Shoes that look better with age...

[duofold]

Yes...& adam of alden at carmel seems to do it right. I love the classic lines of the double leather soles, but in shitty climes, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with the added protection.

[partytaco]

sorry i guess these remind me a bit too much of John Fluevog shoes and the early to mid-90's. I agree in some regards that the sole is subtle...especially in the front but the heel looks a bit chunky especially when paired with a boot where the heel isn't flush with the lines of the back of the boot. Ultimately it's a matter of opinion...enjoy.

Here you go Greg...

[GregNYC]

partytaco and amlai - I'm in agreement about the commando soles. That is, I like them, but think they are much more fitting on boots used for doing mechanics, hunting, hiking, working around railroad yards, etc. Or for folks like me, *looking* like this even if I don't do it.

I'm not aware of traditional workwear boots being made in shell cordovan, and yet a commando sole, inspired by Vibram's 1936-designed Carrarmato lugs, is just for the kind of activities that you don't want to subject your shell cordovan to. Sure, shell is strong and the most water-resistant of all shoe leather, but imagine getting scratches and scuffs in it! You can't easily dye and polish it like good ol' cowhide. Plus, the expense of replacing the boots when they get stained, marred, scraped, cut and torn by the oils, grit, dirt, tools, lumber, rocks, fissures and crevasses. Shell cordovan? Fuhgeddaboudit! If a worker back in the day had shell cordovan footwear, I like to think they'd have saved them for Sunday socials, temporarily to be free of the signs of manual labor - one of which is the lug sole.

Of course these days we create and synthesize many different looks. People wear the toughest workwear to hang out at parties, or WWII-inspired diving wristwatches on non-waterproof straps to real-estate closings. So glossy shell cordovan boots with lug soles are a natural thing these days.

But me, I like the more traditional wisdoms of these boots. The purity of the shell or fine calfskin shoe/boot with a full leather sole that looks as good as the upper. The rough+tough cowhide work boot with a lug sole. And the gentleman's compromise, which is most often calfskin, but whose sole can go either way.....

[dunkin deeznuts]

Anyone have a good pic of one? Never seen them in person...

haha greg, you have seen them in person, just dont remember. you asked about my wingtip boots when we met for the RW exchange (the return) and I showed you the commando soles

just thought i would refresh your memory..

[amlai]

I'm not aware of traditional workwear boots being made in shell cordovan, and yet a commando sole, inspired by Vibram's 1936-designed Carrarmato lugs, is just for the kind of activities that you don't want to subject your shell cordovan to.

...

If a worker back in the day had shell cordovan footwear, I like to think they'd have saved them for Sunday socials, temporarily to be free of the signs of manual labor - one of which is the lug sole.

Well, I'm not aware of any traditional workwear boots made in shell cordovan either. But, just to know the history, my understanding is that shell cordovan was used primarily as a leather for razor stropping. Its use as a shoe leather was only investigated after Gillette introduced the Blue Blade razor in April of 1932 as tanneries struggled to find other uses for the leather.

So, when shell cordovan shoes first came out, I suspect that they were extremely inexpensive. Again, whether or not any traditional workwear boots were made out of this material, I don't know.

Edit: The various stories on web resources linking the use of shell to Gillette's Blue Blade razor are definitely incorrect. Additional research has shown that high end shoes were made using the material as least as far back as 1916: http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showpost.php?p=949285&postcount=6317

[denimdestroyedmylife]

This may be apocryphal, but I remember reading that shell cordovan boots became a prestige item because of their association with US Paratroopers, an elite set of dudes, yeah?! Formerly, they were used for inexpensive workboots.

[GregNYC]

That would be news to me. Might really be true. After all, horsehide is what the famous A-2 jackets were made from - I have a few of those repros.

[bathtime]

Some nice White's Semi-dress on the King of Boots site.

Brown with pull-tab + 269 vibram:

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/klax-on/071209b/

Tan + 269:

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/klax-on/071209c/

Cap-toe + 269:

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/klax-on/071209a/

[Bill2]

Re-soled my Indy's again...again. Decided the Cats' paws were alittle too heavy and clunky for these particular shoes for my taste.

Had Eddies Shoe repair (Thanks Greg!) do this job for me. Highest quality Italian leather soles; described by Greg as equally good looking as Rendenbach leather, but much more flexible. The Rendenbach's are probably more durable, but these feel super tasty on the feet!

Greg used a half sole as the leather for the all leather heels as well, so the logo's match front and back. The V slug in the heel was something I have never owned before, but the old school look of it worked on the Indy I thought. They sound great walking on concrete!

[Chicken]

Some nice White's Semi-dress on the King of Boots site.

for more than $800 a pop!

makes me glad i'm in the u.s. with things like these.

bill, awesome look. dressy indys. (i actually saw them in progress at eddie's last saturday.) how do they walk?

[familyman]

Cap-toe + 269:

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/klax-on/071209a/

Bloody hell. I was -this- close to asking Bill if Whites would do a cap toe on mine but it slipped my mind and I never got around to it. What a great looking boot.

[MiniW]

Here are my 1968 U.S. Army Vietnam jungle boots. From Genesco, a long-time U.S. govt contractor. Back from Alex's restoration process:

any chance these are shell cordovan? I'm really interested.

