

And on my personal collection:

Cheers

[GregNYC]

Oh yeah, I didn't check the Europe site for the 3140s. They look comfortable now. They're gonna get some stains, er patina, from your raw denim! My 875s (no shoe trees) are getting darker all the time.

[GregNYC]

Did you see kronik's thread over at SF with those nice Woodlore shoe trees?

That site is a little overwhelming, I dont' get over there as much as I should. What's the thread name, post number? The shoe damage/porn thread? There are several shoe threads, some stickies. My shoe trees are cedar from Alden and AE. I know there are better ones out there, and cheaper ones as well! I don't use them as much as other shoe nuts though.

Airfrog, do you use them on your Indies?

[skalogre]

That site is a little overwhelming, I dont' get over there as much as I should. What's the thread name, post number? The shoe damage/porn thread? There are several shoe threads, some stickies. My shoe trees are cedar from Alden and AE. I know there are better ones out there, and cheaper ones as well! I don't use them as much as other shoe nuts though.

Airfrog, do you use them on your Indies?

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=28783&highlight=woodlore

[airfrogusmc]

Nah I just wear'm. I do put shoe trees in my dress shoes though.

[mizanation]

skalogre, i buy my shoe trees retail from my shoe guy for $20. they are made out of cedar and well shaped. they don't have the alden branding but i don't care about that--not worth the extra $30 to me.

[skalogre]

skalogre, i buy my shoe trees retail from my shoe guy for $20. they are made out of cedar and well shaped. they don't have the alden branding but i don't care about that--not worth the extra $30 to me.

If they are well shaped and 20.00, that is good. I grabbed two of those under Kronik's group buy ($19 each then) , I really like them. I stopped using the other ones I had since getting them.

P.s. Alden branding?

[polishmike]

I got a pair of suede Charles Tyrwhitt chelsea boots. I guess they won't look better with age but I couldn't pass them up on sale for $150.

[superBobo]

I use shoe trees in "all" my Red Wings now. I figured it´s nice to postpone the creasing and get some foot sweat out of them

[GregNYC]

I got a pair of suede Charles Tyrwhitt chelsea boots. I guess they won't look better with age but I couldn't pass them up on sale for $150.

They make some good shoes for a good price. Pics? Sometimes I get in a retro 60s mood and am tempted to get some Clark's desert boots.

[GregNYC]

Thanks skalogre. I guess mine aren't so bad....

[viv1984viv]

there was a guy on supermarket selling those exact clarks in my size, he never PMd me back. I think im going to look to clarks rather than tywhitt for shoes because I can try em on. Also I ride a bike with pins in the pedals and the rubber soles would be better suited for that. I have allways had bad memories of clarks and startright because my mum insisted I have my shoes fitted properly when I was younger, anyways a couple days ago I walked into a clarks, just to kill some time really, and found the clarks originals.....Wow, I counted about 4 pairs that seemed vital and that I needed.

[polishmike]

These are the ones I got. I can take my own pictures tomorrow.

I need something that I can wear with jeans and I'm pretty satisfied with them.

I was also thinking about picking these up

but I can't stop thinking about Alden Chukka #8 and I know that as soon as I see them they will be mine.

[GregNYC]

Is Alden Chukka #8 from Hawaii?

[GregNYC]

So what do you guys think about suede in general for boots? I have mixed feelings about it, but the Clarks do appeal to my retro-ness... Shoe Mania on 34th Street has them.

[fallen angels]

So what do you guys think about suede in general for boots? I have mixed feelings about it, but the Clarks do appeal to my retro-ness... Shoe Mania on 34th Street has them.

i really like Clark desert boots in dark brown suede. i think they work well with more casual-but-nice outfits, and "tones down" your overall look a little bit since the suede isnt shiny like finished leather. on top of that, Clarks are damn comfortable once broken in. if theyre on sale, i'd say get them for the hell of it- there should be some suede in every leather shoe collection!