Shoes that look better with age...

[heinrich BCN]

Wow, they look well made, how much did you pay for them and where did you get them?

[rodeo bill]

here for you rodeo bill and jubei if you want to look and compare it with the one on ebay. This is label as the chestnut color. But it has darken alot since i bought it. It used to be kind of orange like the trickers but now is more like brown. Give it a good shine today. Lexol cleaner, lexol conditioner and finally applied meltonian cream. I really like this pair, it is my first real leather shoe. 7 or 9 years ago. my mom said is too old for my age at that time. But i told her it is a must buy for that price and never regret buying it. One thing that amaze me the most is the gold printing inside the shoe. It is still very shiny and show no sign of fading. Compare to my trickers, it disappear already. Hope this is not too many pics here.

these are great fbf- thanks for posting . I can see they've aged really beautifully, although I'm guessing if you've had them over 7 years you can;t have worn them all that often?

my only comment would be on the laces- I read somewhere that casual shoes should have flat ribbon laces (like yours) and formal shoes should have tubular, or at least narrow ribbon laces. Personally I agree with this, and I think yours would look better with less chunky laces. Only my opininion though, they;re beautiful shoes!

[rodeo bill]

Just got these tonight... reproduction wwii

these are great HH!

how are the toes? are they reinforced?

I noticed the sole and heel have exactly the same patterns as my repro WWII roughout boot, although yours are separate and mine's in one piece. I guess this is just copied from the same source, unless yours were made in Japan, in which case could be from the same factory?

edit- that was a really dumb post- they;re not the same at all... buit i guess they are both working from the same original. nice boots anyway!

[Mich]

Some very nice boots aho and Happy Hooligan, i love the stitching pattern on the soles.

Good to read everything worked out fine with your Aldens Akilae.

Anyone has recommendation for a thin leather insole that wont bend.

I use leather insoles from the brand Viva, the shoe store where my gf works sells them, and i have to say they work out fine for me.

I don't know if they're also sold in the US.

[jubei]

fbf - thanks for sharing! That's pretty much exactly the color I'm looking for. One more question: do you know if they tend to come in different widths? I have very narrow feet, so I usually need a b or c ( unless the last happens to be narrow)

[lenn]

aho - that pair of aldens looks fucking perfect, it's actually exactly the model i'm looking for at the moment. i went to a shop today in holland that actually carries alden to my surprise, but they didn't have any of the nicer models i see floating around the board

[Mich]

Do you mean Sir Max lenn?

I've thought of paying a visit to that shop, but if it's not worth wile i'm saving myself the trouble.

[lenn]

No, i went to Hermans Shoes in Utrecht. Great shop, they carry Edward Green and Crockett and Jones too. The staff was pretty helpful too, altho they gave me a weird look because i just went to school first, so it wasn't like i had a nice bespoke suit on. Bitches cant appreciate selvage denimz i guess.

[tahonng]

Wow, they look well made, how much did you pay for them and where did you get them?

Bump because I'd like to know the same. Awesome looking boots, Happy.

[fattybfat]

these are great fbf- thanks for posting . I can see they've aged really beautifully, although I'm guessing if you've had them over 7 years you can;t have worn them all that often?

my only comment would be on the laces- I read somewhere that casual shoes should have flat ribbon laces (like yours) and formal shoes should have tubular, or at least narrow ribbon laces. Personally I agree with this, and I think yours would look better with less chunky laces. Only my opininion though, they;re beautiful shoes!

thanks rodeo bill, it comes with two ribbon laces when i got it. And i should have thought about tubular laces. Good that you let me know, maybe i will go get some today and try it out. for the past 5 or 6 years, i probably did not even wear it.

[fattybfat]

fbf - thanks for sharing! That's pretty much exactly the color I'm looking for. One more question: do you know if they tend to come in different widths? I have very narrow feet, so I usually need a b or c ( unless the last happens to be narrow)

Jubei:

it has been a long time ago when i bought it, but i do think they have different width. I have narrow feet too ©, i bought the D width since it doesnt have other option for me back then. My was the last pair. But It fit very well, but it stretch abit over time.

Mich:

thanks for the info on the leather sole, i will go check to see if they are available, but maybe i will try with the cork sole first.

[Happy Hooligan]

these are great HH!

how are the toes? are they reinforced?

I noticed the sole and heel have exactly the same patterns as my repro WWII roughout boot, although yours are separate and mine's in one piece. I guess this is just copied from the same source, unless yours were made in Japan, in which case could be from the same factory?

edit- that was a really dumb post- they;re not the same at all... buit i guess they are both working from the same original. nice boots anyway!

I think these are from At the front. The seller didn't say, but I'm pretty sure.

The toes are just leather as far as I know. The boots aren't perfect but they'll work for me till I find an original pair someday....

[Mich]

No, i went to Hermans Shoes in Utrecht. Great shop, they carry Edward Green and Crockett and Jones too. The staff was pretty helpful too, altho they gave me a weird look because i just went to school first, so it wasn't like i had a nice bespoke suit on. Bitches cant appreciate selvage denimz i guess.

Lol, didn't really expect shoe clerks to be into dry denimz, especially not in Holland.

Do you know Sir Max? It's in 'de negen straatjes' , they also seem to stock Alden, Crockett&Jones, Edward Green.

website

[lenn]

i didn't know about it, and that really really bothers me, as i must have passed by that store quite a few times by now. i looked up the website after your post, and i'm definitely checking it out next time i'm there. i'll post a report of the store when i've visited it.

does anyone from amsterdam (uinku? you work in the 9 streets, right?) know if this stores carries some fine aldens?