[GregNYC]

Bill - Hah! That's just what mine are gonna be, the ones I was calling the Superleather Indies. They're due tomorrow from B. Nelson, with Rendenbach and v-plates too. I remember all my dad's shoes used to have these right at the strike zone of the heel.

MiniW - No they're cowhide. Not so obvious in the picture are the small lines and cracks in the leather. Covered by layers of polish!

[Bill2]

for more than $800 a pop!

makes me glad i'm in the u.s. with things like these.

bill, awesome look. dressy indys. (i actually saw them in progress at eddie's last saturday.) how do they walk?

They walk really nice now....Good satisfying click from the V slug, and the Itialian leather soles have a really flexible feel to them. Super lightweight and easy to wear...which is exactly what I wanted....something to counterbalance all my cats' paw's stompers

[WhiteShark]

Bill,

thoes look amazing......*drools*

How much did that job run you?

I would love to have something like that

done myself.....but I'm curious,

what do you do when it rains?

[edmond]

hey bill any chance your selling your cats paw soles?

[WhiteShark]

Here are some pictures of my 2 year old aldens.

The heels are Cat paws.

I bought these the starting of my fresman year, and its the end of my junior year now.

[Chicken]

^ oh man, i believe those are cat's paws orthopedics.

do they make any different in comfort?

bill, quite a collection you have now with all the varieties.

[GregNYC]

^ oh man, i believe those are cat's paws orthopedics.

do they make any different in comfort?

Yeah, how about a close-up of the heel? Interesting question about the comfort. With the ortho shape I've noticed a bit less pronation/eversion (inner ankle leaning towards the ground). In cycling and running I have to guard against that.

[tmadd]

Bloody hell. I was -this- close to asking Bill if Whites would do a cap toe on mine but it slipped my mind and I never got around to it. What a great looking boot.

I asked Bill about this not too long ago, and according to him, Whites is no longer offering the cap toe...and honestly, as far as the semi-dress boots go, I think its probably for the better. I do like the pull tab and wonder if that option is available.

Bill...those leather soled and heeled Indys are killer...I think I might eventually go that route, or a similar one, with my Cigar Indys.

[familyman]

I asked Bill about this not too long ago, and according to him, Whites is no longer offering the cap toe...and honestly, as far as the semi-dress boots go, I think its probably for the better. I do like the pull tab and wonder if that option is available.

Ok, cool. The thought bounced around in my head after I saw it as a option on Wesco's site. I was just thinking that if wesco could do it then maybe...... it's cool though. I'm just so antsy to get my boots. I'm like an 8 year old on December 23. My wife is not amused.

[WhiteShark]

^ oh man, i believe those are cat's paws orthopedics.

do they make any different in comfort?

Honestly,

I don't have a clue.

The indy heels start out with orthopedic heels,

and I went right from thoes to the cat's paws. Dan, my cobbler said this

when I picked them up "your lucky, I have a whole stockpile of these heels

nobody ever needs them, they stopped making them, and if you ever need any

I have plenty." You can actually buy a new pair of the alden orto heels directly

from the factory. I actually bought a pair, and forgot to bring them with me when

I dropped the boots off, but I figured he would have some that would work.

These actually feel 40% better than the alden heels. He did a pretty good job on them. Most of the cobblers around here really suck, me and my dad have had

more than one bad experience, but we should have ben

Here is a closup picture as requested. I threw a new alden heel in there for comparison.

[GregNYC]

^Thanks for the photo, and thanks for a few days ago bringing up the #405 history. I'm really glad the 405s have been around so much longer than I thought!

[Aramyr]

You guys are terrible for the wallet. While I have one pair of the 405s, I think I could size down a bit, and love the honey vibrams on Chicken's pair. Don't even get me started on wanting to get a pair of cap toe shell cordos to go with my AF53s, and y'know, a pair of Edward Greens would be great, too..

[WhiteShark]

Np, Greg. Glad to be able to be helpful somehow.

Would you believe thats the only pair of Aldens i own

Infact, thats the only pair of fine shoes I own. I HAD a pair of

alden wingtips, but I sold them. I guess I'm just a 405 junkie.

for thoes of you who care,

I've downloaded all of the pictures in this thread containing aldens,

and they will be catalouged into my crazy insanse alden shoe gallery

by the end of this weekend. So instead of finding which page a shoe

was on, you can just look in the gallery.

http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/AldenShoes/

I'm in debt to a friend, but as soon as I have some cash I'm buying

another pair...hahahaha.

[Guest spazzz]

thank you so much for the alden pics, some of those are just amazing! thanks again!

[GregNYC]

Bill - any chance of getting some more photos of the leather soles, like both together next to each other? And maybe an action-shot w/ denim?

WhiteShark - great collection of Indymania! There are some old ones there too.

What does everyone wear on rainy days? If it's really pouring, I wear my waterproof Matterhorns. Light to medium rain like today, it;s the RW 8146's.

[fre-co]

When it is pissing down I tend to wear my wetherbys or 875s.

How much do 875s cost in NYC? I was wondering if I should get a better fitting pair when I visit.

[GregNYC]

How much do 875s cost in NYC? I was wondering if I should get a better fitting pair when I visit.

I've seen them from 2-pair for $150 (Shoe Mania, I have a contact there, send me a pm), to $179 (David Z).

[imightbechad]

Hope I'm not blowing up the spot for anyone, but these are insane:

Sheboygan x Cat's Paw