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

[rydenfan]

Do most go with their Barrie size with the latest Trubalance offerings?

I do but I will say that it runs a bit big for me. I don't mind because I usually wear a thicker sock with Trubalance offerings as they are more casual but I do wonder if I could go down a half size

 

[tifosi]



Do most go with their Barrie size with the latest Trubalance offerings?

I do as well. Barrie boots fit a bit snugger than Tru boots, but I still take the same size.

 

[kwhitelaw]

overcast day, had to head into the office for a bit so time for some beaters

excuse the blur. alpine grain wingtip from LS from a few yrs back

 

[Beatlegeuse]

^ that's a pretty killer makeup to be described as a "beater." Probably outside of SF, these are nicer than anyone else's "good" shoes!

 

[thebeebs]

Now I'm worried my 360s are a hazard and may get stuck under my desk at work...better buy 270 versions of everything just in case.

 

[CJBianco]

Hello again, everyone. I emailed Adele at Epaulet, and she was kind enough to offer me an exchange. Dylan at Epaulet sent over a few photos of the one other pair of Alden Natural CXL longwings in my size. Adele also explained that small inconsistencies are simply part of Alden's products and that buying and wearing Alden products requires a little tolerance for those inconsistencies, which I completely understand.

The pair offered for replacement seems a little better than the first pair. The left shoe is almost straight with regard to the brogue holes being centered down the middle, across the toes. However, the right shoe looks uneven to me again, as if the brogue holes are sliding toward the big toe side of the shoe. (Does that make sense?)

The left shoe on my first pair was dead even, so I'm comparing all of the other shoes to that one. Is that wrong? I'm starting to think that I may be too picky, and that all Alden longwings are uneven/uncentered. (My AE longwings are dead even.)

All opinions are welcome, and thank you again.

My Best,
Christopher

The first pair...left shoe.

The first pair...right shoe.

The replacement pair.

 

[thebeebs]

Hello again, everyone. I emailed Adele at Epaulet, and she was kind enough to offer me an exchange. Dylan at Epaulet sent over a few photos of the one other pair of Alden Natural CXL longwings in my size. Adele also explained that small inconsistencies are simply part of Alden's products and that buying and wearing Alden products requires a little tolerance for those inconsistencies, which I completely understand.

The pair offered for replacement seems a little better than the first pair. The left shoe is almost straight with regard to the brogue holes being centered down the middle, across the toes. However, the right shoe looks uneven to me again, as if the brogue holes are sliding toward the big toe side of the shoe. (Does that make sense?)

The left shoe on my first pair was dead even, so I'm comparing all of the other shoes to that one. Is that wrong? I'm starting to think that I may be too picky, and that all Alden longwings are uneven/uncentered. (My AE longwings are dead even.)

All opinions are welcome, and thank you again.

My Best,
Christopher

The first pair...left shoe.


The first pair...right shoe.


The replacement pair.

Hate to say this, but Epaulet should have done what Need Supply did when they got defective Union Hill Indy boots, and what Unionmade did NOT do when they got defective Stevenson CXL Indy boots, and that is to return the whole damn batch to Alden and tell them to clean up their mess. This is intolerable IMO. You should not have to pay this kind of money for ****. I do accept the nature of handmade goods, and more specifically Alden's inconsistency, but there is a limit to this. Others may disagree, but I would not stand for it, and neither should the retailers.

 

[tifosi]

They seem more acceptable to me.

 

[mdubs]



They seem more acceptable to me.

Yeah, I agree. Not looking like you are walking on the side of your foot. Plus they are more consistent between L and R...

 

[tigerpac]

I do as well. Barrie boots fit a bit snugger than Tru boots, but I still take the same size.

 

[BootSpell]

^ "more acceptable" but to me, still not acceptable. What bothers me is less the misalignment of the brogueing but that the right shoe is still awkwardly curved upward on the inside. I'd wonder what that would do to the wear on the sole.

 

[docalden2013]

Do most go with their Barrie size with the latest Trubalance offerings?

I have gone Barrie = Trubalance and have not had a problem. Wore my Church Hill Indys today and noticed that they are equally as snug as my Barrie boots. Of course, the Church Hills are calf, which has tended to fit more tightly than other makeups.

 

[REguy]



Hate to say this, but Epaulet should have done what Need Supply did when they got defective Union Hill Indy boots, and what Unionmade did NOT do when they got defective Stevenson CXL Indy boots, and that is to return the whole damn batch to Alden and tell them to clean up their mess.  This is intolerable IMO.  You should not have to pay this kind of money for ****.  I do accept the nature of handmade goods, and more specifically Alden's inconsistency, but there is a limit to this.  Others may disagree, but I would not stand for it, and neither should the retailers.

This.

I've never had a pair of Aldens that looked this wonky. Return and wait for the next batch.

 

[hoit1981]



Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Hello again, everyone. I emailed Adele at Epaulet, and she was kind enough to offer me an exchange. Dylan at Epaulet sent over a few photos of the one other pair of Alden Natural CXL longwings in my size. Adele also explained that small inconsistencies are simply part of Alden's products and that buying and wearing Alden products requires a little tolerance for those inconsistencies, which I completely understand.

The pair offered for replacement seems a little better than the first pair. The left shoe is almost straight with regard to the brogue holes being centered down the middle, across the toes. However, the right shoe looks uneven to me again, as if the brogue holes are sliding toward the big toe side of the shoe. (Does that make sense?)

The left shoe on my first pair was dead even, so I'm comparing all of the other shoes to that one. Is that wrong? I'm starting to think that I may be too picky, and that all Alden longwings are uneven/uncentered. (My AE longwings are dead even.)

All opinions are welcome, and thank you again.

My Best,
Christopher

The first pair...left shoe.

The first pair...right shoe.

The replacement pair.

I know that Alden's broguing often gets very close to the welt at the front. On both of these pairs you've shown us it looks like the welt is completely covering the tip of the brogue. Very strange and in my opinion it looks like complete ****. I concur with others here, and would avoid both pairs and hope that you can get some further down the road.

 

[thebeebs]

If the tip of ******** was as crooked as those LWBs, I'd rush to the ER.