Shoes that look better with age...

[denimdestroyedmylife]

btw, can you post pics of your shell cordovans???

[mizanation]

beautiful. they will look even better in the years to come. nice!

[crisis]

looks great DDML, you guys gotta stop taunting me with these pictures, i want a pair bad. It hurts to look at this thread but i keep coming back.

[sXXXe]

CLARKS WALLABEEEE$ and VANS CHUKKA BOOT WHITE/WHITE !!!!!!

[digital_denim]

Nice look DDML, still having buyer's regret?

[denimdestroyedmylife]

it was a good buy.

i feel good about it.

would do it again.

[digital_denim]

it was a good buy.

i feel good about it.

would do it again.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

[digital_denim]

[familyman]

Those are nice boots DDML. It will be interesting to see how they age compared to calf. You guys are driving me crazy with all this horse. Time to save my pennies.

[rnrswitch]

Got my boots today... loving them. Alden Indys. I don't think they look all that well with my Jean Shops (the Jean Shops are still stiff and don't drape smoothly yet) but they look great with my ralfs and canes. The quality is astounding. Oh and the smell... the sweet smell of leather.

Will take pictures later. My old lady has my camera right now.

[mizanation]

i would expect them to look awesome with the canes. i bet they will look super good with the jean shops soon. can't wait to see pics, please take with your jeans.

i'm too tired to take pics of my boots with jeans, i'll do it tomorrow.

[cheapmuthafukr]

i want a pair of these!!

[denimdestroyedmylife]

[mizanation]

hey ddml and co., my left alden boot fits great. my right alden boot is a little tight and i get ocassional pain on the right side of my foot. i know you mentioned before that for some boots, breaking in is necessary. will this pain go away eventually as the boot loosens and the leather stretches? next time, should i size closer to how i buy my sneakers?

[denimdestroyedmylife]

human feet tend to be different sizes. my left boot is a little looser than my right boot. i don't promote pain for fashion, but i do believe that you should allow these boots to mold around your foot. my most comfortable shoes were very uncomfortable at first. i have to admit, however, that my aldens are crazy comfortable from the get. i imagine they will only get more so with time.

you are not wearing these boots every day are you? you really should not wear them on consecutive days. they need to air out.

[mizanation]

yeah, i have been wearing everyday, but at home, after work, i switch to my slip ons. also, i'm using the alden cedar shoe trees.... maybe i should alternate.... wish i had a pair in black. and a pair of indy's. after that, i'm done. promise.

[horriblyjollyjinx]

how do you size these? did you get the size you wear in sneakers or did you size down like you sometimes do with formal shoes?

[denimdestroyedmylife]

hjj, i got my usual sneaker size. if anything, i would size up if you plan to wear these in the winter with thicker socks.

miz, do you find your boots heavy? i've heard that complaint levelled against alden shell cordos. mine has the commando sole------the boots are surprisingly light-weight.

oh, and what do you do with the shoe bags? are you supposed to bag your boots at night? like little sleeping bags, they are. i don't quite understand.

so much to learn.

oh, i picked up an alden horsehair brush------fun to brush down the boots at the end of the day.

[digital_denim]

hey ddml and co., my left alden boot fits great. my right alden boot is a little tight and i get ocassional pain on the right side of my foot. i know you mentioned before that for some boots, breaking in is necessary. will this pain go away eventually as the boot loosens and the leather stretches? next time, should i size closer to how i buy my sneakers?

Just remove the pinky toe! Anything for fashion. But leather tends to stretch and give over time. Sound familiar? Just don't cold soak these.

[mizanation]

haha. thanks guys.

ddml, i'm not sure what to do with the shoe bags. maybe they are meant for long term storage? but i think the box would suffice for that. maybe i need to ask carlos, my alden guy.

i also got a horsehair brush. it's nice and soft.

i don't have the commando sole, i have the leather sole, so it's a little heavy. i don't mind though. definitely lighter than a pair of timbs though.

[familyman]

Consensus amongst a bunch of crusty trads is that cordovan shoes stretch much less than calf. They generally advise that if the shoe doesn't have the room when new it never will. Shape is different, they will of course break in to the shape of your foot, but volume is very unlikely to change. No personal exprerience here just what a bunch of guys who have been wearing cordovan for 40 years have told me.

[mizanation]

Consensus amongst a bunch of crusty trads is that cordovan shoes stretch much less than calf. They generally advise that if the shoe doesn't have the room when new it never will. Shape is different, they will of course break in to the shape of your foot, but volume is very unlikely to change. No personal exprerience here just what a bunch of guys who have been wearing cordovan for 40 years have told me.

fuck!

......

[denimdestroyedmylife]

[xcoldricex]

one thing i dont like about leather shoes/dress shoes like urs miznation is the sole u cant do anything in them because u slip

you can always get thin rubber soles added to the bottoms- this will not only provide traction, it will also extend the life of the sole.

[familyman]

fuck!

......

Don't take my word for it though, head over to Ask Andy and register and ask in the Trad section. I know, it's probably not your style but just explain what your problem is and that I sent you to ask and I promise they'll be nice. About 1000 collected years cordovan experience in those old (and not so old) bastards.

There's apparently almost always some pain involved in breaking in cordovan loafers but it subsides with time. Is the boot more comfortable with thinner socks?

[damnIam]

You may want to try a shoe stretcher. I got one off ebay because my right foot has one spot along the side that protrudes a bit. The shoe stretcher I bought has removeable little nodes that you can install at different places to stretch out little small pockets in the boot rather that just stretching out the entire boot. It came with some liquid spray that aids in the stretching but I was a bit suspect of it so I just used the stretcher only and it works great on a new pair of redwings.

[mizanation]

aaah. thanks damnlam.

i'm going to check with the guys at askandy and styleforum now.

i bet i could get my shoes stretched by my local shoe repair guy.

*EDIT* i asked around on a couple other forums and looks like i have nothing to worry about. over time, even shell cordovans stretch, just takes longer than calfskin. phew! for a second i was trying to calculate what i could get on ebay for a barely used pair of alden cordos...

[mizanation]

human feet tend to be different sizes. my left boot is a little looser than my right boot. i don't promote pain for fashion, but i do believe that you should allow these boots to mold around your foot. my most comfortable shoes were very uncomfortable at first. i have to admit, however, that my aldens are crazy comfortable from the get. i imagine they will only get more so with time.

you are not wearing these boots every day are you? you really should not wear them on consecutive days. they need to air out.

btw, ddml, yes, i did get the same advice from the other forums that i got from you originally. i am humbled, please forgive me!!!

[denimdestroyedmylife]

don't thank me, thank my:

brain.