Shoes that look better with age...

[mizanation]

thanks for the suggestions. i just filed a complaint. i heard that sometimes when you file a complaint, the mailman has a change of heart and gives the stuff back.

ska - yeah, i've heard some bad things about fedex, too. ups tends to be very stable. also dhl.

superstar, they were definitely sent. i see the tracking info on the site.

i really hate these guys. this shit happens all the time. the problem in new york is that every civil service worker usually doesn't give a shit about the job they do. they have the crappiest attitudes and give the worst service. it's really unreal. anytime you go to the dmv, to the courthouse or to the post office it's like going to hell.

*EDIT*: oh and i almost forgot. the MTA. i don't know where they get these fucking assholes. completely worthless, the lot of 'em.

END OF RANT.

[Chicken]

^ that sucks a big cock, my friend.

[coleslawyum]

Hey miz, someone from your building might have swiped it. Post ppl sometimes just drop on the front steps. That's happend to me before. Maybe you can post a reward for returing them to you.

[mizanation]

true, true. i hate the dishonesty of people!!!!

[GregNYC]

So sorry to hear Miz! In the future, can you have stuff delivered to the office? I used to do that till I moved into a bldg that has 24-hr doormen. One time I got a huge Panerai box about the size of a microwave oven. Took a cab home from work that day.

Here's hoping it turns up!

[mizanation]

yeah, from now on, all things big and small will be delivered to my office.

[ang_kangkong]

Check the post office first, then start checking your apartment-mates' feet from now on.

A throat-chop maybe be in order.

[mizanation]

on a lighter note, i saw a very well dressed guy in the elevator with some very nice wingtips.

i said, "nice shoes".

he looked up from his blackberry and said, "thanks."

"what kind are they."

"oh, they're a brand called church's" (i notice a slight irish accent)

"church's, huh? so, did you get them in london?"

he looks at me strangely, "umm, yeah."

"on jermyn street?"

"no...i get them at the airport."

"cool."

he continues, "churches are my favorite, i have 8 pairs. people think i'm crazy for buying $500 shoes." he seemed chuffed.

"i know the feeling. i'm partial to aldens myself. heard of them?"

"no."

"they're like the church's of the united states."

"nice."

we said our good-byes and parted.

[dave023]

Miz,

Who wins the battle Church's shoes vs Alden shoes??

Quality and style?

[dave023]

Personally I'm partial to Paraboot...

[polishmike]

Miz, I once filed a complaint at USPS cause they wouldn't deliver packages on time. They would tell me that nobody was home but I was always there. So after the complaint half of my mail stopped arriving on time or at all. I kept calling and bitching and nothing changed till I spoke to my next door neighbor (big Italian guy, drives a lincoln ) who had the same problem. By some miracle two weeks later we had a different mailman and a different parcel delivery guy.

[Chicken]

but you guys never had that conversation.

[mizanation]

dave023 - neither wins, man. church's has a venerable tradition as does alden. they have different styles and looks. alden wins in the shell cordovan department--primarily because they don't focus on that in britain, but for calf-skin, it's hard to beat the great shoe dynasties like church's, loakes, tricker's, edward green, etc. it also depends on what you are looking for. british shoes look more streamlined. aldens look more heavy-duty and boxy. the casual observer would probably prefer the look of the british shoe makers. i like to be different, so i go with alden. also, it could be a patriotic thing as well....

polishmike, i hope the guy who does my mail gets fired.... or wakes up with a severed horse head.

[dave023]

dave023 - neither wins, man. church's has a venerable tradition as does alden. they have different styles and looks. alden wins in the shell cordovan department--primarily because they don't focus on that in britain, but for calf-skin, it's hard to beat the great shoe dynasties like church's, loakes, tricker's, edward green, etc. it also depends on what you are looking for. british shoes look more streamlined. aldens look more heavy-duty and boxy. the casual observer would probably prefer the look of the british shoe makers. i like to be different, so i go with alden. also, it could be a patriotic thing as well....

polishmike, i hope the guy who does my mail gets fired.... or wakes up with a severed horse head.

Must admit that the shell cordovan is absolutely superb!!

As soon as I'm going to New York will have to stop by Madison Avenue:D

[GregNYC]

Church's doesn't have any models I like so I haven't pursued them too much. But according to lots of folks at styleforum, they have fallen from better times, better quality. I think Alden beats them now. But I agree with Miz, the great shoe houses like Loak's, Edward Green, Lobb, even Crockett & Jones beat both Alden and Church these days.

[mizanation]

^^^ well, at least in calfskin.

[GregNYC]

I also tend to favor the American look. Which is why I love my Allen Edwards retro secret agent shoes over the longer, narrower British lasts. My father had very good taste and wore this kind of shoe all through the skinny-tie era of the late 40's to early 60's. I never saw any shoes anywhere like them till I saw the Leeds at AE.

