***The official Alden thread *** Share enthusiasm, reviews, sizing, advice, and photos.

[dfagdfsh]

no, dude, you should let Tom know. aldens are not cheap and you should have an awesome retail experience - regardless of how you 'come off.' i worked in semi-high end retail and rule #1 is treat the customer well, regardless of how you perceive them. seriously, i think LS prides themselves on their customer service - i've had nothing but good experiences with tom.

 

[NAMOR]

jslade, get those exchanged. You will regret it later.

Some #8

 

[NAMOR]



I'm sorry to hear about how this was handled. My experience with Shoemart seconds has been terrible. 1st quality Aldens can be ****** enough, I wouldn't even consider the seconds.
I'm also not a fan of Shoemart, but that's a story for another day.

Understandable Namor, and please do update us about what Alden says. I dont understand why they insist we deal with the retail store and not directly with them.

Namor: since you're going to contact Alden anyway...I think you should make a thread about the QA problems and have members post up as well. You guys own a vast amount of Aldens so it's not like they're losing customers who bought 1 or 2 pairs. Send Alden the thread and hopefully that will do something for them, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
Best of luck, dude.

I guess with seconds it's a little more understandable. A little. Maybe.
However, Alden seems to act like a stingy start-up with liquidity problems. They are however, over 100 years old and sell more shoes than they can make. They have got to be raking in the dough after the last several years, what with all the waiting lists for highly priced shoes. A replacement or merchandise credit for Peterson (the original purchaser) was in order, not a half-assed repair job. This stuff starts from the top and based on some other stories I've heard, Tarlow and Company's customer service strategy would be an epic fail in any business school case study.
They are one of those companies in a unique position where they can get away with stuff like this, but it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, if they gave a crap, their following would grow and they could probably charge even more for the shoes and not lose volume.
With all that said, I still want cigar shell indy boots. But without flaws--I don't need 'em that bad.
The good thing for you is that the flaw is on the back part of the shoe, never will be noticed, and the shoes probably look great otherwise. Enjoy wearing.

Got a response from Alden:

Dear Mr. XXX:

Thank you for your message and the accompanying photos. We agree that the repair work on these boots is not up to standard. That is the result of some miscommunication between us and The Shoe Mart. I have spoken with Ed Zapatka at The Shoe Mart and am copying him on this message. If you return the boots to his attention, he will be happy to issue a refund.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,
Alden Shoe Co

 

[burningbright]

^

That's how it's done.

 

[rennavate]



as promised, some better pics in better light. enjoy!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I like how the cigar and the floor colour matches....

I want cigar LWBs so bad... these from Shoe Mart or Alden directly?

 

[vivalet]

Bryan has been nothing but the best to me. And, while I am a customer, I am not the biggest spender. I walk in wearing _ga-ga-ga-gasp_ rainbow flip flops sometimes and he treats me with the utmost respect. I read these criticisms of him and I can't quite believe it.

send an email to Tom with your experience..

I don't really think that there's any point. I've read some conflicting experiences re: Bryan from LSBH in this thread before, both good and bad. From what I can gather, lots of people have good experiences with him, while a small group of people have ended up less than pleased. I think my problem with him was him coming across as a bit supercilious in our conversations, and I can certainly see how that sort of attitude could be traded in for a much more accommodating one if the customer in question were a bit more, erm, affluent.

On another note, I purchased a pair of Common Projects a while ago after Bryson Higa of another LS location helped me, and he was really a great guy.

ninja07, those are some great looking longwings.

 

[CHRK33]

For all those with experience on the Grant last, do you take the same size as in the Barrie, i.e. size down 1/2, or stick with your TTS? For example, I take a 10D in Barrie/trubalance and 10.5 in plaza/leydon/Hampton. So not sure whether to go 10 or 10.5 in the Grant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CTYGGG]

Ravello Medallion Cap Toe...

Thanks to Mac for posting his pics of this makeup. Thanks to all the SF'ers who managed to get Kathy to reissue this makeup. Lastly thanks to Kathy, and the fact that she had my size left in stock.

These are nice,requoted for awesomeness. Plaza last?

Thanks for all the kind words & compliments on the RMCTs. Good eye…Plaza last they are.

 

[HorseHide]



Good eye…Plaza last they are.

Channeling Yoda?

 

[PorterInjax]



For all those with experience on the Grant last, do you take the same size as in the Barrie, i.e. size down 1/2, or stick with your TTS? For example, I take a 10D in Barrie/trubalance and 10.5 in plaza/leydon/Hampton. So not sure whether to go 10 or 10.5 in the Grant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

My experience has the plaza and grant being equal in size. This works very well for me.

 

[HorseHide]



For all those with experience on the Grant last, do you take the same size as in the Barrie, i.e. size down 1/2, or stick with your TTS? For example, I take a 10D in Barrie/trubalance and 10.5 in plaza/leydon/Hampton. So not sure whether to go 10 or 10.5 in the Grant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I think it depends on the width of your foot - the Grant last is about the same length as the Barrie but the toe box isn't as generous. I am a 9 B/D in the Barrie and a 9.5 B/D in the Plaza - I find the 9 B/D Grant to be snug but the 9.5 B/D Grant is a little too roomy. I know I could try the 9 C/E but I've just decided to avoid the Grant (the only exception being the Ravello hunting boot from Leffot...)

 

[ninja07]



I want cigar LWBs so bad... these from Shoe Mart or Alden directly?

thanks guys....these are the AF81 from Alden of Carmel.

 

[g.michael]

NAMOR--that's a great response from Alden. Now since you bought them second hand, I don't really know how you work out the actual logistics (if you do anything at all). But it's the right response from Alden.

 

[zippyh]



For all those with experience on the Grant last, do you take the same size as in the Barrie, i.e. size down 1/2, or stick with your TTS? For example, I take a 10D in Barrie/trubalance and 10.5 in plaza/leydon/Hampton. So not sure whether to go 10 or 10.5 in the Grant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It depends.
I went with the same size in Grant and Barrie/Trubalance.
The Grant does fit me snugger than Barrie/Trubalance.

 

[enigma77]

For all those with experience on the Grant last, do you take the same size as in the Barrie, i.e. size down 1/2, or stick with your TTS? For example, I take a 10D in Barrie/trubalance and 10.5 in plaza/leydon/Hampton. So not sure whether to go 10 or 10.5 in the Grant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It depends.
I went with the same size in Grant and Barrie/Trubalance.
The Grant does fit me snugger than Barrie/Trubalance.

+1.

The Grant is an interesting last. It's on the sleeker side, which means less room in some areas like the toe, but still somewhat long. I take 10.5D in Leydon/Aberdeen/TTS, 10D in Barrie/Trubalance, and find that sizing down to 10D on the Grant is the best for me.

To size yourself, you can try ordering some of the Alden longwings made for Brooks Brothers, and then returning them (verify return policy, of course). They're on the Grant. Note that some of the longwings for BB are not Alden, so you'll have to be careful when you look.