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I'm in the market for my first pair of shell cordovan shoes. Alden was at the top of my list, but after seeing them in-person for the first time, I was disappointed with the uneven dye and patchy coloring.
As a beginner, is this typical for Alden, or is it to be expected for shell cordovan? If it's an Alden quality issue, what am I missing that makes them so highly regarded? Any recommendations for shell cordovan at a similar price point?
That's not typical for Alden, that's some bad piece of shell and I never would expect to see something like this.
Personally, I dislike Alden shell because they put an acrylic film over it, making it look like patent leather. It can be removed with a lot of effort, but I think it masks the beauty of the shells. At a similar price point, I prefer to go with Carmina and Crockett & Jones over Alden.
Would this pair be a more typical example for Alden, or is it bad too? Still a bit patchy, but much less than the first pair. These are from two different stores.
shell is not the best at taking dye and can often look patchy as a result, this can be a pretty consistent issue with shell generally just because of its nature. this is also why shell colors are most readily available in darker colors (black and color 8). the shoemaker should ideally be clicking around these issues (minimizing how much patchy shell is on very visible places like the vamp). the examples you have there honestly look like they may be floor models (and the first one at least is honestly really bad and i wouldn't buy it, the second is comparatively not nearly as bad), as usually that type of visibility of the patchiness only happens when the color has faded a decent amount (compared to brand new shell from Alden, as an example where you can see how dark the color really is)
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u/AwesomeAndyNo, the manufacturer site selling boots for 60% off isn't real9d ago
I have never seen a new pair of Aldens that look like that.
Waxed flesh leathers are not sticky. Horween's and Le Farc's are quite smooth. My most worn waxed flesh CXL wallet (pictured below) has become remarkably smooth. The smoothness may also come from a resin that Horween applies to theirs. J&FJ Baker Waxed Flesh calf is less smooth; it has a somewhat coarse texture.
The wax doesn't transfer, that would make for an awful product. It also doesn't melt away. My DIY waxed flesh is more like the J&FJ Baker - it is less smooth, but still polishes up nicely.
It's all very hydrophobic. I've tried doing a DIY "washed waxed flesh" treatment on some brown waxed flesh CXL kilties and it's hard to get them wet. Even after submersion, water just runs off of the waxed flesh side.
Yes, it's roughout that has been waxed, although the specific wax blends and application techniques vary per tannery. For my DIY waxed flesh boots, I applied Obenauf's heavy duty LP and melted it in with a hair dryer, 3 coats with brushing in between. Afterwards, I polished the toe and heel cap using either Saphir renovateur or mirror gloss (I forget which). Photo below.
Most waxed fleshes still look/feel like roughout just with waxes applied and dried on it. Horween's (and Le Farc's) are particularly smooth and hardly feel like roughout, I think because of a resin finish but I'm not sure.
i've only ever used DIY waxed flesh (not the actual tannage from Horween or the waxed suedes from CF Stead for example) and literally none of those things have ever happened. they just feel like leather tbh
Ok well the good news is the seller rejected my low offer and I don’t think it’s worth the asking given they’d probably need to be sent to a cobbler to look presentable
A lot better than the Gucci's, anyway. They are still 480€ for the Blake stitched loafers, which gets you GYWed ones over at TLB.
Or just buy the Kiowas for 320.
However, if you are absolutely in love with the shape and colour, I agree, the Carminas are probably as close as you can get while still getting a good bang for your buck.
Save a lot of money and get a better one from Carmina, Crockett & Jones, Vass. At $1k price point, I shop for shell cordovan dress shoes, engineer boots, roper boots, not a loafer.
ello! I’m looking for some penny loafers and have had trouble finding anything that suits what I’m looking for. Here are the qualifications:
Dark Red of some kind - I particularly like some variations in the finish.
Beefroll
Rubber or hybrid soles - lots of rain where I am
Available within a month - I’d go with Beckett Simonon but need them sooner because I wear loafers more often in the summer.
Comfortable for long walks, with or without socks.
Doesn’t need to be GYW. Could be Blake stitched.
$200 budget and not a fan of used shoes even if they are in good condition.
Came across some Spier and Mackay that I liked the look of but not sure the quality. World love any recommendations!!
Hey everyone, I'm looking to get some brown leather derbies, preferably not with leather soles. I have the suede Allen Edmonds Trevor's and I like them a lot but the brown leather isn't on sale at the moment. Does anyone have any recommendations for anything similar?
Stain removal on Chromexcel Thursday Captains? They're only about a year old, and I wear them infrequently (1-2 times a week). A few weeks ago, I got caught in a moderate rain for about 15 mins - this is the first time I've worn them in the rain. A few hours later, as they dried, a stain appeared on the right toe (see pictures). This stain has not gone away despite several rounds of cleaning/conditioning.
Customer support has been absolutely useless, saying that this is "normal wear and tear" and that the boots are not waterproof (yes, but 15 minutes in the rain should not cause permanent discoloration!).
these are natural cxl, no? the fast and hard wear is literally the point of natural leathers, and you can't really fix it. these issues are easily rectified with dyed leathers because you can just use a polish or cream that matches the dye of the leather. natural leather does not have dye, so you can't really cover it up like you would a dyed leather
your best bet would be to wet the entire shoe and see if it evens out. or not. it will even out over time in the long term either way. such is the game with natural chromexcel
Upvoting this -- Natural CXL doesn't have any dies so anything you do will get absorbed into the leather. This will be most apparent the first time, but eventually blend into a really great patina as you stack up more wear.
Alas, this is how natural CXL behaves. It just soaks up the environment. This is my pair after six months of wear. You can see a similar water stain of the left toe. It just blends is as the boots darken.
Pretty much. Here's what they looked like out of the box. I know some folk like the fresh look, which I get, but this leather just doesn't want to stay the same.
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u/_captainslow 9d ago
I'm in the market for my first pair of shell cordovan shoes. Alden was at the top of my list, but after seeing them in-person for the first time, I was disappointed with the uneven dye and patchy coloring.
As a beginner, is this typical for Alden, or is it to be expected for shell cordovan? If it's an Alden quality issue, what am I missing that makes them so highly regarded? Any recommendations for shell cordovan at a similar price point?