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The Great Debate: Allen Edmonds vs Alden

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
This is what I was afraid of: we are all dying for an update on an operation that will probably take years to reach the conclusion we seek. Never the less, post a damn update!
 
Wow lots of good stuff here. I have not had aldens but have been more than happy with the few pairs of allen edmonds i own. Also theircustomer service and all dealings i have had with them have been great. Also i want to state i fully support american business and dont want to throw an off topic curve ball but my favorite pair of wing tips i own are my cheany's. Just throwing that out there. Looking to get a pair with their new buckshot style brouging.
 
I have two pairs of AEs, and one pair of Alden's.

I would say that the Aldens are heavier and feel more substantial, but the Aldens have a huge steel shank and double leather soles, while the AEs have single soles and don't have a steel shank. The leathers are not the same type between pairs, so I cannot really compare leather quality.

Both my AEs and my Aldens have flaws. Either a bad stitch here or there, or a blemish in the welt, etc.

However, I just received a pair of White's Retro Oxfords in British Tan. They are both more substantial than both the aforementioned brands, and there is not so much as a stitch out of place that I can find.
 
I am shopping for a new pair of shell Corsicans and debating between the AE and Alden....naturally this article sounded perfect!!! But left us hanging! Any early conclusions?
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Can Autocorrect change what you typed without your permission?

Corsican.
 
I am shopping for a new pair of shell Corsicans and debating between the AE and Alden....naturally this article sounded perfect!!! But left us hanging! Any early conclusions?
Mts, I have been waiting since April. In the AE Road Warriors thread, Joel (the article's author) indicated an update was coming in May, but that he was having an issue because AE sized him wrong. It is now the end of June and we still wait. May have to contact the mods and tell them we need an answer yesterday. FWIW, hope nothing happened to Joel.
 
I would expect that in addition to the sizing issues that Joel mentioned, as a practical matter, no one would wear shell chukkas in the summer. These are very warm shoes. I have a pair of the AEs and they've been on their trees since about April. Probably won't wear them again much before October.
 
I have been a loyal AE buyer for years, and didn't even know there was a higher priced USA option. With age my forefoot is wider and my heel is narrower. The Alden combination last is like a made to order for me. {A combination last is two widths narrower in the heel and marked C/A for example.} Most AE arn't combination last.

I totally agree that AE wins on style and style choices, but Alden wins on all the rest.
 
Good news - it's still going on and active and each pair is getting worn at least 2X a week. In fact, I wore the Alden's today. Bad news - these shoes (especially the Aldens) are simply battle axes. Despite wearing these shoes in more than 1/2 dozen countries and on mixed terrain, hundreds upon hundreds of miles, they both still look shockingly good - and wear pictures at this point would be largely uninteresting. I'm amassing a bundle of front page posts (including multiple updates to this thread, and even a factory tour of Horween) so that once the floodgates are open, a steady - longterm cadence of posts can be maintained.

The biggest challenge is that I don't find the Allen Edmonds particularly comfortable. They're alright, but they're tight in the toe box, where as the Alden's are simply divine. I'm still going to go through with the test to completion, but it appears as though these shoes will really hold up an unreasonable amount of time.

If I had to recommend one over the other (as of today) so far i'd say the Alden's appear to be more comfortable, better built (details to come at a future date), more attractive/shiny shell, and more prone to complements. The Allen Edmonds have a sleeker look, but the color and traditional shape of the Alden's really stands out (the wider/chunkier Alden boasts a more unique look).

I had dinner with a friend of mine tonight who was wearing his 2+ year old Alden Shell Cordovan Cap Toe boots (with commando sole) that he wears daily, and they literally look new - almost no wear on the commando soles. Despite his shoes being stunning, one look at my Alden Chukkas - and he's now on the hunt for a pair in Whiskey shell. Note: he also owns several pair of AE, and only two pair of Alden - and much prefers his Alden's. One of his pairs of Alden's, he's resoled four times, wore nearly every day for the better part of a decade and they're 12+ years old and still going strong.
 
Alright, Joel! Happy New Year! Thanks for the update. As you can tell by my responses in this thread, I've been eager to hear. One quick question: how much do you weigh? Thanks again. My Christmas list is beginning to come into focus
 
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