Shoes that look better with age...

[thelion1856]

damn bill i think those look pretty damn sweet, u get them thrifting you said?

[mizanation]

ok guys. my birthday is coming up which gives me an excuse to buy another pair of shoes.

since i have the alden cap toe boots, i'm thinking of getting something in black.

i'm thinking the alden 9901 black shell cordovan. timeless classic, could become my defacto black dress shoe. goes great with suits and slacks, but not sure about jeans...

or, maybe the plain toe black shell cordovan lace up boot.

i'm thinking of sticking with alden because i know my friend at the store will give me a good deal.

any suggestions, opinions???

btw, i will post pics of my cordovan boots, they look great after my trip to asia.

[LeicaLad]

Miz. Frankly, shell cordovan is wasted on black. Hell, a pair of Rockports will do for black. If you’re thinking special, I’d be thinking of the Whiskey Shell Cordovans, the Masterworks Special Reserve AF21. Somewhere on the AAAF forum, there was a thread about ‘em, with multiple pictures. Damn! Now that is an amazing pair of shoes! Drawback? Besides price is the availability. Depending on size and stock, delivery may be up to a year. Sigh.

Otherwise? If ya gotta do it, the Shell Chukka AF11.

I think I’m grateful that I don’t live anywhere near good dealers. I’d be broke. But I like living vicariously. Post photos of your choice!

P.S. -- I was one who voted against wearing the cordovan boots to Asia. Guess I was wrong. Write up your experiences.

[mizanation]

hey leicalad, as always, thanks for the advice. maybe i should just get a pair of high-quality calfskin? although, many, many people on askandy have black shell cordos...

btw, i didn't take the shell cordovans to thailand, i only wore them in tokyo where it was freezing. in thailand, i wore my chacos for the most part, and they really came through for me.

while in thailand, i had a slim black single-breasted two-button suit tailored for me. i need a pair of black shoes to complete the asian assasin look that i'm going for.

p.s. i love the whisky shells, but, i am not ready to wear them now. i have to work my way up to them. they are way too special for me to wear at this point!

[mizanation]

hmmm. the plot thickens.

i have read that old black alden 9901's have variations in color, which may or may not be a good thing.

i am aware of the gunboat style of the barrie last. allen edmond's leeds has a sleeker style. i will check out the c&j weymouth.

the main thing is, i need something that can be spit-shined and would look good with a skinny suit. looking good with jeans is a plus.

[dave023]

You wanted some shoes that looked better with age, have a look at those babies...

You fashion guys all know the Belgian designer Dirk Bikkembergs, well following you'll find some Bikkembergs black leather boots I bought in Belgium almost 12 years ago,

Bought them in the factory whom made them in Antwerp, BELGIUM....BTW I'm Belgian too

Japanese people on this site might know them...they were really hot in Japan...

Might be willing to sell them..

Size 9.5 or 43 , but will fit a 44 or 10 ( since I wear size 10)

[mizanation]

i went ahead and got another pair of alden shell cordovans. my excuse is that it was my birthday. this time a black boot with the medallion toe. got them at the alden store where they were on sale. btw, they are having a sale in january on their shell cordovan blutchers, shoes and some of their boots.

[Chicken]

^ no cordo indys?

happy b-day miz!

EDIT: by the way, i meant if cordo indys were on sale, too. my question didn't seem clear enough the second time i read it.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

happy birthday, miz.

nice choice on the new aldens. why no pics?

just to weigh in on the anti-black cordo sentiment expressed on this page: i certainly think black cordovan has its place. the matter of color and patina aside, the way that the material molds to your feet is inimitable. beyond that, i like the dull glow of black cordovan over the high-polish of black leather. another thing, the black color doesn't negate the great durability of cordovan. my last point----THE WAVES!!!

[viv1984viv]

y'know, everynow and then I find myself buying a cardigan, or some shirts or recoiling at polyester and I catch myself and think, "god viv! your growing up!" For quite some time I have considered cordovans to be shoes that signify my becoming a gent. I cant afford them now ( or justify them ) but cannot wait till I can own and break in a pair. Im probably being a bit romantic about these things.

Anyhow, regarding this notion, I think you should invest in the masterworks Miz. I dont know how old you are but it would be a nice thing to do for your next significant birthday. Happy birthday Miz.

[LeicaLad]

Hey Miz! Happy Birthday to you, too. I’m unsure of time differences here: does this mean you’re a Pearl Harbor (day) baby? That would make it easy for friends and family to remember! ☺

You’re totally right about the whiskey shells. It’d take some major suits and very particular settings to do justice to those babies. They sure are beautiful, tho.

The AAAF site is entertaining. I certain learn stuff reading there, but I get the distinct impression that most of these guys would be/are horrified to sully the soles of their fine shoes on anything but polished hardwood and carpeting. I’m curious to see them, but don’t quite see the appeal of $1,500+ bespoke John Lobbs.