[JGP.]

Hey Guys,

I recently got a pair of GT's and wore them for the first time today. They definitely are going to need some break in, and after walking in them for a day I think that I should definitely buy some insoles...

I remember seeing somewhere in this thread a recommendation for insoles, but I can't find it now. Any recommendations for insoles to be used in Red Wings? The fit is already pretty tight so I don't want something that is going to take up a ton of space...

Thanks

[jo3 b]

here for you rodeo bill and jubei if you want to look and compare it with the one on ebay. This is label as the chestnut color. But it has darken alot since i bought it. It used to be kind of orange like the trickers but now is more like brown. Give it a good shine today. Lexol cleaner, lexol conditioner and finally applied meltonian cream. I really like this pair, it is my first real leather shoe. 7 or 9 years ago. my mom said is too old for my age at that time. But i told her it is a must buy for that price and never regret buying it. One thing that amaze me the most is the gold printing inside the shoe. It is still very shiny and show no sign of fading. Compare to my trickers, it disappear already. Hope this is not too many pics here.

]

these are c&j's i believe.

really good to know that they darken over time. as beautiful as the 'tan burnished calf' is, i prefer a nice deep brown.

[Akilae]

Hey Guys,

I recently got a pair of GT's and wore them for the first time today. They definitely are going to need some break in, and after walking in them for a day I think that I should definitely buy some insoles...

I remember seeing somewhere in this thread a recommendation for insoles, but I can't find it now. Any recommendations for insoles to be used in Red Wings? The fit is already pretty tight so I don't want something that is going to take up a ton of space...

Thanks

GregNYC liked the Mephisto Runoff Cork inserts. I tried them out today and like them a lot. The gel inserts stuff were a bit too formless and springy for my taste. The Mephisto cork inserts were firm and felt better on my feet, and also held my feet pretty good.

Compared to Dr. Scholl's gel inserts, both are about the same in thickness, however they do differ at the heel. The gel inserts had a wider footprint at the heel and thinner, while the Runoffs were slimmer and slight thicker.

Whatever you put in there will take up space though. Maybe just put in some heel inserts?

[.jacob]

How do Alden shoes run in terms of size? I typically wear an 11 but I'm looking at some 11.5 Indys.

[grilled cheese]

these are c&j's i believe.

really good to know that they darken over time. as beautiful as the 'tan burnished calf' is, i prefer a nice deep brown.

These are C&J Belgraves. I have them. They are dope.

[Curious_George]

How do Alden shoes run in terms of size? I typically wear an 11 but I'm looking at some 11.5 Indys.

A little big from my experience. I wear a 11.5 normally and went down to an 11 (although I went up to an E width) for a good fit with mine. A lot of others seem to go true to size, however. But I don't think they'd fit well sized up.

[Mich]

^^ Agreed, you'd best go true to size on Indy's.

i'll post a report of the store when i've visited it.

please do, i'm pretty interested!

[cheep]

gokey boots... many many years old. my best guess would be 25+, and ive had em for almost 3 years

[rodeo bill]

^^ these are beautiful Cheep:) what;s the story with gokey boots? I've heard of them but i had no idea what they were. is it a brand name? model name? general boot type? any info (plus more photos!) much appreciated!

edit- and are those leather laces?

[cheep]

its an old brand... been around since 1850... hand made boots.

heres a page i found on the history of the brand.

http://www.orvis.com/intro.asp?subject=1176

and... no, not leather laces.

[rodeo bill]

its an old brand... been around since 1850... hand made boots.

heres a page i found on the history of the brand.

http://www.orvis.com/intro.asp?subject=1176

and... no, not leather laces.

brilliant- thanks a lot! and the shop you linked to has a London shop as well- I'll have to check them out

[rodeo bill]

^^nice tanuki by the way. Yelp:D

[slt]

These are C&J Belgraves. I have them. They are dope.

Not that it's a big deal, but I also have the CJ Belgraves, and they are different from the RL's here in a couple of ways.

The Belgrave have a closed channel sole whereas the sole on the RL isn't closed, and another difference is that the RL has a rounded toe, which is quite different from the slightly square toe of the 337 last.

Even though I'm quite sure the RL is not a Belgrave with another name, it could still very well be by CJ, as far as I can see from the nail pattern on the heel.

[morse9443]

Hey Guys,

I recently got a pair of GT's and wore them for the first time today. They definitely are going to need some break in, and after walking in them for a day I think that I should definitely buy some insoles...

I remember seeing somewhere in this thread a recommendation for insoles, but I can't find it now. Any recommendations for insoles to be used in Red Wings? The fit is already pretty tight so I don't want something that is going to take up a ton of space...

Thanks

A bit late on this, but if you're short on space, I've found the best insoles to be the Spenco thinsoles, especially the 3/4 length ones.

http://www.bestinsoles.com/Spenco-THINSOLE-ORTHOTIC-34-Length-ARCH-SUPPORTS-RX-43-240_p_146-838.html

[40ozprophet]

Semi-Dress arrived yesterday. Oh joy. Thank you so much Bill!

[grilled cheese]

Not that it's a big deal, but I also have the CJ Belgraves, and they are different from the RL's here in a couple of ways.

The Belgrave have a closed channel sole whereas the sole on the RL isn't closed, and another difference is that the RL has a rounded toe, which is quite different from the slightly square toe of the 337 last.

Even though I'm quite sure the RL is not a Belgrave with another name, it could still very well be by CJ, as far as I can see from the nail pattern on the heel.

You are correct sir. I gave a quick glance at that solitary picture and made a snap call. These are C&Js however--they have a history of making better made RL shoes.