My J. Gilbert/AOC Alden Shoes

[jmonroestyle]

Here are some of my Alden shoes, that were made as special make-ups for J. Gilbert and Alden of Carmel.

All of these shoes are made on the Plaza last, and all of them except 1 have flex welt soles and are made from Alden's soft "Lady Calf".

The one brown apron shoe that is not a flex welt is the Alden of Carmel AF 96. This shoe has a plantation crepe sole like Alden's "All Weather Walker".

Since all these shoes were part of special make-up collections, the shoes shown in these photos are the only shoes in size 11.5 D to ever be made by Alden in these styles.

They are all really comfortable, and I really enjoying wearing them.

The black plain toe 4 eyelet blucher, and the chocolate brown wing tip, are new arrivals at J. Gilbert Footwear in Seattle. The 4 eyelet flex welt apron shoes in black and brown are from Alden of Carmel.

Since Alden uses an extended length interior heel counter, and I am super flat footed, I had to perform some "open shoe surgery" on all these shoes to make them comfortable. If I didn't do this surgery, the extended heel counter would put too much pressure on the interior edge of my feet in the arch area when I put weight on my feet and they pronate.

I open up an interior seam in the shoe lining, shorten the heel counter on the inner edge side of the shoe to the length of a heel counter found on most other brands of shoes (I shorten it to about even with the front of the heel) and then carefully resew the interior lining back together by hand. By the time I am finished, there is almost no visible evidence that the shoe has been worked on.

One might ask why I go through all this trouble, rather then just finding other brands of shoes that fit without this labor intensive adustment. The answer is simple. There aren't any other shoes that I know of that will work for my very flat feet, except for the Grenson Rose Collection (96 last), and I currently own many of those shoes also (all balmorals).

I can't buy any Alden balmoral shoes, as a balmoral shoe will not allow me the interior access to the shoe that I need to perform my "surgery". Grenson shoes have normal length heel counters, so surgery is not necessary on my Grenson Rose Collection shoes.

Jess

 

[Cornellian]

Hi Jess. Nice shoes. I'd be curious to hear how the crepe sole holds up. I've heard that it wears quickly, and that some solvents (gasoline) eat it up.

These should be a nice accompaniment to your boot collection

Wear them in good health,
Cornellian/Todd

 

[Steven Aver]

The Norwegian Toe's in tan / plaza last you have are nice shoes. Ive been debating on the same shoe in #8 Cordovan they released,

 

[jmonroestyle]

Cornellian,

Thanks!

So far the crepe sole is holding up quite well. It is really comfortable and makes an ideal walking shoe. I see why Alden chose this sole for their "All Weather Walkers" for all these years.

Steven Aver,

The tan Norwegian Toe shoe is one of my favorites. I am hoping J. Gilbert will do it in black and chocolate brown soft calf at some point.

I have seen the #8 shell version. It is gorgeous. Since my feet tend to get hot easily and swell, I passed on the cordovan. For those who like cordovan and don't have my foot heat/swelling issues, I would say the shell Norwegian Toe shoe is an ideal smart looking shoe.

Jess

 

[Dewey]

Hey Jess, thanks for the photos. I've learned a good deal from your flat foot diaries, and I appreciate them since they suggest (but don't prove) I'm not crazy. And I am having good results moving to longer, narrower shoes to deal with my flat-footed long heel-to-ball length. I agree that the softer soles can really help the fit with this situation. And my Grenson Radleys are in the mail from Pediwear.

 

[JayJay]

Nice shoes.

 

[jmonroestyle]

Originally Posted by Dewey

Hey Jess, thanks for the photos. I've learned a good deal from your flat foot diaries, and I appreciate them since they suggest (but don't prove) I'm not crazy. And I am having good results moving to longer, narrower shoes to deal with my flat-footed long heel-to-ball length. I agree that the softer soles can really help the fit with this situation. And my Grenson Radleys are in the mail from Pediwear.

Thanks Dewey,

I am happy to hear my flat foot diaries are of benefit. I have learned a large bulk of my shoe fitting knowledge right here on Styleforum, so I glad my writings are helping others find comfortable fitting shoes.

Good luck with your new Grenson Radley shoes.

Let us know how they work out for you. The Grenson Salisbury is also built on the 96 last, as is the Headingly. The Grenson web site lists the Headingly as being made on the 107 last. However, this is an error. I own the Headingly in black and cognac, and it is definitely the 96 last. The 107 last is much longer and has a narrow round toe, rather than the elegant square toe of the 96 last.

Jess

 

[robin]

Stopped into J. Gilbert this morning. They raised the prices on their custom makeups by about $30. Brings the calfskin shoes up to about $500 after taxes, and slightly more for the calfskin boots.

 

[rbny]

Thanks for the photos! I liked your shoes so much that I just ordered a pair of the AF96 from Alden of Carmel.

 

[jmonroestyle]

Thanks rbny,

AF 96 is one of my favorites. It looks great and is super comfortable.

Good luck and enjoy your new shoes!

Jess

 

[AJL]

This may seem a painfully (no pun intended) obvious inquiry, but have you considered some kind of orthotic insert to add support to your flat feet? I too have flat feet, having become flatter over the years, culminating about 6 or 7 years ago with acute plantar fasciitis. The pain was so severe I found I couldn't stand comfortably for more than 5-10 minutes at a stretch. Went to a podiatrist, got fitted for custom orthotics (1/2 sole), and within a week I was essentially pain free. There are very few makes/styles of shoe that I cannot fit into now. Best $400 I ever spent.

I mean the shoe surgery sounds fun and all, just saying. Of course your situation could be completely different, but thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[jmonroestyle]

JL,

For most people orthotics are the obvious answer. However, in my case I need to go in the opposite direction. When I try to prop up my arches, I get horrible foot pain. No arch support is equally painful, so the compromise is a very gentle arch like what is found on the Alden Plaza last after I shorten the elongated interior heel counter. These shoes are now so comfortable for me, I barely even realize I have them on. It is more than worth the few hours of surgery I do on each shoe, to gain the lifetime of enjoyment of wearing these shoes.

Anyway I would always rather do surgery on my shoes than on my feet...

Jess

 

[jmonroestyle]

Here is a pair of shoes I just got from Alden of Carmel. They are my first pair of suede shoes.

I already own this shoe in smooth leather in black and brown, and thought that the 2 tone/double texture of this shoe made it rather visually interesting.

This shoe is AF101 (on the AOC website) and is built on the Plaza last.

Jess