Lifestyle is a rather significant issue here. I have chosen to be as far out there as I can: borders, physical or otherwise, being a major factor in my life. Fine shoes get trashed where I go.

My past shell cordovan experience hasn’t been good. In London, with much more money than brains, I did an impulse purchase of TWO pair of hand grade C&J brogues, one in cordovan and one in black. I bought them on Jermyn Street. (Did I say more $$ than brains?) After a couple fine years of wear, I disappeared up into the far north of Burma, and the bespoke suits, shirts and fine shoes were left in storage in Bangkok. When I returned, both pair had split right along the welt. Every shoe man/cobbler I showed them to, including schlepping them back to the US, practically cried. A result of tropical storage. It was sufficiently heartbreaking that I didn't purchased any fine dress shoes for some 5 years. (Of course, in Burma, formal dress requires silk sarongs (longyis) and velvet slippers, which are utterly cool and very, very inexpensive!)

Anyway, I’m about to make up for lost time. My first pair of Tricker’s arrived this a.m. These were an impractical impulse purchase, but I got ‘em for a song. They have, however, convinced me that I need more!! Gads, they are built like tanks. No wonder they’re called Trickers Trompers. Those soles are thick and very stiff.

Still, what I actually need ('need' always being relative, eh?) is a pair of Alden Fan versions of the Indy boot. Given that I’m tromping on mountain roads over-seeing engineers building roads, or marching across fields as part of poppy survey teams, a nice pair of those beautiful cordovan lace-ups just ain’t what I should be wearing. Sigh. But, I’ve order a cheaper pair of Aldens so I can figure out the sizing. (I’m right between a 10.5 and 11, which means I can’t just order my ‘regular’ size. That said, the UK 10 is almost always right.)

SO, all I want are lots of cool pictures of fine shoes getting finer with care and use -- and the occasional story that goes with 'em. And I’ll know never to store fine shoes in the tropics again.

P.S. - Take a look at the C&J Weymouths. They’re really interesting to look at. The current thread on C&J shoes in AAAF has photos of ‘em, too.

P.P.S.-- and another thanks for having started such a great thread!

[mizanation]

thanks guys for the b-day shoutouts!

ddml: indeed, black corodovan does have its place. i, too, prefer undulations over creases for some reason. the guy at the alden store (the owner's son) has like 5 pairs of shell cordovan--all except one or two are black. also, i see so many people with black shell cordovan on the askandy forum, so it must have a purpose... the reason i don't have any pics of my boots (and my denime lee repros, and my pbj xx-005 blacks, and my new saddle leather wallet, etc., etc.) is, frankly, i've been too busy drinking. hopefully, i will not drink tonight so i can take some pics, but i can't promise anything....

chicken: being a traditionalist, i would get the regular indy's over the shell indy's. first of all the price, second of all, i feel the indy's are supposed to be beat up mercilessly and i just can't get myself to do that to shell cordovan... even if the shell cordos were on sale (which they would never be), you could still probably buy 2 pairs of regular indy's... plus, the new york alden store doesn't have the shell indy (they were amazed when i told them about it).

viv: birthday aside, i also find it interesting to realize how much i've grown up. not only me, but i see all my friends doing the same. even jay-z is wearing samurai denim. as he says, "I paid a grip for the jeans, plus the slippers is clean. No chrome on the wheels, I'm a grown-up for real!" when i was a kid, i thought that being a grown-up would be boring, but i'm having more and more fun every year.

[mizanation]

leicalad! always enjoy reading your posts. it's a shame our schedules didn't work out so that we couldn't meet in thailand. well, now i have an excuse to go back

buying C&J's off jermyn street is a luxury many shoe fanatics dream of. such a sad story about your shoes. i could see how that could traumatize you.

next time i go to london, i promised myself i would get me a pair of trickers. please post pics of your new trompers!

in the tropics, you might need to build a protective shoe storage case, no? kinda like a humidor...

[coleslawyum]

Hey miz, there are shell indy's? Amazing. I kinda dig those AF21's. That might be my next joint, if it weren't for all these other f**kin' shoes I want to get. I'll be in the poorhouse soon, but at least my jeans and shoes will look fly.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

check out leathersoulhawaii for the cordo indys

special order kind of affair

actually, search this thread. pics are in here somewhere.

[mizanation]

which makes me wonder, if we as superfuturians wanted to create the ultimate custom superfuture alden boot, what would it be? if we get 15 people we can have them make it. coleslaw, maybe you could design it?

[denimdestroyedmylife]

i'd like a pair of brogued black shell cordo indys

[LeicaLad]

i'd like a pair of brogued black shell cordo indys

Oooooh. Yeeesssss! But I want the full-on lugged Vibram sole. Okay?