[skalogre]

Church's doesn't have any models I like so I haven't pursued them too much. But according to lots of folks at styleforum, they have fallen from better times, better quality. I think Alden beats them now. But I agree with Miz, the great shoe houses like Loak's, Edward Green, Lobb, even Crockett & Jones beat both Alden and Church these days.

FYI, Loake can be rather iffy. Depends on the range, the 1880 (IIRC) can be pretty damn decent, many others though... blech. Plus when Loake sold a lot of rebranded shoes through Charles Tyrwhitt, many people over at SF reported disturbing quality control problems, which did not seem to be the case with their own branded shoes...

[mizanation]

yeah, i'm partial to the american look as well. it's probably considered square, but i never liked fitting in anyways.

these days, it can be hit or miss no matter where you get your shoes from. the top level shoes from every company tend to be of uniformly good quality though. is this correct?

[GregNYC]

Skal - I've heard on Ask Andy that Loakes makes lots of the shoes under the Chalres Tyrwhitt name.

Miz - some shoe models by top notch makers still don't cut it. I saw a real lemon at John Lobb. I went to their Madison Ave. shop to try on their chelsea boots. Their chelsea boots at that time had only one pull loop - at the back. It was made of leather. The loop on the sample model had broken! This is to be expected. One leather loop is a very unstable design, becaue you need to pull very hard on that loop. Leather just doesn't have the tensile strength of a synthetic fabric. I notice that about a year later, they'd re-fitted that boot with a textile pull loop. R.M. Williams, who know their chealsea boots as well as anyone I've ever seen, makes them with two synthetic loops, front and back. So do Blundstone - who know what they're doing as well. But Blundstone are a little too Frodo-ish for me!

[mizanation]

frodo-ish! very funny.

an update on my usps situation. i got a courtesy call from the postal service today. apparently, they really fucked up, but unfortunately there's nothing they can do. i am going to escalate my complaint to higher management. hopefully someone will get fired as i'm sure i'm not the only one who had this happen to them.

btw, did i mention that the guy who sold me the shoes knew me from style forum? i thought that was kinda weird.

[GregNYC]

I'm glad you got the shoes from a known guy. I wonder if there are more shoe fetishists than denimheads....

About USPS - Rolex U.S.A. uses USPS over every other carrier to ship watches. And I bet the USPS is very careful with their stuff, and I bet it's registered, certified, insured, etc....

[mizanation]

i've never had a problem with USPS outside new york. in new york, people with civil service jobs really don't care about doing a good job, or doing a job at all, usually.

one time, i ordered some supplements from a company and i never received it (shipped via usps). when i called up the company to tell them that i never got it, they said, "oh, new york? we always have problems with the usps in new york." then they sent me another bottle for free. yeah, it's that bad here.

[familyman]

Ok, the leathersoul order went all pear shaped so now I'm back in the market for some more boots. I really shouldn't be but I am.

I'm thinking that maybe I should try out something other than Alden.

The C&J Coniston isn't too horribly expensive.

http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=247

I like the Frye Brando lace boot a lot and it's cheap in comparison. I keep thinking it's too much of a jean boot and since I wear khakis most of the time it would sit.

http://www.fryeboots.com/subpages/catalog-detail.asp?sn=87580&col=COG&fcp=catalog.asp?cat=SEASONAL@sty=@gen=2@goToPage=1

The Trickers Malton with a leather sole would be a nice boot.

http://www.pediwear.co.uk/detail.php?stock_ID=171

But the captoe Alden boot is so nice.

http://www.theshoemart.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?&vendor=ALD&template=men&browse_vendor=1&category=&item=ALD_m_Cap_Toe_Boot_Shell_Cordovan&ps=12&start=23&rpro=

With summer right around the corner here in Texas my boot wearing will be falling to only a couple of days a week so I should probaby wait until fall. Maybe.

[mizanation]

familyman, are you saying no cordo-indy's?????

[familyman]

Not necessarily. It's just that now that the order is kaput I thought I'd look at more options. The cordo indy's are still on the list if I can get them ordered somehow.

[Panda-san]

Not my usual style, but I've been wearing these Versace's with my Samurai's lately, and I'm very happy with them. I got them back in... on, maybe summer of '03 or spring '04, I forget, and hadn't worn them very often since then.

[lowrider]

Darn it... cigar plaza last wingtip Alden's (just like familyman's) are on their way back to Tom in my size. I might have to cop it...

Was it one of you guys who bought it in a 8.5 and it's too big and are returning it? If so, thanks a lot... (some what sarcastically cuz I dunno how I'm gonna explain to my GF that I spent over $1K on 2 pairs of shoes in less than a month).

I'll have to see though... dunno if I should have 2 cigar Alden boots... Thoughts?

[mizanation]

I dunno how I'm gonna explain to my GF that I spent over $1K on 2 pairs of shoes in less than a month).

with a smile?

don't worry about its your life. shell cordovan is forever. women, well, sometimes forever.

[thegr8est333]

Clarks Wallabees