[LeicaLad]

Miz,

Sigh. Storage in the tropics is a never-ending battle to find the balance of humidity and heat. The major enemies are fungus and mold. Moreover, exposure to serious pockets of fungus and mold (like digging stuff out from ill-conceived storage) can cause serious health repercussions. (But that’s a different long story.)

I thought I was a clever chap, so I created an entire ‘dry storage room’, with significant dehumidifier units. While my photographs, camera gear and lacquer ware were generally happy, neither wines nor leather goods were. Wine corks turned brittle (in spite of being laid down), and leather dried out. Of course, the alternative was too much heat for the wine and leather turning green with mold. Call it ‘rock and a hard place.’

Ideal are large houses with massive central a/c units running 24/7. Given my lifestyle, roller coaster economics and absences of up to 6 months at a stretch, that has never been an option for me. Thus, I pay the price(s). The smart response would be to reduce possessions to those needed and in use. I did that for a while, but my basic packrat and collector tendencies have repeatedly (and yet again) gained ascendance.

I still run multiple rotations of desiccants through the boxes, but have given up running the dehumidifiers.

Books are the major losers. I love my books, but the tropics are really bad for them. And, from what I can tell, ANY storage of books in the tropics ages them at the speed of light. I have a doctorate in political anthropology, and am thus a reader. So this on-going loss/demise is a really deep sadness. I think my only eventual solution will be to build a big bonfire and determine the appropriate dance(s) to do in honor of their sacrifice. (I’ll probably be arrested both for the fire AND the dances!)

Such is life, eh?

Ah, it would be nice to rendezvous in Thailand. Keep me posted on your next run. Everyone meets up eventually in Thailand (IMHO). My wife and 9 yr-old daughter are there, while I’m off in the ‘danger’ post (AKA: FANA post = families are not allowed) in Peshawar. I’ll be back in Thailand for Xmas and New Years. Can’t wait.

Oh, yeah. The Trickers. Post #1000 is them, but the flash makes the contrast between uppers and soles too much. In real life, they are a great balance. I'm taking more photos, but ALL my cameras are film based.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

Oooooh. Yeeesssss! But I want the full-on lugged Vibram sole. Okay?

you read my mind!

[mizanation]

ah, vibram. such a great, great invention. does anyone have any experience with cat's paw? it's also pretty popular in japan.

leicalad, i guess in tropical southeastern asia, buddhism is the way to go. embracing the idea of impermanence and the futility of possession could make things a lot easier for a chronic collector...

umm, can we make the color of the superfuture boot whiskey instead of black???

[denimdestroyedmylife]

yeah.... whiskey would be nice.

would be redundant having two black cordo boots.

i LOVE the cat's paw logo.

real mccoys puts out a "cats paw" sweatshirt that i covet

sigh.

the company is (was?) from baltimore, MD, IIRC

[xcoldricex]

happy birthday miz! my next pair of shoes will be a pair of alden cordo's probably... will have to make use of your hookup!

[partytaco]

i have cats paws on my lone wolfs and i've had no problems...most comfortable boots i have.

ah, vibram. such a great, great invention. does anyone have any experience with cat's paw? it's also pretty popular in japan.

leicalad, i guess in tropical southeastern asia, buddhism is the way to go. embracing the idea of impermanence and the futility of possession could make things a lot easier for a chronic collector...

umm, can we make the color of the superfuture boot whiskey instead of black???

[partytaco]

anyone interested in aldens should check out Anatomicas selection next time they might be in Paris....or call them they might be able to send pictures or do phone orders. They make a few boots/shoes just for them and they are amoung the nicest Aldens I have seen...pricey though...i think around $800.

happy birthday miz! my next pair of shoes will be a pair of alden cordo's probably... will have to make use of your hookup!

[mizanation]

hey guys, i just came back from visiting my local shoe repair man on wall street. if you remember, he's the very, very old greek dude named minas.

anyways, i told him i got another pair of cordovans, to which he replied (in his trademark thick greek accent), "good! you deserve it!" then he said, "next time, i'll make you a pair of shell cordovans. i'll show you my skills." swear to god he said this. he added, "i get my leather from chicago, that's the only place in the world where they make it. the butt of the horse."

so, looks like i might be able to get a custom pair made! seems like he doesn't do this often, so i feel pretty spiffy. when i asked him when this could go down, he said "someday. let me prepare."

[superBobo]

i have cats paws on my lone wolfs and i've had no problems...most comfortable boots i have.

Any pics of your Lone wolfs? Got those from rakuten?

[Aramyr]

Wow, that's awesome, Miz! My pair of AF53s from Alden of Carmel just showed up yesterday, and already I'm trying to decide what to get for my next pair of cordos.

[crownzip]

A pair of WWII service shoes look very cool with my '44 501s and '42 Lee jeans.

[airfrogusmc]

Those look great!!!!